Suspend always hangs on Asus N55S, becomes really hot

[Stéphane Gourichon]

Hi. There are several bug reports about suspend hanging on various brands of laptops.
Even on Asus there are several : #335526, #779979, #772834.
Making a separate one as I don't know if the root cause is the same as any of them.
(This is recommended by e.g. https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/772834/comments/23 )

Exact hardware : Asus N55SF-S1437V.

Reproducible : always, even in live-USB

Minimal steps to reproduce :
* boot 12.04 precise from today's daily iso
* use the "suspend" item in system menu (gear icon on top right)

Steps to reproduce that I used for this bug report :
* install 12.04 precise from today's daily iso
* reboot
* do not even login, use the "suspend" item in system menu (gear icon on top right)
* reboot, login, type "ubuntu-bug linux"

Expected:
* black screen, fan off, LEDs off except power led that blinks every few seconds
* on keypress, system wakes up returns to pre-suspend state

Observed:
* black screen but text-mode underline-style cursor remains visible on top left
* fan remains on, air from fan vent gets really *hot* (nearly like a hair dryer)
* power led remains on
* pressing any key or power switch (which looks like a regular key) has no effect
* holding power key 4 seconds (which normally turns the machine off) makes the power led turn off for a fraction of a second then on, but the machine does not actually boot
* holding power key 4 seconds again turns the machine off. Then it can be turned on again.

Additional information :
* Bug confirmed also when booting from live-USB.
* This laptop has nvidia optimus feature (I have done nothing about it).
* Air from fan vent is quickly warm, I've read it's because nVidia chip consumes power until some driver shuts it off.
* On suspend the air from fan vent quickly gets really *hot*.
* On a separate partition, I Installed 12.04 with bumblebee. It fixes warm air on normal use, but does not change behavior on suspend.
* On normal operation, pressing power switch (which looks like a regular key) has no effect (even xev does not notice anything).
* Powering off or rebooting using system menu works.
* BIOS is up-to-date according to Asus website

Top ease triage I read https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingKernelSuspendHibernateResume :

Did the machine break while going to sleep or waking up? I think it's a sleep failure because it does not reach the point where everything seems off except slowly blinking power led.
Is it reproducible? Every time I asked it to suspend (maybe 10 times already). No variation in symptoms.
Did it work before? Have not tried older distribution. Works in Windows supplied with hardware.
Do you end up with flashing Caps Lock light or similar? No.

As next steps I'm considering :
* "Suspending from text mode" section in https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingKernelSuspendHibernateResume .
* I have read https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingKernelSuspend which seems to track resume, while this looks like a suspend bug.
* I kept several copies of precise on different partitions for test. If you need more information or something to test, please ask.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: linux-image-3.2.0-23-generic 3.2.0-23.36
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-23.36-generic 3.2.14
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-23-generic x86_64
AlsaVersion: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.24.
ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu5
Architecture: amd64
ArecordDevices:
 **** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
 card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: ALC663 Analog [ALC663 Analog]
   Subdevices: 1/1
   Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: stephane 1760 F.... pulseaudio
Card0.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:0 'PCH'/'HDA Intel PCH at 0xdf000000 irq 56'
   Mixer name : 'Realtek ALC663'
   Components : 'HDA:10ec0663,10431b73,00100001'
   Controls : 23
   Simple ctrls : 12
Date: Mon Apr 23 02:37:20 2012
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=d7a58deb-0a7b-4a92-ba64-b8053b07c882
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Beta amd64 (20120421)
MachineType: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. N55SF
ProcEnviron:
 TERM=xterm
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=fr_FR.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcFB:
 0 nouveaufb
 1 inteldrmfb
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-23-generic root=UUID=8ccca100-3ca0-40d5-8e0a-057986786e47 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
RelatedPackageVersions:
 linux-restricted-modules-3.2.0-23-generic N/A
 linux-backports-modules-3.2.0-23-generic N/A
 linux-firmware 1.79
SourcePackage: linux
StagingDrivers: mei
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 08/29/2011
dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
dmi.bios.version: N55SF.207
dmi.board.asset.tag: ATN12345678901234567
dmi.board.name: N55SF
dmi.board.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
dmi.board.version: 1.0
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: No Asset Tag
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
dmi.chassis.version: 1.0
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvrN55SF.207:bd08/29/2011:svnASUSTeKComputerInc.:pnN55SF:pvr1.0:rvnASUSTeKComputerInc.:rnN55SF:rvr1.0:cvnASUSTeKComputerInc.:ct10:cvr1.0:
dmi.product.name: N55SF
dmi.product.version: 1.0
dmi.sys.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

[Stéphane Gourichon (stephane-gourichon-lpad)]

* Tried the no_console_suspend in
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingKernelSuspendHibernateResume

Did not produce messages on suspend.
Showed messages from "nouveau" driver before login.

[Stéphane Gourichon (stephane-gourichon-lpad)]

* Tried the RTC trick from https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingKernelSuspend

No message but some information.
When hung on suspend, power led stays lit.
*But* if you hold it for 4 seconds then release it and wait for a few seconds you can notice than it blinks slowly. So, it looks like that action is *necessary* to complete suspend ?
On wakeup, only one message related : Magic number: 8:714:715
No line contaons "has matches".
See attached dmesg.txt .

> As next steps I'm considering :
> * "Suspending from text mode" section in https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingKernelSuspendHibernateResume .
> * I have read https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingKernelSuspend which seems to track resume, while this looks like a suspend bug.

Done, nothing specific. What can I do now ?
Thank you for any hint.

[Stéphane Gourichon (stephane-gourichon-lpad)]

> When hung on suspend, power led stays lit. *But* if you hold it for 4 seconds (...°

That led is in the power switch-key, so if you wonder why I mention holding the power led, it does mean holding the power switch-key, not any front-side standalone led.

Having a power switch that does not map to any ACPI event and is disguised as a regular key feels unnecessarily wrong (see photo power_switch_key_with_led_inside.jpg if needed). This laptop is rather good besides this problem. Few readily available 15" laptop have 1920x1080 resolution.

Anyway, I'm stuck. Anything I can do ?

[Stéphane Gourichon (stephane-gourichon-lpad)]

* Information

One more information : short keypress on power switch/key is completely ignored.
It has to be held for at least about half a second to get taken into account.
Then usual shutdown dialog box appears.
Still xev does not notice any event.

Conclusion : if you stop thinking of it as a regular key in spite of its appearance, it's a reasonably working power switch.

* Workaround

Comment on http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1860289 mentioned
http://thecodecentral.com/2011/01/18/fix-ubuntu-10-10-suspendhibernate-not-working-bug

> Suspend/Hibernate:
> Follow steps 1, 2 (the new) and 3 from this tutorial (thanks to laoneo for bringing it).

Have not tried hibernate, but tried suspend *once* and it *worked*.
Writing this on the resumed system.

Will soon try with my regular system that has bumblebee to fix the warm air problem.

* Question

Does the workaround mentioned seem ok for inclusion in official Ubuntu ? Any comment ?

[Joseph Salisbury (jsalisbury)]

Would it be possible for you to test the latest upstream kernel? Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds . Please test the latest v3.4kernel[1] (Not a kernel in the daily directory). Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please remove the 'needs-upstream-testing' tag(Only that one tag, please leave the other tags). This can be done by clicking on the yellow pencil icon next to the tag located at the bottom of the bug description and deleting the 'needs-upstream-testing' text.

If this bug is fixed in the mainline kernel, please add the following tag 'kernel-fixed-upstream'.

If the mainline kernel does not fix this bug, please add the tag: 'kernel-bug-exists-upstream'.

If you are unable to test the mainline kernel, for example it will not boot, please add the tag: 'kernel-unable-to-test-upstream'.
Once testing of the upstream kernel is complete, please mark this bug as "Confirmed".

Thanks in advance.

http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.4-rc3-precise/

[Stéphane Gourichon (stephane-gourichon-lpad)]

Hi Hoseph,
Thank you for these very precise instructions.
Yes I'll try that, maybe tomorrow.

[Stéphane Gourichon (stephane-gourichon-lpad)]

> Please test the latest v3.4kernel

Version 3.4.0-030400rc4 was packaged on April 23rd, so I tried that.

wget -S -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.4-rc4-precise/linux-headers-3.4.0-030400rc4-generic_3.4.0-030400rc4.201204230908_amd64.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.4-rc4-precise/linux-headers-3.4.0-030400rc4_3.4.0-030400rc4.201204230908_all.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.4-rc4-precise/linux-image-3.4.0-030400rc4-generic_3.4.0-030400rc4.201204230908_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i *.deb

I moved the workaround away :

sudo mv /etc/pm/sleep.d/20_custom-ehci_hcd* -v ~/

Booted the new kernel, uname said :

Linux sg-N55SF-7l 3.4.0-030400rc4-generic #201204230908 SMP Mon Apr 23 13:10:03 UTC 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Problem not fixed by that kernel.

Moved the workaround into place again. Workaround works with that kernel, too.

Adjusting tags as requested :
-'needs-upstream-testing'
+'kernel-bug-exists-upstream'.

Marking "Confirmed".

[Joseph Salisbury (jsalisbury)]

This issue appears to be an upstream bug, since you tested the latest upstream kernel. Would it be possible for you to open an upstream bug report at bugzilla.kernel.org [1]? That will allow the upstream Developers to examine the issue, and may provide a quicker resolution to the bug.

If you are comfortable with opening a bug upstream, It would be great if you can report back the upstream bug number in this bug report. That will allow us to link this bug to the upstream report.

[1] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Upstream/kernel

[Stéphane Gourichon (stephane-gourichon-lpad)]

Thanks Joseph.

Following https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Upstream/kernel . Tried to figure out if bug already reported on bugzilla.kernel.org. Found relevant bugs below.

https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=43064 has common elements: Asus brand, a fix involving USB. Mentions https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/975341 . Behavior on upstream kernel is different "The computer doesn't suspend or freeze, I can use the computer after unlocking the lock dialogue."

https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=42915 seems very similar: Asus brand, mentions laptop becoming very hot, same workaround as here works.

https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=42883 also: Asus brand, suspend

https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37632 "Many ASUS laptops can't suspend with ehci_hcd loaded."

I noticed this: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37632#c6
> Comment #6 From Greg Kroah-Hartman 2012-02-22 21:21:27
>
> All USB bugs should be sent to the <email address hidden> mailing
> list, and not entered into bugzilla. Please bring this issue up there,
> if it is still a problem in the latest kernel release.

Long discussions happen there. The first message
http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.usb.general/61396/focus=61396
suggests that the 4 bugs mentioned just above are basically the same.

> Link your Launchpad report to the upstream kernel bug report (see step 5).

Is that enough ?

[AceLan Kao (acelankao)]

Hi,
Could you discuss the issue here bug 951143
I think it's an ASUS' big issue and happened in many of their machines.

[Zarrsh (shawncgarrett)]

Its finally fixed for me, I just closed my lid and it worked! After 7 months of owning my Asus N55s its like a new laptop now. Being able to go to sleep is a game changer for me, thank you. Thank you AceLan Kao, for drawing attention to this to me it sounds like this was fixed in version 3.2.0-25

cat /proc/version
Linux version 3.2.0-26-generic (buildd@batsu) (gcc version 4.6.3 (Ubuntu/Linaro 4.6.3-1ubuntu5) ) #41-Ubuntu SMP Thu Jun 14 17:49:24 UTC 2012

[Stéphane Gourichon (stephane-gourichon-lpad)]

> Thank you AceLan Kao, for drawing attention to this to me it sounds like this was fixed in version 3.2.0-25

Let's give it a try.

# uname -a
Linux sg-N55SF-l 3.2.0-26-generic #41-Ubuntu SMP Thu Jun 14 17:49:24 UTC 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

I put workaround away :

sudo mv /etc/pm/sleep.d/20_custom-ehci_hcd* -v ~/

I press fn-f1 which is the manufacturer's hotkey for suspend.

Suspend works.

Writing this after successful wakeup.

Another test closing the lid... successful, too.

Marking "Fix Released".

To the other people claiming they're affected, please test and confirm. Thanks.