System freezes when running on battery

[Mike Lovell]

Binary package hint: xorg

When running on battery, the system will completely freeze (mouse pointer doesn't move, CTRL + ALT + DEL doesn't reboot, Alt + F<1-10> doesn't open up a new console window).

The only escape is to hard power down the machine.

This seems to happen only when running on battery. It happens approximately every 25-30 minutes after the system is resumed on battery - Although if the power is plugged in, removed and plugged in enough times it will cause the system to freeze (2 or 3 times usually does it).

Nothing appears consistently in the log files which would indicate a cause (although I am no expert).

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.10
Package: xorg 1:7.5+6ubuntu3
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.35-22.34-generic 2.6.35.4
Uname: Linux 2.6.35-22-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx
Architecture: amd64
Date: Mon Oct 18 17:27:22 2010
DkmsStatus:
 vboxnetadp, 3.2.8, 2.6.35-22-generic, x86_64: installed
 vboxdrv, 3.2.8, 2.6.35-22-generic, x86_64: installed
 vboxnetflt, 3.2.8, 2.6.35-22-generic, x86_64: installed
 fglrx, 8.780, 2.6.35-22-generic, x86_64: installed
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.10 "Maverick Meerkat" - Release Candidate amd64 (20100928.1)
MachineType: Dell Inc. Studio 1558
ProcCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic root=/dev/mapper/hostname-root ro quiet splash nomodeset video=uvesafb:mode_option=1400x1050-24@60,mtrr=3,scroll=ywrap
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_US.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: xorg
XorgConf: # NOXORGCONFEXISTED: No X.org configuration file existed when this backup was created.
dmi.bios.date: 05/27/2010
dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.bios.version: A06
dmi.board.name: 0874P6
dmi.board.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.board.version: A06
dmi.chassis.type: 8
dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.chassis.version: A06
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellInc.:bvrA06:bd05/27/2010:svnDellInc.:pnStudio1558:pvrA06:rvnDellInc.:rn0874P6:rvrA06:cvnDellInc.:ct8:cvrA06:
dmi.product.name: Studio 1558
dmi.product.version: A06
dmi.sys.vendor: Dell Inc.
glxinfo: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
system:
 distro: Ubuntu
 codename: maverick
 architecture: x86_64
 kernel: 2.6.35-22-generic

[Michal (michal-ciza)]

I have the same problem on Dell XPS 1340, Nvidia G210M

[D4niele (danyz)]

Same problem... Dell Studio XPS 16, ATI HD4670.

[Attila Kasza (szkajt)]

The same:
10.10 /32bit/
Asus K50IE, Nvidia 310M (with 260.19.06)

[Attila Kasza (szkajt)]

Also with: 260.19.12.

With the 260.19.06 versioned driver the desktop started up before it got frozen, but with the latest driver i'm getting only a black screen after the plymouth.

[Mateo Burillo (mateobur)]

Same problem Dell 1558

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60GHz
BIOS version: A11
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Manhattan [Mobility Radeon HD 5000 Series]

Ubuntu Maverick 10.10
Linux 2.6.35-22-generic #35-Ubuntu SMP

[Tao Huang (greatht)]

Same problem Dell 1558

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU
BIOS version: A11
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Manhattan [Mobility Radeon HD 4500 Series]

Ubuntu Maverick 10.10
Linux 2.6.35-22-generic #35-Ubuntu

This firstly happened on my updated ubuntu 10.10 (from 10.10 beta). So I just reinstalled the release version yesterday and
now it happens again.

This also occurs when my power adapter was plugged in(with lower frequency)
And I am suspecting it to be related to the priority wireless card driver.

[Clayton Dillard (claytondillard)]

Same problem and noticed this weekend while working in Google Chrome browser that after scrolling down page several times, seemed to cause the lock up as well.

Ubuntu 10.10 x86_64
HP Elitebook 8530W
Nvidia Quadro

[Nikunj (nikunjm)]

studio XPS 16 ati 5730
same problem

[w0rmtux (w0rmtux)]

same here.
dell studio 1558 64bit
ubuntu 10.10 fresh installed.
2.6.35-22-generic
ati radeon 5470

02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Manhattan [Mobility Radeon HD 5000 Series]

[Ray Timer (raytimer)]

same problem here, system freezes randomly, can't be pinged anymore, no ssh possible, needs hard reset.
no entry in system logs.
First problems after updating from lucid. Also a clean install didn't help. Occurs randomly, doesn't depend on any action or specific program running.
Never happens when power supply is plugged in.
System: FSC Lifebook S6420, Chipset Intel 45GM, Graphics Intel GMA X4500

-> So this is definitely NOT a problem with ATI-drivers (also see comments with nvidia graphics)!

[w0rmtux (w0rmtux)]

No problems with ubuntu 10.04.
After upgraded to 10.10 with xserver-xorg-* packages on HOLD the system freezes again.
Maybe not a xorg problem?

[Nikunj (nikunjm)]

i doubt the problem is in xserver. I used the lucid kernel with maverick installation and the freezes were gone. So i think that the issus is with kernel and further the power management part of the kernel

[w0rmtux (w0rmtux)]

I did the same thing of Nikunj and everything works

[Paulo A Pereira (odesassossegado)]

same problem with 2 hp laptops ... hp dm1 with onboard intel graphics an dv6000 with nvidia graphics card ... when the system locks due to inactivity sometimes when i try to get back to the gnome session i only have a black screen with a blinking "cursor" on top ... no ctrl+alt+f# works ... only solution is to power off pressing the power button.

[Alejandro Corbellini (alejandrocorbellini)]

Same problem here: Studio XPS 1647. Tried with 2.6.35, 2.6.36 maverick, and lucid 2.6.35 rc1 and had the same problem.
The only thing I get from the xorg log is : "fglrx(0) : AC Offline" and "fglrx(0) : AC Online". Then it freezes. I have an Ati mobility radeon 4670.

[w0rmtux (w0rmtux)]

Try this:
http://packages.ubuntu.com/lucid/admin/linux-image-2.6.32-22-generic
http://packages.ubuntu.com/lucid/linux-headers-2.6.32-22-generic

[Mike Lovell (mike-lovell)]

Above links, what leads you to think this will solve the problem? Is there something specific you've found that is breaking it?

Would like to get to the real problem.

[EAB (erwin-true)]

Same problem here: Dell Studio XPS Laptop 1647
It's definitely something with powermanagement when using battery.

When I enable my build-in webcam the system freezes within 10 seconds.
Even when I attach my tiny Ipod Shuffle the system freezes.

I managed to keep my system stable by doing 2 things:
- Reduce the backlight
- Use the Catalyst Control Center. Set Powerplay to Maximum Battery.

[Mike Lovell (mike-lovell)]

Okay I followed the above suggestion, I installed the latest drivers from ATI (10.10), I was using the version from the package manager (Catalyst control center didn't work via this) because when I first tried (with 10.9) it didn't support Maverick... I did a:

sudo apt-get remove fglrx

Before installing the proprietary drivers.

I've now got Powerplay setup as suggested above, I'll see what happens now. I use an AT&T 3G USB fob. The laptop "does not" lock up when it's inserted, nor does it lock up when the camera is on - So must be a slightly different variation of the problem.

[Tao Huang (greatht)]

Does anybody find a solution for this bug? Or everybody just puts up with this? (its status is still "New" after almost three weeks)
 ============
Dell Studio 1558
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU
BIOS version: A11
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Manhattan [Mobility Radeon HD 4500 Series]

Ubuntu Maverick 10.10
Linux 2.6.35-22-generic #35-Ubuntu x86_64 GNU/Linux
===============

My laptop keeps freezing within 5minutes since logging in, no matter if I boot the machine without charger or I take off the charger after logging in. (And no matter if the Compiz is on or off, I tried Gnome Safe Mode without charger and it freezes within 5 minutes as well)

It looks like the whole system freezes since it no longer responds to ping/ssh requests after the X freezes.

[Mike Lovell (mike-lovell)]

No solution so far, I think we all put up with it.

My laptop seems more stable since I installed the latest ATI drivers and configured PowerPlay. It's lasted a two or three 1 hour journeys on battery (whilst using 3G).

However it did freeze immediately after the charger was unplugged yesterday, so it's still there.

[David A. Rountree (darountree)]

Same problem on my Dell Studio 1558 with an ATI Mobility Radeon 4500. Incidentally, I previously used the 2.6.34 kernel, and did not have this problem. Somewhere in the .34 to .35 changes lies the error.

[Hugo Hernan Buitrago Rios (hhbuitrago)]

I have the same problem with the Dell Studio 1558, only with the i3 processor and the integrated Intel Video.

============
Dell Studio 1558
Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU
BIOS version: A11
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 18)

Ubuntu Maverick 10.10
Linux 2.6.35-22-generic #35-Ubuntu x86_64 GNU/Linux
===============
I updated the BIOS from the A08 to the A11 version, it continued to freeze, stops responding completely. Tried several other workarounds, none worked. Will try to get a older kernel or disabling acpi and report on the results.

[Hugo Hernan Buitrago Rios (hhbuitrago)]

Disabling ACPI didn't help. Using an older kernel (the 2.6.32-22 linked above) the computer works correctly, without freezing just because it is in battery mode. Don't know how to proceed from there. Are there other kernels to test to determine what the cause is? Someone knows what can be causing this? It appears to be related to something changed in the kernel but what?

I want to be able to keep with the progress in the kernel but if it means that I can't use my laptop on battery ...

[David A. Rountree (darountree)]

I can confirm my above comment - I went back to kernel 2.6.34-060634-generic, and all is well. I had also tried the 2.6.36 kernel and continued to have lockups (only) while on battery power.

[Bas van Ombergen (ombergen)]

Apparently power management support for Radeon cards was implemented to the graphics stack in the 2.6.35 kernel.

http://kernelnewbies.org/Linux_2_6_35#head-c499f95459056037b9734458baaf2719a0067ee4

[compubomb (robertkraig)]

I have a dell studio xps 1647 and my laptop also consistently started locking up when i upgraded fom 10.04 to 10.10. I'm a little annoyed that this is happening.

[David A. Rountree (darountree)]

I'd like to clarify the bug report: I have had my machine on AC power, let it suspend and resume still on AC power, THEN unplugged the AC power and went to battery, and usually very shortly thereafter had it lock up.

[toker (toker-flash)]

i have the same problem with medion akoya e1210. in my case the culprit seems to be the wireless driver and its disagreement with some power management thing in the kernel. It uses the rt2860sta driver. When I disable networking the computer runs fine with 2.6.35 kernel, it keeps running fine when i enable ethernet, but as soon as wireless is enabled it freezes on battery within 5 minutes.

[toker (toker-flash)]

just to add. it works fine with 2.5.32-25 kernel.

[alexpennos (pennos)]

Also affects me. I'm on a dell 1557 w/ core i7, ati HD4570.

[Clayton Dillard (claytondillard)]

Ubuntu Developers:
Any update on this? We're all struggling with what is a huge reliability problem and when our systems freeze we could be in a data loss situation due to open files that have not been saved.

We love Ubuntu and need a response from you on your progress towards a root cause diagnosis and a fix.

Thanks,
Clay

[EAB (erwin-true)]

Dell Studio XPS Laptop 1647 with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670
When using a Huawei Vodafone USB-dongle the system freezes within 30 seconds.
After disabling almost all applications and bluetooth/wireless and changing the resolution from HD to 1280x720 and reduce backlight to minimum I'm able to use the dongle for some time.

[lenin leishangthem (lei-meitei)]

i have the same problem...mine is Vostro1014 ... this problem is only with Ubuntu 10.10... ubuntu 10.04 is ok.... my laptop freezes as soon as it's on ac power

[kFYatek (kfyatek)]

Same here. Dell Studio 1558-0005 with Mobility Radeon HD5470 and Broadcom BCM43224 with latest drivers (Catalyst 10.11 for graphics, and 5.60.246.6 for WiFi, both from respective vendors' websites). It seems to be something with power management - the computer always runs perfectly fine on AC. On battery, it is OK until I start something more power-demanding, like use an external hard drive or WiFi - then it freezes wihin just few minutes. Every version of 2.6.35 from the repos exhibit this behavior. I tried 2.6.36 from the kernel PPA and it's still the same. 2.6.32-22 from Lucid runs fine.

[kFYatek (kfyatek)]

Oh, I forgot to mention, I'm talking about the 64-bit version of Ubuntu.

[Nikunj (nikunjm)]

i think pm_utils package is also to blame.. downgrading that package to the lucid version has been encouraging so far.

[David A. Rountree (darountree)]

OK, I’ve made significant progress on what has turned out to be two manifestations of the same problem (at least they seem to be the same problem on my machine, a Dell Studio 1558 with a Broadcom 43224 wireless card, using the Broadcom STA driver). It stems from the pm-utils package, apparently. The two bug reports are:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-ati/+bug/662998

and

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/651008

You, like me, might be affected by both these bugs. If so, go on. If not, I wouldn’t recommend making all of these changes for no reason.

The fix for the 662998 bug (System freezes while running on battery) has been to either go back to a 2.6.34 or earlier kernel, OR to go back to the Lucid Lynx version of pm-utils. The fix for the 651008 bug (Regression in wireless performance under Maverick when on battery power (broadcom)) is to set iwconfig to turn off power saving for the wireless card. This can be done by the command “sudo iwconfig ethx power off”, AFTER you unplug the ac power supply (where ethx is eth1, eth2, etc, whatever Ethernet device is your wireless card). Comment #9 in the 651008 bug report above tells how to do this as a permanent work-around by editing the file /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/wireless.

My work-around for fixing both problems involves going back to the Lucid Lynx version of pm-utils, but keeping the modified script /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/wireless, which is only found in the Maverick version of pm-utils. This solves the freezing on battery power problem and keeps network performance up to par while on battery power, all while letting you use the latest kernel.

Assuming you’re starting with a Maverick Ubuntu or Kubuntu installation, go to /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d and make a copy of the file ‘wireless’, say, copying it to the file ‘wireless.orig’. The command is ‘sudo cp /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/wireless /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/wireless.orig’. We’ll use that file later.

Next, uninstall the package ‘pm-utils’ using Synaptic or KPackageKit or the command line programs. This will remove the file ‘wireless’ from /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d, which is why we just made a copy of it, so we can use it later. On my system, the package acpi-support was removed as well, so make note of any packages that were removed along with pm-utils.

Next, edit your sources in KPackageKit or Synaptic to add ‘deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid main’ (note the space after the last ‘/’ (for US users; those in other countries can use ‘deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid main’). This is so we can grab the previous version of pm-utils.

Now you need to install the previous version of pm-utils. First, check the available versions of pm-utils by going to the command line (Terminal or Konsole) and typing ‘apt-cache showpkg pm-utils’. Both the current and previous versions should be displayed somewhere in the output. Then install the old Lucid version of pm-utils. I did this using the command line, like so: ‘sudo apt-get install pm-utils=1.3.0-1ubuntu1’. Be sure to reinstall acpi-support or any other packages that were previo...

[David A. Rountree (darountree)]

One typo in my last above comment:

‘echo “pm-utils hold” | dpkg –set-selections’ should be

‘echo “pm-utils hold” | dpkg --set-selections’

[jorgejhms (jorgejhms)]

This bug is related? Seems to be the same
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/batmon.app/+bug/605967

[Dominic Lemire (dominic-lemire)]

Yes, 605967 looks similar, but the original post was for Ubuntu 10.04, which never froze on my system, even after I gave up on 10.10 and reinstalled Lucid.

There is a bunch of other testimonials on the forum:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1595196

One thing that has not been mentioned in this thread: the "magic" key sequences to reboot Linux don't work either.

On my system, I tried disabling the wireless, and I thought it was fixed, but just as I was typing my findings (on Ethernet), it froze again...

[Apron (the-philosopher)]

I confirm the post above.
I did not have any problems on 10.04.

Alt+PrtScrn+REISUB won't work in this case.
If I remove ATI proprietary drivers and use open source ones, laptop will not freeze, but crashes X and throws me to login instead...
I can also confirm that the fan starts to spin faster when the system freezes / logs me out.
If I login with the safe mode session or low-res failsafe Xorg, system works fine...

I tried to move to older / newer kernel than the default one, but with no luck.
Going back to pm-utils v.1.3 didn't solve the problem...no difference if it's on battery or AC power, it freezes anyway...

Strange thing is that, if I reboot / shut down the system a few times, it starts to behave normally till the next reboot...

============
Dell Studio 1558
Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU
BIOS version: A11
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Manhattan [Mobility Radeon HD 4500 Series]
Ubuntu Maverick 10.10
Linux 2.6.36-1-candela x86 32bit
===============

[Miroslav (dzundam-deactivatedaccount)]

Could you try this:

As root create empty file "pcie_aspm" with execute bit disabled
in /etc/pm/power.d folder.

This will prevent the PCIE lanes from entering into power-saving
mode which is implemented in the kernel but probably not fully tested.

It helped me - see bug #660746.

[Thomas Lenarz (tommesml)]

Thanks a lot for the proposal.

However, it does not work for my configuration. Laptop still freezes immediately after pulling the plug of the AC-Adaptor or on startup on battery.

I created pcie_aspm as requested:

root@tommes-laptop:/etc/pm/power.d# pwd
/etc/pm/power.d
root@tommes-laptop:/etc/pm/power.d# ls -l
insgesamt 0
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 2010-12-31 16:01 pcie_aspm
root@tommes-laptop:/etc/pm/power.d#

Cheers,
Thomas

[Clayton Dillard (claytondillard)]

I moved to kernel version 2.6.36-020636-generic #201010210905 several days ago and have done many suspend/resume and dock/undock in my HP 8530W notebook without any issues with system lockup or freeze. I also moved away from using the proprietary Nvidia driver in favor of Nouvea but doubt this has any affect on the issue.

[Dolphy (dolphy)]

I have 1558 with intel wireless and radeon, system freezes randomly as above, so it's unlikely to be a broadcom driver issue.

Now I'm using .32 kernel without any problems.

[outtatime (obligat)]

same problem
-on ubuntu 10.10 netbook remix on MSI Wind U 135
-on ubuntu 10.10 desktop i386 on MSI Wind U 135
-on ubuntu 10.10 desktop i386 on Fujitsu-Siemens V5555
-on ubuntu 10.10 desktop i386 on MSI EX610X

and some others ASUS stuff.

hmpf

[Abner Rizzi (bacteria666)]

same problem in HP Pavillion ( dm1 3250br )

[John Doeee (craigslist45414)]

toshiba tecra a-9 Nvidia N300 - 12.04

1st. copied blank non exucatable wireless and pcmie_asm to over right the files in pm-utils/power.d/ (directions are on the web)

did not work

2nd. removed nouveau firmare from synaptic

works great......

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Mike Lovell, thank you for reporting this and helping make Ubuntu better. Maverick reached EOL on April 10, 2012.
Please see this document for currently supported Ubuntu releases:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases

We were wondering if this is still an issue in a supported release? If so, could you please capture the oops following https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeam/KernelTeamBugPolicies#Capturing_OOPs ? As well, could you please test for this with the latest development release of Ubuntu? ISO CD images are available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/ .

If it remains an issue, could you please run the following command in the development release from a Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal), as it will automatically gather and attach updated debug information to this report:

apport-collect -p linux <replace-with-bug-number>

Also, could you please test the latest upstream kernel available? It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds . Please do not test the kernel in the daily folder, but the one all the way at the bottom. Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please remove the 'needs-upstream-testing' tag. 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. As well, please comment on which kernel version specifically you tested.

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', and comment as to why specifically you were unable to test it.

Please let us know your results. Thanks in advance.

Helpful Bug Reporting Links:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs#Bug_Reporting_Etiquette
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs#A3._Make_sure_the_bug_hasn.27t_already_been_reported
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs#Adding_Apport_Debug_Information_to_an_Existing_Launchpad_Bug
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs#Adding_Additional_Attachments_to_an_Existing_Launchpad_Bug

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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