SOLVED Mint 13 freezes all the time

[solar1951]

Have just upgraded to a new dual core pentium and Gigabyte MB with an existing Nvidia 8400 graphics card. Clean install of Mint 13 with cinnamon. The screen is a LCD 1920x1080.
Sometimes the windows get "scrambled" and are unreadable and sometimes the system freezes completely - no keyboard, mouse clicks have no effect.
This freeze can happen in a web browser (either firefox or chrome) when scrolling or sometimes randomly.
Here is an extract from the syslog which points to an Nvidia problem.

Jan 4 13:50:30 Main kernel: [ 205.209292] nvidia: module license 'NVIDIA' taints kernel.
Jan 4 13:50:30 Main kernel: [ 205.209296] Disabling lock debugging due to kernel taint
Jan 4 13:50:30 Main kernel: [ 205.273971] NVRM: The NVIDIA probe routine was not called for 1 device(s).
Jan 4 13:50:30 Main kernel: [ 205.273973] NVRM: This can occur when a driver such as nouveau, rivafb,
Jan 4 13:50:30 Main kernel: [ 205.273974] NVRM: nvidiafb, or rivatv was loaded and obtained ownership of
Jan 4 13:50:30 Main kernel: [ 205.273975] NVRM: the NVIDIA device(s).
Jan 4 13:50:30 Main kernel: [ 205.273977] NVRM: Try unloading the conflicting kernel module (and/or
Jan 4 13:50:30 Main kernel: [ 205.273977] NVRM: reconfigure your kernel without the conflicting
Jan 4 13:50:30 Main kernel: [ 205.273978] NVRM: driver(s)), then try loading the NVIDIA kernel module
Jan 4 13:50:30 Main kernel: [ 205.273979] NVRM: again.
Jan 4 13:50:30 Main kernel: [ 205.273980] NVRM: No NVIDIA graphics adapter probed!

I am using the preffered driver as suggested as the standard driver (nouveau?) would not give me a usable desktop at all.
This used to happen occasionally on my old celeron rig but not as frequently and then the syslog used to say the card had "fallen off the bus"

I could really do with some help here as the system is unuseable for any period of time.

[karlchen]

Hello, solar1951.

Please, post the output of

Code: Select all

inxi -Fx

Kind regards,
Karl

[solar1951]

Hello, solar1951.

Please, post the output of

Code: Select all

inxi -Fx

Kind regards,
Karl

Code: Select all

inxi -Fx
System:    Host: Main Kernel: 3.2.0-23-generic i686 (32 bit, gcc: 4.6.3) Desktop: Gnome Distro: Linux Mint 13 Maya
Machine:   System: Gigabyte product: N/A
           Mobo: Gigabyte model: H61M-DS2 version: x.x Bios: American Megatrends version: F7 date: 03/23/2012
CPU:       Dual core Intel Pentium CPU G620 (-MCP-) cache: 3072 KB flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 10376.9
           Clock Speeds: 1: 1600.00 MHz 2: 2600.00 MHz
Graphics:  Card: NVIDIA NV44 [GeForce 6200 TurboCache] bus-ID: 01:00.0
           X.Org: 1.11.3 drivers: nvidia (unloaded: fbdev,vesa,nouveau) Resolution: 1920x1080@51.0hz
           GLX Renderer: GeForce 6200 TurboCache/PCIe/SSE2 GLX Version: 2.1.2 NVIDIA 295.40 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card: Intel 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture ver: 1.0.24
Network:   Card: Realtek RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller
           driver: r8169 ver: 2.3LK-NAPI port: e000 bus-ID: 03:00.0
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: 90:2b:34:44:1b:47
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 500.1GB (17.6% used) 1: /dev/sda WDC_WD5000AADS 500.1GB
Partition: ID: / size: 9.3G used: 4.1G (46%) fs: ext4 ID: /home size: 453G used: 78G (19%) fs: ext4
           ID: swap-1 size: 4.00GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 29.8C mobo: 27.8C gpu: 0.0:54C
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 154 Uptime: 5 min Memory: 707.2/3511.8MB Runlevel: 2 Gcc sys: 4.6.3 Client: Shell inxi: 1.7.33

[karlchen]

Hello, solar1951.

Thank you for posting the output of "inxi -Fx".
Among other things which may or may not be relevant to the problem, it reveals that the Nvidia driver is in use:

Graphics: Card: NVIDIA NV44 [GeForce 6200 TurboCache] bus-ID: 01:00.0
X.Org: 1.11.3 drivers: nvidia (unloaded: fbdev,vesa,nouveau) Resolution: 1920x1080@51.0hz
GLX Renderer: GeForce 6200 TurboCache/PCIe/SSE2 GLX Version: 2.1.2 NVIDIA 295.40 Direct Rendering: Yes

Yet, keeping in mind that the syslog revealed that this has been done without probing your card,

Jan 4 13:50:30 Main kernel: [ 205.273980] NVRM: No NVIDIA graphics adapter probed!

this might mean that the driver is not using the right settings for your card.

Just for comparison's reason: this is what syslog states about probing my Nvidia card and loading the driver.

Code: Select all

Jan  5 13:25:44 unimatrix0 kernel: [   55.313791] nvidia: module license 'NVIDIA' taints kernel.
Jan  5 13:25:44 unimatrix0 kernel: [   60.918097] nvidia 0000:00:03.5: PCI INT B -> Link[LPMU] -> GSI 23 (level, low) -> IRQ 23
Jan  5 13:25:44 unimatrix0 kernel: [   60.918606] nvidia 0000:03:00.0: PCI INT A -> Link[SGRU] -> GSI 22 (level, low) -> IRQ 22
Jan  5 13:25:44 unimatrix0 kernel: [   60.918620] nvidia 0000:03:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
Jan  5 13:25:44 unimatrix0 kernel: [   60.919395] NVRM: loading NVIDIA UNIX x86 Kernel Module  280.13  Wed Jul 27 16:55:43 PDT 2011

No reason to think about my ancient Nvidia driver version 280.13 too much. This is Mint 12 still. And it is a different Nvidia card.

inxi -Gx
Graphics: Card: nVidia ION VGA bus-ID: 03:00.0
X.Org 1.10.4 drivers nvidia unloaded: fbdev,vesa,nouveau Resolution 1280x1024@50.0hz
GLX Renderer ION/PCI/SSE2 GLX Version 3.3.0 NVIDIA 280.13 Direct Rendering Yes

Next steps:

• Locating other threads/reports/articles covering Nvidia GeForce 6200 and Ubuntu/Mint.
• Finding a way of forcing your system to probe the card prior to loading the driver.

I assume that if the latter can be achieved the problem will be solved.

Kind regards,
Karl

[solar1951]

Thanks Karl for your time.
I have many times looked at other threads on this card and apart from recommending rolling back to another driver in the case of "falling off bus" as previously happened on my old rig, nothing about this type of issue. But I will have another look.
How would I go about forcing the probe of the card ?

A look at the current log shows this repeated line is this significant ?

Code: Select all

Main kernel: [ 7196.459361] NVRM: os_map_kernel_space: can't map 0xe0000000, invalid context!
Main kernel: [ 7196.459363] NVRM: os_pci_init_handle: invalid context!

Bill

[karlchen]

Hello, Bill.

OK. Expressed myself ambiguously. What I meant in my previous post was that I, too, not just you, may need to do some more google searches in order to find the answers. This means I do not know the answers, either, at this point in time, yet.

I guess the "main kernel" error messages are relevant in particular if the kernel thinks it is worth repeating them more than once. - Again one more detail which I will have to look up, too.
(I am absolutely glad that my 2 Nvidia cards seem to be supported by Ubuntu/Mint perfectly. Yet, this in turn means that I have not had to look up all the error messages which you can receive about a different Nvidia card in the past and need to do so now.)

Kind regards,
Karl

[solar1951]

Hi, On another computer now as the screen froze and after a hard reboot absolutely nothing. Just a black screen after the bios screen with a flashing cursor a few lines down from the top of the screen.

[solar1951]

Have now un-plugged Nvidia card and re-installed Mint 13 using the on board graphics. Seems OK for now will run for a couple of days and if OK still will mark this as "solved". Something else for the bin !

[karlchen]

Hello, solar1951.

No, no, nothing is for the bin in this case.
Somehow it seems to have slipped my attention that your machine has got two graphics cards, an onboard card and the NVidia card.
Currently this still is a tricky situation for Linux Mint / Ubuntu.
Often the solution, maybe just workaround, is by switching off one of the two in the BIOS setup.

Whether Mint can be made to use both cards really depends on more than one factor, at minimum on
+ the motherboard architecture
+ the onboard graphics card
+ the second graphics card
+ the available Linux driver support for all 3

There are quite a few threads about this situation in the Mint forum and in the Ubuntu forum. If I recall right - my systems have just got 1 single graphics card each - a software package named "Bumblebee" is often used to handle the situation where there is an internal graphics card and an external graphics card.
Yet, I have got no experience in installing and configuring "Bumblebee". - I am not even sure that Bumblebee is the right product in your case, because it seem to be meant for a particular combination of internal Intel card and external Nividia card.

So it is possible that in your case you will really have to switch off the less powerful internal graphics card inside the Bios setup as a workaround.

Kind regards,
Karl

[karlchen]

Hello, solar1951.

Have now un-plugged Nvidia card and re-installed Mint 13 using the on board graphics.

Can you be bothered to post the output of

Code: Select all

inxi -Gx

please. This will tell which brand the internal card is. Knowing both the internal and the external card it might be possible to locate a thread (Ubuntu forum, Mint forum, Debian forum, whichever) where someone explains whether it is possible to use them together or how to switch off the (less powerful) internal card and use the (more powerful) external NVidia card.
After all we don't want you to throw it into to the trash bin really.

Kind regards,
Karl

[solar1951]

Hello, solar1951.

No, no, nothing is for the bin in this case.
Somehow it seems to have slipped my attention that your machine has got two graphics cards, an onboard card and the NVidia card.
Currently this still is a tricky situation for Linux Mint / Ubuntu.
Often the solution, maybe just workaround, is by switching off one of the two in the BIOS setup.

Whether Mint can be made to use both cards really depends on more than one factor, at minimum on
+ the motherboard architecture
+ the onboard graphics card
+ the second graphics card
+ the available Linux driver support for all 3

There are quite a few threads about this situation in the Mint forum and in the Ubuntu forum. If I recall right - my systems have just got 1 single graphics card each - a software package named "Bumblebee" is often used to handle the situation where there is an internal graphics card and an external graphics card.
Yet, I have got no experience in installing and configuring "Bumblebee". - I am not even sure that Bumblebee is the right product in your case, because it seem to be meant for a particular combination of internal Intel card and external Nividia card.

So it is possible that in your case you will really have to switch off the less powerful internal graphics card inside the Bios setup as a workaround.

Kind regards,
Karl

Thanks for your continues interest Karl. I had tried the option in the bios and the problem with the NVidia card continued. I will try and plug it in to another rig to confirm, but I believe it is "mort".
As I dont use my PC for gaming I am happy with the quality of the onboard graphics and it appears to render pages faster than the NVidia when it was working.

Have a good New Year.

Edit. Your other post came in while I was writing this.