Boot fails most of the time

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mmillani

Boot fails most of the time

Post by mmillani »

I am using Linux Mint 14 and there have been some problems booting recently.
Approximately a month ago, the system would sometimes hang completely during boot, generally after printing lines like (I write them from memory):

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# Starting Bridge Socket Management
# Starting Network Manager
After hard-rebooting the machine a few times it would successfully boot and proceed normally.

Now after the last kernel update (version 3.5.0-27, if I recall correctly), booting would sometimes end with a blank screen, but it did not hang completely, as I could reset the machine with Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
Attempting to boot with nomodeset, the system would give the following line during boot (again, I am writing this mostly from memory):

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... timeout. Kill /sbin/modprobe -bv pci:v00001002d00006740sv0000103Csd00001657bc03sc00i00
(I obviously wrote down that number)

Running lspci -nn I manage to see that the second problem appears to be related to the video card:

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01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Whistler XT [AMD Radeon HD 6700M Series] [1002:6740]
Today I tried to reboot more than 10 times, until I finally decided to try using an older kernel version (3.5.0-17), which booted without problems (Luck? I don't know).

My hardware specifications are:
HP Notebook dv6-6047cl
Video Card: Radeon HD 6770M switchable graphics
Processor: Intel Core i7-2630QM
Memory: 8GB DDR3
1 TB Harddrive
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catweazel
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Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by catweazel »

You may need to regenerate initramfs. Boot from a live cd or USB flash drive. In the first command, where it says /dev/sda1, you will have to substitute the correct drive (sda) and partition (sda1):

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$ sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
$ for i in /dev /dev/pts /proc /sys; do sudo mount -B $i /mnt$i; done
$ sudo chroot /mnt
$ update-initramfs -u
$ dpkg-reconfigure grub-pc
$ exit
$ for i in /dev/pts /dev /proc /sys; do sudo umount /mnt$i; done
$ sudo reboot
Alternatively if you can boot into the other kernel again, 3.5.0-17, try this:

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$ sudo update-initramfs -u
$ sudo update-grub
"There is, ultimately, only one truth -- cogito, ergo sum -- everything else is an assumption." - Me, my swansong.
mmillani

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by mmillani »

I executed:

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$ sudo update-initramfs -u
$ sudo update-grub
After rebooting, I tried to boot in the latest version. It still hangs, but at least I no longer get the blank screen (version 3.5.0-17 still works normally).

This time, I decided to write down some of the boot messages. The last two lines before it hanged were:

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* Starting bluetooth daemon                              [OK]
* Starting Bridge Socket events into upstart             [OK]
These errors also appeared:

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CIFS VFS: Error connecting to socket. Aborting operation.
mount error(101): Network is Unreachable
There are network filesystems in my fstab, so that explains the mount error. I tried removing them from fstab before, but that didn't help back then.
mmillani

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by mmillani »

Bad news: I tried to boot in version 3.5.0-27 today and the blank screen is back.
Using nomodeset in grub, the following line kept repeating itself during boot:

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udevd[200]: timeout: killing '/sbin/modprobe -bv pci:v00001002d00006740sv0000103Csd00001657bc03sc00i00'
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catweazel
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Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by catweazel »

I think it's time to start trying to exclude hardware failure. You might want to run memtest86 from a live cd and let it go for an extended period of time. Perhpas a good prime95 run as well. The idea is to get the machine running as warm as possible to see if anything starts to fail.
"There is, ultimately, only one truth -- cogito, ergo sum -- everything else is an assumption." - Me, my swansong.
mmillani

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by mmillani »

I ran primer95 for ~5 minutes, and the CPU temperature stabilized at 94C in less than a minute. This is the output of 'sensors':

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acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1:        +94.0°C  (crit = +99.0°C)

radeon-pci-0100
Adapter: PCI adapter
temp1:        +80.5°C  

coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Physical id 0:  +94.0°C  (high = +86.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 0:         +90.0°C  (high = +86.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 1:         +93.0°C  (high = +86.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 2:         +94.0°C  (high = +86.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 3:         +90.0°C  (high = +86.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Memtest was run for about 1h35min, and there were no errors. The output was:

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Cached | RsvdMem | MemMap | Cache | Ecc | Test | Pass | Errors | ECC Errs
8140M     1024K    e820      on     off   Std      1      0
So I believe everything is OK with the memory.

I doubt it could be a hardware problem as I have windows 7 on the same computer and can play modern 3D games normally.

Perhaps the output of 'inxi -Fxz' may be relevant:

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System:    Host: athena Kernel: 3.5.0-17-generic x86_64 (64 bit, gcc: 4.7.2) Desktop: N/A Distro: Linux Mint 14 Nadia
Machine:   System: Hewlett-Packard product: HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook PC version: 0593100000244720001020100
           Mobo: Hewlett-Packard model: 1657 version: 10.2F Bios: Hewlett-Packard version: F.17 date: 06/24/2011
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i7-2630QM CPU (-HT-MCP-) cache: 6144 KB flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 15963.3 
           Clock Speeds: 1: 800.00 MHz 2: 800.00 MHz 3: 800.00 MHz 4: 2001.00 MHz 5: 800.00 MHz 6: 800.00 MHz 7: 800.00 MHz 8: 800.00 MHz
Graphics:  Card-1: Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:02.0 
           Card-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Whistler XT [AMD Radeon HD 6700M Series] bus-ID: 01:00.0 
           X.Org: 1.13.0 drivers: ati,radeon (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) FAILED: intel Resolution: 1366x768@60.0hz 
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel Sandybridge Mobile GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 9.0.3 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: 1.0.25
Network:   Card-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller 
           driver: r8169 ver: 2.3LK-NAPI port: 4000 bus-ID: 07:00.0
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Broadcom BCM4313 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller driver: bcma-pci-bridge bus-ID: 0d:00.0
           IF: wlan0 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 1000.2GB (35.3% used) 1: id: /dev/sda model: TOSHIBA_MK1059GS size: 1000.2GB temp: 0C 
Partition: ID: / size: 96G used: 33G (36%) fs: ext4 ID: swap-1 size: 4.29GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap 
RAID:      No RAID devices detected - /proc/mdstat and md_mod kernel raid module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 67.0C mobo: N/A gpu: 67.0 
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A 
Info:      Processes: 190 Uptime: 20 min Memory: 718.1/7934.4MB Runlevel: 2 Gcc sys: 4.7.2 Client: Shell inxi: 1.8.4
In the graphics section, it can be seen the text "FAILED: intel". Could the fact that my notebook has switchable graphics be related?
anamnesis

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by anamnesis »

mmillani wrote:Bad news: I tried to boot in version 3.5.0-27 today and the blank screen is back.
Using nomodeset in grub, the following line kept repeating itself during boot:

Code: Select all

udevd[200]: timeout: killing '/sbin/modprobe -bv pci:v00001002d00006740sv0000103Csd00001657bc03sc00i00'
Hello
Maybe it's an old bug. I was affected, too. I had to hit the reset many times in the morning. The boot process stopped sometimes at "udev start/running, process 336" or the very well known "mmio address 0xb8fe00 already in use". My hardware is brand new, but I ran memtest86 over night and checked the hdd as well. As I expected there were no errors. GPU is a brand new NVidia GT 640, installed is nvidia-304.88. After searching "for ever" and trying tons of howtos I found a workaround that works for me(!):

1. echo 'blacklist shpchp' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ath_pci.conf

2. echo 'blacklist sp5100_tco' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-watchdog.conf

Reboot

So more boot problems.
HTH
Regards
anamnesis

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by anamnesis »

"So more boot problems."

Arrgh, was a stupid typo! NO more boot problems.
Sorry.
mmillani

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by mmillani »

anamnesis wrote: 1. echo 'blacklist shpchp' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ath_pci.conf
2. echo 'blacklist sp5100_tco' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-watchdog.conf
Reboot
I did that and my first attempt to boot was successful! If it remains like that for the next 3 days, I will consider that the problem has been solved.
Just one question: what have I just done?
anamnesis

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by anamnesis »

mmillani wrote:
anamnesis wrote: 1. echo 'blacklist shpchp' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ath_pci.conf
2. echo 'blacklist sp5100_tco' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-watchdog.conf
Reboot
I did that and my first attempt to boot was successful! If it remains like that for the next 3 days, I will consider that the problem has been solved.
Just one question: what have I just done?
Hello
you'll find lots of postings on the internet about these 2 modules and the trouble they can cause in some hardware environments. The shpcp module handles hot plug pci adapter cards, and sp5100_tco is a "watchdog", also troublesome for some users. Sometimes the boot hung on "adding swap on /dev/dev/sda5" So I compared the uuids in /etc/fstab and the ones in $ sudo blkid and found that the swap uuid was different (uuid in fstab was from the very first boot). I had to delete the line and replaced it by the one from blkid.
Summary of that all: I'm using solaris/*bsd and linux since 20 years or so, and, okay, in the past we faced many problems regarding multimedia and all the fancy stuff we "need". But the "bread and butter", the kernel and also the x-server was fine and rock solid. It seems, that nowadays all the manpower is wasted to create "oh what a beautiful splash screen! And the fancy plasma and the terrific icons...more beautiful than Windows and OSX together!" and so on. That's sad, imho.
(A little bit...) back to the roots, I say.
Regards
mmillani

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by mmillani »

Still not working very well. First attempt to boot today ended in the blank screen, though the system no longer freezes.
I managed to boot once, everything seemed to be working but, after a few seconds in the login screen, a bunch o text appeared. Using Ctrl+Alt+F1, I tried to login in my account but nothing happened. I decided to login with root and kill every process my user had, which allowed me to login without the graphical interface.
Checking /var/log/ker.log, I found this interesting line:

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May  6 18:27:23 athena kernel: [   88.601513] BUG: unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at 0000000000000008
Searching the Internet, I found this bug report:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour ... ug/1169884

Somebody there said that installing kernel 3.9.0-030900-generic amd64 fixed the problem for him. I really don't feel like updating the kernel manually, and since version 3.5.0-17 works for me, I don't think it would be worth the trouble/risk.

Still open for ideas, though.
anamnesis

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by anamnesis »

mmillani wrote:Still not working very well.
Hello
Unfortunately I must confirm that. Today the boot hung on "adding swap /dev/sda5". I'm running one of the modern UEFI-Windows 8-ready motherboards (Gigabyte, GA-970A-DS3), and it seems that this or similar boards are not playing well with Linux. I tried 2 other kernels with 2 other Linuces:
Aptosid 13/1 (Kernel 3.9)
Kubuntu 13.04 (Kernel 3.8.19)
After at least 10 reboots i could reach the login, and I will not shutdown the pc anymore till this problem is solved by patches and/or new kernel. Meanwhile I'm really annoyed. I'm not running "exotic" but common modern hardware.
Good luck!
Regards
anamnesis

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by anamnesis »

[quote="mmillani"]BUG: unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at 0000000000000008
[/code]

Hi again,
almost all "flavours" of linux are affected when using repo kernels (3.5.xx/3.8.xx) with the proprietary fglrx driver. The arch users recommend to use the native xorg driver.
Good luck!
Regards
anamnesis

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by anamnesis »

addendum:

So, I installed the kernel 3.9.0-030900-generic 64bit. Touch on wood: booting was fast and nice. Waiting for tomorrow <shudder> ;)

Update: No any problems today. Fast boot.
mmillani

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by mmillani »

Recently there was an update to kernel 3.5.0-28, and my last attempt to boot on that version has been successful. If it keeps like that, I will consider the problem as solved.
anamnesis

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by anamnesis »

mmillani wrote:Recently there was an update to kernel 3.5.0-28, and my last attempt to boot on that version has been successful. If it keeps like that, I will consider the problem as solved.
Great! The 3.9. kernel works for me. No boot problems anymore. I will consider to call the 3.8.xx kernel the worst in my linux life. :-)
bmach

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by bmach »

Hey Guys,

So glad I found this post. This is the exact issue I'm having on my HP Pavilion DV6 laptop. I have multi-boot with

Linux Mint 14 Cinnamon 64-bit (kernel 3.5.0-17-generic)
Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS 64-bit (kernel 3.2.0-41-generic)
Windows 7

I've previously been using Ubuntu.. Only ever booting into Windows maybe once a year. However, I now want to slowly migrate from Ubuntu to Mint hence why I'm trying to get Mint 14 working. But I'm also experiencing this boot issue where every time I reboot, it doesn't boot the first time, it requires a few tries.

Ubuntu works without a hitch, with no customisations to kernel boot options. I'm using proprietary video drivers in Ubuntu.

I've tried all the kernel boot options such like nomodeset, experimenting with different open source vs proprietary video drivers etc. Nothing is working.

So it sounds like I should try updating my kernel to the latest stable version 3.9.3 (as of 21/05/2013).

How do I do this in Mint?

Can you guys still confirm this is working for you?


thanks
Brahim Salem

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by Brahim Salem »

I have a similar problem here.I have Installed Linux Mint 13 Cinnamon 64bit on a Dell Inspiron N4050 and occasionally I have trouble booting my laptop. It keeps freezing at grub menu and sometimes when I'm able to press Enter the computer reboots. So, it's time for diagnostics. I went to this diagnostics entry in the boot menu and I get this beep sound and a message saying "Interval Timer Not Functional..." :shock: Is it a hardware issue or a software one! How can I fix this please help!!
bmach

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by bmach »

Well I upgraded my kernel from Ubuntu mainline. The update succeeded but I saw some non critical issues with virtual box addition package in the command line.

The upgrade to 3.9.3 didn't fix my boot issue unfortunately.

I ended up downgrading to Linux mint 13 which works without boot issues so will stick with it. Disappointed I can't use the latest mint with latest cinnamon though. And also disappointed new versions of the kernel appear have worse support for my hardware!!! I guess that means ill be on mint 13 for some time to come...

Ohh I also experienced the same boot issues with Ubuntu 13.04 as well.
mmillani

Re: Boot fails most of the time

Post by mmillani »

I thought that the problem had been solved, but turns out I was wrong (again). Today the boot hanged today and the last lines were:

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* Starting configure network device security                                         [OK]
* Starting network connection manager                                                [OK]
* Starting Bridge socket events into upstart                                         [OK]
* Starting configure network device security                                         [OK]
* Starting configure network device                                                  [OK]
I think it is a bit suspicious that the event "Starting configure network device security" started twice without being stopped.
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