firmware bug AMD-V1 [SOLVED]

[eNG1Ne]

** note: I don't know whether a firmware bug counts as 'installation' or 'hardware', so I 'll post my question here to start with **

Time to upgrade my laptop to Mint 20! I thought. An hour and a bit later, after repeated "Installation successful. No errors", restarting the laptop flashes five messages, beginning with

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0.12392 AMD-V1 Firmware Bug: IOAPIC[4] not in IVRS table

Eventually, the desktop shows up … in offset stripes.
What's going on, and what can be done to correct it?

[Moonstone Man]

What's going on, and what can be done to correct it?

Please post the output of inxi -Fxz from a terminal and enclose it in code tags.

[eNG1Ne]

First challenge, successfully open a terminal! I managed, but the output is almost entirely unreadable. Remind me how to open a text console session?

[SMG]

First challenge, successfully open a terminal! I managed, but the output is almost entirely unreadable.

What desktop are you running?

This image reminds me of ones I've seen in others posts. What I refer to as the "staircase" sceen is a combination of the windows manager/compositor and a bug in amdgpu. Here is a long thread with others having the same issue and what they tried 20.04 Display issues with AMD GPU (on MATE and Xfce).

This post indicates using compton (instead of the default marco) with LM20.1 MATE works.

[eNG1Ne]

This post indicates using compton (instead of the default marco) with LM20.1 MATE works …

… which is encouraging, but doesn't tell the hapless victim how to "use compton instead of default marco". Step by step advice welcome!

[hglee]

This post indicates using compton (instead of the default marco) with LM20.1 MATE works …

… which is encouraging, but doesn't tell the hapless victim how to "use compton instead of default marco". Step by step advice welcome!

Here's one way, assuming you have MATE desktop installed (most use Cinnamon, which is more demanding on the CPU/GPU).

Launch Desktop Settings. Tap the Windows icon, click on Window Manager drop-down menu, then select Metacity + Compton from the list.




Let's have a look at your PC hsetup:

Launch System Reports, there click System information, then click on Copy.

Next, open a Post Reply here, then tap Ctrl-V to paste your system information into the text window, and finally click Submit.

[SMG]

This post indicates using compton (instead of the default marco) with LM20.1 MATE works …

… which is encouraging, but doesn't tell the hapless victim how to "use compton instead of default marco". Step by step advice welcome!

The "hapless victim" has yet to let us know what desktop is being used. Section 5 of READ: How To Get Help! explains the data we need to be able to help you.

There is a screenshot in this thread How to determine best choice for window manager which might help you if you are using MATE.

[Reddog1]

Launch MATE Tweak. Tap the Windows icon, click on Window manager drop-down menu, then select Marco (Compton GPU compositor) from the list.

How will he do this if he cannot see the desktop through the display distortion????


- at the grub menu highlight the Mint Mate boot option
- hit 'e' to edit
- with the arrow keys scroll down to the line beginning with 'linux'
- scroll with the right arrow to the end of the line where it says

quiet splash

and add nomodeset using a single blank space in between, like this:

quiet splash nomodeset

hit F10 to continue booting. The system should boot MATE in a basic video mode (think Safe Mode in Windows). Then follow the above instructions to install MATE Tweak and change the compositor. Then reboot, and follow the instructions to again edit the 'linux' line and remove 'nomodeset' and hit F10 to boot with the new compositor.

I hope this is right, because it's entirely from my memory of how to boot with nomodeset, which is the first step to fixing this

[Moonstone Man]

Launch MATE Tweak. Tap the Windows icon, click on Window manager drop-down menu, then select Marco (Compton GPU compositor) from the list.

How will he do this if he cannot see the desktop through the display distortion????

How will he do this if he does not provide the requested information or answer the questions that have been asked????

[hglee]

Launch MATE Tweak. Tap the Windows icon, click on Window manager drop-down menu, then select Marco (Compton GPU compositor) from the list.

How will he do this if he cannot see the desktop through the display distortion????

Look again. Carefully.


I answered a specific question about Compton -- I didn't ask eNG1Ne how they got to that point.

[eNG1Ne]

Any request for information which relies on my being able to use the graphical desktop is not going to get us much farther.

As for "at the grub menu …", I never see it. When I start the laptop, what I get is:

1. backlight starts
2. error messages about firmware display briefly
3. Linux Mint logo
4. login prompt (I do not have to log in here myself)
5. garbled desktop

[SMG]

As for "at the grub menu …", I never see it.

If Mint is your only operating system, then the default is to not show grub. However, grub still runs and you can boot into it by pressing a key during the boot cycle.

It is my understanding:
-- Hold the shift key during boot to enter grub for non-UEFI/Legacy boot.
-- Hold the escape key during boot to enter grub when have UEFI boot.

You can then either follow the advice of Reddog1 to edit the kernel parameters and continue booting or you can just boot in Recovery Mode which disables the graphics and other drivers. Select Advanced Options to see the kernel options for booting as well as the Recovery Mode options.

[eNG1Ne]

Back again … it's not that I don't appreciate all this advice, just that I'm lucky enough to have a second PC to carry on using / getting work done. So, what have I discovered since my last post?

• yes, I can persuade the laptop to boot up in grub ‒ but it's grub 2.04 (I think; haven't done it for a while) and doesn't have a Mint Mate boot option
• on my other Mint machine, "Window preferences" (from the main menu) displays a three-tab panel where the first tab has a checkbox Disable / enable software compositing window manager ‒ no pulldown with Metacity + Compton as an option
  I have solved the (separate) problem of logging in to a non-GUI console, so if someone could provide console-based instructions for "Tap the Windows icon, click on Window Manager drop-down menu, then select Metacity + Compton from the list" this could well be the answer
• same thing goes for providing system information: how do I generate the report from a console? once that's done, I assume I'll be able to copy it to a stick and bring it to the machine I use to access the forum

And I read that "It is now possible to upgrade Linux Mint 20 and 20.1 to version 20.2." ‒ but it was the previous upgrade from this Linux Mint blog that hosed the GUI, and there's nothing on the page to say the AMD firmware problem has been resolved.

[SMG]

And I read that "It is now possible to upgrade Linux Mint 20 and 20.1 to version 20.2." ‒ but it was the previous upgrade from this Linux Mint blog that hosed the GUI, and there's nothing on the page to say the AMD firmware problem has been resolved.

The firmware bug you posted is not related to the graphics issue and neither of those are related to Mint software. Mint does not control the amdgpu graphics driver nor does it control the firmware (BIOS/UEFI) on your computer. Here is a description of the error you posted Error: AMD-Vi: IOAPIC[130] not in IVRS table [SOLVED].

I would only recommend that a properly functioning computer be updated. Troubleshooting gets more complicated when more variables (such as updating) are added.

yes, I can persuade the laptop to boot up in grub ‒ but it's grub 2.04 (I think; haven't done it for a while) and doesn't have a Mint Mate boot option

You have a grub menu with no boot options? What options does it have?

[eNG1Ne]

"After that, therefore because of that" may often be a logical fallacy ‒ but I had a laptop that was running Mint quite happily until I ran the upgrade. As soon as I restarted the laptop after completing the upgrade, I saw the set of messages including "AMD-V1 Firmware Bug" and then the offset stripes. Simple conclusion or interpretation: the problems are related to the Mint upgrade.

I'll check both the error link you posted and the grub options, and post more information as I come across it.

I entirely agree that it's better only to update a device that's already functioning correctly … but my laptop was functioning correctly when I started the update.

[SMG]

"After that, therefore because of that" may often be a logical fallacy ‒ but I had a laptop that was running Mint quite happily until I ran the upgrade. As soon as I restarted the laptop after completing the upgrade, I saw the set of messages including "AMD-V1 Firmware Bug" and then the offset stripes. Simple conclusion or interpretation: the problems are related to the Mint upgrade.

You did an upgrade or you did a fresh installation of a new version and are calling that an upgrade?

Every upgrade from LM19 to LM20 is different because of what software is installed on the computer before the upgrade. There is no standard easy way to upgrade. That is one reason people are advised to take a Timeshift snapshot before they upgrade. If they run into issues then they can restore to the snapshot.

If you did a fresh installation of LM20 and it is not working properly, then that is handled differently from an upgrade. If you did that, then you should have no problem booting to a live session of Mint (even if it has to be done in compatibility mode) to give us the inxi information requested in Section 5 of READ: How To Get Help!.

The fact you are now seeing messages that were not there before is because the kernel has changed and it now shows different messages than it did in the past.

[DisturbedDragon]

Since graphical output is trash, when the computer boots drop to a tty using Ctl + Alt and F3. Might need function key as well if laptop requires it. Provide output of inxi -Fxz by taking a picture with camera or saving to non-graphical text editor. Re-enter the GUI with same keys but using F7.

[eNG1Ne]

You have a grub menu with no boot options?
Up till now, yes … from holding down Esc while booting: but one source I found recently suggested tapping Esc repeatedly instead of holding the key down. Different behaviour! which, indeed, has brought up a menu.
Now to go back up the post and find out what I may be able to do from this newly-discovered menu :-}

[eNG1Ne]

As Reddog1 suggested, way back in April:

1. highlight Mint Mate boot option
2. press e to edit
3. scroll down to the line starting linux
4. scroll to the end of the line and add modeset
5. press F10 to continue booting

After a while, with some new system messages, a readable GUI session starts. Fantastic!
From there:

1. [Start] key > Preferences > Desktop settings > Windows and select Metacity + Compton as window manager
2. reboot to grub, check menu, see that adding nomodeset wasn't sticky
3. F10

A few system messages, and then a readable GUI session starts.
Thanks again to everyone who contributed information to this, erm, 'composited' solution.

[eNG1Ne]

And now things are that bit easier, here's the output from inxi ‒ after changing the windows manager.

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System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-70-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 
  Desktop: MATE 1.24.0 Distro: Linux Mint 20 Ulyana base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 80TD v: Lenovo V110-15AST 
  serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: LENOVO model: Lenovo V110-15AST v: SDK0J40700 WIN serial: <filter> 
  UEFI: Lenovo v: 1PCN57WW date: 01/23/2017 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 11.3 Wh condition: 20.9/24.0 Wh (87%) 
  model: LGC L15L3A02 status: Discharging 
CPU:
  Topology: Dual Core model: AMD A9-9410 RADEON R5 5 COMPUTE CORES 2C+3G 
  bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Excavator L2 cache: 1024 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm 
  bogomips: 11578 
  Speed: 1679 MHz min/max: 1400/2900 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1691 2: 1691 
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Stoney [Radeon R2/R3/R4/R5 Graphics] vendor: Lenovo 
  driver: amdgpu v: kernel bus ID: 00:01.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: amdgpu,ati 
  unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,vesa resolution: 1366x768~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: AMD STONEY (DRM 3.35.0 5.4.0-70-generic LLVM 11.0.0) 
  v: 4.5 Mesa 20.2.6 direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: AMD vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
  bus ID: 00:01.1 
  Device-2: AMD Family 15h Audio vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 00:09.2 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-70-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: Lenovo driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 2000 bus ID: 01:00.0 
  IF: enp1s0 state: down mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8821AE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter 
  vendor: Lenovo driver: rtl8821ae v: kernel port: 1000 bus ID: 02:00.0 
  IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 931.51 GiB used: 18.41 GiB (2.0%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Western Digital model: WD10JPCX-24UE4T0 
  size: 931.51 GiB 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 915.40 GiB used: 18.40 GiB (2.0%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 47.5 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 34 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Info:
  Processes: 172 Uptime: 2m Memory: 7.19 GiB used: 607.1 MiB (8.2%) 
  Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 
  inxi: 3.0.38