Unable to upgrade driver for Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060

[lovecraft1024]

Hello,
I have a Dell XPS 8940 running Mint 20.3 fully updated. Looking at the recommended driver for my GeForce RTX 3060, I see it's nvidia-driver-510. So I tried installing that, replacing nvidia-driver-470. After rebooting, the display manager comes up and I try to log in, but I'm returned to the login screen within a few seconds. I recover from this by reinstalling the original (from the console): sudo apt install nvidia-driver-470.

I am wondering if there's something else I need to do to get this to work. The output below indicates the 510 driver is "recommended":

Code: Select all

$ ubuntu-drivers devices
== /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.0/0000:02:00.0 ==
modalias : pci:v000010DEd00002504sv00001028sd0000C974bc03sc00i00
vendor   : NVIDIA Corporation
driver   : nvidia-driver-470 - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-510 - distro non-free recommended
driver   : nvidia-driver-470-server - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-510-server - distro non-free
driver   : xserver-xorg-video-nouveau - distro free builtin

Attached is the .xession-errors output, sanitized of username.

To be honest, I'm only doing this due to an infrequent and unpredictable system hang about every 2-3 weeks, I click something and the system freezes completely - can't even use the Magic SysRequest key to sync and reboot. Company IT person suggested it could be the Nvidia driver; they're smart but not a Linux expert. I've run the Dell hardware diagnostics but that turns up nothing. I've run the Heaven 2009 benchmark and the card gets nice and warm but no crashing.

The huge PITA here is that the issue happens infrequently, but just often enough to piss me off, like when I'm in the middle of a huge data analysis push. Would welcome any advice on what to try next.

Thanks,

Charles

[SMG]

Hello,
I have a Dell XPS 8940 running Mint 20.3 fully updated.

You did not provide the system information requested in Section 5 of READ: How To Get Help!, but your problem sounds like the one in this topic Weird problem with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 and nvidia-driver-510 so I am guessing you are running the MATE desktop.

I am wondering if there's something else I need to do to get this to work.

If you are running MATE, go to the very end of the topic I posted for information for a workaround.

To be honest, I'm only doing this due to an infrequent and unpredictable system hang about every 2-3 weeks, I click something and the system freezes completely - can't even use the Magic SysRequest key to sync and reboot.

Please give us information about your install by entering this command in a terminal:

Code: Select all

inxi -Fxxxrz

Click </> from the mini toolbar above the textbox where you type your reply and then place your cursor between the code tags and paste the results of the command between the code tags [code]Results[/code]. This will let us know how Mint sees your hardware.

[lovecraft1024]

Sorry for the omissions; I am indeed running with Mate, and below is the system info. Thanks for the link to the workaround. I may try that next time the system freezes.

Code: Select all

$ inxi -Fxxxrz
System:    Kernel: 5.4.0-121-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.4.0 Desktop: MATE 1.26.0 info: mate-panel 
           wm: marco 1.26.0 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 20.3 Una base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:   Type: Desktop System: Dell product: XPS 8940 v: N/A serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 3 serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Dell model: 0K3CM7 v: A00 serial: <filter> UEFI: Dell v: 2.0.13 date: 04/01/2021 
Battery:   Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech K800 serial: <filter> charge: 70% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes 
           status: Discharging 
           Device-2: hidpp_battery_1 model: Logitech M570 serial: <filter> charge: 70% rechargeable: yes status: Discharging 
CPU:       Topology: 8-Core model: 11th Gen Intel Core i9-11900K bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: N/A L2 cache: 16.0 MiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 112128 
           Speed: 800 MHz min/max: 800/5100 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 5: 800 6: 800 7: 800 8: 800 
           9: 800 10: 800 11: 800 12: 800 13: 800 14: 800 15: 800 16: 800 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel vendor: Dell driver: N/A bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:4c8a 
           Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: Dell driver: nvidia v: 470.129.06 bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 10de:2504 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: nvidia unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa compositor: marco 
           v: 1.26.0 resolution: 2560x1440~60Hz, 2560x1440~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 470.129.06 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:f1c8 
           Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 02:00.1 chip ID: 10de:228e 
           Device-3: Logitech USB Headset H540 type: USB driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid bus ID: 1-5.2:4 
           chip ID: 046d:0a37 serial: <filter> 
           Device-4: Sunplus Innovation type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo bus ID: 1-5.3:6 chip ID: 1bcf:28c4 
           serial: <filter> 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-121-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 vendor: Bigfoot Networks driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: 5000 bus ID: 00:14.3 
           chip ID: 8086:06f0 
           IF: wlo1 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Realtek vendor: Bigfoot Networks driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 3000 bus ID: 04:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:2600 
           IF: enp4s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 9.14 TiB used: 5.17 TiB (56.6%) 
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Micron model: 3400 NVMe 2048GB size: 1.86 TiB speed: 63.2 Gb/s lanes: 4 serial: <filter> 
           rev: 34000040 scheme: GPT 
           ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST2000DM008-2FR102 size: 1.82 TiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s rotation: 7200 rpm 
           serial: <filter> rev: 1003 scheme: GPT 
           ID-3: /dev/sdb vendor: Western Digital model: WD6003FZBX-00K5WB0 size: 5.46 TiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s rotation: 7200 rpm 
           serial: <filter> rev: 1A01 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 1.83 TiB used: 571.77 GiB (30.5%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 48.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 42 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 0% 
Repos:     No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
           1: deb http://mirror.metrocast.net/linuxmint-packages una main upstream import backport
           2: deb http://mirrors.mit.edu/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
           3: deb http://mirrors.mit.edu/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           4: deb http://mirrors.mit.edu/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
           5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
           6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/scootersoftware.list 
           1: deb https://www.scootersoftware.com/ bcompare4 non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/slack.list 
           1: deb https://packagecloud.io/slacktechnologies/slack/debian/ jessie main
Info:      Processes: 401 Uptime: 6m Memory: 62.30 GiB used: 3.31 GiB (5.3%) Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: 
           gcc: 9.4.0 alt: 8/9 Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 running in: mate-terminal inxi: 3.0.38 

[SMG]

Sorry for the omissions; I am indeed running with Mate, and below is the system info.

Please upgrade to a newer kernel. Your system is running without all the graphics drivers loaded.
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel vendor: Dell driver: N/A bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:4c8a
Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: Dell driver: nvidia v: 470.129.06 bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 10de:2504
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: nvidia unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa compositor: marco
v: 1.26.0 resolution: 2560x1440~60Hz, 2560x1440~60Hz
OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 470.129.06 direct render: Yes

Instructions for upgrading to the 5.15 kernel:

• Open Update Manager.
• Select View > Linux Kernels and click Continue.
• Make sure 5.15 is selected on the left panel and then click the top-most option on the right panel. An "Install" button will appear.
• Install the kernel and then reboot for it to become active.

An 11th-gen Intel CPU needs to be using a newer kernel than 5.4 to run properly. Your whole system will probably run better with the newer kernel.

The fix for running the Nvidia-510 driver will be available in the Mint 21 (coming out later this summer). If for some reason you need to use the 510 driver now, there is a workaround in this post for focal that worked for one person near the end of that discussion. I suggest taking a Timeshift snapshot before trying it.

[antikythera]

Safest way to switch nvidia proprietary is actually to choose nouveau in driver manager and let the system switch back to that. Restart so that nouveau is now running and THEN install the new nvidia driver. It may be a long-winded way of doing it but I have found it the safest route over the years. I have not tried 515 series yet though and have read it's badly configured so have held off on pulling the trigger.

[SMG]

Safest way to switch nvidia proprietary is actually to choose nouveau in driver manager and let the system switch back to that. Restart so that nouveau is now running and THEN install the new nvidia driver.

That would not help with the issue the OP has. This issue hit everyone running MATE (bug was ultimately found to be in Xorg). Those running Cinnamon and Xfce had no problem upgrading to 510.

[antikythera]

Safest way to switch nvidia proprietary is actually to choose nouveau in driver manager and let the system switch back to that. Restart so that nouveau is now running and THEN install the new nvidia driver.

That would not help with the issue the OP has. This issue hit everyone running MATE (bug was ultimately found to be in Xorg). Those running Cinnamon and Xfce had no problem upgrading to 510.

I understand that, all I'm doing is sharing the safest method of upgrading nvidia proprietary drivers as and when it does work. There's also a problem with Debian and the latest backport nvidia driver but in that case it's a bad package dependency definition which means it refuses to install due to unmet dependencies even though the 'missing' package required is actually installed and the right version it wants.

Upgrading to one proprietary nvidia linux driver straight over the other doesn't normally end well.

[lovecraft1024]

An 11th-gen Intel CPU needs to be using a newer kernel than 5.4 to run properly. Your whole system will probably run better with the newer kernel.

Thank you for the advice and I'll do that, but I can't help but wonder why the install process did not set the machine up with the right kernel version. In lieu of that, where in the installation procedure would I learn that I need that?

Thanks,
Charles

[SMG]

Thank you for the advice and I'll do that, but I can't help but wonder why the install process did not set the machine up with the right kernel version.

The install process can only install what is on the ISO you used. The MATE ISO only has the 5.4 LTS (long-term-support) kernel on it. There are actually two different ISOs for Cinnamon. One has the 5.4 kernel on it and the other also has a newer kernel called a hardware-enablement (HWE) kernel. The HWE kernels are in essence stepping stones between LTS kernels. If one's hardware came out after the initial LTS kernel was released (around the time LM20 was first released), then it is likely a newer kernel than LTS is needed because no newer drivers are added to a kernel after the kernel is released.

In lieu of that, where in the installation procedure would I learn that I need that?

On the Choose the right edition at the very bottom of the page is a note "If you cannot boot or install Linux Mint because your hardware is too recent and is not properly detected see the Edge ISO Images chapter in the Linux Mint User Guide for an alternative ISO."

I'm guessing you probably just assumed you were having graphics issues because the Nvidia driver was not installed so I'm not sure if there's a good way for you to know other than the general advice about your equipment being very new. If your equipment did not exist when LM20 was initially released (and yours did not), then it is very likely you would need a newer kernel series to get the proper drivers.

[lovecraft1024]

Interesting. For the record, the system has worked totally fine since I installed on the new system in January. The only issue I had was the occasional freeze mentioned in the first post. However, I am now running kernel 5.15 and I do see that the motherboard fans are now visible, which is nice.

Here's the new system info:

Code: Select all

$ inxi -Fxxxrz
System:    Kernel: 5.15.0-33-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A Desktop: MATE 1.26.0 info: mate-panel wm: marco 1.26.0 
           dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 20.3 Una base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:   Type: Desktop System: Dell product: XPS 8940 v: N/A serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 3 serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Dell model: 0K3CM7 v: A00 serial: <filter> UEFI: Dell v: 2.0.13 date: 04/01/2021 
Battery:   Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech K800 serial: <filter> charge: 70% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes 
           status: Discharging 
           Device-2: hidpp_battery_1 model: Logitech M570 serial: <filter> charge: 70% rechargeable: yes status: Discharging 
CPU:       Topology: 8-Core model: 11th Gen Intel Core i9-11900K bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: N/A L2 cache: 16.0 MiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 112128 
           Speed: 801 MHz min/max: 800/5100 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 801 2: 1831 3: 801 4: 801 5: 801 6: 800 7: 801 8: 800 
           9: 801 10: 801 11: 921 12: 800 13: 801 14: 801 15: 801 16: 801 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:4c8a 
           Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: Dell driver: nvidia v: 470.129.06 bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 10de:2504 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting,nvidia unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa compositor: marco 
           v: 1.26.0 resolution: 2560x1440~60Hz, 2560x1440~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 470.129.06 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:f1c8 
           Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 02:00.1 chip ID: 10de:228e 
           Device-3: Logitech USB Headset H540 type: USB driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid bus ID: 1-5.2:4 
           chip ID: 046d:0a37 serial: <filter> 
           Device-4: Sunplus Innovation type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo bus ID: 1-5.3:6 chip ID: 1bcf:28c4 
           serial: <filter> 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.15.0-33-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 vendor: Bigfoot Networks driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: 5000 bus ID: 00:14.3 
           chip ID: 8086:06f0 
           IF: wlo1 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Realtek vendor: Bigfoot Networks driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 3000 bus ID: 04:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:2600 
           IF: enp4s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 9.14 TiB used: 5.48 TiB (60.0%) 
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Micron model: 3400 NVMe 2048GB size: 1.86 TiB speed: 63.2 Gb/s lanes: 4 serial: <filter> 
           rev: 34000040 scheme: GPT 
           ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST2000DM008-2FR102 size: 1.82 TiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s rotation: 7200 rpm 
           serial: <filter> rev: 1003 scheme: GPT 
           ID-3: /dev/sdb vendor: Western Digital model: WD6003FZBX-00K5WB0 size: 5.46 TiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s rotation: 7200 rpm 
           serial: <filter> rev: 1A01 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 1.83 TiB used: 568.59 GiB (30.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 48.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 40 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 1001 fan-2: 1206 gpu: nvidia fan: 0% 
Repos:     No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
           1: deb http://mirror.metrocast.net/linuxmint-packages una main upstream import backport
           2: deb http://mirrors.mit.edu/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
           3: deb http://mirrors.mit.edu/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           4: deb http://mirrors.mit.edu/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
           5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
           6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/scootersoftware.list 
           1: deb https://www.scootersoftware.com/ bcompare4 non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/slack.list 
           1: deb https://packagecloud.io/slacktechnologies/slack/debian/ jessie main
Info:      Processes: 420 Uptime: 1m Memory: 62.30 GiB used: 1.48 GiB (2.4%) Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: 
           gcc: 9.4.0 alt: 8/9 Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 running in: mate-terminal inxi: 3.0.38 

Would you say I'm all set for using the 470 driver now? I am all for changing as little as necessary. Will report back if I still get the freezes (might be a month...)

Thanks again,

Charles

[SMG]

For the record, the system has worked totally fine since I installed on the new system in January. The only issue I had was the occasional freeze mentioned in the first post. However, I am now running kernel 5.15 and I do see that the motherboard fans are now visible, which is nice.

Your system was missing hardware drivers so there were just problems of which you were not aware.

Graphics:
Device-1: Intel vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:4c8a
Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: Dell driver: nvidia v: 470.129.06 bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 10de:2504
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting,nvidia unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa compositor: marco
v: 1.26.0 resolution: 2560x1440~60Hz, 2560x1440~60Hz
OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 470.129.06 direct render: Yes

Would you say I'm all set for using the 470 driver now? I am all for changing as little as necessary. Will report back if I still get the freezes (might be a month...)

All looks good to me. I do not have any other recommendations.

There is no time constraint with regards to giving feedback, so take all the time you need.

[lovecraft1024]

Well this was a much shorter time frame than I expected. My machine froze this morning.

I have a strong suspicion this has something to do with Matlab, because it always seems to happen when I'm using it - just clicking a window bar to raise the window, or clicking the Help button or any other Matlab GUI element... haven't correlated it more than that. Obviously very odd that it doesn't happen all the time.

Anyway, Matlab can be run with software GL, so I am now trying that (that's about the only help I've received from them). Also, FWIW, our IT person suggested re-seating the graphics card, so I tried that after the freeze. I'm betting on the software GL fixing it, but who knows.

Let me know if I should still be posting here - the subject seems to have changed a lot from the original.

Charles

[SMG]

Well this was a much shorter time frame than I expected. My machine froze this morning.

I have a strong suspicion this has something to do with Matlab, because it always seems to happen when I'm using it - just clicking a window bar to raise the window, or clicking the Help button or any other Matlab GUI element... haven't correlated it more than that. Obviously very odd that it doesn't happen all the time.

A freeze issue is likely a different issue, but it might also relate to the Nvidia driver if it is related to doing tasks in Matlab. However, if you are sure it is Matlab related, then it might be best to create a new topic in the Software & Applications section of the forum.

It's been a while since I've helped with a Matlab-related issue so I do not recall if there is a way for you to specify which GPU to use with it (Intel or Nvidia). We would need to know the version of Matlab you are using to be able to help further.

[lovecraft1024]

Hello,

Sorry to be re-activating this thread, because it means I am continuing to have problems. Since my last post, the machine has frozen 4 more times:

2022-07-03 03:03 - apparent crash - cannot ping machine from another machine (noticed crash over VPN; was frozen when got to work)
2022-07-18 15:56 - froze after I walked away from it after starting a <company-developed application>
2022-07-26 07:78 - froze after entering password to unlock screen
2022-07-26 11:18 - froze as I started trying to edit a Matlab script while it was running (same day!)

This doesn't seem to have any rhyme or reason anymore.

Last week, I had a chance to run the extended hardware diags from the Dell BIOS. I started them at 5 PM, expected a 24-hour run, but they were done the next morning. No errors.

Our IT guy has been looking online for toubleshooting tips too, and had me check (1) swap file existence (72 GB) and swappiness (60). He's also seen recommendations of manually running fsck on the boot drive from a Live CD. I'm posting the output from inxi again in case anything's changed.

I'm on the verge of submitting a req for building my own computer to replace this one. Any help figuring out the issue with this one would be greatly appreciated.

Charles

Code: Select all

$ inxi -Fxxxrz
System:    Kernel: 5.15.0-33-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A Desktop: MATE 1.26.0 info: mate-panel wm: marco 1.26.0 
           dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 20.3 Una base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:   Type: Desktop System: Dell product: XPS 8940 v: N/A serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 3 serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Dell model: 0K3CM7 v: A00 serial: <filter> UEFI: Dell v: 2.0.13 date: 04/01/2021 
Battery:   Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech K800 serial: <filter> charge: 70% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes 
           status: Discharging 
           Device-2: hidpp_battery_1 model: Logitech M570 serial: <filter> charge: 65% rechargeable: yes status: Discharging 
CPU:       Topology: 8-Core model: 11th Gen Intel Core i9-11900K bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: N/A L2 cache: 16.0 MiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 112128 
           Speed: 4839 MHz min/max: 800/5100 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 830 2: 1260 3: 4111 4: 1420 5: 1829 6: 1299 7: 802 
           8: 1671 9: 800 10: 800 11: 3204 12: 800 13: 800 14: 800 15: 800 16: 1415 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:4c8a 
           Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: Dell driver: nvidia v: 470.129.06 bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 10de:2504 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting,nvidia unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa compositor: marco 
           v: 1.26.0 resolution: 2560x1440~60Hz, 2560x1440~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 470.129.06 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:f1c8 
           Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 02:00.1 chip ID: 10de:228e 
           Device-3: Logitech USB Headset H540 type: USB driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid bus ID: 1-5.2:4 
           chip ID: 046d:0a37 serial: <filter> 
           Device-4: Sunplus Innovation type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo bus ID: 1-5.3:6 chip ID: 1bcf:28c4 
           serial: <filter> 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.15.0-33-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 vendor: Bigfoot Networks driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: 5000 bus ID: 00:14.3 
           chip ID: 8086:06f0 
           IF: wlo1 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Realtek vendor: Bigfoot Networks driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 3000 bus ID: 04:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:2600 
           IF: enp4s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 9.14 TiB used: 6.12 TiB (67.0%) 
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Micron model: 3400 NVMe 2048GB size: 1.86 TiB speed: 63.2 Gb/s lanes: 4 serial: <filter> 
           rev: 34000040 scheme: GPT 
           ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST2000DM008-2FR102 size: 1.82 TiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s rotation: 7200 rpm 
           serial: <filter> rev: 1003 temp: 31 C scheme: GPT 
           ID-3: /dev/sdb vendor: Western Digital model: WD6003FZBX-00K5WB0 size: 5.46 TiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s rotation: 7200 rpm 
           serial: <filter> rev: 1A01 temp: 41 C 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 1.83 TiB used: 602.38 GiB (32.1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 44.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 47 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 995 fan-2: 1209 gpu: nvidia fan: 0% 
Repos:     No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
           1: deb http://mirror.metrocast.net/linuxmint-packages una main upstream import backport
           2: deb http://mirrors.mit.edu/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
           3: deb http://mirrors.mit.edu/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           4: deb http://mirrors.mit.edu/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
           5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
           6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/scootersoftware.list 
           1: deb https://www.scootersoftware.com/ bcompare4 non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/slack.list 
           1: deb https://packagecloud.io/slacktechnologies/slack/debian/ jessie main
Info:      Processes: 455 Uptime: 3h 51m Memory: 62.30 GiB used: 19.06 GiB (30.6%) Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: 
           gcc: 9.4.0 alt: 8/9 Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 running in: mate-terminal inxi: 3.0.38 

[SMG]

Since my last post, the machine has frozen 4 more times:

2022-07-03 03:03 - apparent crash - cannot ping machine from another machine (noticed crash over VPN; was frozen when got to work)
2022-07-18 15:56 - froze after I walked away from it after starting a <company-developed application>
2022-07-26 07:78 - froze after entering password to unlock screen
2022-07-26 11:18 - froze as I started trying to edit a Matlab script while it was running (same day!)

This doesn't seem to have any rhyme or reason anymore.

If you powered off the computer after it froze, perhaps we can get logs to see if there is something listed to give a clue as to what is happening. If you run the following:

Code: Select all

journalctl --list-boots | tail -n 10

That gives the last 10 boot cycles and we can determine which one to check to see if there were any errors or warnings or other oddities which happened just before the freeze.

If you have only booted one time since the last freeze, you would run the following to get the log info:

Code: Select all

journalctl -rb -1 |  tee >(gzip --stdout > journalctl_$USER.gz)

This command will write the prior boot's system messages (-1) in reverse order (so whatever happened right before the freeze would be at the top) to the file journalctl_(yourname).gz and to your screen. The file will be located in your /home/login_name directory.

Normally I would have people send the info to termbin so we could review it, but you may be running proprietary software so maybe you and the IT person will find something. Or you may be able to sanitize the data so it is okay to post if you want us to take a look.

The -1 part of the command is what would change based on the boot cycle.

Last week, I had a chance to run the extended hardware diags from the Dell BIOS. I started them at 5 PM, expected a 24-hour run, but they were done the next morning. No errors.

I noticed your system is not running the latest BIOS version. Find a driver for your XPS 8940 indicates the most recent is version 2.8.0.

Machine:
Type: Desktop System: Dell product: XPS 8940 v: N/A serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 3 serial: <filter>
Mobo: Dell model: 0K3CM7 v: A00 serial: <filter> UEFI: Dell v: 2.0.13 date: 04/01/2021

While most of the missing updates address security vulnerabilities, version 2.2.0 is a fix related to graphics performance. Perhaps a BIOS update will help.

Also, with how new your GPU is, it might be better to be running an updated driver. Perhaps you do want to try the workaround I mentioned in the earlier post:

If for some reason you need to use the 510 driver now, there is a workaround in this post for focal that worked for one person near the end of that discussion. I suggest taking a Timeshift snapshot before trying it.

[lovecraft1024]

Thanks for all the great ideas.

I've updated the BIOS. I could have sworn I checked for updates but obviously not in the right place. I hope it helps, but there were certainly enough other security fixes in it to warrant the update.

I'm not excited about the graphics driver update, but I'll prepare for it just in case there are still issues.

The journalctl tricks were very helpful, and I'll be adding them to my toolbox for future issues. Unfortunately, I don't think it reveals anything. It looks like everything just *ends*.

Will let you know how it goes! Thanks again,

Charles

Typical example of the last seconds before a freeze, with log messages from my company's benign application deleted:

Code: Select all

Jul 26 07:26:48 CRW-XPS systemd[1]: NetworkManager-dispatcher.service: Succeeded.
Jul 26 07:26:38 CRW-XPS NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1658834798.4183] manager: NetworkManager state is now CONNECTED_GLOBAL
Jul 26 07:26:38 CRW-XPS systemd[1]: Started Network Manager Script Dispatcher Service.
Jul 26 07:26:38 CRW-XPS dbus-daemon[1266]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.nm_dispatcher'
Jul 26 07:26:38 CRW-XPS systemd[1]: Starting Network Manager Script Dispatcher Service...
Jul 26 07:26:38 CRW-XPS dbus-daemon[1266]: [system] Activating via systemd: service name='org.freedesktop.nm_dispatcher' unit='dbus-
org.freedesktop.nm-dispatcher.service' requested by ':1.16' (uid=0 pid=1521 comm="/usr/sbin/NetworkManager --no-daemon " label="unco
nfined")
Jul 26 07:26:38 CRW-XPS NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1658834798.3344] manager: NetworkManager state is now CONNECTED_SITE
Jul 26 07:25:01 CRW-XPS CRON[229498]: pam_unix(cron:session): session closed for user root
Jul 26 07:25:01 CRW-XPS CRON[229499]: (root) CMD (command -v debian-sa1 > /dev/null && debian-sa1 1 1)
Jul 26 07:25:01 CRW-XPS CRON[229498]: pam_unix(cron:session): session opened for user root by (uid=0)

Another:

Code: Select all

Jul 03 03:05:01 CRW-XPS CRON[590136]: pam_unix(cron:session): session closed for user root
Jul 03 03:05:01 CRW-XPS CRON[590137]: (root) CMD (command -v debian-sa1 > /dev/null && debian-sa1 1 1)
Jul 03 03:05:01 CRW-XPS CRON[590136]: pam_unix(cron:session): session opened for user root by (uid=0)
Jul 03 03:04:49 CRW-XPS org.mate.panel.applet.MintMenuAppletFactory[92681]: [07/03/22, 03:04:49:886] info: [API-Q] (T0DLERSBE) nover
sion-1656831889.864 Flannel users/info is RESOLVED
Jul 03 03:04:49 CRW-XPS org.mate.panel.applet.MintMenuAppletFactory[92681]: [07/03/22, 03:04:49:868] info: [API-Q] (T0DLERSBE) nover
sion-1656831889.864 Flannel users/info is ACTIVE
Jul 03 03:04:49 CRW-XPS org.mate.panel.applet.MintMenuAppletFactory[92681]: [07/03/22, 03:04:49:864] info: [API-Q] (T0DLERSBE) nover
sion-1656831889.864 Flannel users/info is ENQUEUED
Jul 03 03:04:49 CRW-XPS org.mate.panel.applet.MintMenuAppletFactory[92681]: [07/03/22, 03:04:49:864] info: [API-Q] (T0DLERSBE) nover
sion-1656831889.864 Flannel users/info called with reason: flannel-call:users/info
Jul 03 03:04:49 CRW-XPS org.mate.panel.applet.MintMenuAppletFactory[92681]: [07/03/22, 03:04:49:854] info: [DESKTOP-SIDE-EFFECT] Update from desktop for keys  ["app"]

[SMG]

I'm not excited about the graphics driver update, but I'll prepare for it just in case there are still issues.

Nothing jumps out at me in what you posted to think it is a graphics driver issue, unless it is somehow the driver's interaction with a specific program.

Linux Mint 21 beta has ended and final testing is being done. After the product is released, the update tool from LM20 to LM21 will be the next project. The fix for the driver issue and MATE is in LM21 so maybe the future upgrade will help whatever is causing this issue (If the BIOS update does not clear the issue.)

The journalctl tricks were very helpful, and I'll be adding them to my toolbox for future issues. Unfortunately, I don't think it reveals anything. It looks like everything just *ends*.

I do now know how to check if there might be some type of race condition for resources which is causing the freeze. If that might be the case, then powering off the computer because it "froze" would look like everything just stops.

Hard to make guesses when the issue is so sporadic.