Very serious kernel+Intel SPI driver bug...

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thx-1138
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Very serious kernel+Intel SPI driver bug...

Post by thx-1138 »

Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
ArtGirl

Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by ArtGirl »

That's shocking. I'd understood Canonical and Windows are working together more, as Windows purport to be more 'Linux-friendly' ... :roll: and Ubuntu 17.10 uses the 4.13 kernel, which has a bit more Windows code in it. Surely Canonical would have have checked that this kind of thing would never happen; on their site they say they spent 9 months doing security and maintenance updates. Seems odd. To literally brick peoples' machines is outright illegal, and it seems odd that Canonical would do that after years of not having done so. I can't believe they don't know about the different bios settings of companies. Lenovo saying 'change your motherboard' is ignorant. I imagine Lenovo and Canonical will lose a lot of support/sales from this, as well as any trust people had in them. If it turns out to be more that Lenovo have surprised Canonical, then Lenovo have signed up for their own demise.
Last edited by ArtGirl on Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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thx-1138
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Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by thx-1138 »

It is indeed quite shocking... :? note however that it might not be Canonical's fault but quite likely Lenovo's...as the guy who provided a temporary workaround there says he was running Antergos...
ArtGirl

Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by ArtGirl »

thx-1138 wrote:It is indeed quite shocking... :? note however that it might not be Canonical's fault but quite likely Lenovo's...as the guy who provided a temporary workaround there says he was running Antergos...
Not sure, but, from reading the bug page, Lenovo definitely seem to have a very callous attitude, saying it doesn't officially support Linux and to change the motherboard, plus some are wondering if it's the kernel. :? Someone even just ran 17.10 in try mode and have been affected. Another having to spend $100 getting the machine repaired. Someone else saying they'll never install Ubuntu/Linux again. Unbelievable.
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Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by BigEasy »

This is not Ubuntu bug.
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michael louwe

Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by michael louwe »

In general, new OS'es are more compatible with new computers, and old computers are more compatible with old OS'es. It's like the happy marriage between a man and a woman who are about the same age.

Linux often lags behind in support for new computers, ie about 9 months behind. Eg the Nov 2017-released LM 18.3 LTS with Linux kernel 4.10, has only just included full support for computers running the Jan 2017-released Intel Kabylake processors.

In this case, the most affected Lenovo Y50-70 was released at around 2014. Ubuntu 17.10, a bleeding edge Rolling Release(= not stable LTS) running the very new Linux kernel 4.13, was released only recently, ie in Oct 2017. Lenovo Y50-70 computers should not be running Ubuntu 17.10 non-LTS. I think it was quite foolish of the Lenovo Y50-70 owners to install Ubuntu 17.10 non-LTS, and not Ubuntu 16.04 LTS(= released in 2016) or waited for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS that has the Gnome desktop. Like they say, PEBKAC.

Most Linux users with old computers are aware that it is quite risky to run the latest non-LTS Linux kernels. Only those with newer computers who are experiencing hardware device problems should attempt to run the latest non-LTS Linux kernel 4.13.

So, the blame for this fiasco may lie with Lenovo or Ubuntu or the OS installers.
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Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by BigEasy »

Lenovo! If general OS installation shotdows your BIOS, then it is your fault. OS installation is just a program like every one else. Lenovo, think about this.
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Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by Hoser Rob »

This is SO obviously a Ubuntu bug, and not Lenovo's, that it's just ridiculous. Lotsa denial there.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong - H. L. Mencken
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Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by BigEasy »

It's SOOO obviously a Lenovo bug.
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Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by Appoloin »

This now appears to be kernel bug, the current theory for the cause is intel-spi-* drivers . A fix has been submitted
Last edited by Appoloin on Tue Dec 19, 2017 1:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by thx-1138 »

Thanks for the heads up Appoloin! I'm not personally affected from such, i do have a Lenovo here though, so i'm naturally rather concerned... :roll:
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Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by BigEasy »

Appoloin wrote:This now appears to be kernel bug, the current theory for the cause is intel-spi-* drivers . A fix has been submitted
OK. Did I understand correctly that ANY program can destroy Lenovo's BIOS chip again and again? Whose bug after that?
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Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by Appoloin »

The BIOS has not been destroyed it looks like the BIOS has been write protected. This could be a undocumented security feature, write protecting the BIOS is not a bad idea. The problem is re-enabling the BIOS write, if we assume this is a security feature it wasn't meant for the general public that means there's no easy way to turn this off.

Lenovo does have problem here, consumer model computers should not be able to get into an unrecoverable state.
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Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by BigEasy »

Appoloin wrote:Lenovo does have problem here, consumer model computers should not be able to get into an unrecoverable state.
You are right.
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davidmedin

Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by davidmedin »

All the signs point to a near future where consumers will have very little choice any more. We will all have to use whatever the big corporations tell us to use, otherwise things won't work. And of course, with the death of net neutrality the corporations can control the Internet now too.

None of this stuff is accidental of course.
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Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by raketti »

Never installed Ubuntu. I've had Mint Cinnamon since 18.1 (did clean install then), then upgraded to .2 via update manager. Sort of wiped my SSD by accident and thought that a clean install would be nice after a while. But, couldn't boot from USB. So off to BIOS settings and trying to change the boot order. Nothing. Rebooted and, alas, the settings had been reset to the previous values. I can't even change the system time from BIOS. Luckily I still have a DVD-drive in my laptop so I could re-install Mint.

So the bug isn't affecting just Ubuntu users. Don't know how many Mint users have a Lenovo (I have the Z50-70 which is on the list). So if additional information is required, please let me know.
michael louwe

Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by michael louwe »

@ raketti, .......
raketti wrote: Luckily I still have a DVD-drive in my laptop so I could re-install Mint.
.
This means you do not have the same problem as above. More likely, your laptop's CMOS battery is failing = needs to be changed. A dead CMOS battery will return the BIOS settings to default and gives wrong computer date/time.
michael louwe

Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by michael louwe »

Do not really understand why Canonical Inc need to come out with new Ubuntu versions every 6 months which are free of costs. Are they too free with their time.? I think releasing new Ubuntu versions every 2 years should be good enough since the Linux kernels can be upgraded in situ. M$ used to come out with new Windows versions every 3 years and they cost license fees. After M$ followed Ubuntu and release new Win 10 versions every 6 months, Windows has become worse, in terms of stability and bugs.
... Like they say, "Do not fix what ain't broken".

Some people used Win XP for more than 10 years.(= released in 2001 and EOL in 2014) I'm still using the 2011-released Win 7 SP1 and the 2015-released LM 17.3.
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Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by thx-1138 »

michael louwe wrote:Do not really understand why Canonical Inc need to come out with new Ubuntu versions every 6 months which are free of costs. Are they too free with their time.? I think releasing new Ubuntu versions every 2 years should be good enough since the Linux kernels can be upgraded in situ.
Ditto. In my humble point of view, they could instead come up with 1 sole intermediate release, say after 16 months, clearly label it BETA in capital letters & meant for testers, before the eventually final release comes out...
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Re: Very serious Lenovo (firmware?) bug...

Post by raketti »

A dead CMOS battery will return the BIOS settings to default and gives wrong computer date/time.
Well, there’s nothing wrong with the time and date on my laptop. The time is correct and the date is correct, so that’s not the issue. I just can’t change any settings.
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