[PSA] LM19C kernel update to 4.15.0.177.166 borked my keyboard

[Reorx]

I am running LM 19.0 Cin on several laptops... I recently updated the kernel on 2 of them to the most current available kernel - 4.15.0.177.166. On both laptops this upgrade resulted in my keyboard becoming non-functional at boot up so I was unable to login to a session. The mouse was working normally so I shut down the machine and rebooted it... this time selecting the previous kernel and everything worked correctly. I then deleted the 177.166 kernel and rebooted. Everything is now back to "normal".

I am not looking for a solution, I am just publishing this "glitch" for others who may run into it and come here looking for more info...

Safe travels,

- Reo -

[karlchen]

Hello, Reorx.

I am running Linux Mint 19.3 Cinnamon or xfce with kernel 4.15.0-177#186 on 3 different machines:
+ a Packard Bell laptop - keyboard is the built-in keyboard
+ an Acer Aspire notebook - keyboard is the built-in keyboard
+ a Medion desktop machine - external keyboard
None of the 3 keyboards exhibits any problems at startup time or later on, since the kernel was updated to K4.15.0-177#186.

Also, your report is the first report, where kernel 4.15.0-177#186 is suspected to cause a keyboard to malfunction, which I come about. Seems to suggest this problem cannot be a common problem affecting a larger number of machines and keyboards.

Therefore it must be assumed that the problem, which you experiences, is related to the specific keyboard, which you use.
Therefore it would be helpful if you shared your Linux Mint System Information with us. (How to can be found > here <)
Therefore it would be helpful if you told us more about the precise keyboard type and how it is connected to your machine.

Regards,
Karl

[Reorx]

Karl;

Thanx for the reply... I have since googled the the kernel and there are several hits describing various problems... one was that the kernel was having a hard time "finding" a wifi card and was 'searching" for about 90 seconds before continuing. I didn't wait very long to see if my cursor showed up...

inxi output >>>

Code: Select all

xxxxx@freedom-18:~$ inxi -Fxxrzc0
System:    Host: freedom-18 Kernel: 4.15.0-175-generic x86_64 bits: 64 gcc: 7.5.0
           Desktop: Cinnamon 3.8.9 (Gtk 3.22.30-1ubuntu4) dm: lightdm Distro: Linux Mint 19 Tara
Machine:   Device: laptop System: Dell product: Inspiron 15-3567 serial: N/A  Chassis: type: 9 serial: N/A
           Mobo: Dell model: 0XNYR4 v: A00 serial: N/A UEFI: Dell v: 2.3.0 date: 02/06/2018
Battery    BAT0: charge: 40.0 Wh 100.0% condition: 40.0/41.4 Wh (96%) volts: 16.0/14.8
           model: LGC-LGC2.80 DELL 991XP83 serial: <filter>status: Full
           hidpp__0: charge: N/A condition: NA/NA Wh volts: NA
           model: Logitech Wireless Mouse M325 serial: <filter>status: Discharging
CPU:       Dual core Intel Core i3-6006U (-MT-MCP-) arch: Skylake rev.3 cache: 3072 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 7999
           clock speeds: min/max: 400/2000 MHz 1: 500 MHz 2: 500 MHz 3: 500 MHz 4: 500 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Intel Skylake GT2 [HD Graphics 520] bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:1916
           Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.6 ) drivers: modesetting (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1366x768@60.00hz
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 520 (SKL GT2)
           version: 4.6 Mesa 20.0.8 (compat-v: 3.0) Direct Render: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:9d70
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.15.0-175-generic
Network:   Card-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
           driver: ath10k_pci bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 168c:0042
           IF: wlp1s0 state: up mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Realtek RTL810xE PCIE Fast Ethernet controller
           driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: e000 bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8136
           IF: enp2s0 state: down mac: <filter>
           Card-3: Atheros usb-ID: 001-005 chip-ID: 0cf3:e009
           IF: null-if-id state: N/A speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: N/A
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 1000.2GB (3.1% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: TOSHIBA_MQ01ABD1 size: 1000.2GB serial: <filter>
Partition: ID-1: / size: 98G used: 24G (26%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda8
           ID-2: swap-1 size: 5.37GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda7
RAID:      System: supported: N/A
           No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
           Unused Devices: none
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 42.0C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Repos:     Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
           deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
           Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-earth-pro.list
           deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/earth/deb/ stable main
           Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
           deb http://mirror.cs.jmu.edu/pub/linuxmint/packages tara main upstream import backport
           deb http://mirror.cs.jmu.edu/pub/ubuntu bionic main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://mirror.cs.jmu.edu/pub/ubuntu bionic-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://mirror.cs.jmu.edu/pub/ubuntu bionic-backports main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-security main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ bionic partner
Info:      Processes: 210 Uptime: 1:47 Memory: 1169.4/3810.8MB
           Init: systemd v: 237 runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 7.5.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.4.201 running in gnome-terminal-) inxi: 2.3.56

In terms of connection, it is a standard laptop with a standard laptop keyboard type of connection...

As I said, I'm not looking for a solution, this is just a PSA to point out a known problem... there is another thread or 2 here (I found on google after I posted this thread) discussing some other problems associated with this kernel version as well...

[karlchen]

Hello, Reorx.

So your keyboard, which does not work when booting kernel 4.15.0-177 is the built-in Dell notebook keyboard, not a second external keyboard, attached through USB. Correct?

Regards,
Karl

[karlchen]

Hello, Reorx.

Found the following bug reports about kernel 4.15.0-177 on Ubuntu Launchpad:

• linux-image-4.15.0-177-generic freezes on the welcome screen
  This one might be closest to your experience, because on Ubuntu 18.04, which LM 19.x is based on, neither keyboard, nor mouse react on startup.
• Kernel update to 4.15.0-177 fails to load some kernel modules
• kernel 4.15.0.177 break everything on Dell XPS 15 9570

All bug reporters seem to agree that reverting to kernel 4.15.0-176 resolved the problems, introduced by kernel 4.15.0-177.

Regards,
Karl

[Reorx]

...So your keyboard, which does not work when booting kernel 4.15.0-177 is the built-in Dell notebook keyboard, not a second external keyboard, attached through USB. Correct?

Yes, that is correct!

...All bug reporters seem to agree that reverting to kernel 4.15.0-176 resolved the problems, introduced by kernel 4.15.0-177...

Yep, that was my experience as well.

...The OP was saying his kernel is .166 at the end is this a different kernel or did he make a mistake?...

No mistake. Look at your update history for a kernel update. See also examples >>>

(Click to enlarge)

[karlchen]

Hi,

the Ubuntu kernel version strings can be confusing. Admitted.
The kernel software package linux-image-4.15.0-177-generic has got the full version string 4.15.0-177.186.
The corresponding kernel meta package linux-generic, however, has got the full version string 4.15.0.177.166.
The command uname -a displays the kernel version as 4.15.0-177-generic #186-Ubuntu.

So we are all talking about the same kernel version, only picking the rightmost 3 digits from different kernel packages.

Cheers,
Karl
--
P.S.: Below are the commandlines to verify the displayed version strings.

Code: Select all

$ uname -a
Linux paulchen 4.15.0-177-generic #186-Ubuntu SMP Thu Apr 14 20:22:31 UTC 2022 i686 i686 i686 GNU/Linux

Code: Select all

LC_ALL=C dpkg --list 'linux-*' | egrep "^ii|Name|==="
||/ Name                                    Version              Architecture Description
+++-=======================================-====================-============-===============================================================
ii  linux-base                              4.5ubuntu1.7         all          Linux image base package
ii  linux-firmware                          1.173.21             all          Firmware for Linux kernel drivers
ii  linux-generic                           4.15.0.177.166       i386         Complete Generic Linux kernel and headers
ii  linux-headers-4.15.0-175                4.15.0-175.184       all          Header files related to Linux kernel version 4.15.0
ii  linux-headers-4.15.0-175-generic        4.15.0-175.184       i386         Linux kernel headers for version 4.15.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-headers-4.15.0-176                4.15.0-176.185       all          Header files related to Linux kernel version 4.15.0
ii  linux-headers-4.15.0-176-generic        4.15.0-176.185       i386         Linux kernel headers for version 4.15.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-headers-4.15.0-177                4.15.0-177.186       all          Header files related to Linux kernel version 4.15.0
ii  linux-headers-4.15.0-177-generic        4.15.0-177.186       i386         Linux kernel headers for version 4.15.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-headers-generic                   4.15.0.177.166       i386         Generic Linux kernel headers
ii  linux-image-4.15.0-175-generic          4.15.0-175.184       i386         Linux kernel image for version 4.15.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-4.15.0-176-generic          4.15.0-176.185       i386         Linux kernel image for version 4.15.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-4.15.0-177-generic          4.15.0-177.186       i386         Linux kernel image for version 4.15.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-image-generic                     4.15.0.177.166       i386         Generic Linux kernel image
ii  linux-libc-dev:i386                     4.15.0-177.186       i386         Linux Kernel Headers for development
ii  linux-modules-4.15.0-175-generic        4.15.0-175.184       i386         Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.15.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-modules-4.15.0-176-generic        4.15.0-176.185       i386         Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.15.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-modules-4.15.0-177-generic        4.15.0-177.186       i386         Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.15.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-modules-extra-4.15.0-175-generic  4.15.0-175.184       i386         Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.15.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-modules-extra-4.15.0-176-generic  4.15.0-176.185       i386         Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.15.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-modules-extra-4.15.0-177-generic  4.15.0-177.186       i386         Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.15.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-sound-base                        1.0.25+dfsg-0ubuntu5 all          base package for ALSA and OSS sound systems

[Reorx]

Follow up:

A kernel upgrade was offered today in Mint Update so I tried it - I upgraded (on one of the two machines in question) the kernel to 4.15.0.180.189. After a quick reboot, everything seems to be working as usual. I'll report back after I do the second of the 2...

6/8/2022 update: After a few days of use it became apparent the the .180 kernel also had problems as did the next kernel in the 4.15 series (.184). After rolling back my kernel and deleting the problematic ones, I have black listed kernel updates for the series. As a practical matter, LM19 is approaching EOL and all my LM19 machines will be upgraded to LM21 in a few months.

Cheers!

- Reo -

[undersound]

Same here, sound and wifi stopped working after upgrading to kernel 4.15.0-180 (where previously 4.15.0-177 also failed)
Reverting to 4.15.0-176 "solves" it

[SMG]

Multiple people with problems with this kernel have found switching to the latest 5.4 kernel resolves the issue.

The 5.4 kernel is available in Update Manager. View>Linux Kernels and click Continue.