[SOLVED] new PC build, Firefox and Thunderbird problems

[petevick]

I have recently built a new Linux Mint 19.1 (Tessa) Desktop PC, the spec is as follows;

Output from $ inxi -Fxz

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System:    Host: pete-B450M Kernel: 4.18.0-13-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 7.3.0 Desktop: Cinnamon 4.0.9 
           Distro: Linux Mint 19.1 Tessa base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 
Machine:   Type: Desktop System: Gigabyte product: B450M GAMING v: N/A serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Gigabyte model: B450M GAMING-CF v: x.x serial: <filter> UEFI [Legacy]: American Megatrends v: F1 date: 09/07/2018 
CPU:       Topology: Quad Core model: AMD Ryzen 5 2400G with Radeon Vega Graphics bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen L2 cache: 2048 KiB 
           flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm bogomips: 57492 
           Speed: 1461 MHz min/max: 1600/3600 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1521 2: 1511 3: 1683 4: 1758 5: 1454 6: 1411 7: 1525 8: 1484 
Graphics:  Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Vega [Radeon Vega 8 Mobile] vendor: Gigabyte driver: amdgpu v: kernel 
           bus ID: 09:00.0 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.19.6 driver: amdgpu,ati unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,radeon,vesa 
           resolution: 1600x1200~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: AMD RAVEN (DRM 3.26.0 4.18.0-13-generic LLVM 7.0.1) 
           v: 4.5 Mesa 19.0.0-devel (git-0862929 2019-01-14 bionic-oibaf-ppa) direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 09:00.1 
           Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] vendor: Gigabyte driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 09:00.6 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k4.18.0-13-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Gigabyte driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: f000 bus ID: 08:00.0 
           IF: enp8s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 756.49 GiB used: 106.03 GiB (14.0%) 
           ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Crucial model: CT250MX500SSD1 size: 232.89 GiB 
           ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Crucial model: CT500MX500SSD4 size: 465.76 GiB 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 228.23 GiB used: 17.32 GiB (7.6%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 38.4 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 38 C Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Info:      Processes: 265 Uptime: 3h 05m Memory: 6.82 GiB used: 2.20 GiB (32.3%) Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 7.3.0 Shell: bash v: 4.4.19 inxi: 3.0.27 

I had a helluva job installing 19.1 but eventually it installed but was using software rendering, that was cured by updating the 4.15 kernel to the mainstream 4.18.0 kernel. I've also installed the latest Mesa 19 drivers.

My main problem is that ANY browser crashes, I'm using Firefox now as it's easier to recover from. Firefox usually crashes a single tab, but will crash out totally. Thunderbird also occasionally crashes out, not such a big problem. I'd hoped the Mesa drivers would cure the problem, but it didn't. Occasionally the whole system freezes. No other app seems to be affected.

At the moment I'm putting it down to the kernels catching up with the Ryzen technology. I have tried non mainstream kernels, but any above and including 4.18.1 give errors when booting, and thought it better to use a mainstream kernel for troubleshooting this problem.

The motherboard bios is F1, F2 is available but at the moment I'm loathed to use it as there seems little that would help me, might be a last ditched thing.

So, if anyone has any thoughts on this I'd be pleased to hear them. Please don't get too technical, I'm old and my brain can't handle it any more

[ClixTrix]

I think Mesa 18.2.2 or whatever is updated and available at Ubuntu in the 18.2.x series is a better bet. dev usually = buggy

http://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/201 ... ubuntu-18-

[petevick]

I think Mesa 18.2.2 or whatever is updated and available at Ubuntu in the 18.2.x series is a better bet. dev usually = buggy

http://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/201 ... ubuntu-18-

Thanks for the reply. I started off with Mesa 18.2.2, still had the same problems, Mesa was updated via Update Manager yesterday, still the same problems.

[ClixTrix]

Check your motherboard for BIOS setting "PSU Idle Control" and change it to "Typical Current Idle". That definitely helps one type of Ryzen freeze problem.

[petevick]

Check your motherboard for BIOS setting "PSU Idle Control" and change it to "Typical Current Idle". That definitely helps one type of Ryzen freeze problem.

can't find anything like that in the BIOS, I'd already seen that on a number of posts.

I've just flashed the BIOS with latest F2, at least I haven't bricked it, just see if it's cured the problem.......

[ClixTrix]

can't find anything like that in the BIOS, I'd already seen that on a number of posts.

In my Gigabyte BIOS (see my sig) it's located....

M.I.T. -> Advanced Frequency Settings -> Advanced Core Settings

Edit: Just pulled your MB Manual. Looks like that path to the setting is correct, same as mine.

[petevick]

can't find anything like that in the BIOS, I'd already seen that on a number of posts.

In my Gigabyte BIOS (see my sig) it's located....

M.I.T. -> Advanced Frequency Settings -> Advanced Core Settings

Edit: Just pulled your MB Manual. Looks like that path to the setting is correct, same as mine.

Thanks for that, I'll go take a look.

The F2 BIOS seems to have helped, still had one tab in Firefox crash, but it would have crashed many times before the BIOS update

[ClixTrix]

Did you test memory? I'd use Memtest86....good for BIOS/UEFI systems.

https://www.memtest86.com/

[petevick]

PSU Idle Control is now set at Typical Current Idle.
I've also disabled Global C-State Control as I've read that can cause problems with my kind of setup.
I'll take a look at memtest86 if the above fails to deliver.

Let's see how this works out.....

[petevick]

bugger, Firefox tab just crashed

[ClixTrix]

Global-C state disable was the temporary workaround for the idle freeze problem before AMD provided the Typical Current Idle fix last January. I know, I had the problem.

It filtered down through the various board vendors with updated BIOS including my board.

[petevick]

I've run the memtest option from the grub menu, I got bored when the number of errors approached 10,000 !!!. I'm guessing (hopefully) that that can't be right, surely if there were that many errors I'd have a PC that'd be unusable ! Maybe it's an old memtest version ???

[ClixTrix]

Not likely. I depend on Memtest and Memtest86+. Remember, you have an APU that uses the system memory.

[cediddi]

I'm having the same issue in my Libreboot X200 since yesterday. I upgraded to 19.1 and did not touched the mesa but firefox and chromium is constantly crashing tabs. Firefox is crashing under 5 seconds, and chromium tabs crash between 20 seconds. From what I understand by looking at errors, it's a mesa related issue. I don't have a bios menu because of libreboot. I checked memory via memtester and no issues there. I also encountered with cinnamon crashes a few times as well as virtualbox guest giving kernel panics. my inxi -Fxz output is below.

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System:    Host: shakuras Kernel: 4.15.0-43-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 7.3.0 Desktop: Cinnamon 4.0.9 
           Distro: Linux Mint 19.1 Tessa base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 7458VHE v: ThinkPad X200 serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: LENOVO model: 7458VHE v: ThinkPad X200 serial: <filter> BIOS: coreboot v: CBET4000 3774c98 date: 09/07/2016 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 60.1 Wh condition: 61.6/71.3 Wh (86%) model: SANYO 42T4536 status: Discharging 
CPU:       Topology: Dual Core model: Intel Core2 Duo P8600 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Penryn rev: A L2 cache: 3072 KiB 
           flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 9600 
           Speed: 800 MHz min/max: 800/2401 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 800 2: 800 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel Mobile 4 Series Integrated Graphics vendor: Lenovo driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.19.6 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa tty: N/A 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Mobile Intel GM45 Express v: 2.1 Mesa 18.0.5 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel 82801I HD Audio vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k4.15.0-43-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Intel 82567LM Gigabit Network vendor: Lenovo driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k port: 4000 bus ID: 00:19.0 
           IF: enp0s25 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter vendor: AzureWave AW-NE785 / AW-NE785H 802.11bgn 
           driver: ath9k v: kernel port: 0400 bus ID: 02:00.0 
           IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-1: docker0 state: down mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 223.57 GiB used: 24.54 GiB (11.0%) 
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: JAJS300M240C size: 223.57 GiB 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 210.73 GiB used: 23.51 GiB (11.2%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/dm-1 
           ID-2: /boot size: 703.5 MiB used: 382.3 MiB (54.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1 
           ID-3: swap-1 size: 7.75 GiB used: 673.4 MiB (8.5%) fs: swap dev: /dev/dm-2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 35.0 C mobo: 33.0 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 0 
Info:      Processes: 259 Uptime: 11h 31m Memory: 7.54 GiB used: 468.1 MiB (6.1%) Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: 
           gcc: 7.3.0 Shell: zsh v: 5.4.2 inxi: 3.0.27

I think my firefox issue goes away if I disable multi core tabs, but still, it used to work with that feature manually set to true.

[petevick]

Did you test memory? I'd use Memtest86....good for BIOS/UEFI systems.

https://www.memtest86.com/

I've run memtest86 and it gave a shed load of errors tyically follows (can't attach the html log file)....

Code: Select all

2019-01-15 11:52:22 - [Data Error] Test: 3, CPU: 0, Address: 4889E2BC, Expected: FFFFFFFF, Actual: 00FFFFFF
2019-01-15 11:52:22 - [Data Error] Test: 3, CPU: 0, Address: 4889E2B4, Expected: FFFFFFFF, Actual: 00FFFFFF
2019-01-15 11:52:22 - [Data Error] Test: 3, CPU: 0, Address: 4889E2AC, Expected: FFFFFFFF, Actual: 00FFFFFF
2019-01-15 11:52:22 - [Data Error] Test: 3, CPU: 0, Address: 4889E2A4, Expected: FFFFFFFF, Actual: 00FFFFFF

I also tried memtester, again, a shed load of errors

I'm beginning to think I may have a RAM issue

[ClixTrix]

Did you test memory? I'd use Memtest86....good for BIOS/UEFI systems.

https://www.memtest86.com/

I've run memtest86 and it gave a shed load of errors tyically follows (can't attach the html log file)....

Code: Select all

2019-01-15 11:52:22 - [Data Error] Test: 3, CPU: 0, Address: 4889E2BC, Expected: FFFFFFFF, Actual: 00FFFFFF
2019-01-15 11:52:22 - [Data Error] Test: 3, CPU: 0, Address: 4889E2B4, Expected: FFFFFFFF, Actual: 00FFFFFF
2019-01-15 11:52:22 - [Data Error] Test: 3, CPU: 0, Address: 4889E2AC, Expected: FFFFFFFF, Actual: 00FFFFFF
2019-01-15 11:52:22 - [Data Error] Test: 3, CPU: 0, Address: 4889E2A4, Expected: FFFFFFFF, Actual: 00FFFFFF

I also tried memtester, again, a shed load of errors

I'm beginning to think I may have a RAM issue

Well, what is the brand and model of the memory? Is it on the approved memory list for that motherboard with that processor, as posted by Gigabyte at their website?

See the memory in my sig. It can run 24 hours without error using the Memtest86 test tool I recommended. It's on the Gigabyte list of approved for my board.

Also, are you doing any overclocking?

[petevick]

Well, what is the brand and model of the memory? Is it on the approved memory list for that motherboard with that processor, as posted by Gigabyte at their website?

See the memory in my sig. It can run 24 hours without error using the Memtest86 test tool I recommended. It's on the Gigabyte list of approved for my board.

Also, are you doing any overclocking?

ARRRGGGHHH, of course it's not in the approved memory list for my motherboard, altho I don't see a reference to processors in the list. I wasn't even aware such a list existed !
I'm just trawling thru the list to find memory that's compatible AND available in the UK. What a pain !!

No overclocking !

I really do appreciate the time you've spent on this ClixTrix, hopefully a different ram module will end my woes !!

[ClixTrix]

Since you have a Raven Ridge CPU/APU, need to use that specific list at Support List. As I mentioned earlier, your integrated Graphics / APU, also uses the memory.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B4 ... upport-doc

[petevick]

Since you have a Raven Ridge CPU/APU, need to use that specific list at Support List. As I mentioned earlier, your integrated Graphics / APU, also uses the memory.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B4 ... upport-doc

yes indeed. I have eventually found a stick that is in the Gigabyte approved list, and an approved list on the AMD website. It's a HyperX HX424C15FB2/8 8GB 2400MHz DDR4 CL15 Black Memory. Hopefully this will fix my problem.

[petevick]

actually, hold that. On further searching, the HyperX HX426C16FB2/8 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 CL16 Memory is on the Gigabyte, AMD and Kingston approved list !!