kernel 2.6.24-16-generic + radeon driver = system freezes

Ever since I updated from gutsy to hardy, my Laptop freezes whenever I boot the system with kernel 2.6.24-16-generic and start an X session (kdm + kde) using the radeon open source driver. Most of the time I can still move the mouse pointer, but the rest of the system is not responding and I can't even switch to a tty. Other times the whole screen gets messed up and scrambled and even the mouse isn't responding any more. What's weird is, that I don't get that freeze if I boot the system with a mouse plugged into one of the Laptops USB ports. As long as I keep the mouse plugged, the system runs smooth, but as soon as I unplug the mouse, the system freezes. I worked around that bug by using the vesa driver for now.

My system:
Acer TravelMate 4002LMi with Mobility Radeon 9700 (64 MB RAM)

I attached my Xorg log file and the dmesg output. If you need more info, just let me know.

I don't know if this will fix this specific issue, but I've backported a bunch of high importance patches that upstream recommended, that fix problems sort of like this one, so I think it would be worth the time to test. Please try this .deb and report what you find:

http://people.ubuntu.com/~bryce/Testing/ati/

If we can determine that the patches in this deb fix this bug, they may be candidates for backporting to Hardy.

I installed the fixed driver, but it doesn't resolve the issue. The Laptop still freezes if I either boot without an attached USB mouse or unplug the mouse from the running system.

Thanks for testing that .deb, too bad it didn't solve the issue.
I've reviewed your Xorg.0.log but did not spot anything which would give a clue as to the problem.

With crashes (and sometimes freezes/lockups), it is usually useful to collect a full backtrace. Directions on how you can install debug symbols and do this are available at http://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Backtracing. Could you please collect a backtrace and post here?

I attached an Xorg backtrace of the frozen system. Hope that helps.

I'm experiencing the same: Crashes during gdm (sometimes it works until X serveris started) and screen output as posted above. Interestingly, it only occurs when NOT having plugged in an external monitor or running on VESA driver. The use of metacity or compiz doesn't matter.

SPECS:
Acer Extensa 3000
Radeon Mobility 9500
Intel Celeron Mobility 1,45Ghz
Tested on Upgraded & Fresh Hardy Installation

I'm novice to bug reporting, but I'l gladly do further investigation if instructed to :)
Please fix this bug, it renders my laptop virtually useless.

[Btw, please attach files individually, not in tarballs (makes it easier to link them upstream, so are easier for reviewers.)]

Hi akeller, I've reported this upstream to Xorg, at https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=15795. Would you please subscribe to this upstream bug report too, in case they have questions or need additional information.

@Tobias, from your description it sounds like you have an unrelated bug, that just happens to have the same effect and symptoms as this one. Please file a new bug. See http://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Reporting for details of what to include; you should also try to gather a full backtrace.

Hello,

I misinterpreted the bug behavior. It doesn't freeze because of the absence of an external monitor, it crashes when no USB device is plugged in or if I unplug my usb devices (all on 2 cascading hubs). I can't figure out right now which device is causing a successfull boot, but the mouse as suggested above might be the one. I will try to figure it out when I have more time

Well, I can confirm it crashes only when NO USB Mouse is present.

The Problem apparently is also present on ArchLinux: http://forum.archlinux.de/?page=Postings;id=20;thread=8265 There is also a temporarily fix for it - using AGP 1x Mode only.

Add The Following Line in your /etc/X11/xorg.conf in the "Device" Section of your Graphic Adapter

Option "AGPMode" "1"

This makes the bug less critical and I don't know how slow AGP 1x is compared to 4x or 8x, but for new users who aren't experienced enough to look for the right answers and edit conf-files, this bug is a real showstopper.

I can confirm that I get the same behaviour on my laptop: an Acer Aspire 1681 WLMi with an ATI Radeon 9700 w/ 64MB.

After upgrading to Ubuntu 8.04, the screen would freeze at some point after X starts -- occasionally at login screen or once desktop appears after logging-in. If I booted into my previous kernel, 2.6.22-14-generic, then I would experience no problems and can use my laptop without freezes, but booting into 2.6.24-16-generic would cause a freeze. So for the time being I am booting into an older kernel from the previous release to work around the problem.

Reading this thread, I tried booting into 2.6.24-16-generic with a USB mouse plugged in and I am able to use X for the first time with this new kernel. Could this be a problem with the way the new kernel is compiled? Should this be reported to the kernel maintainer of 2.6.24-16-generic?

I'm esperiencing a bug which may be related. I occasionally get a system freeze with ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-17-generic, no problems with previous ubuntu releases.
My system is an acer aspire 5024. I'm using the open source driver for my ati mobility radeon x700 graphics card.

I have no video scramble, but a total freeze of the input. The system goes on with his activity, but with a considerable slowdown.
The freeze is very unpredictable, but seems to happen in response to some action, as:
- open a link in firefox
- lauch a virtualbox machine
Sometimes freeze happen very short after system boot up, sometimes after >1h of usage.

What I've tried.
I tried to use a different web browser, but didn't helped.

I've tried to install acer kernel modules:
$ lsmod |grep acer
acer_acpi 18112 0
led_class 6020 2 b43,acer_acpi
wmi_acer 9644 1 acer_acpi
Recently I got similar problems with a vanilla kernel (don't rember version number!) under gobolinux, and acer modules solved them. However, under ubuntu 8.04 that didn't helped at all.

Tried proprietary ati drivers, and didn't helped either.

I will try to plug-in an usb mouse, to see if helps. Let me know if you need some other details.

Hi!

I have the same freeze problem.
However, as many said, my laptop does not freeze when an usb mouse is plugged.
Moreover, I observe the very same problem with the fglrx driver, so the culprit is most probably not the driver.
I experienced this problem since 2.6.24 (I ran Ubuntu 7.10 with kernels up to 2.6.23 without a hitch...)

Just to confirm, Thinkpad T43, 8.04 kernel 2.6.24-17-generic

My problem (https://bugs.launchpad.net/xserver-xorg-driver-ati/+bug/220345/comments/13) seems to be solved by using the kernel image compiled for the 386 architecture instead of the 'generic' one, i.e.:
$ uname -r
2.6.24-18-386

I'm trying this option since about 2 weeks, and still didn't experienced any freeze (previously, with kernel-generic, I had an average of several freezes per day).

Hope this helps.

Exact same problem here:

Machine: Acer Aspire 2012WLMi Laptop
GFX Card: ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
Distribution: Hardy
Kernel: 2.6.24-18-generic

Symptom: ati driver shows gdm login screen but crashes on first input event. fglrx crashes after login in default session (probably due to compiz being used) or when using any 3d stuff in failsafe session. Using a USB mouse makes problem go away for ati.

Will try mouse + fglrx and -386 kernel next and report back

fglrx works fine using a USB mouse as far as I can see (logging into default session with compiz and running fgl_glxgears worked)

2.6.24-18-386 has not fixed the issue over here - both ati and fglrx crash like before without external rodent support...

Try booting with either or both of these kernel parameters:

  nohz=off irqpoll

>Try booting with either or both of these kernel parameters:
> nohz=off irqpoll

with these optione, I am able to run the 2.6.24-18-rt kernel, but it does not work with 2.6.24-19-rt.

I have a working config for fglrx drivers. After reading a page in the german ubuntu wiki (http://www.ubuntu-forum.de/artikel/34623/ati-mobility-radeon-9600-und-hardy-heron.html) my laptop is running fglrx without external mouse.

kernel options for generic kernel: highres=off nohz=off irqpoll

xorg.conf:

Option "AGPv3Mask" "0x00000002"

in the Device stanza.

trying the above with ati driver does not crash the system any more but segfaults when using 3d accel :-(

$ fglrxinfo
display: :0.0 screen: 0
OpenGL vendor string: DRI R300 Project
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa DRI R300 20060815 AGP 4x x86/MMX/SSE2 TCL
OpenGL version string: 1.3 Mesa 7.0.3-rc2

Segmentation fault

so it's fglrx for me until we get some other fix...

I have a similar problem:
   with a new ATI Radeon X700 video card installed, Kubuntu hangs on startup at the log in screen. The keyboard is dead (nothing, not even Ctrl-Alt-F1 works), and mouse pointer moves but does not register a click. The only way out is to turn off the power and restart the computer, and press Esc as GRUB loads to get to the root level terminal.

My system is an Acer Aspire Desktop, AMD Sempron 3100+ processor

OS is Kubuntu 8.04 (Hardy)

I have tried modifying the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file to no avail. Looking at the /var/log/Xorg.0.log shows the system does correctly choose the "radeon" driver, but hangs up later on. I also tried specifying other drivers -- "ati" and even "vesa" but neither works. I have not tried the fglrx restriced driver.

I am now back where I started -- no video card installed at all.

 I am new to linux and this is my first bug report. How do I upload files like the Xorg.0.log file so you can see them? DO you want data from me or should I just wait and see what develops? Thanks, -- Phil

Same Problem With acer 2012 WLMI
Under Gutsy 7.04 everything OK
When I Updated to Hardy, the system crash on logging screen, but the old kernel is still OK.

Exactly the same problem on my Acer 4001WLMi

Try upping your AGP aperture size.

I had which looked like the same issue with a Radeon X800 GTO. I reset the BIOS before I rebuilt the box, so the AGP aperture size was set to 64M. Upping it to 128M seems to have fixed it. I've managed to recreate the issue several times.

For the record, this problem also occurs on Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex 8.10 alpha 4 (Plugging a usb device (a bluetooth dongle for my case) still solves the problem...)

Hi !
I have the same problem here using (laptop) Acer 8004 LMI, Radeon 9700.

With 8.04, I had no problem but after the upgrade to 8.04.1 the freeze appears.
The mouse (trackpad) continues to works but do not register any click and the keyboard seems no respond at all (ctrl+alt+f1 does not work). The freeze appears a few seconds after gdm starts or after I login into the system.

I had no problem with any previous version of ubuntu.

I try install intrebid ibex beta using an usb key (my cdrom is dead) but the freeze also appears in the installer now ! So impossible to install intrebid but I think the problem is not solved if the installer freeze too.

This Bug is still present in Intrepid Ibex Final.

I also have still the bug in Intrepid Final

I can also confirm that this bug is still present in Intrepid Ibex Final. Without an attached USB mouse my laptop crashes if I either try to boot into the Live-CD or start the installer directly from the boot menu.

Confirming the bug still present with Intrepid on Toshiba Satellite M30x, Mobility Radeon 9600 M10, radeon driver.

Confirming the bug: Intrepid on IBM/Lenovo R52, Mobility Radeon X300 . Previous release 7.10 works correct.

same problem here in Kubuntu 8.04 and in 8.10

Hardware: Acer Travelmate 4002lmi with Mobility Radeon 9700 (resolution 1600x1200)

had no probs in 7.10

@akeller: my battery status is wrong in ibex (shows only to about 12%)
                  do you have the same problem?

Even my battery shows a wrong status, showing to be @51% if it's charged and
plugged, even though clicking on the icon, the small window with the battery
information shows (rightly) 100%. ...but how could this be related to the
freezing with the radeon driver?

Chal ha scritto:
> @akeller: my battery status is wrong in ibex (shows only to about 12%)
> do you have the same problem?
>

It seems to be gone for me after inserting

Option "AccelMethod" "EXA"

in device section in xorg.conf

mikkeg suggestion didn't fix it for me, it still crashes randomly at the Login screen.

The only fix I know is adding

Option "AGPMode" "1"

In the Device Section for your Graphics Adapter. But I think I give away performance with that.

I've disabled X on startup (kdm in my case). Then after boot I manually run kdm, and stuff looks fine now.
I tend to suspect that the X (kdm/gdm/whatever) init script conflicts with some other init script, but if it's being run later, the bug doesn't show.

I have a Travelmate 4002WLMi and after an installation of Intrepid with the alternate installer (because I didn't know about the usb mouse !!!) adding nohz=off solve the freezing issue ...
Although I didn't install the ati driver (I think) compiz runs smoothly. (I don't have fglrxinfo ..)
My /etc/X11/xorg.conf is empty ...

How can I know the driver I am using ? just out of curiosity !!!

Hope my experience helps someone !

According to upstream, this is a kernel issue. Reassigning.

I installed Jaunty Jackalope yesterday on my Acer Travelmate 4001WLMi. It seems they have fixed the problem here, as I don't have any booting problems anymore.

Keep in mind that Jaunty is still in alpha. But it's running quite stable here on my laptop, and everything works out of the box.

On my system the issue is resolved with 9.04.

@Bryce (or anyone else a little more experienced in bug hunting than me): should we close the bug or wait for more confirmations?

akeller, go ahead and close it; two confirmations is probably sufficient.

Issue resolved in 9.04

Hi there! There "freezing-graphics-usb-plugin-plugout-bug" is still there in my version of kubuntu jaunty 9.04. I work with kde 4.2.2 and a "2.6.28-14-generic" kernel on an acer travelmate 3200 with a mobility radeon 9700 graphics chip with the open-source radeon driver.

I entered the "AGPMode" "1" line in my xorg.conf file and now it seems to run stable. I don't need 3d-accelleration, just want to make presentations with a video beamer with this system. Hope it works without a usb-mouse now.

Thanks for reading this post and thank you so much for posting your problems here. I thought that I was the only person in the world having this graphics-problem. ;-) wolli from austria.