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10 Posts
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614756
October 19th, 2006 14:00
Linux USB Problems on Dimension E521 AMD 64 X2
Hi,
Anyone else try running Linux (in my case Ubuntu 6.06) on the E521 with the AMD 64 X2 processor? I am having a problem when using xorg where my USB devices, more often my mouse, but my keyboard has had the problem as well stops working. It is almost like the interrupts start getting masked, but it isn't that. Because when the mouse stops working I am usually able to still use the keyboard.
It happens after a while, and usually in times of heavy use. I guess really instead of heavy I would say normal. But it has never happened that it will be working and then I let it lay idle for a while and then reach for it again and it be frozen.
This started happening under the amd64 version of Ubuntu but I have tried several different versions by now and the problem continues to happen.
As far as troubleshooting it has been a real pain. There is never a message in the kernel log or shown by running dmesg. Actually once or twice I have seen the irq status -71 received, but I am pretty sure that is not the cause, becuase it has only happened about twice out of maybe 40 occurances. And there is no message in the Xorg log either.
I have tried the default amd64-generic kernel the latest amd64-generic, the latest amd64-k8 kernel (I think 2.6.15-27.48) I have tried running the i386 uniprocessor kernel and the latest k7-smp kernel. All of them have the same problem.
In an effort to get to the bottom of it I have re-compiled the kernel according to the directions here: http://doc.gwos.org/index.php/Kernel_Compilation_Dapper and turned on debugfs and collected data, but there doesn't seem to be anything of interest. It seems I get hundreds of thousands of lines of -115 status (Which I believe is the controller just telling the device that yeah, I hear ya and I am going to do something EINPROGRESS) and then nothing. The mouse appears to continue to function at least the circuit which senses movement and turns the LED into bright mode. And under Windows I have had no problems at all.
The only solution that always works is to disconnect the USB cable and then reconnect it, which grabs a new device file /dev/input/event7 and probably does some other magic registers with the USB controller, and a bunch of other stuff and then the mouse starts working again.
The only other consistent problem I have noted is the IOAPIC stuff complains about a bug, and sometimes it won't boot and panics, other times it figures out a way to get by and does so. Because of this I have tried booting with noapic and other than changing the way /proc/interrupts looks there seems to be no change in the problem. Eventually under usage the mouse stops responding entirely. Even looking at cat /dev/input/mice there is nothing getting there.
I have upgraded the BIOS to 1.0.3 that had no effect. And also turned off the Cool and Quiet support in the bios.
Any thoughts, recommendations of how to proceed, or any other suggestions are appreciated.
Thank you,
Kevin
Anyone else try running Linux (in my case Ubuntu 6.06) on the E521 with the AMD 64 X2 processor? I am having a problem when using xorg where my USB devices, more often my mouse, but my keyboard has had the problem as well stops working. It is almost like the interrupts start getting masked, but it isn't that. Because when the mouse stops working I am usually able to still use the keyboard.
It happens after a while, and usually in times of heavy use. I guess really instead of heavy I would say normal. But it has never happened that it will be working and then I let it lay idle for a while and then reach for it again and it be frozen.
This started happening under the amd64 version of Ubuntu but I have tried several different versions by now and the problem continues to happen.
As far as troubleshooting it has been a real pain. There is never a message in the kernel log or shown by running dmesg. Actually once or twice I have seen the irq status -71 received, but I am pretty sure that is not the cause, becuase it has only happened about twice out of maybe 40 occurances. And there is no message in the Xorg log either.
I have tried the default amd64-generic kernel the latest amd64-generic, the latest amd64-k8 kernel (I think 2.6.15-27.48) I have tried running the i386 uniprocessor kernel and the latest k7-smp kernel. All of them have the same problem.
In an effort to get to the bottom of it I have re-compiled the kernel according to the directions here: http://doc.gwos.org/index.php/Kernel_Compilation_Dapper and turned on debugfs and collected data, but there doesn't seem to be anything of interest. It seems I get hundreds of thousands of lines of -115 status (Which I believe is the controller just telling the device that yeah, I hear ya and I am going to do something EINPROGRESS) and then nothing. The mouse appears to continue to function at least the circuit which senses movement and turns the LED into bright mode. And under Windows I have had no problems at all.
The only solution that always works is to disconnect the USB cable and then reconnect it, which grabs a new device file /dev/input/event7 and probably does some other magic registers with the USB controller, and a bunch of other stuff and then the mouse starts working again.
The only other consistent problem I have noted is the IOAPIC stuff complains about a bug, and sometimes it won't boot and panics, other times it figures out a way to get by and does so. Because of this I have tried booting with noapic and other than changing the way /proc/interrupts looks there seems to be no change in the problem. Eventually under usage the mouse stops responding entirely. Even looking at cat /dev/input/mice there is nothing getting there.
I have upgraded the BIOS to 1.0.3 that had no effect. And also turned off the Cool and Quiet support in the bios.
Any thoughts, recommendations of how to proceed, or any other suggestions are appreciated.
Thank you,
Kevin
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insertBillHere
6 Posts
0
December 29th, 2006 20:00
The article goes into more detail on how to fix the problem by attaching a USB 2.0 active hub to the computer, and attaching the devices to it, thereby routing the traffic around the problematic USB 1.1 bus.
I'm not saying this is a cure-all, but this is the first I've read of someone doing actual hardware analysis....
insertBillHere
6 Posts
0
December 29th, 2006 20:00
I was able to install opensuse 10.2 with acpi=noirq as a boot option. However, plug-in cards don't function properly (intel PCI-E GigE), and irq routing between processors doesn't happen at all (/proc/interrupts shows everything being serviced by CPU0). I will try the irqpoll option; I will also try the new (2.6.19.1) kernel, as the machine at least boots on a regular basis now.
Anyone have anything positive to report recently?
jrminter
10 Posts
0
December 29th, 2006 23:00
What I don't understand is why people are still trying all the heroics with kernel configs when a $25 self-powered USB hub fixes the problem! Has anyone tried a self-powered hub that hasn't eliminated the problem??? I have been happily using my C521 for weeks now...
Duli
31 Posts
0
December 30th, 2006 00:00
Well, because it's just unacceptable. You buy a computer in order for it to work, and not the other way around, having to apply band-aids to it.
Mainly when the computer you buy is supposed to work with linux, as said by the vendor.
t35t0r
16 Posts
0
December 30th, 2006 01:00
Ummm because you lose lots of USB ports on the system, the entire USB bus for at least usb 1.1 is busted on the nvidia MCP5 or the dell bios is messed up, and you don't understand the crazy linux mentality.
myfreeforum
14 Posts
0
December 30th, 2006 17:00
MRosas
1 Message
0
December 30th, 2006 17:00
Unfortunately, I am experiencing the same problem. I have tried every option that I can think of with my installations including using different distributions and am still having the problems that everyone here is having. I finally called Dell and they told me that this machine was manufactured to run Windows only and that Linux will not run on it. As a result, I am going to return the Dimension E521 AMD 64 X2 and look into purchasing another product. I would really be interested so see if someone comes up with a solution for this problem because I think this machine is a great machine, but if it won't run Linux, it is completely useless to me. Thank you all very much for your input and have a great day.
insertBillHere
6 Posts
0
December 30th, 2006 21:00
- The high-end N-series desktops with Linux installed are much more expensive
- The high-end N-series desktops with Linux installed do not have AMD64 processors available
- I received a discount (Dell EPP) on the E521 that was not available on the N-series desktops
Now, I have not seen a computer manufactured in the past six years that could not, somehow, be forced to run Linux. Even Microsoft's Xbox has its own Linux distribution. I find Linux to be an indispensable tool for troubleshooting hardware problems, too. So I have to ask: if I'm finding hardware issues, how am I to be sure that Windows is running correctly on this same hardware? Are all the interrupts being handled by one CPU? Are the interrupts being handled at all, or does this "new mouse driver" everyone here is talking about modify Windows to perform IRQ polling exclusively? What aren't we being told?If this box is, in fact, a "Windows only" box, and will really run well with an appropriate version of Windows (4GB ram, dual-core CPU), and not hobbled as I expect, then I suppose I can run VMware Server on it; at least I would be both running Linux and abiding by the warranty...
mwette
38 Posts
0
December 30th, 2006 22:00
solution may not be very clean. Another avenue to deal with this
problem is to bring it to the attention of nVidia engineers. I
have started a thread on the nvidia site here.
Maybe if that thread gets active it may sparc some interest from
someone who understands something about the hardware. -- Matt
robrenaud
1 Message
0
December 31st, 2006 02:00
Message Edited by robrenaud on 12-30-200610:58 PM
ajsoft
3 Posts
0
December 31st, 2006 06:00
One was purchased at the start of December, and after installing Mandriva 2007 has the reported mouse problems (also has occurred with the keyboard). Tried installing Mandriva 2006 and this had a mouse lock up during the install. This should pretty much eliminate it as a kernel problem (except if the issue occurs in all 2.6 kernels! since 2006 uses 2.6.8 and 2007 uses 2.6.17). Not sure what version of BIOS this is using, but it is likely 1.0.3+ but not as late as 1.1.2
The other C521 was purchased about 20th December, and also now has Mandriva 2007 installed. This works without issue. It is using BIOS 1.1.4 ! (which isnt even available as a Dell download).
Conclusion : it is almost certainly a BIOS issue and is likely fixed in later BIOSes. I still need to upgrade the first machine with the latest available BIOS (1.1.2) to see if that fixes it on that machine.
The only other differences between these machines are that the first is an AMD Sempron with NVidia GeForce 6150LE, whereas the second is an AMD Athlon 64x2 with ATI X1300.
insertBillHere
6 Posts
0
December 31st, 2006 10:00
It bugs me a little that Nvidia went through this same "growth curve" on their newest chipset (Asus, Abit, etc) six months ago, but Dell was somehow unable to capture that knowledge (or Nvidia was unwilling to share?). Still, the new BIOS versions being delivered right to the production line is encouraging. I don't feel so bad about waiting for a BIOS update, knowing it's in the works. Besides, as I've said before, the price was right....
mwette
38 Posts
0
January 1st, 2007 13:00
myfreeforum
14 Posts
0
January 1st, 2007 14:00
It seems to install and boot okay on c521, so its now time to test without the USB card. Can't say i'm all that optimistic.
myfreeforum
14 Posts
0
January 1st, 2007 16:00
Since the BIOS upgrade, I have not had a mouse issue, when I was trying to run without the USB card before, things didn't last more than 5-10 minutes without seizing or so it seemed.
Other crashes like firefox2 have also not recurred. Though it is still way too early to be sure that this is a perfect fix for the issues.