Posts
- X/Bugs/Lucidi8xxFreezes
X freezes (GPU lockups) are being experienced on i845, i855 and other 8xx chips.
We experimented with several different settings but could not find a combination which resolved all issues for all 8xx owners. Below are some of the settings that can be changed if the combination we picked for the release did not work for you.
Workaround A: Re-enable KMS
For release we made the decision to blacklist KMS for 8xx hardware. If you had found that beta1 and earlier Ubuntu had been working fine, this may be an effective workaround for you.
To turn KMS back on, run this command in a Terminal window and reboot:
echo options i915 modeset=1 | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/i915-kms.conf sudo update-initramfs -u
In some cases, this bug causes i8xx users to boot into a blank screen on both the LiveCD/USB and a clean install or upgrade. To enable the above workaround in these situations, add "i915.modeset=1" to your kernel boot parameters.
From the LiveCD:
1) At the purple screen with a keyboard and stickfigure, press Enter to get to the menu.
2) Hit Enter to select your language, and then press F6 and then Esc.
3) Add "i915.modeset=1" after "quiet splash".
4) Press Enter to boot the LiveCD.
From an installation:
1) Hold down Shift while booting to enter the GRUB menu.
2) Press 'e' to edit.
3) Add "i915.modeset=1" after "quiet splash".
4) Ctrl+x to boot.
If adding "i915.modeset=1" to your boot parameters allows you to boot successfully, you then need to enter the command above into a terminal to make the changes permanent.
Workaround B: Switch to -vesa
Paste the following into /etc/X11/xorg.conf:
Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Driver "vesa"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Configured Monitor"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Monitor "Configured Monitor"
Device "Configured Video Device"
EndSectionSwitching to -vesa has been found to 100% stop the freezes. However, this regresses a lot of functionality: No 3D hw acceleration, no accelerated video, no HD resolutions, poor external monitor support. Probably other issues too.
Workaround C: Use a -intel DDX driver other than 2.9.1
Downgrading
A downgrade package to the 2.8.0 driver is available in the X-Retro PPA:
A couple of users found this worked better than the 2.9 driver but they still saw freezes at a reduced frequency. So YMMV.
Also be aware there were performance issues with this version of the driver, so YMMV again. See ubuntugeek for some tips on tweaking X settings to work around the performance issues.
Upgrading
An upgrade package to the 2.11.0 driver is available in the X-Updates PPA:
Some users have reported that this helps their problems.
Workaround D: Use a kernel other than 2.6.32
Downgrading
Many users reported that downgrading to a 2.6.31 kernel resolved the issue completely. To boot a different kernel, hold down Shift while booting to enter GRUB, and then select a different kernel.
Upgrading
Upgrading to the mainline kernel has also solved the problem for most users. Be aware, however, that using a mainline kernel comes with some drawbacks:
1) You will lose all ubuntu-specific patches, such as ureadahead, which is responsible for the lightning-fast boot times.
2) You will not be able to use Proprietary Drivers from System->Administration->Hardware Drivers (i.e. nVidia, Broadcom).
3) While you will still be upgraded to new versions of Ubuntu kernels, the mainline kernel will not be upgraded to a new version. Thus, to ensure you have the most up-to-date mainline kernel for security and stability reasons, you will have to constantly check for a new mainline kernel release.
That said, to upgrade to the current mainline kernel:
32-bit users:
wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.34-lucid/linux-headers-2.6.34-020634-generic_2.6.34-020634_i386.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.34-lucid/linux-headers-2.6.34-020634_2.6.34-020634_all.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.34-lucid/linux-image-2.6.34-020634-generic_2.6.34-020634_i386.deb sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-2.6.34-020634-generic_2.6.34-020634_i386.deb linux-headers-2.6.34-020634_2.6.34-020634_all.deb linux-image-2.6.34-020634-generic_2.6.34-020634_i386.deb
64-bit users:
wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.34-lucid/linux-headers-2.6.34-020634-generic_2.6.34-020634_amd64.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.34-lucid/linux-headers-2.6.34-020634_2.6.34-020634_all.deb http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.34-lucid/linux-image-2.6.34-020634-generic_2.6.34-020634_amd64.deb sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-2.6.34-020634-generic_2.6.34-020634_amd64.deb linux-headers-2.6.34-020634_2.6.34-020634_all.deb linux-image-2.6.34-020634-generic_2.6.34-020634_amd64.deb
Workaround E: Disable DRI
Paste the following into /etc/X11/xorg.conf:
Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Driver "intel"
Option "DRI" "off"
EndSectionThis disables 3D acceleration and will make graphics generally slower, but has been reported to help by some users.
Workaround F: Use UXA Rendering
Re-enable KMS, see above Workaround A (which just made boot-up more pleasing but did not help with X). Make sure the following section in /etc/default/grub doesn't contain KMS related settings. just:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash" GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""
if you had to change the grub file do "sudo update-grub"
Then follow the instructions "The Solution" "Method 2" here:
so that xorg.conf looks like:
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Configured Screen Device"
Device "Configured Video Device"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Option "AccelMethod" "UXA"
VideoRam 130560
EndSectionThis way X now works flawlessly without any crashes at least for those with:
$ lspci -nn | grep VGA 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation 82852/855GM Integrated Graphics Device [8086:3582] (rev 02)
Workaround G: Re-enable KMS and disable DRI
Use Workaround A (re-enabling KMS) and Workaround E (disabling DRI). This gives no X.org crashes even with KDE, which in my computer at least crashed just after a few seconds of loading session (now lasted hours). Important: this workaround disables DRI, and therefore gaming performance is awful since there's not 3d acceleration. Tested on this hardware:
$ lspci -nn | grep VGA 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation 82845G/GL[Brookdale-G]/GE Chipset Integrated Graphics Device [8086:2562] (rev 01)
Some users has reported that this workaround makes their computer last much longer and then crash, so this workaround seems only to be able to reduce the problem but not fixes it.
X/Bugs/Lucidi8xxFreezes (last edited 2010-05-26 21:27:22 by Stenten)
