m2npv-vm won't boot newer kernels.

[chris m. w.]

Greetings all.

I have an Asus m2npv-vm motherboard that an X86_64 kernel newer than 2.6.15-1 will NOT BOOT, tried everything under the sun. Patching, noacpi, kernels from 2.6.16 - to - 2.6.20, just no go.

Last year, I did have a 2.6.16-16 kernel running, but after new install the 2.6.15-1 is the only one that'll boot it.

Posts around the web are saying it's something to do with a conflict with acpi and some people suggest turning it off and have reported success, but also having trouble with applications and timing, etc. as a result, so, don't want to go long term with that route.

Anyone hear of an Nvidia kernel patch for this?
Thanks,
Chris W.

[netllama]

You've not stated what the actual problem is. NVIDIA doesn't release kernel patches. Have you verified that you're using the latest BIOS?

Thanks,
Lonni

[chris m. w.]

Hi Lonnie.

Thanks for your reply.

This bug report seems well documented:

http://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6975

Describes exactly what I am experiencing. It also describes a hack/fix I don't quite understand. I've been compiling my own kernels since 2.2, and I have no idea what this person is referring too:
"I compiled 2.6.18 and setting acpi_skip_timer_override to 0 instead of 1 makes
the problem go away."

It would be nice if I knew what "he" meant. I can't find a setting for that...even in:
linux-2.6.20/drivers/acpi/asus_acpi.c

I don't think I upgraded the bios on this board, but I will check next boot. In the kernel bug report it's mentioned that an upgrade to the latest bios did not fix the problem. There may have been another update, which I will check.

Anyways, I hope that is more to the point.

thanks,
Chris m. w.

[chris m. w.]

Hello again.
An update.

I found the "acpi_skip_timer_override" setting in:

./arch/x86_64/kernel/early-quirks.c and set it to "0" The result was:

Kernel panic: Attempted to kill init! At least the kernel booted past the:

"io scheduler cfq registered" where it's been stalling for the last 3 or 4 months.

Still, any suggestions or ideas are welcome.

Chris W.

[domasj]

Hi,

I am currently using Linux on the same motherboard you are trying to. However, I haven't noticed anything similar to what you are experienced. I started from 2.6.17 and now I'm using 2.6.20 without any problems. Some were from debian repositories others were built by me. Have you tried to update the BIOS?

[chris m. w.]

Hi domasj

Are you running an amd64 x2 dual core On an M2NPV-VM?

This is my bios version: ASUS M2NPV-VM ACPI BIOS Revision 0705 (01/02/2007)
This is the lastest bios.....

This is my cpu: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+

I have 2 gigs memory --> 2 - 1 gig modules - bank 1 & bank 3.

I would be very interested to know what your hardware configuration is?
Can you post the output of: lshw or dmidecode ??
Either is fine.

Thanks,
chris m. W.

[domasj]

I had quite a serious problem with my setup. I have written about that at http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=81716

My configuration:

I have only one 1GB RAM module.

lspci
00:00.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Host Bridge (rev a2)
00:00.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 0 (rev a2)
00:00.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 1 (rev a2)
00:00.3 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 5 (rev a2)
00:00.4 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 4 (rev a2)
00:00.5 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Host Bridge (rev a2)
00:00.6 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 3 (rev a2)
00:00.7 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 2 (rev a2)
00:02.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation C51 PCI Express Bridge (rev a1)
00:03.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation C51 PCI Express Bridge (rev a1)
00:04.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation C51 PCI Express Bridge (rev a1)
00:05.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation C51PV [GeForce 6150] (rev a2)
00:09.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Host Bridge (rev a2)
00:0a.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP51 LPC Bridge (rev a3)
00:0a.1 SMBus: nVidia Corporation MCP51 SMBus (rev a3)
00:0a.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Memory Controller 0 (rev a3)
00:0b.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP51 USB Controller (rev a3)
00:0b.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP51 USB Controller (rev a3)
00:0d.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP51 IDE (rev a1)
00:0e.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Serial ATA Controller (rev a1)
00:0f.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Serial ATA Controller (rev a1)
00:10.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP51 PCI Bridge (rev a2)
00:10.1 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP51 High Definition Audio (rev a2)
00:14.0 Bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Ethernet Controller (rev a3)
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control
04:05.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB43AB22/A IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link)
04:08.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10)
cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0
vendor_id : AuthenticAMD
cpu family : 15
model : 79
model name : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3000+
stepping : 2
cpu MHz : 1800.000
cache size : 512 KB
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 1
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 syscall nx mmxext fxsr_opt rdtscp lm 3dnowext 3dnow pni cx16 lahf_lm svm cr8_legacy
bogomips : 3620.27
TLB size : 1024 4K pages
clflush size : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes : 40 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management: ts fid vid ttp tm stc

my dmidecode is at http://pastebin.ca/370266