Problem with last two Mageia updates

[allezstade]

That's it !

Went to BIOS settings and let it to the default value without activating the optimus detection by the OS. And I'm appending to the forum using the latest kernel but (I think) a rather poor graphics chipset. When starting in failsafe mode the system told me it automagically switched to the inter driver.

In three words 'Windows 8 like ! Shame on you Linux you are now as user hostile as Microsoft !!!
I have a very nice machine that let me choose between energy saving and graphics efficiency and now I cannot use anymore my operating system just because it decided that it will not respect MY decision knowing, better than me, what I needed !

I really hate this but as Virtualbox is now working again, I think I will have to cope with this limitation. You know, I bought a Windows 8 upgrade and, because I could not use my computer the way I wanted, I reverted back to Windows 7. And now, I have the very same problem with Mageia !

I don't know how people who have to use the NVidia chip for using an external monitor will cope with this new «feature».
I'm alas far from having the knowledge required to solve this issue but I'm obviously willing to help in any way I can.

Thanks for listening,

Jean-Pierre
somewhat disapointed will set the BIOS to optimus detection and reboot once more...

Please read the following post. It seems I was upset too quickly

[allezstade]

Strange.

I already posted an answer but it disappeared. By the way it is perhaps better this way.
So. I modified the BIOS settings in order to use the integrated chipset and not the discrete one (for non Lenovo users I disabled the NVidia card and activated only the integrated intel 810 graphics chipset located on the main board). Starting in failsafe mode, th machine booted and switched to the intel driver automagically (that's why this system is called mageia).
Reboot in standard mode and all went correctly. Great ! Virtualbox OK that was an big step forward.
Then I went back to the BIOS in order to set it to Optimus and activated the optimus detection by the operating system. Windows 7 started. That was not a surprise (it has been installed that way formerly) but Linux started also and I noticed messages related to «nouveau». It seems (from messages from dmesg) that the optimus stuff is detected by the OS and that it may work. By the way the xorg.conf has been modified and has definitions for both graphic cards.
With the previous kernel, I was using the nvidia proprietary driver but this one seems to use nouveau but I do not know how to switch from one card to the other and I even not sure of which car I currently use.

Coming days will bring probably some more information. I hope that these may help some of you facing the same problem. Don't know is the problem is solved or not by the way.

I'll stay tuned on this channel for a while.

Jean-Pierre

[marja]

Is there maybe more information visible when you use journalctl?
It gives a very large output, but if, after first booting into the failing kernel, and then booting into the old one, you do (as root)

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journalctl -a > journalctl.txt

you can then search the log for the last things that happened before the freeze.

It is also possible to do

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journalctl --lines=100 2>&1 | tee journalctl.txt

but "100" should be replaced with the correct number of lines, and I don't know how many that would be. You could increase the number until you see the needed lines, of course

[allezstade]

Wow !

My journalctl goes from June 1st I let you immagine how many lines it holds.
Alas even using uex for searchin into it, I was able to locate the restart in failsafe mode where I has changed tjhe BIOS settings and looked that the xorg.conf file has here been updated according to the new discovered hardware configuration. Great job indeed ! but I have been unable to locate clearly the failure. In fact I got the impression that at some time, the system lost the ability to update the spash screen (it get unable to use the screen) and then appeared as frozen while it was not. The machine lost its screen that's all and recognized that the power button was pressed and performed a «quite normal» shutdown...

During the editing session, I also noticed that if the mouse cursor is bound to the left edge to the screen, it may go «through» the right edge (hence disappearing until the mouse is tracked enought to the left) this is probably due to the xconf.org file that says in the ServerLayout section

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Screen "screen1"
Screen "screen2" RightOf "screen1"


I've the impression that the NVidia card is used to draw «outside» of my screen. Too bad

Anyway. I begin to hope that I'll end up with a workable solution. By «chance» I use my thinkpad to devellop programs and look at some of my photographs. For that, the intel chispset is sufficient. (It even supports gnome )

Thnaks for your help
Jean-Pierre

[tpenya]

Strange: no journalctl history for the failing boots

I hope we can find a work-around, as losing the external monitor capability is not a choice for many people.

[tpenya]

Guys, I've got it. A few relevant URLs (or google nox2apic):
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour ... bug/776999
https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=43054
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Linux-Discu ... 621/page/4
Apparently it is a well-known bug in Lenovo's BIOSes.
Both setting nox2apic in the boot kernel paramenters OR disabling VT-d in the BIOS worked for me.
No UEFI, no Optimus, and now no x2apic or VT-d. What's next?

[allezstade]

Thanks a lot for the above pointers.
Will do some tests this evening.

[allezstade]

I have added the magic nox2apic kernel option everywhere in the grub menu and reverted my BIOS settings to discrete graphics (force use of the NVidia card) and switched the Optimus detection off.
I have been able to reboot the new kernel without any problem. I'm not sure I know all the implications of this nox2apic option but at least it allows my machine to behave rather like it behaved before the last kernel update and I am sure I use the nvidia proprietary driver dor the laptop screen.

Now I have to find out how to make the sure that after the next kernel upgrade that nox2apic option will be added to the grub menu. (Without it, I may create a new thread on this forum ...)

Thanks for all.

Jean-Pierre