[Acer Aspire ES1-311] Ubuntu freezes occasionally

This change was made by a bot.

I have the same laptop and I'm having the exact same issue, and is consistent from 14.04 to 15.10.

My bios is updated to the last one:

V1.11
10/24/2014

And the problem persists.

Ubuntu 4.2.0-16.19-generic 4.2.3

I did the BIOS update and worked for a few hours. There was one opened gnome-terminal, an Firefox instance as well as an atom instance. While writing it just froze.

Here's the output.
$ sudo dmidecode -s bios-version && sudo dmidecode -s bios-release-date
V1.11
10/24/2014

Any further steps?

Christian Wansart, could you please test the latest upstream kernel available from the very top line at the top of the page from http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/?C=N;O=D (the release names are irrelevant for testing, and please do not test the daily folder)? Install instructions are available at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/MainlineBuilds . This will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue.

If the latest kernel did not allow you to test to the issue (ex. you couldn't boot into the OS) please make a comment in your report about this, and continue to test the next most recent kernel version until you can test to the issue. Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please comment on which kernel version specifically you tested. If this issue is fixed in the mainline kernel, please add the following tags by clicking on the yellow circle with a black pencil icon, next to the word Tags, located at the bottom of the report description:
kernel-fixed-upstream
kernel-fixed-upstream-X.Y-rcZ

Where X, Y, and Z are numbers corresponding to the kernel version.

If the mainline kernel does not fix the issue, please add the following tags:
kernel-bug-exists-upstream
kernel-bug-exists-upstream-X.Y-rcZ

Please note, an error to install the kernel does not fit the criteria of kernel-bug-exists-upstream.

Once testing of the latest upstream kernel is complete, please mark this report's Status as Confirmed. Please let us know your results.

Thank you for your understanding.

rekuen, it will help immensely for hardware tracking and increasing priority if you filed a new report via a terminal:
ubuntu-bug linux

Please feel free to subscribe me to it.

Lenovo G50-30 the same problem, WIly 15.10 freezes! More often when I use touchpad, less with a mouse. Always freezes when streaming a video from youtube in the browser or Totem player.

I have an Acer E17, and seem to have the same problems. Occasional freezes, with no ctrl-alt-F1 or ctrl-alt-del working anymore. I am no expert sysadmin by the syslog doesn't show anything suspicious to me.
Sometimes it will run normally for hours, at other times I have 3 freezes in an hour.

I had the same issue so i opened a new bug report here https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1509871 . I have installed kernel 4.3..rc6 and seems to solve the issue, I'm still testing but it would help me a lot it you could try the same kernel and test for several hours and post there your results. Thanks

I am running kernel 4.3 rc7 so far. But I want to wait a bit longer to give a positive feedback, sometimes it just takes more time.

Freek, it will help immensely if you filed a new reportin Ubuntu with the default repository kernel via a terminal:
ubuntu-bug linux

Please feel free to subscribe me to it.

Okay, 4.3r7 (the latest mainline Kernel) freezes my System too. What now?

Christian Wansart, could you please capture the freeze following https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingSystemCrash ?

OK, so far I tried it, but it just doesn't work. I tried to get a crash dump without success. I increased the crashkernel size to 256M, I enabled additional panics but there's not way. My system just freezes and nothing is possible again.

So, let's see:
* text console doesn't work
* photo: you would just see my frozen desktop, nothing more. There are not error messages
* linux-crashdump: I can't catch it. I installed linux-crashdump, changed crashkernel size from 128M to 256M because testing didn't work. Not it does and it creates a crash dump. But when my system freezes the way it occassionally does, it does not catch anything in the file. It also does not reboot. So what to do, if even this fails?
* kern.log I couldn't find anything interesting there. I added a truncated version
* ssh: doesn't work
* netconsole: doesn't work either.

The ram should be fine. I tested it before, when I already had the problems. Also: Windows 8 does not crash, so I guess it's a Linux issue.

To make sure that it's *not* the ram I ran memtest again. All 4 passes without any errors. I really have no clue.

I have the same notebook and occasionally freezes as well. I tried some of the kernels from http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/?C=N;O=D which are
v4.3-rc7
v4.3-rc6
v4.3-rc5
v4.2.5-wily
v4.2.4-wily
v4.2-wily
v4.2-rc1
With all of them I still had freezes. Now I'm working with v4.1.12-wily for more than a day and it seems to work without any problems so far.

It just froze again. Now I'm trying to find new ways to get at least a hint of what causes the problem. Shouldn't the Kernel panic when something's wrong? Are there any panics that are disabled by default or something like this, that might "catch" this freezing? I already tried to enable those mentioned in https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/CrashdumpRecipe?action=show&redirect=KernelTeam%2FCrashdumpRecipe#Enabling_various_types_of_panics but so far no luck.

I just copied and pasted those lines in a terminal after starting the notebook.

i have an acer aspire ES1-711 and have this problem as well.
kernel boot parameters are
cat /proc/cmdline
BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-4.3.0 root=/dev/sda6 ro drm.debug=0xe i915.enable_rc6=0 i915.semaphores=1

it happens absolutely sporadically, it can be running 30h without crashing or it can happen within hours.
it seems like setting kernel parameters for i915 doesn't change anything, i tried all of them.
no logs, no crashdumps. just a complete freeze without any option to do anything.
i have tried all kind of kernels, only 3.x a few and 4.x series a lot of them, now i am running 4.3.0 since a few hours.
my operating system is gentoo linux.
i also have another partition with linux mint rafaela (ubuntu 14.04 based i believe) there the freeze doesn't occur.
i have also tried disabling cpu-frequency scaling in the kernel completely, have tried playing around with intel_pstate, but that does not seem to be the problem as well.
now i will enable all the panic flags like described in the crashdumprecipe and hope to get any trace generated

Julio: Based on the comment from Martin I have also installed 4.1.12 kernel. Since then, no freezes at all.

It could still be coincidence of course, and the next freeze might be coming soon. But for me it certainly looks like the 4.1.12 kernel does not contain the bug that affects us.

freek:
Thank you for that info.
I will try it if the system freezes again. I have certain hope with this new kernel (4.3.0), i am running it now the whole day and no freezes yet.
i have to say as well that my mint rafaela system (that doesnt crash but i definetely prefer gentoo) has a 4.0.4 kernel running.
i compiled that same kernel on gentoo some days ago, but not with the same kernel configuration file, and it did crash too.
that made me think that it has to do more with the config than the kernel version itself.
Anyway, i have that config stored and could try compiling that 4.0.4 with exactly those settings on my gentoo system, but i will definetely try the 4.1.12 kernel first.
fingers crossed it doesn't crash. i will give feedback either if it continues to run stable for at least 24h more or as soon as i experience another freeze

4.3.0 also freezes. now running 4.1.12

My system is now running stable for over a week on 4.1.12

confirmation: my system runs stable for many days now with kernel 4.1.12

Julio, it will help immensely if you filed a new report via a terminal:
ubuntu-bug linux

Please feel free to subscribe me to it.

@ christopher:
i would be pleased to do so, but i think this is not even the right list, it is definitely a kernel bug, not a Ubuntu-specific bug.
i am running gentoo linux myself, i compiled the kernel myself and didn't use the packaged kernels from ubuntu.
don't you think it would be the best if i file a bug report directly there at bugzilla.kernel.org ?

I have an Aspire ES1-111 and facing the same issue. I use 14.04 LTS though with always the latest updates.
I also tried to track the problem without success. I couldn't reproduce it on will.
Nothing works when freeze occures, no crash dump, no logging, no SSH.
Maybe it could be in connection with the Broadcom wifi card, because I had crash when it lost signal once... or twice, and lately it had a crash when wanted to disconnect wifi network to switch to cable. But I also tried using the laptop with wifi turned off for a while and I had crash during that time as well. I have no clue, but it is very annoying.
If someone could remove the wifi card to test if it freeze again (that beast has proprietary drivers) but it can be done in a service point not to lose warranty, because the whole laptop must be opened... It seems like all the bay trail acers are affected.

Laszlo:
the wifi card has nothing to do with your system freezes.
It is the kernel. Use kernel Version 4.1.12, that is a confirmed workaround confirmed by at least 3 people in this thread.
for the wifi card just create a file in /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf
with content:
options rtl8723be fwlps=0
or load the module otherwise with those options.
That does the trick.
good luck.

I am running 4.1.13 for a week or so and there were no crashes so far, btw.

I confirm that 4.1.12 kernel does not freeze the system (I'm on Lenovo laptop).

Stasia, it will help immensely if you filed a new report via a terminal:
ubuntu-bug linux

Please feel free to subscribe me to it.

I'm grad to hear another success. So far it works for me for a few weeks now. What will be the next step to fix this issue in 4.2 (and newer realeases)?

To Christopher M. Penalver:
I already did it a month ago - https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1511019 - or do you mean I should file a new report under 4.1.12 kernel?

To Christian Wansart:
Btw, the new 4.4 kernel also freezes.

@stasia.

as i mentioned in a comment earlier on 14-11-2015 this is a kernel bug, not a Ubuntu-specific bug.
in my opinion it should be addressed directly to the bugzilla.kernel.org list.
I wanted to do so but haven't found any time yet.
If someone does it please subscribe me to that thread or post the link here

I have filed a bug here https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=108721

As sad as it is - got 2 new freezes on 4.1.12 kernel...

Are you sure it's that particular bug? Have you tried SysRQ+REISUB? I mean, so far my notebook works without any issues.

Well it's a complete freeze for the third time already. Must be the same. For 3 weeks or so it worked fine, and now 2 freezes in a row in one day.

Looks like this bug - or kind of - is reported here https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=88012 and comments 119, 120 say they got a working solution.

Try this: > sudo apt-get remove pulseaudio && sudo apt-get purge pulseaudio && sudo apt-get autoremove

Stasia, you could be right. Removing pulse didn't solve the problem (Acer e1-510) but
I have upgraded to the 4.3.3-040303-generic kernel and it's much better. My acer freezed regularly with ubuntu's default kernel but I haven't seen one after the upgrade (several hours). I hope it will be okay.
I haven't tried to edit kernel parameters yet.

OK, mine crashed too, 4 times now. I'll try to remove and reinstall pulseaudio. I hope what will work.

Christian, this is a kernel bug. You should use the kernel parameter: "intel_idle.max_cstate=1", or downgrade to the 14.04 LTS Release, or just downgrade the kernel. I use ubuntu kernel 3.13.0-24, and it doesn't freeze.

If you choose the first option, do these steps:

1. sudo nano /etc/default/grub
2. There is a line in that: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash" (like this), replace with: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash intel_idle.max_cstate=1"
Save it (CTRL+O)
3. sudo update-grub
4. sudo reboot

Your CPU will be a little warmer.

Same on Acer Travelmate B115-M.

I hope this workaround will fix it.

@ Richard Baka:
appending intel_idle.max_cstate=1 to the grub cmdline as a workaround is new Info to me.
Thanks for that. I am trying that on a fresh 4.4.0-rc6 kernel since yesterday, no crashs so far.
This would be great, cause i prefer running a newer Kernel than the old 4.1.12, where the system freeze doesn't occur.
I will be hopefully confirming this workaround in a few days here.

julio

It should work. I hope it will but unfortunately this is not the best solution. These Intel CPUs use very advanced power saving technologies and C-state is something that is in connection with power saving. The more bigger c-state number is in use the more energy efficient your cpu is. "C-state 1" is a very strong limitation, it was introduced by 486DX4.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-cpu-c-states-power-saving-modes/

julio, Nick

Did you not install intel microcode driver with closed driver manager tool, or official intel graphics driver?

Aspire ES1-311 uses also Bay Trail so reason might be same as here:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1531865

@Richard.

you mean the firmware files ?
i did install those files, manually, yes.
But i have no idea which "manager tool" you could be referring to.
Concerning "the official intel graphics driver":
i am using xf86-video-intel with sna , like almost everyone here is probably doing.
i tried sna, uxa xaa, also disabling dri or used ilo for dri.
ubuntu(mint) is not my main system, i just have an old linux mint system on a partition i don't use anymore but that has exactly the same kernel problems. i am running gentoo linux.
i tried the intel video driver and modules with nearly all the options (xorg config file, kernel module options for i915 etc) on mint and on gentoo, and i can almost certainly say that the system freezes have nothing to do with it.
anyway, i am running now kernel 4.4.0-rc6 with extra cmdline parameter "intel_idle.max_cstate=1" and all seems to be good. it is the 3rd day now without freezing i believe.
Thank you for your explanation with the cstate. yes, it is a limitation but i still prefer running the newer kernel with lower performance than having the old 4.1 kernel

A few days ago I have replaced my debian jessie with new ubuntu 15.10 to make a try and that was suprisingly stable. (I installed debian before because of ubuntu's freezes.) There were no crashes.

Then I downloaded an app (intel-graphics-installer) from the official website of Intel and I ran it. It replaced my VA-API packages: 1.5.1-2 -> 1.6.2. After this my Acer was continuously freezing.

I wanted to uninstall the problematic packages but It wasn't so easy. There was no uninstall or anything like that but I could force ubuntu's default version with Synaptic package manager.

My ubu is very stable now, there are no freezes,

I think that there is something not okay with new packages of Intel VA Api.

What do you think?

A got a new freeze. my last post wasn't correct.

@richard

me personally i keep insisting this is a kernel bug.
I also tried with vaapi, without it.
it did not change anything.

the vaapi is not used for anything within the graphics driver, only for videos, opengl and dri (all optional and configurable, of course).
for me the system would then only freeze if you play a movie or opengl or do direct rendering, and that is not the case.
i am convinced it has to do with the cstate intel thing, it is just a kernel bug that hopefully will be fixed soon.

i just had a freeze under kernel 4.4.0-rc6 with cmdline intel_idle.max_cstate=1
so i can't confirm that workaround.
back to kernel 4.1.12

Okay, I agree. Do you know where we could follow this? How could we know that this has been fixed?
There are kernel changelogs on kernel.org, but I don't know, what I should look for.

There is something here: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=109051
but I haven't found anything news about a bugfix.

I recommend Debian Jessie, which is stable enough. :D
Yes, I know that It would be a little intresting after Gentoo-BleedingEdge. Ubuntu 14.04 is alright too. That is an LTS Release.

It seems to be a complicated problem.

3.16.0-4 Kernel is perfect.

@richard:

what can we do ? i am no expert in this either.
But my guess is supporting this thread:
https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=109051
is the right thing to do, cause it is the bugreport at the right place, meaning the kernel bug list.
This thread here is a ubuntu bug report, and actually ubuntu is not the problem.

it is a very difficult problem, there is no reproduction scenario, no trace-dumps or anything that could help debugging this.
for me it is not too tragic as i can operate everything i need with kernel v4.1.12
btw in that kernel bug thread mentioned above the latest reported kernel to work is 4.1.15

I built Ubuntu-4.2.0-23.28 with "drm/i915: Agressive downclocking on Baytrail" reversed and it can be found from here:

http://www.helsinki.fi/~jmoheikk/baytrail/

If you could test whether it works or not.

I've just found an another bug report on kernel bugzilla what was started last April. I don't know why this is not important.

Bad news for me as a linux user, and I don't like it. There is no feedback no patch plan or anything like: -Okay, we are working on it. Or: -We don't care about this, it is not our business, it should be checked by intel guys...

It was reported nine moths ago.

kernel 4.3.3 on ubuntu 16.04 development doesn't freeze on my aspire es1-311

The workaround "intel_idle.max_cstate=1" works fo me! 100% sure as it has been running many weeks now with no freezes.
So happy there are people who actually care and share solutions. These freezes were driving me crazy.

Hey.
Same issue with Asus laptop with ubuntu 15.10 Wily.
I've running 4.1.15 kernel for the last month, I had my first freeze today.. Hope it will stay as a one shot.

@Stasia : can you (quickly) explain the "intel_idle..." config please ? Thx.

Well, 2 freeze in less than one hour !! Not good !
The only things I did yesterday was upgrading adobe-flashplugin. I've uninstalled it, and see how it goes.

@fautpasycraindre
See comment #46 by Richard Baka.

All,

This is a horrible kernel bug that affects BayTrail systems. See here: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=109051

From what I see there is still no solution. And little activity from Intel or kernel devs to fix it. Which is too bad: there are a *lot* of BayTrail systems out there...

jds

I can confirm that GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash intel_idle does do the trick, no freezes from almost 2 weeks.
But battery life decrease considerably and CPU gets a little too hot sometimes. Running last kernel here

I post this from Debian Jessie and that is stable enough. Please be careful wen you use the kernel parameters I wrote, it is possible to get your device significatly warmer! At your own risk...!

I have a very similar problem. I reported it here in this bug report. It seems like a kernel bug, but i get no blinking caps lock kernel panic. Another person with the exact same processor as mine posted that a fix for his was also to use "GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash intel_idle.max_cstate=1"

So that makes me think this is a serious kernel bug. I did not have this problem on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, so it seems to have appeared after that time.

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1575467

I have also been having this problem since at least 15.xx I think 14.10 was ok but can't remember for sure.

I am running 64 bit 16.04 on an AMD A8-7600 Radeon R7, 10 Compute Cores 4C+6G with 4gb ram and WDC3200BEVT-0 hard drive.

This problem seems to have been around for some time now and is affecting a lot of people using lots of different hardware configurations. There have also been a large number of auto updates but nothing seems to have made any difference. Has any progress been made or is it still a mystery that we have to put up with?

@Mike

Look at this link: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1575467. Cannonical's kernel maintainers are working on it. They are trying to find the bug with a bisecting process, you can help them too. Just download the latest test kernel and report if you had a freeze or not with/on it.

At least Ubuntu has a good support. Upstream Kernel developers don't do anything.

Ubuntu 15.10 on a Dell XPS 8900 was freezing several times a day regardless of which kernel I used. Froze more frequently when I used dual monitors. Problem disappeared completely when I switched my graphics driver from Nouveau to Nvidia (clicked on Settings in Software Updater, selected the Additional Drivers tab then selected the latest Nvidia option).

You have a Bay trail processor so you are very likely affected by:
https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=109051
which is also mentioned in:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1575467

Since finding the root cause is difficult, it will be great if you can contribute.
Please read up if you want to help.
Len Brown uses the bugzilla kernel bug to solve booting with the max cstate parameter.

There are workarounds and I posted some kernels in my dropbox that can be used for testing.

auto demotion enablement seems to be a vast improvement, but there seems to be more issues related to audio and video.

It is greatly appreciated if anyone here can help out!
Thank you