Important Update

[crichell]

Hello everyone.

Today there was a kernel update which seems to be causing some problems. If you haven't updated today please DO NOT UPGRADE. If you have please let me know of any problems you are having. We are working to resolve the know issues now.

I will keep everyone posted here.

Thanks

Carl Richell
System76

[jdong]

Ouch... http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-346-1 this is the update you speak of.


What kind of trouble has it been causing? It should've been a relatively straightforward security update with a few bugfixes mixed in.

EDIT: Apparently the nvidia kernel module is broken by the update. I'm not sure what else.

[crichell]

You right - the nVidia kernel module and also the following ethernet card:

lspci
0000:05:00.0 Ethernet controller: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88E8055 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 11)

It's strange - the card doesn't even show up in HAL after the update.

Sound was also effected on one machine; however, our sound driver restores it.

[jdong]

Hmm, strange. They know about the nvidia issue and are rolling out a new kernel update with an ABI bump (so linux-restricted-modules is properly rebuilt) this time.

I'm gonna probe into that network card a bit.

UPDATE: http://kernel.org/git/?p=linux/kernel/git/bcollins/ubuntu-dapper.git;a=commit;h=c615082cb9073ec25c230e082c79 d16cf85cff50

It does seem like there was a bit of updating done to the sk98lin driver. Still trying to get the devs attention on the issue.

[Tom Tiger]

Same problem here, the new kernel update broke the Nvidia proprietary drivers, sound and network are ok (ASUS P4P800 with gigabit ethernet)
I switch my xorg.conf back to the standard nv driver and everything works again. Nvidia driver is bust... I probably need to reinstall that one...

[crichell]

We're still running through our line - I may

[jdong]

Same problem here, the new kernel update broke the Nvidia proprietary drivers, sound and network are ok (ASUS P4P800 with gigabit ethernet)
I switch my xorg.conf back to the standard nv driver and everything works again. Nvidia driver is bust... I probably need to reinstall that one...

You shouldn't need to install the nvidia driver again, though if you're in that much of a hurry to use your 3d acceleration, then fine.

A new linux-restricted-modules package should be up in a few hours that'll solve the nvidia mess.

[crichell]

Where is our edit key :)

We're still running through our line - I may have more but so far it's down to nvidia, the network card and sound.

The sound may also be of interest. On this particular model our driver adds microphone support but not support for all of the sound cards functionality.

After the kernel update the entire card was wiped. Our driver restored the card but other people with the "14f1 ID 5045" codec may lose sound.

If anyone has this codec and is effected by the update I'd be happy to provide our driver for you (it's adds microphone functionality too).

[bencollins]

You right - the nVidia kernel module and also the following ethernet card:



It's strange - the card doesn't even show up in HAL after the update.

Sound was also effected on one machine; however, our sound driver restores it.


The nvdia problem is being resolved, and it will be available as an update to linux-restricted-modules-2.6.15 within hours from now.

As for the Marvell issue, I'm very surprised that you had this card working at all. The sky2 driver has been a major issue in dapper since it's release. The last update included a change from the new sky2 driver, to the known working sk98lin driver we had in breezy (a direct forward port).

Can you verify whether the sk98lin is loaded? (lsmod | grep sk98lin). If not, please run "sudo modprobe sk98lin".

[crichell]

sk98lin is not loaded. The card isn't visible in HAL after loading the module.

The card worked out of the box up until todays update.

[bencollins]

sk98lin is not loaded. The card isn't visible in HAL after loading the module.

The card worked out of the box up until todays update.

Can you email me the full output of dmesg (after trying to load the card).

Also the output of these commands:

lspci -vv
lspci -vvn

bcollins@ubuntu.com

[bruceliz]

The 14 September kernel security update caused me (running Dapper) data loss:

/boot/grub/menu.lst was rewritten in the update process, preserving all the Ubuntu entries (including a manually-entered one for a custom-built 2.6.17.3), but wiping my Debian etch entries for a parallel installation on another set of partitions, thus requiring a manual edit of menu.lst to repair the damage.

Now that's some wicked Debian-unfriendliness!;)

[jdong]

Well, that's an annoyance certainly, but I wouldn't call that 'data loss' ;)

[Leif]

Not sure whether crichell needs the solidarity, but my Marvell ethernet connection got broken too, so I'll be checking here, hoping for a solution soon.

[Leif]

Um, sorry for the double post, but there seems to be no edit option in the subforum. I'm not using a system76 laptop, so apologies if I'm intruding :roll:

[crichell]

Hi Leif - your not intruding - we're here to help out. I received a message from Ubuntu devs last night. They have uploaded a new kernel that includes support for our Marvel card. I haven't seen it come down yet but as soon as it does we'll be back in business.

[Tux Aubrey]

I experienced a problem with the kernel update on 14 September and have been trawling the forum for something similar. It is not a graphics driver problem - I dont have nvidia graphics (SIS on an ABIT board).

Booting with the new kernel (2.6.15-26-386) hangs when trying to load the root filesystem. After 4 or 5 minutes waiting, it drops to a command line screen and says my primary linux partition (/dev/hda2) does not exist. (This is a dual boot XP/Windows P4 machine that has been working fine till now.)

My GRUB entries look fine.

This is the problem entry:

title Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.15-26-386
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.15-26-386 root=/dev/hda2 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.15-26-386
savedefault
boot

Yet this still works fine:

title Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.15-23-386
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.15-23-386 root=/dev/hda2 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.15-23-386
savedefault
boot

Strangely, booting with the "old" kernel after hanging with the new one results in a very unstable session - apps closing for no reason, freezes etc. A reboot seems to recover everthing OK.

Is there an option of re-installing the -26-386 kernel just to test whether it was a dirty install?

BTW. I have tried various work arounds suggested elsewhere (the noapci, pci=biosirq and the UUID rick) but none made any difference.

This is my first post and first time using Ubuntu, so be gentle with me.

[Tux Aubrey]

Sorry - wrong forum I guess (Wots System 76?)

I'll try in the Stupid NOOBS forum if I can find it.

[missmoondog]

yep that update has foobarred my nvidia TNT2 on one machine and i'm not positive about my i845 machine, but no matter what settings i put in the display section of kcontrol, it doesn't stick. doesn't work if i do it manually either. i have to restart xserver to get it to load the settings i want, so it does remember the settings somewhere, otherwise always starts with a screen size of 640x480 (if that's the right numbers).

[missmoondog]

so, when is this new patch coming out? what's with all the foobarred updates lately? don't they bother testing any of this stuff anymore? no wonder they say there will be support for dapper 3 years! easy to support something that doesn't get tested!

[crichell]

The nVidia issues has been resolved (in our testing). The restricted modules update that came out shortly after the kernel update cleared up the issue.

Tux Aubrey - www.System76.com - that's us - no problem with posting here though. I ran into the same problem on a prospective laptop in the past. It seems to boil down to a certain hard drive SATA adapter that causes the problem (for us at least). It's strange that this update caused the problem for you. You can see the Launchpad bug report here (https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/linux-source-2.6.15/+bug/48556).

[Leif]

The sky2 network issue has been resolved (at least for me) with today's kernel update. Cheers to the devs ! And to the bug reporters !

[ampop]

Today I upgrade to 2.6.15-27-386. And now my sound is dead.
Any else with this problem.

[jdong]

*bang head on desk*

Don't you love it when a fix restores sound for some and breaks sound for others?

[ampop]

My problem it's solved. I have a brand new acer laptop, when I installed Ubuntu, I had no sound. In this forum it's explained how to patch the kernel to have sound.
Every time I upgrade the kernel, I must run the patch.

[crichell]

ampop - your sound problem will probably be fixed with Edgy. We run into sound support issues often so we build drives to enable support - generally an ALSA upgrade with a patch takes care of it.

Edgy will use a newer ALSA with which each release adds support for additional cards.

[ampop]

ampop - your sound problem will probably be fixed with Edgy. We run into sound support issues often so we build drives to enable support - generally an ALSA upgrade with a patch takes care of it.

Edgy will use a newer ALSA with which each release adds support for additional cards.

Well, maybe the best way it's wait for Edgy and don't accept more kernel upgrades. Do you agree?
Thank you for the advise.

[jdong]

It's not advisable to skip kernel upgrades -- they usually fix a security issue that's important enough to warrant an upgrade being issued.

Just remember to install your ALSA drivers again after the upgrade -- it's as simple as that.

[crichell]

That's a tough call - kernel updates may plug security holes or add functionality.

You can just use a script to install ALSA whenver you get a kernel update. I've attached a sample script. Extract the archive and then modify the /this/is/the/path/to/alsa/folder/ portion with the path to your downloaded alsa version. You may want to move it to /opt/alsa/ or someplace like that.

To run the script open a terminal and type

sudo install_alsa.sh

[Kaloma]

I have a Serval Performance, and my sound stopped working today after the latest kernel updates. I have tried reinstalling both the system76 drivers and ALSA, but to no avail.

Any other suggestions, besides wait? I can certainly get by without if need be, since I mostly use this laptop for work (development, teaching, presentations). My use of sound with this laptop is recreational, at present.

-Matthew-

[Kaloma]

False alarm!

I though I had reinstalled ALSA correctly, but I guess I missed a step. Once I noticed the script Carl posted, I gave it a try and that did the trick. I'll need to look more closely at the script since I'd like to understand what is really going on in there and what I overlooked myself.

Anyhow, thanks again! Sound is back!

-Matthew-

[ampop]

That's a tough call - kernel updates may plug security holes or add functionality.

You can just use a script to install ALSA whenver you get a kernel update. I've attached a sample script. Extract the archive and then modify the /this/is/the/path/to/alsa/folder/ portion with the path to your downloaded alsa version. You may want to move it to /opt/alsa/ or someplace like that.

To run the script open a terminal and type

sudo install_alsa.sh

Thank you very much.

[bluetoothfairy]

Today's kernel update brought back sky2 and my Marvell 88E8036 ethernet is messed up. It worked perfectly with sk98lin from the previous update. I'm losing connection again, anyone else having similar issues? This is really annoying, does anyone know if next kernel update will bring back sk98lin and what's the deal with this bug?

[jdong]

Today's kernel update brought back sky2 and my Marvell 88E8036 ethernet is messed up. It worked perfectly with sk98lin from the previous update. I'm losing connection again, anyone else having similar issues? This is really annoying, does anyone know if next kernel update will bring back sk98lin and what's the deal with this bug?

How fascinating once again.... Some people say sk98lin works, others (like what happened earlier this thread) says that introducing sk98lin makes it break.

[crichell]

False alarm!

I though I had reinstalled ALSA correctly, but I guess I missed a step. Once I noticed the script Carl posted, I gave it a try and that did the trick. I'll need to look more closely at the script since I'd like to understand what is really going on in there and what I overlooked myself.

Anyhow, thanks again! Sound is back!

-Matthew-

Hi Matthew - this is particularly interesting because the Serval works with Dapper's version of ALSA out of the box.

[ndv_ubu]

Hello.

My sound broke too ...
It stopped working with some update in the last 2 weeks and it doesn't work with kernels *.23 (the first that i had), *.26, *.27 ..

Any solutions already ?


Thanks a lot in advance !

[crichell]

what is your sound card codec? check by:

right click on your speaker > Open Volume Control
click File > Change Device
What is the name of the second listed device (the actual codec used by your sound card)?

[ndv_ubu]

I have two options in the list :

- HDA Intel (Alsa Mixer)
- Realtek Alc260 (OSS Mixer)

The first one was selected. After reading your answer, I tried the second one but there was no sound too ..

[ndv_ubu]

My sound is back !

In the VolumeControl (right click on your speaker > Open Volume Control), in the 'options' tab, there is an option 'Headphone jack mode'. The option that was choosen was 'Line in'. I changed it to 'Headphone out' .. and the sound was back !
I don't know how that option changed itself to 'Line in', but i never messed up in the Volume Control applet.

Well, the sound is back .. that's what matters.

Thanks a lot to Carl, for the tip "right click on your speaker > Open Volume Control .... ". The solution for my problem was near there :)