For anyone else with this problem see this workaround it is much better than the other one and should be included in the kernel soon. I have it setup to run at startup and it works without intel_idle.max_cstate=1. Thanks to everyone who helped.
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Hello @mrtribute, I have a notebook that has the same processor as yours (N2940) and I have had freezing problems with versions of Ubuntu 16.04 and higher. Has some time that I am trying to find a kernel version that is stable for the hardware of my notebook.
Do you still use Ubuntu MATE 14.04.2 with 3.16.0-33 kernel? If yes, then is it really stable?
Also, can you tell me the model of your computer/notebook?
Thank you.
I have Acer V3 112P (C73H). Itâs basically this one:
http://www.linlap.com/acer_aspire_v3_112p-c7nc
I remember there was a kernel bug affecting V3 111P in BIOS legacy mode so I was afraid it would affect me:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1360731
Therefore I was more than happy to see UM 14.04 run smoothly. I havenât used this laptop a lot (less than 100 hours).
Everything works. No crashes. Maybe one time I felt the OS misbehaving and I had to reboot. Laptop hardware can be tricky: touchpad, wifi, screen brightness, battery life etc. so I definitely consider this install a success.
I even installed in Legacy BIOS mode despite the bug mentioned above. Actually I installed in UEFI mode first and that worked great too. But UEFI was a pain to set up, because I dual-boot with the original copy of Windows 8.1.
Kernel is now 3.16.0-77. Itâs affected by âdirty cowâ bug, but I donât really care because itâs mainly a local exploit.
I use this laptop only occasionally, but so far itâs been great.
I have used all Ubuntu LTSes since 8.04 and I have âneverâ experienced OS freezes (only application freezes) until I tried 16.04 (Compiz related but still).
Reading about OS freezes in this forum also makes me a little nervous about the future of Ubuntu/Linux. I get that chipsets become more complicated, but if your OS freezes or network connection goes down itâs a really bad thing.
Thatâs why I love UM 14.04. No network loss, no freezing, no shutdown bugs, solid Compiz, MATE 1.8 (canât find any bugs), solid pulseaudio (didnât think this was possible before), good GFX drivers.
If kernel 3.16 can handle your hardware you canât go wrong with this release!
Thanks for the reply and clarifications, @mrtribute.
For clarification, my notebook is an Acer ES1-411-C8FA with N2940 processor.
About the problem, I tested Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 16.10, but both froze. I have tracked the postings at https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=109051 and it is clear that the bug affects various processor models. Therefore, I believe that future versions of the Kernel should solve this problem.
I will test Ubuntu MATE 14.04.2 on my notebook and soon I will bring some news about it.
Your link says kernel 3.16 to 4.2 are affected which sounds strange.
In the comment section I find this (comment 11):
"I can also confirm that this workaround works for me, running 4.3.0-2 now for about two weeks with intel_idle.max_cstate=1 and no freezes. Cheers for this, I was getting desperate with the constant hangs.
Downgrading kernel to 3.16.7-29 makes this run fine without any boot parameters, but anything newer than that means frequent freezes.
Using intel_pstate=disable does not work for this hardware / kernel combination either, it still hangs. Only limiting cstate seems to cure this.
Acer B-115M Laptop with IntelÂŽ PentiumÂŽ CPU N3540 @ 2.16GHz
If there is anything that I can do to help to trace this, let me know."
In other words: kernel 3.16 in Ubuntu MATE should be fine.
I have to wonder what Intel is doing: They have a serious bug affecting multiple kernels. Intel x86 used to better than this or maybe I just didnât look at bug reports and assumed that x86 just works.
This kind of bug makes Linux look really bad. Did Intel put it there on purpose? They can hardly have missed it in testing.
Hi, @mrtribute.
Through a bootable pendrive, I tested Ubuntu Mate 14.04.2 with the 3.16.0-33 kernel and unfortunately the touchpad did not work properly.
Moreover, also using a bootable pendrive I tested Xubuntu 14.04.2 with the 3.16.0-30 kernel and the touchpad worked. I tested this OS for about 5 hours yesterday and 5 hours today. It did not freeze at all. Unfortunately, however, this version of the kernel as well as the higher ones I tested causes noise like a stall when the notebook is turned off.
As with Windows 8.1 I do not have any of these problems, I will continue to use it until leave a version of the Linux kernel that is stable for my notebookâs hardware.
I really do not understand why this freezing bug has not yet been fixed. As can be seen from the link I made available, this bug has been reported for almost a year and it affects various processor models. However, I still hope that there will be a correction for that.
Thank you for your help.
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Hello,
I just read an article that you might be interested in, you wonât regret, please read it here http://www.musorkalauz.hu/reflect.php?fbfa
Be well, nick