Crash during boot

English Install/Boot/Login
1

About a 1/3rd of the time, the boot crash during the boot. It dies at:

ehci-pci 0000:00:13.2: USB 2.0 started, EHCI 1.00

The next step in the boot is supposed to be:

systemd[1]: Started Show Plymouth Boot Screen

The screen normally “flips” into the boot screen. The computer freeze. Nothing… the cap lock, the num lock… nothing the leds to not go in or out. The only thing to do a turn off the computer wait a few seconds and turn the computer back on, then it works no problem.

How can I track the problem? I think that it could be related to plymouth, but…

> inxi -Fxxz 

System:    Host: ethelbert Kernel: 4.12.14-lp151.28.7-default x86_64 bits: 64 gcc: 7.4.0
           Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.12.8 (Qt 5.9.7) dm: sddm,sddm Distro: openSUSE Leap 15.1                                                         
Machine:   Device: desktop Mobo: MSI model: 970A-G46 (MS-7693) v: 2.0 serial: N/A                                                                 
           BIOS: American Megatrends v: V2.8 date: 01/08/2016                                                                                     
CPU:       Octa core AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core (-MCP-) arch: Bulldozer rev.0 cache: 16384 KB                                                         
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm) bmips: 64001                                                                
           clock speeds: min/max: 1400/4000 MHz 1: 4000 MHz 2: 4000 MHz 3: 4000 MHz 4: 4000 MHz 5: 4000 MHz
           6: 4000 MHz 7: 4000 MHz 8: 4000 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Ellesmere [Radeon RX 470/480/570/580]
           bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:67df
           Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.20.3 ) drivers: amdgpu (unloaded: modesetting,fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1920x1080@60.00hz, 1920x1080@60.00hz
           OpenGL: renderer: Radeon RX 570 Series (POLARIS10, DRM 3.27.0, 4.12.14-lp151.28.7-default, LLVM 7.0.1)
           version: 4.5 Mesa 18.3.2 Direct Render: Yes
Audio:     Card-1 Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Ellesmere [Radeon RX 580]
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:aaf0
           Card-2 Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA)
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:14.2 chip-ID: 1002:4383
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.12.14-lp151.28.7-default
Network:   Card: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: d000 bus-ID: 04:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8168
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: half mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 6001.2GB (34.4% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: WDC_WD30EFRX size: 3000.6GB serial: <filter>
           ID-2: /dev/sdb model: WDC_WD30EFRX size: 3000.6GB serial: <filter>
Partition: ID-1: / size: 322G used: 8.9G (3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2
           ID-2: /home size: 2.4T used: 320G (14%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda3
           ID-3: swap-1 size: 12.46GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda4
Sensors:   None detected - is lm-sensors installed and configured?
Info:      Processes: 223 Uptime: 0:11 Memory: 982.1/11950.9MB
           Init: systemd v: 234 runlevel: 5 default: graphical.target Gcc sys: 7.4.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.4.231 running in konsole) inxi: 2.3.40

Thanks

2

On the boot screen, hit ‘e’.

Scroll down until you find a line that begins with “linux” (or maybe with “linuxefi”).
Scroll right until you get to “spash=silent”.
Replace that string with “plymouth.enable=0” and then resume booting (CTRL-X).

See if it still happens. That will test whether plymouth is involved.

3

Just to clarify (english is not my 1st nor 2nd language)

  1. remove: spash=silent
  2. add: plymouth.enable=0

Thanks

4

Yes, that’s the suggestion – just for testing.

5

Nope:X Didn’t work. It still crashed, but this time it went slightly further:

Here is the last line displayed on the screen when it freezes in the boot.

ata1.00: configured for UDMA/133

What is different from a:

  1. cold boot (pressing the big button on)
  2. boot after turning off the power for a few seconds

The second time, the boot goes on without any problem. There are 2 error messages, but much further down the boot process.


/hp-upgrade[2157]: hp-upgrade[2157]: error: HPLIP upgrade is disabled by openSUSE for security reasons...

and

pulseaudio[2101]: [pulseaudio] bluez5-util.c: GetManagedObjects() failed: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NoReply: Did not...
6

That sounds like an older ATA disk.

What is different from a:

  1. cold boot (pressing the big button on)
  2. boot after turning off the power for a few seconds

The hardware has had more time to warm up.

I once had a similar problem. In that case, it was a slow disk that took time to get up to speed. I replaced the disk.

In your case, I really can’t guess whether the problem is with that ATA disk or something else. With hardware old enough to have ATA disks, it could also be a power supply issue (aging electrolytic capacitors).

7

I don’t think so. I have been running smartctl without any problem

> sudo smartctl -d ata -H /dev/sda
[sudo] password for root: 
smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [x86_64-linux-4.12.14-lp151.28.7-default] (SUSE RPM)
Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED
...............................................................
> sudo smartctl -d ata -H /dev/sdb
smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [x86_64-linux-4.12.14-lp151.28.7-default] (SUSE RPM)
Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED


===============================
> sudo smartctl -d ata -a /dev/sda
smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [x86_64-linux-4.12.14-lp151.28.7-default] (SUSE RPM)
Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     Western Digital Red
Device Model:     WDC WD30EFRX-68EUZN0
Serial Number:    WD-WCC4N3TA43RK
LU WWN Device Id: 5 0014ee 26408221b
Firmware Version: 82.00A82
User Capacity:    3,000,592,982,016 bytes [3.00 TB]
Sector Sizes:     512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical
Rotation Rate:    5400 rpm
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   ACS-2 (minor revision not indicated)
SATA Version is:  SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is:    Tue Jul  2 10:43:14 2019 PDT
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x00) Offline data collection activity
                                        was never started.
                                        Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.
Self-test execution status:      (   0) The previous self-test routine completed
                                        without error or no self-test has ever 
                                        been run.
Total time to complete Offline 
data collection:                (40080) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities:                    (0x7b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
                                        Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
                                        Suspend Offline collection upon new
                                        command.
                                        Offline surface scan supported.
                                        Self-test supported.
                                        Conveyance Self-test supported.
                                        Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
                                        power-saving mode.
                                        Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x01) Error logging supported.
                                        General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine 
recommended polling time:        (   2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time:        ( 402) minutes.
Conveyance self-test routine
recommended polling time:        (   5) minutes.
SCT capabilities:              (0x703d) SCT Status supported.
                                        SCT Error Recovery Control supported.
                                        SCT Feature Control supported.
                                        SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x002f   200   200   051    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0027   177   163   021    Pre-fail  Always       -       6150
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032   098   098   000    Old_age   Always       -       2182
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   200   200   140    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x002e   100   253   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   098   098   000    Old_age   Always       -       1989
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
 11 Calibration_Retry_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   098   098   000    Old_age   Always       -       2182
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       90
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       2165
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0022   121   109   000    Old_age   Always       -       29
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0030   100   253   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate   0x0008   100   253   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0

SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1988         -
# 2  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1984         -
# 3  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1979         -
# 4  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1976         -
# 5  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1970         -
# 6  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1965         -
# 7  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1961         -
# 8  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1955         -
# 9  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1950         -
#10  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1947         -
#11  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1942         -
#12  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1939         -
#13  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1932         -
#14  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1927         -
#15  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1920         -
#16  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1917         -
#17  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1914         -
#18  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1910         -
#19  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1905         -
#20  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1892         -
#21  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1888         -

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
 SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1        0        0  Not_testing
    2        0        0  Not_testing
    3        0        0  Not_testing
    4        0        0  Not_testing
    5        0        0  Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
  After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

==================================================
I have removed the details of sdb, it's too long for the forum...

The other thing, I downloaded the live Manjaro live disk and there is no cold boot problem, so it seems to be some problem with the boot/configuration.

Any suggestion on what to look for?

Thanks

8

However, “smartctl” won’t tell you anything about startup problems, because it isn’t run until the system has started up.

Hmm, you are loading the kernel, so that seems to indicate the disk is working well enough to read the kernel.

You get past the point where the boot configuration would make a difference, so I doubt that’s the problem.

9

Speedstepping CPUs are about saving power. As POST proceeds some low amount of power is required. Voltage from power supply for CPU is increased when load is increased when I/O increases and RAM fills. If the power supply stability is marginal, just a small extra demand could overtax its aged or otherwise marginal capacitors, or those on motherboards that hadn’t used polys for their voltage regulators. A power supply can also be heating up more quickly or simply run hotter and produce similar overtaxing from dust buildup. Once the warranty expires, there’s no good reason not to break the power supply’s cover seal and at least look inside for cap bulging or leaking indicating it’s not doing its job any more.

Bad includes low price even though relatively young, especially those that are included in the price of a bargain price case. There’s wild variation in power supply quality. Bad power supplies can kill motherboards. Better safe than sorry. Check inside if you have any doubt.

10
  1. I opened the computer: the power supply is an XFX Pro550 Watts. I put it in about 3 years ago
  2. Open the power supply is above my capabilities, I don’t even think I would know what to look for.
  3. Every few month (around 6), I clean the inside of the computer, including the power supply. I just did it recently (maybe a month ago?)

Thanks

Syv

11

They are usually assembled by 4 to 6 phillips screws holding the cover on. Often one screw is under the seal. What to look for inside is described on badcaps.net, which also describes how the industrious might replace bad ones in its forums.

12

What about the CMOS battery on the motherboard? If that one is (almost) empty then you might run into problems when the contents of the CMOS RAM get lost or get invalid after some time the PC had been turned off. Maybe that could explain the different behaviour at reboot only a few seconds after the first boot, when the contents of the CMOS RAM may not have been lost again already.

13

As long as the power supply works and is getting power from the wall plug or UPS, no CMOS battery is needed. Nevertheless, a CMOS reset shouldn’t hurt anything if it doesn’t have a special non-default setting that you don’t remember needing, and might be productive if somehow corruption did occur.

A CMOS battery only 3-4 years old should be expected to last another 3-4 years at least.