Wireless connection causes Kernal Panic when Power Adpater is disconnected

Hello,

I have a Dell Latitude D810 with a Giga-byte GN-WIKG 802.11b/g mini-PCI Adapter. The wireless connection worked reliably with openSUSE 11.4 (once I added “iwconfig wlan0 power off” to /etc/init.d/boot.local to disable WIFI power management). I upgraded to openSUSE 12.1 as soon as it was released and since then I have been having problems with my wireless connection.

The trigger is to disconnect the power adaptor when the wireless is connected. I do not see a problem if the wireless is enabled but I am not connected to a network. This happens whether the computer has been switched on, or if it is booting.

The symptoms appear as a screen freeze that locks me out until I reboot, or openSUSE switches to a text console and reports a kernel panic with the CAPS LOCK and SCROLL LOCK lights flashing. There can be a delay of up to 30 seconds before the computer decides to crash - enough to give me hope that whatever I’ve just fiddled with was the cure :frowning:

I can provide the following debug information but I have less than a year of experience with Linux so I’m not sure what will be most helpful to solve this problem.

james@linux-tkuf:~> hwinfo --wlan


17: PCI 303.0: 0282 WLAN controller                             
  [Created at pci.319]
  Unique ID: y9sn.slry69qb3KD
  Parent ID: 6NW+.xGUU5FgHKV0
  SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1e.0/0000:03:03.0
  SysFS BusID: 0000:03:03.0
  Hardware Class: network
  Model: "Giga-byte GN-WIKG 802.11b/g mini-PCI Adapter"
  Vendor: pci 0x1814 "RaLink"
  Device: pci 0x0201 "RT2500 802.11g Cardbus/mini-PCI"
  SubVendor: pci 0x1458 "Giga-byte Technology"
  SubDevice: pci 0xe931 "GN-WIKG 802.11b/g mini-PCI Adapter"
  Revision: 0x01
  Driver: "rt2500pci"
  Driver Modules: "rt2500pci"
  Device File: wlan0
  Features: WLAN
  Memory Range: 0xdfbfe000-0xdfbfffff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  IRQ: 17 (no events)
  HW Address: 00:0f:ea:f0:e4:59
  Link detected: yes
  WLAN channels: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
  WLAN frequencies: 2.412 2.417 2.422 2.427 2.432 2.437 2.442 2.447 2.452 2.457 2.462 2.467 2.472 2.484
  WLAN encryption modes: WEP40 WEP104 TKIP CCMP
  WLAN authentication modes: open sharedkey wpa-psk wpa-eap
  Module Alias: "pci:v00001814d00000201sv00001458sd0000E931bc02sc80i00"
  Driver Info #0:
    Driver Status: rt2500pci is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe rt2500pci"
  Config Status: cfg=no, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown
  Attached to: #9 (PCI bridge)

james@linux-tkuf:~> iwconfig


lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bg  ESSID:"PlusnetWireless7F09AC"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.437 GHz  Access Point: 00:26:44:7F:09:AC   
          Bit Rate=54 Mb/s   Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=48/70  Signal level=-62 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:62  Invalid misc:154   Missed beacon:0

contents of var/log/warn after a crash


Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] ACPI: RSDP 000fc9b0 00014 (v00 DELL  )
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] ACPI: RSDT 7ffd8790 00040 (v01 DELL    D05     27D60314 ASL  00000061)
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] ACPI: FACP 7ffd9400 00074 (v01 DELL    D05     27D60314 ASL  00000061)
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] ACPI: DSDT 7ffda000 0355D (v01 INT430 SYSFexxx 00001001 MSFT 0100000E)
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] ACPI: FACS 7ffe8800 00040
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] ACPI: APIC 7ffd9c00 00068 (v01 DELL    D05     27D60314 ASL  00000047)
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] ACPI: ASF! 7ffd9800 0005B (v16 DELL    D05     27D60314 ASL  00000061)
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] ACPI: MCFG 7ffd9bc0 0003E (v16 DELL    D05     27D60314 ASL  00000061)
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] ACPI: SSDT 7ffd8be6 00280 (v01  PmRef  Cpu0Ist 00003000 INTL 20030522)
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] ACPI: SSDT 7ffd8a0e 001D8 (v01  PmRef  Cpu0Cst 00003001 INTL 20030522)
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] ACPI: SSDT 7ffd8813 001FB (v01  PmRef    CpuPm 00003000 INTL 20030522)
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] Zone PFN ranges:
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000]   DMA      0x00000010 -> 0x00001000
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000]   Normal   0x00001000 -> 0x000371fe
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000]   HighMem  0x000371fe -> 0x0007ffd8
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] Movable zone start PFN for each node
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] early_node_map[2] active PFN ranges
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000]     0: 0x00000010 -> 0x0000009f
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000]     0: 0x00000100 -> 0x0007ffd8
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] Built 1 zonelists in Zone order, mobility grouping on.  Total pages: 520039
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] Policy zone: HighMem
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] Fast TSC calibration using PIT
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.000000] Detected 1995.127 MHz processor.
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.050495] ACPI: SSDT 7ffd87d0 00043 (v01  LMPWR  DELLLOM 00001001 INTL 20030522)
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.050778] ACPI: Dynamic OEM Table Load:
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.050782] ACPI: SSDT   (null) 00043 (v01  LMPWR  DELLLOM 00001001 INTL 20030522)
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.167090] pnp 00:02: disabling [io  0x1000-0x1005] because it overlaps 0000:00:1f.0 BAR 13 [io  0x1000-0x107f]
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.167094] pnp 00:02: disabling [io  0x1008-0x100f] because it overlaps 0000:00:1f.0 BAR 13 [io  0x1000-0x107f]
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.167202] pnp 00:03: disabling [io  0x1006-0x1007] because it overlaps 0000:00:1f.0 BAR 13 [io  0x1000-0x107f]
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.167207] pnp 00:03: disabling [io  0x100a-0x1059] because it overlaps 0000:00:1f.0 BAR 13 [io  0x1000-0x107f]
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.167211] pnp 00:03: disabling [io  0x1060-0x107f] because it overlaps 0000:00:1f.0 BAR 13 [io  0x1000-0x107f]
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.596391] highmem bounce pool size: 64 pages
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.609880] Dquot-cache hash table entries: 1024 (order 0, 4096 bytes)
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:     0.945565] ahci: probe of 0000:00:1f.2 failed with error -22
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:    20.439015] ACPI: Deprecated procfs I/F for battery is loaded, please retry with CONFIG_ACPI_PROCFS_POWER cleared
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:    20.439063] ACPI: Deprecated procfs I/F for battery is loaded, please retry with CONFIG_ACPI_PROCFS_POWER cleared
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:    20.448415] ACPI: Deprecated procfs I/F for AC is loaded, please retry with CONFIG_ACPI_PROCFS_POWER cleared
Dec 25 19:10:15 linux-tkuf kernel:    20.529894] sr0: scsi3-mmc drive: 24x/24x writer cd/rw xa/form2 cdda tray
Dec 25 19:10:16 linux-tkuf kdm_config[788]: Multiple occurrences of key 'UseTheme' in section [X-*-Greeter] of /usr/share/kde4/config/kdm/kdmrc
Dec 25 19:10:16 linux-tkuf systemd[1]: Failed to read PID file /var/run/haveged.pid after start. The service might be broken.
Dec 25 19:10:24 linux-tkuf bluetoothd[1294]: D-Bus failed to register org.bluez.Proximity interface
Dec 25 19:10:24 linux-tkuf bluetoothd[1294]: Parsing /etc/bluetooth/input.conf failed: No such file or directory
Dec 25 19:10:24 linux-tkuf bluetoothd[1294]: Parsing /etc/bluetooth/audio.conf failed: No such file or directory
Dec 25 19:10:24 linux-tkuf bluetoothd[1294]: Parsing /etc/bluetooth/serial.conf failed: No such file or directory
Dec 25 19:10:25 linux-tkuf systemd[1]: Failed to read PID file /var/run/httpd2.pid after start. The service might be broken.
Dec 25 19:10:25 linux-tkuf if-up.d/21-dhcpcd-hook-samba: No dhcpcd info nor dhclient leases file found for wlan0.
Dec 25 19:10:43 linux-tkuf rtkit-daemon[1810]: Failed to make ourselves RT: Operation not permitted
Dec 25 19:10:44 linux-tkuf pulseaudio[1808]: [pulseaudio] pid.c: Stale PID file, overwriting.
Dec 25 19:10:47 linux-tkuf pulseaudio[1808]: [pulseaudio] bluetooth-util.c: Error from RegisterEndpoint reply: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.UnknownMethod
Dec 25 19:10:47 linux-tkuf pulseaudio[1808]: [pulseaudio] bluetooth-util.c: Error from RegisterEndpoint reply: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.UnknownMethod
Dec 25 19:10:47 linux-tkuf pulseaudio[1808]: [pulseaudio] bluetooth-util.c: Error from RegisterEndpoint reply: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.UnknownMethod

This screen dump was manually copied during a crash:


 2173.140030] BUG: unable to handle kernel paging request at 22bf4951
 2173.140160] IP: <22bf4951>] 0x22bf4950
 2173.140239] *pdpt = 0000000036a9f001 *pde = 0000000000000000
 2173.140348] Oops: 0010 #1] PREEMPT SMP
 2173.140430] Modules linked in: edd st lp parport_pc ppdev parport fuse ip60_LOG xt_tcpudp xt_pkttype ipt_LOG xt_limit rfcomm bnep vboxpci vboxnetadp vboxnetflt af_packet vboxdrv ip6t_REJECT nf_conntrack_ipv6 nf_defrag_ipv6 ip6table_raw xt_NOTRACK ipt_REJECT iptable_raw iptable_filter ip6table_mangle nf_conntrack_netbios_ns nf_conntrack_broadcast nf_conntrack_ipv4 nf_defrag_ipv4 ip_tables xt_conntrack nf_conntrack ip6table_filter ip6_tables x_tables cpufreq_conservative cpufreq_userspace microcode cpufreq_powersafe acpi_cpufreq mperf arc4 pcmcia rt2500pci rt2x00pci rt2x00lib mac80211 cfg80211 snd_intel8x0 snd_ac97_codec yenta_socket dell_laptop sr_mod ac97_bus pcmcia_rsrc ecb btusb bluetooth sg cdrom dcdbas joydev rfkill pcspkr video eeprom_93cx6 snd_pcm pcmcia_core battery button ac snd_timer iTCO_wdt snd dm_mod iTCO_vendor_support tg3 soundcore snd_page_alloc autofs4 radeon ttm drm_kms_helper drm thermal i2c_algo_bit processor thermal_sys ata_generic [last unloaded: parport_pc]
 2173.141008] 
 2173.141008] Pid: 685, comm: rsyslogd Not tainted 3.1.0-1.2-desktop #1 Dell Inc. Latitude d810               /
 2173.141008] EIP: 0060:<22bf4951>] EFLAGS: 00010286 CPU: 0
 2173.141008] EIP is at 0x22bf4951
 2173.141008] EAX: f5006e44 EBX: c0ba9ac0 ECX: f5006e44 EDX: 00000202
 2173.141008] ESI: f440bfa4 EDI: f440be5c EBP: f440be5c ESP: f440bf44
 2173.141008]  DS: 007b ES: 007b FS: 00d8 GS: 0033 SS: 0068
 2173.141008] Process rsyslogd (pid: 685, ti=f440a000 task=f6b8b130 task.ti=f2d44000)
 2173.141008] Stack:
 2173.141008]  c02568ac 00000000 00000000 0000000a ffffffc1 0000012f 00000000 00000202
 2173.141008]  22bf4951 f5006e44 c0ba9ac0 f440bfa4 f440be5c c0ba9ac0 c025711f 22bf4951
 2173.141008]  f440be80 00000001 f6be7160 c0baa2d0 22bf4951 f5006e44 c0baa4d0 f6be766c
 2173.141008] Call Trace:
 2173.141008] Inexact backtrace:
 2173.141008]
 2173.141008]  <c02568ac>] ? call_timer_fn+0x2c/0x160
 2173.141008]  <c025711f>] ? run_timer_softirq+0xdf/0x220
 2173.141008]  <c024ef50>] ? __tasklet_hi_schedule_first+0x90/0x90
 2173.141008]  <c024efd2>] ? __do_softirq+0x82/0x210
 2173.141008]  <c024ef50>] ? __tasklet_hi_schedule_first+0x90/0x90
 2173.141008]  <IRQ>
 2173.141008]  <c024f3f6>] ? irq_exit+0x66/0xb0
 2173.141008]  <c021bcd1>] ? smp_apic_timer_interrupt+0x51/0x90
 2173.141008]  <c07098ea>] ? apic_timer_interrupt+0x2a/0x30
 2173.141008] Code:  Bad EIP value.
 2173.141008] EIP: <22bf4951>] 0x22bf4951 SS:ESP 0068:f440bf44
 2173.141008] CR2: 0000000022bf4951
 2173.191699] Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt
 2173.191811] Pid: 685, comm: rsyslogd Tainted: G      D     3.1.0-1.2-desktop #1
 2173.191934] Call Trace:
 2173.191988]  <c0205433>] try_stack_unwind+0x163/0x180
 2173.192100]  <c0204167>] dump_trace+0x47/0xf0
 2173.192184]  <c020549b>] show_trace_log_lvl+0x4b/0x60
 2173.192278]  <c02054c8>] show_trace+0x18/0x20
 2173.192362]  <c06f25f3>] dump_stack+0x6d/0x72
 2173.192444]  <c06f420d>] panic+0x61/0x158
 2173.192524]  <c070a618>] oops_end+0xc8/0xd0
 2173.192605]  <c06f3b9c>] bad_area_nosemaphore+0xf/0x11
 2173.192701]  <c070c1a8>] do_page_fault+0x398/0x4a0
 2173.192793]  <c0709ae2>] error_code+0x5a/0x60
 2173.192880]  <22bf4951>] 0x22bf4950
 2173.192947] panic occured, switching back to text console

Any help or suggestions will be appreciated. After some investigation I wondered if this issue was related to the use of systemd as a replacement for system V, so I tried rebooting using F5 to load system V but that didn’t solve the problem. This is beyond my limited skill level now so I need some help.

Thanks
James

On 12/25/2011 03:26 PM, jrcy2 wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> I have a Dell Latitude D810 with a Giga-byte GN-WIKG 802.11b/g mini-PCI
> Adapter. The wireless connection worked reliably with openSUSE 11.4
> (once I added “iwconfig wlan0 power off” to /etc/init.d/boot.local to
> disable WIFI power management). I upgraded to openSUSE 12.1 as soon as
> it was released and since then I have been having problems with my
> wireless connection.
>
> The trigger is to disconnect the power adaptor when the wireless is
> -connected-. I do not see a problem if the wireless is enabled but I am
> not connected to a network. This happens whether the computer has been
> switched on, or if it is booting.

By “disconnect the power adaptor”, do you mean switch to battery?

> The symptoms appear as a screen freeze that locks me out until I
> reboot, or openSUSE switches to a text console and reports a kernel
> panic with the CAPS LOCK and SCROLL LOCK lights flashing. There can be
> a delay of up to 30 seconds before the computer decides to crash -
> enough to give me hope that whatever I’ve just fiddled with was the cure
> :frowning:

The 30 second delay between the freeze and the panic means that the cause of the
panic is secondary, and the dump that you laboriously copied and typed is
probably not of much use. You do get credit for trying. :slight_smile:

> Any help or suggestions will be appreciated. After some investigation
> I wondered if this issue was related to the use of systemd as a
> replacement for system V, so I tried rebooting using F5 to load system V
> but that didn’t solve the problem. This is beyond my limited skill
> level now so I need some help.

Funny how systemd gets blamed for everything. AFAIK, the only symptoms of
systemd failures and boots that never complete, or services that are not started.

Please do one other test. Boot the system and get connected to the network with
the power adapter connected. Once you have done that, switch to the logging
console (CTRL-ALT-F10) and remove the power connection. Does anything new appear
on the screen when you do this?

I do not have an rt2500pci device, but I do have an rt2800pci unit, which shares
a lot of the code. I’ll try the experiment here.

On 12/26/2011 10:49 AM, Larry Finger wrote:

> I do not have an rt2500pci device, but I do have an rt2800pci unit, which shares
> a lot of the code. I’ll try the experiment here.

I tested my RT3090, which uses rt2800pci. It works fine on the battery.

I also checked to see if there are any patches that fix your problem for
rt2500pci, but did not find any. For completeness, is it possible for you to try
using compat-wireless?

Larry

Yes that is what I meant, sorry if it wasn’t clear.

OK, I’ve just got a stopwatch out and crashed my computer a couple more times…

System booted, connected to the Internet with Firefox running. Power connection removed to trigger crash:

  1. 12 seconds to kernel panic
  2. 45 seconds to kernel panic
  3. 17 seconds to screen freeze
  4. 69 seconds to screen freeze

Repeated the experiment using the logging console (CTRL-ALT-F10)
5) No change when power connection removed, 127 seconds to kernel panic (and then a couple of screens worth of text)
6) As (5) but 114 seconds to kernel panic

:expressionless:

On 12/26/2011 02:46 PM, jrcy2 wrote:
> OK, I’ve just got a stopwatch out and crashed my computer a couple more
> times…
>
> System booted, connected to the Internet with Firefox running. Power
> connection removed to trigger crash:
> 1) 12 seconds to kernel panic
> 2) 45 seconds to kernel panic
> 3) 17 seconds to screen freeze
> 4) 69 seconds to screen freeze
>
> Repeated the experiment using the logging console (CTRL-ALT-F10)
> 5) No change when power connection removed, 127 seconds to kernel panic
> (and then a couple of screens worth of text)
> 6) As (5) but 114 seconds to kernel panic

I guess this means no output until the panic.

Could you please try the compat-wireless package for your kernel to see if that
changes anything?

I will, but I don’t know how to do it. I don’t have anything in YAST by that name…

As I said, I don’t have much experience :frowning:

Edit: I found compat-wireless here but it doesn’t look like anything is ready for openSUSE 12.1.

After some more research I came across this report in bugzilla: Bug 726194 - iwlagn: kernel panic in iwlagn_rxon_connect when connecting to wifi access point

I updated my kernel from 3.1.0-1-desktop to 3.1.4-1-desktop using this repository and it has solved my problem.

Thanks for your help Larry :slight_smile: