Re: nvidia secret? , XGI, and multi-user Ubuntu packages

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Oh yes - the X console failed during zap test because - 

NVRM: RmInitAdaptor failed (0x.................)

I presume removing the driver device instance failed, and therefore
couldn't restart?

?

nvidia-bug-report.log attached for server

J

On Fri, 2005-12-02 at 21:16, James van Zeeland wrote:
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Machine #1 : Two console dual AthlonMP 2800+ server 2Gb RAM with 360Gb
> SATA hardware RAID5, plus 240Gb linux software array. dual e1000 gigabit
> LAN + onboard e100. 1000VA UPS. FC2, 2.6.13-vz4.2 kernel using faketty
> and patched X build from modded FC2 .srpm; text console is on vga16
> framebuffer. second PCI console is GF4MX440
> 
> This machine shows (very rarely) console-switching instability mentioned
> earlier. Switch back and forth between the primary X server and text
> console all you like; not usually a problem. If it does corrupt the text
> console, it can be recovered by using the second X console to login as
> root and killing the gdm-binary that launches the primary X console.
> 
> > What nvidia binary driver version are you using?
> 
> 7676
> 
> > If you repeatedly alternately log in and out of two different screens
> > at least twenty times, one of the screens will not crash?
> 
> Currently 17 days uptime; last shutdown was due to a power outage.
> That's about the only reason it goes down, actually.
> Each console gets logged into and out of once or twice a day.
> I just tried logging in and out repeatedly and no crashes from that.
> 
> > What about
> > ctrl-alt-backspace zapping the screens one after another (waiting 5
> > seconds in between zaps) 
> 
> Doing this repeatedly, without necessarily taking a 5 second pause, I'm
> sure I was doing it quicker than that; just zapping each console as soon
> as it had a login eventually caused the primary X server to fail.
> Recovered by [ init 4 && init 5 ]
> At a guess I killed each console seven times or more before this
> happenned; I wasn't counting.
> 
> Waiting 5 secs between each zap produced the same result.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Machine #2 : Two console P4 3.0Ghz, 2Gb RAM, 160Gb software RAID5, two
> TV tuner cards : a Fusion DVB-T+ and VideoMate TV gold+. e1000 gigabit.
> FC4 with 2.6.14-v2.1 kernel using faketty and patched X from modded FC4
> .srpm; text console is vga16 framebuffer.
> 
> This machine shows more frequent console switching instability. However
> it is worth noting that it has quirks that prevent me using more than
> two consoles. I feel there are possibly two problems here : the
> mainboard and the PCI MX4000 video in it. The MX4000 insists on being
> primary and will crash linux or windows if you try using it as a
> secondary of any kind in any machine. The mainboard BIOS has no PCI/AGP
> init first switch.
> 
> Rarely it locks up; if it doesn't, the recovery process of using the
> second console to kill first gdm-binary will bring X back, but not the
> text console, which remains corrupted every time you try to use it until
> the system is reset
> 
> The console switching problem may be more significant due to VGA-BIOS /
> mainboard BIOS failings? It is an intel chipset and I have found intel
> skt478 chipsets, particularly intel desktop mainboards have very poor
> support for configurations such as this. (This one is a gigabyte
> mainboard, it replaced an intel desktop - the intel board was more
> cantankerous still; any kind of multi-head X was difficult.)
> 
> Needless to say console switching is avoided on this workstation.
> 
> > What nvidia binary driver version are you using?
> 
> 7676
> 
> > If you repeatedly alternately log in and out of two different screens
> > at least twenty times, one of the screens will not crash?
> 
> Currently 8 days uptime, last shutdown by mistake. Each console gets
> logged in and out of five or six times a day. Repeated login/logoff does
> not generate a crash.
> 
> > What about
> > ctrl-alt-backspace zapping the screens one after another (waiting 5
> > seconds in between zaps) 
> 
> Well, this one is much more problematic with this. Taking the same
> approach I did with the server above, definately not waiting 5 seconds,
> it failed much sooner - two or three zaps and I had no primary X server.
> [init 4 && init 5 ] did not recover X consoles. In fact, I had to reset.
> uptime = 0. Counting to five between zaps meant it lasted about six or
> seven zaps each console. Still not recoverable.
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Machine #3 is currently out of service, but by past record, I'd expect
> it to behave exactly as the server does - it has proven very stable
> using three and four consoles. It's a more pedestrian AthlonXP 2600+ 1Gb
> with FX5200 and MX440 secondaries on a gigabyte nforce2 mainboard
> 
> With some prior kernels, notably 2.6.9-vz11, this machine never ever
> corrupted the text console or caused similar issues. Neither did the
> server for that matter. The P4 was in a different incarnation at that
> time; can't recollect for comparison.
> 
> J
> 
> 
> On Fri, 2005-12-02 at 14:53, Michael Pardee wrote: 
> > Hugo and James, (and any others with non-crashing binary nvidia driver systems)
> > Can you help us figure out what your "secret" to non-crashing nvidia is?
> > What nvidia binary driver version are you using?  Could you send us
> > the output of nvidia-bug-report?
> > If you repeatedly alternately log in and out of two different screens
> > at least twenty times, one of the screens will not crash?   What about
> > ctrl-alt-backspace zapping the screens one after another (waiting 5
> > seconds in between zaps)  We have always been able to crash things
> > that way. (might be understandable to crash if x servers exit
> > abnormally)
> > 
> > Our old implementation with debian 2.6.8 with ruby and nvidia 6629
> > drivers worked great, but now ubuntu/evdev/nvidia 76** we have the
> > crashing problem on logout intermittently.  It gets worse with more
> > than 2 users.  It seems that consoles get corrupted first, then the x
> > servers are more prone to crashing.  After one of our displays
> > crashes, we can't start it back up without /etc/init.d/gdm restart to
> > reset all the cards.
> > 
> > ALSO, I ran across some info on XGI video cards today.  http://www.xgitech.com/
> > They already have linux drivers (with 2D open source) and may release
> > fully open source (3D included) in the near future.  They are also
> > very affordable, see:
> > http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=GO&Range=1&bop=and&description=xgi&Order=price
> > I sent them an email asking some more detailed questions but haven't heard back.
> > 
> > Thanks,
> > Michael Pardee
> > Open Sense Solutions LLC
> > http://opensensesolutions.com
> > 
> > 
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