Posts: 307
eugen-b
Joined: 23 Aug 2015
#1
Hello, fellows!
I got many problems of recent with my EeePC 1001HA, segfaults, crashes when running high CPU load, problems with LightDM or DE not starting. So I tried to install a lighter system, chose antiX 15 core and installed task-lxde-desktop, uninstalled some stuff afterwards.
Now the problem is no WiFi.

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# inxi -Fxz
Resuming in non X mode: glxinfo not found. For package install advice run: inxi --recommends
System:    Host: antiX Kernel: 4.0.5-gnu-antix.1-486-smp i686 (32 bit gcc: 4.9.2)
           Desktop: LXDE (Openbox 3.5.2)
           Distro: antiX-15-V_386-core-libre Killah P 30 June 2015
Machine:   System: ASUSTeK product: 1001HA v: x.x
           Mobo: ASUSTeK model: 1005HA v: x.xx
           Bios: American Megatrends v: 1601 date: 04/18/2011
CPU:       Single core Intel Atom N270 (-HT-) cache: 512 KB
           flags: (nx pae sse sse2 sse3 ssse3) bmips: 3199
           clock speeds: max: 1600 MHz 1: 800 MHz 2: 1333 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Intel Mobile 945GSE Express Integrated Graphics Controller
           bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Display Server: X.org 1.16.4 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           tty size: 80x24 Advanced Data: N/A for root
Audio:     Card Intel NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
           Sound: ALSA v: k4.0.5-gnu-antix.1-486-smp
Network:   Card-1: Qualcomm Atheros AR8132 Fast Ethernet
           driver: atl1c v: 1.0.1.1-NAPI port: ec00 bus-ID: 01:00.0
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Ralink RT3090 Wireless 802.11n 1T/1R PCIe
           driver: rt2800pci v: 2.3.0 bus-ID: 02:00.0
           IF: wlan0 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 32.0GB (8.1% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: SAMSUNG_SSD_PM83 size: 32.0GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 30G used: 2.5G (9%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda1
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 46.0C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 149 Uptime: 2 min Memory: 112.0/2012.0MB
           Init: SysVinit runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: N/A
           Client: Shell (bash 4.3.301) inxi: 2.2.25 
On boot just got a CPU error (uploading a photo) but also saw that /sbin/wpa_supplicant daemon fails to start.

This thread is going to become a bit messy with so many issues, so I give them numbers:
#1: CPU - trying to set up the governor to lower speed, it runs with 'performance' on startup. Did this

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root@antiX:/# cpufreq-set -g conservative -c 1 -d 800 MHz
root@antiX:/# cpufreq-set -g conservative -c 0 -d 800 MHz
But it goes back to 'performance' after apparently very short time:

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# LC_ALL=en.US cpufreq-info
cpufrequtils 008: cpufreq-info (C) Dominik Brodowski 2004-2009
Report errors and bugs to cpufreq@vger.kernel.org, please.
analyzing CPU 0:
  driver: acpi-cpufreq
  CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 0
  CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 0
  maximum transition latency: 10.0 us.
  hardware limits: 800 MHz - 1.60 GHz
  available frequency steps: 1.60 GHz, 1.33 GHz, 1.07 GHz, 800 MHz
  available cpufreq governors: conservative, powersave, userspace, ondemand, performance
  current policy: frequency should be within 1.60 GHz and 1.60 GHz.
                  The governor"performance" may decide which speed to use
                  within this range.
  current CPU frequency is 1.60 GHz (asserted by call to hardware).
  cpufreq stats: 1.60 GHz:26.07%, 1.33 GHz:6.49%, 1.07 GHz:9.33%, 800 MHz:58.11%  (480)
analyzing CPU 1:
  driver: acpi-cpufreq
  CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 1
  CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 1
  maximum transition latency: 10.0 us.
  hardware limits: 800 MHz - 1.60 GHz
  available frequency steps: 1.60 GHz, 1.33 GHz, 1.07 GHz, 800 MHz
  available cpufreq governors: conservative, powersave, userspace, ondemand, performance
  current policy: frequency should be within 1.60 GHz and 1.60 GHz.
                  The governor"performance" may decide which speed to use
                  within this range.
  current CPU frequency is 1.60 GHz (asserted by call to hardware).
  cpufreq stats: 1.60 GHz:24.11%, 1.33 GHz:6.26%, 1.07 GHz:12.12%, 800 MHz:57.51%  (544)
EDIT: I guess, I might have fixed this one, the syntax is to write 800MHz without space:

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root@antiX:/# cpufreq-set -g conservative -c 1 -d800 MHz
root@antiX:/# cpufreq-set -g conservative -c 0 -d 800MHz
The frequency and the governor stay now conservative and mostly 800MHz.
EDIT2: Nope, it goes back to 'performance'. __{{emoticon}}__ __{{emoticon}}__ __{{emoticon}}__
EDIT3: Installed thermald, let's see how it works, should be OOTB, afaiu.


#2: segfaults druing boot, will take a picture when they occur

#3: WiFi not running - I wanted to install network-manager, but cannot (and maybe don't want to), because it depends on systemd.
Last edited by eugen-b on 12 Nov 2015, 12:17, edited 3 times in total.
Posts: 307
eugen-b
Joined: 23 Aug 2015
#2
photo of CPU boot error
Image
Posts: 2,238
dolphin_oracle
Joined: 16 Dec 2007
#3
1. try reversing your entires.

root@antiX:/# cpufreq-set -g conservative -c 0 -d 800MHz
root@antiX:/# cpufreq-set -g conservative -c 1 -d 800MHz

also -d sets a minimum, not a maximum. so you are telling your notebook to not drop below 800 mhz. If you are trying to keep it a 800 mhz, then use -u (maximium).

or just set the governor to"powersave", which on the eeepc will set to 800 mhz anyway.

also, if you started with"core" you might want to install the intel-microcode.

3. for the wireless, you probably need to install a non-gnu kernel. the gnu-kernel doesn't load non-free firmware.
Posts: 307
eugen-b
Joined: 23 Aug 2015
#4
Thanks, d_o !
A changing the kernel enabled WiFi, but I'm having trouble to connect with wicd. I guess, the fields user and domain make problems. I'll try ceni.
The cpufreq is set minumum=maximux at startup. Several times it was 'ondemand' 1033MHz, sometimes it goes to 'powersave'. It looks to me like it depends on whether I run on battery and ho much charge is left.
The commands with -c 0 and then -c 1 seem to persist longer, but I guess it was because I was on battery.
Need to observe this more...
Posts: 2,238
dolphin_oracle
Joined: 16 Dec 2007
#5
I wicd...you probably need to put the interface name in the wicd prefences. wlan0 wlan0 whatever...
Posts: 307
eugen-b
Joined: 23 Aug 2015
#6
I forgot to mention that I didn't find the package intel-microcode on my antiX core install. It is there on my MX-14. Will look further in half an hour.
Posts: 2,238
dolphin_oracle
Joined: 16 Dec 2007
#7
eugen-b wrote:I forgot to mention that I didn't find the package intel-microcode on my antiX core install. It is there on my MX-14. Will look further in half an hour.

you may need to enable the contrib non-free repos. add them after"main" in the debian.list file.
Posts: 74
rayburn
Joined: 11 Jun 2008
#8
FWIW, I have found ceni to be more reliable than wicd, so far it has never failed to connect on a wide array of hardware including an Eeepc 701.
Posts: 307
eugen-b
Joined: 23 Aug 2015
#9
Yeah, ceni worked! Last time I tried Fluxbox on antiX 13.2 it worked as well while wicd didn't.
I will enable contrib and non-free. Learning on my own mistakes what it means to be true GNU.
And I found out that cpufreq reacts on power cable in or out instantly. Out it goes to 'powersave' in to 'performance', at start it is 'ondemand'. And the upper limit is always set to equal the lower limit.
Posts: 307
eugen-b
Joined: 23 Aug 2015
#10
Ok, now I installed intel-microcode and iucode-tool. What next? I checked startup processes with the GUI for services-admin and there is acpid energy management. Maybe disabling it could help to downclock the CPU?
Posts: 307
eugen-b
Joined: 23 Aug 2015
#11
I discovered a package called laptop-mode-tools, there I can also configure CPU power settings. I did it and will see what it yields.
However I'm attaching some logs in an archive and dmesg output. Maybe there more things I need to do.
Posts: 307
eugen-b
Joined: 23 Aug 2015
#12
Well, strange beahviour. It looks like I set up laptop-mode-tools, but its CPUfreq settings are onlz applied when pulling the power cable. Else it is performance 1.6GHz. I am attaching the configs.
What is even stranger that on Fedora 23 LXDE I have the governor ondemand by default and CPUfreq is 800MHz most of the time. I know it is a bad comparison between Fedora and a custom installed antiX by an inexperienced user. But I will try to find out what Fedora is doing right in this case.
Update: I have the same coherent behaviour on MX-15 live USB. 800MHz ondemand. By the way, Fedora only has the newest packages, but MX-25 ISO has much more usability.
Posts: 4,164
rokytnji
Joined: 20 Feb 2009
#13
I used to install eeepc acpi scripts back when I owned a eeepc.
post42380.html

But if they do not give joy. Uninstalling them is just as easy as installing them. I still run a older kernel with a working touchscreen
on this netbook. This kernel activates my touch screen driver.

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$ inxi -S
System:    Host: antix1 Kernel: 3.16.0-4-686-pae i686 (32 bit)
           Desktop: IceWM 1.3.8+githubmod+20150914+fa3fdef
           Distro: antiX-15-beta1-V_386-full Killah P 16 March 2015

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$ inxi -f
CPU:       Single core Intel Atom N270 (-HT-) cache: 512 KB 
           clock speeds: max: 1600 MHz 1: 800 MHz 2: 1333 MHz
           CPU Flags: acpi aperfmperf apic arch_perfmon bts clflush cmov
           constant_tsc cx8 de ds_cpl dtes64 dtherm dts est fpu fxsr ht
           lahf_lm mca mce mmx monitor movbe msr mtrr nx pae pat pbe pdcm pebs
           pge pni sep ss sse sse2 ssse3 tm tm2 tsc vme xtpr

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$ apt search acpi
Sorting... Done
Full Text Search... Done
acpi/testing,now 1.7-1 i386 [installed]
  displays information on ACPI devices

acpi-call-dkms/testing 1.1.0-2 all
  Kernel module that enables you to call ACPI methods

acpi-fakekey/testing 0.142-8 i386
  tool to generate fake key events

acpi-support/testing,now 0.142-8 all [installed]
  scripts for handling many ACPI events

acpi-support-base/testing,now 0.142-8 all [installed]
  scripts for handling base ACPI events such as the power button

acpica-tools/testing 20150930-1 i386
  ACPICA tools for the development and debug of ACPI tables

acpid/testing,now 1:2.0.25-1 i386 [installed]
  Advanced Configuration and Power Interface event daemon

acpidump/testing 20150930-1 all
  transitional dummy package

acpitool/testing,now 0.5.1-4+b2 i386 [installed]
  command line ACPI client

acpitool-dbg/testing 0.5.1-4+b2 i386
  command line ACPI client (debug)

apmd/testing 3.2.2-15 i386
  Utilities for Advanced Power Management (APM)

athcool/testing 0.3.12-3 i386
  tool to enable powersaving mode for Athlon/Duron processors

bbswitch-dkms/testing 0.8-3 i386
  Interface for toggling the power on NVIDIA Optimus video cards

bbswitch-source/testing 0.8-3 i386
  Interface for toggling the power on NVIDIA Optimus video cards

cairo-dock-powermanager-plug-in/testing 3.4.0-1.1 i386
  Powermanager plug-in for Cairo-dock

claws-mail-acpi-notifier/testing 3.13.0-1 i386
  Laptop's Mail LED control for Claws Mail

collectd-core/testing 5.5.0-3 i386
  statistics collection and monitoring daemon (core system)

cpufreqd/testing 2.4.2-2 i386
  fully configurable daemon for dynamic frequency and voltage scaling

eeepc-acpi-scripts/testing 1.1.12 all
  Scripts to support suspend and hotkeys on the Asus Eee PC laptop

fancontrol/testing 1:3.4.0-2 all
  utility to control the fan speed

fdpowermon/testing 1.16 all
  simple battery power monitor for laptops with ACPI

fglrx-atieventsd/testing 1:15.9-2 i386
  events daemon for the non-free ATI/AMD RadeonHD display driver

firmware-intel-sound/testing 20151018-2 all
  Binary firmware for Intel sound DSPs

fnfxd/testing 0.3-14 i386
  ACPI and hotkey daemon for Toshiba laptops

gkrellm-ibam/testing 1:0.5.2-2.1+b1 i386
  Advanced battery monitor for laptops - gkrellm plugin

gkrellm-x86info/testing 0.0.2-9 i386
  gkrellm plugin displaying the current processor speed

hdapsd/testing 1:20141203-1 i386
  HDAPS daemon for various laptops with motion sensors

hibernate/testing 2.0+15+g88d54a8-1 all
  smartly puts your computer to sleep (suspend to RAM or disk)

ibam/testing 1:0.5.2-2.1+b1 i386
  Advanced battery monitor for laptops

kacpimon/testing 1:2.0.25-1 i386
  Kernel ACPI Event Monitor

mactelnet-client/testing 0.4.0-1 i386
  Console tools for telneting and pinging via MAC addresses

mate-sensors-applet/testing 1.10.4-1 i386
  Display readings from hardware sensors in your MATE panel

pidgin-blinklight/testing 0.11.1-2 i386
  Blinks your ThinkPad's ThinkLight upon new messages

powermgmt-base/testing,now 1.31+nmu1 all [installed]
  Common utils and configs for power management

procmeter3/testing 3.6-1 i386
  graphical system status monitor

sensors-applet/testing 3.0.0+git5-0.1 i386
  Display readings from hardware sensors in your Gnome panel

shutdown-at-night/testing 0.16 all
  System to shut down clients at night, and wake them in the morning

sleepd/testing 2.09 i386
  puts an inactive or low battery laptop to sleep

tlp/testing 0.8-1 all
  Save battery power on laptops

toshset/testing,now 1.76-4+b1 i386 [installed]
  Access much of the Toshiba laptop hardware interface

wmacpi/testing 2.3-2 i386
  ACPI battery monitor for WindowMaker

xbattbar/testing 1.4.8-1 i386
  Display battery status in X11

xfce4-battery-plugin/testing 1.0.5-4+b1 i386
  battery monitor plugin for the Xfce4 panel
I'm almost outta here. So do not expect a response to this post.
Posts: 307
eugen-b
Joined: 23 Aug 2015
#14
Uninstalled all additional CPUfreq stuff from my antiX core, but it didn't have any effect. So I tried another distro: Leeenux Linux. It is supposed to be sustomized for netbooks, based on Ubuntu 14.04. I tried the smallest version. It has many scripted utilities like a simple GUI for CPU governor selection, but it doesn't stick on reboot. Might be not too difficult to run the command behind the GUI on startup, but the OS is a bit strange and overcustomized. And most important, I got the same weird behaviour again plus some DE crashes followed by a dialog"Oops, this wasn't supposed to happen. Do you want to send a crash report to Ubuntu?" - No, thanks!
There are other useful scripts like SSD optimization (mostly writing some options to fstab and setting IO scheduler), a hide-my-ass VPN config(?), a collection of html games.

But due to persistent errors and crashes I tried another distro - Salentos. It is based on Ubuntu 14.04, has an Openbox desktop with icons and automatic menu creation. Very nice indeed! I didn't check CPU frequency and governor, but there have been no crashes yet, and I did quite much with it. I also installed a special netbook kernel 3.13.5 (downloaded from Sourceforge) which seems newer than that Ubuntu version 3.13.0-68. I did it previously on Leeenux where it didn't help. On Manjaro's netbook kernel from 3.14 series I had the same problems, that's where they started. Let's see how Salentos will work.

What might have caused them: I opened the netbook several times for better fixing the microSSD and cleaning the fan. I fixed the keyboard with some non-aggressive rubber based glue at last, so the keyboard doesn't bend during typing. The glue might have come over Alt and Tab button contact, because the buttons are somewhat unresponsive since. Could this send constant signals to the board and cause the errors? Funny, funny stuff...
Posts: 307
eugen-b
Joined: 23 Aug 2015
#15
Ok, I guess I found a solution (not the solution) to problem #1 cpu governor being reset. On SalentOS I was able to install a system tray app called indicator-cpufreq. With It you can set the governor and the frequency graphically. While setting the governor doesn't stick, setting the frequency to 800MHz sticks to the end of session. EDIT: The governor sticks until session end, too. I guess I could have done similar with command line on every other distro. But I hardly could have achieved an equally pleasing visual design as in SalentOS.
I posted a screenshot where the little menu of indicator-cpufreq is shown and a pasted Openbox menu from another screenshot:
post43812.html#p43812
#2 is yet to be watched whether it occured while running on low frequency.