[sf-lug] (forw) Re: Problems with Ubuntu 17.10 (18.04) using kernels before 4.13.0-21

[Rick Moen]

I gather Ken intended to post this, not send private mail.

----- Forwarded message from Ken Shaffer <kenshaffer80 at gmail.com> -----

Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2017 12:41:16 -0800
From: Ken Shaffer <kenshaffer80 at gmail.com>
To: Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com>
Subject: Re: [sf-lug] Problems with Ubuntu 17.10 (18.04) using kernels before
	4.13.0-21

As of noon 12/24, the ISOs still have not been fixed.
>From the 17.10 release notes:
Incompatibility with BIOS in certain Lenovo, Acer systems

A bug in the Linux 4.13 kernel shipped in Ubuntu 17.10 can leave users
unable to update any of their BIOS settings, including their system’s boot
order, after booting this version of Ubuntu.

A kernel with a fix for this issue will be available in zesty-updates
shortly, but, the Ubuntu 17.10 installer images still contain the kernel
with this bug. Users with affected systems should not upgrade to Ubuntu
17.10 *or boot an Ubuntu 17.10 installer image* until this issue as
resolved. Doing so may result in your computer requiring professional
servicing in order to restore BIOS functionality.

A full list of known affected models can be found in 1734147
<https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1734147>.

If you have already installed Ubuntu 17.10 on an affected system, you may
not immediately notice this problem because Ubuntu will continue to boot
from disk. To verify whether your system has been affected by this bug,
create a USB stick with the Ubuntu 16.04 desktop image and try to boot it.
If you are able to boot it, your system has most likely not been impacted
by this bug.


The Insyder BIOS seems to be the one with problems.  I have Phoenix on a
Lenovo (not an identified model in the bug) and have not noticed any
problems. Canonical's "fix" seems to be just to remove the intel-spi module
from the 4.13.0-21 kernel build,  Rick's fix below would work for an update
from 17.04 to 17.10 if done before the reboot to the 17.10 system.
Although the blacklist will prevent loading the module at boot, it doesn't
prevent any later insertion of the module, so getting rid of the module
seems safer.

Ken

On Sat, Dec 23, 2017 at 9:22 PM, Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:

> Quoting Ken Shaffer (kenshaffer80 at gmail.com):
>
> > Hello all, just a heads-up on a problem with the latest Ubuntu releases
> > with the 4.13 series kernels.
> >
> > The kernel released with Ubuntu 17.10 (and 18.04 daily builds),
> 4.13.0-17,
> >   has a serious problem with freezing updates for certain BIOS/UEFI ROMs.
>
> Why not just disable the problematic kernel driver module that
> Canonical, Ltd. should not have activated?
>



>
> sudo su -
> echo 'blacklist intel-spi' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
> update-initramfs -u
> reboot
>
>
>
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----- End forwarded message -----