Re: Stability issues with Wheezy/Linux 3.2.0 on Loongson2f

On 4 November 2013 07:18, David Kuehling <dvdkhlng@posteo.de> wrote:

>>>>> "Andreas" == Andreas Barth <aba@ayous.org> writes:

> * David Kuehling (dvdkhlng@posteo.de) [131103 16:00]:
>> Since then I've encountered system deadlocks every one-two days (the
>> system in question is running continuously 24/7). Deadlock meaning,
>> that the system does seems completely dead, even num-lock LED cannot
>> be toggled any more (but fan is still spinning etc.).
>>
>> I never had stability problems on kernel 2.6.39. I did have a single
>> deadlock when testing the debian-backports kernel package for kernel
>> 3.2.0 on debian squeeze (but I ran that kernel only for about 2 days
>> before upgrading to Wheezy).

> Can you try the old kernel if it happens with the old kernel and new
> userland?

After running Wheezy's update-initramfs for my old 2.6.39 kernel, it now
refuses to boot (initrd panics with something like "bin/sh : libc6.so
not found"). I still had an older 2.6.38 kernel+initrd lying in my
/boot which I am now using. In a few days we'll know whether that makes
a difference WRT stability.

Meanwhile I'm startled and a little frustrated, that Wheezy's initrd
tools seem incompatible with with my 2.6.39 kernel. Could be something
about the multiarch stuff that came with Wheezy (initrd's libc nowadays
resides in /lib/mipsel-linux-gnu/loongson2f/), but why should the kernel
version make any difference?

As to the instabilities - it occurs to me if this may be connected to the Loongson 2f 'issues', as documented at [1]

I believe (and btw, would love if somebody could confirm and point me at any archive links) that Debian-mips moved from MIPSI to MIPSII ISA when it when from Squeeze to Wheezy. I'm wondering if maybe that change in code layout may have bought one of these issues to the surface? Or maybe that your kernel or RFS needs to be built with the options listed in the link, and you've been "lucky" so far?

As far as I can find out, there is no easy way (apart from maybe looking at the top of the chip :-( ) to tell if you have a 2F01, 2F02 or 2F03 version of the 2F SoC, and only the 2F03 is 'fixed' :-( Anybody know for sure? I'm sure this has probably been discussed before in the past.

Please feel free to educate me on if any of these 2F fixes are turned on by default for upstream Debian. I doubt they are? And sorry if I've missed some subtlety here?

2F binutils fixups

[1] http://sourceware.org/ml/binutils/2009-11/msg00387.html

cheers,

David
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Graham