Re: debian 8
On 13/04/2015, Henrique de Moraes Holschuh <hmh@debian.org> wrote:
> On Sun, Apr 12, 2015, at 23:52, Bret Busby wrote:
>> What they told me, is that the problem was solved by removing the
>> battery, for about 15 minutes, then reinstalling the battery, and that
>> the cause is that sometimes, operating systems do not shutdown
>> properly.
>
> Looks like the usual firmware quality issues, here. The problem is really
> caused by halfbaked BIOS/UEFI/EC firmware, but the motherboard vendor will
> NOT fix that and will blame the operating system instead. Unless it is a
> server, then they fix it really fast.
>
> The workaround for this class of problems is to "brain-dead" the box: for
> deskptop and servers, unplugging from main power for a few minutes should do
> it, but for laptops you must remove the batteries and press the power button
> several times (for long periods)... it is even a long-time documented
> procedure on IBM and Lenovo Thinkpads.
>
> For the record, the procedure for (modern) thinkpads is: remove battery
> packs and AC power, press power button for 4-5s at least 10 times, then
> follow with a long press (longer than 13s) at least once.
>
> Sometimes it will also be necessary to remove the backup (RTC/CMOS) battery.
> In that case you will likely have to leave the box unpowered (do not
> reconnect any of the batteries or power) for several hours (try at least 12
> hours) AFTER you did the power-button dance above, to actually reset
> everything.
>
>> According to them, the whole of the problem, was the failure of the
>> last used operating system, to properly shutdown.
>
> Depends how you look at it, I guess. In my book, when firmware _and_
> hardware fail to ensure a box power downs properly in the power-down path,
> and that it resets everything properly from any invalid states in the
> power-up path, it is a firmware and/or hardware defect (often a design
> shortcoming in the hardware case), not an operating system defect.
>
> --
> "One disk to rule them all, One disk to find them. One disk to bring
> them all and in the darkness grind them. In the Land of Redmond
> where the shadows lie." -- The Silicon Valley Tarot
> Henrique de Moraes Holschuh <hmh@debian.org>
>
>
Thank you for the information.
I certainly can't challenge any of it, for two simple reasons.
1. It is way beyond my knowledge of computers, so it is an area where,
in the absence of contrary information, I accept what I am told.
2. As indicated in earlier posts, the two computers to which I have
referred; the Acer V3-772G and the Acer E5-521-238Q (I think that is
the model number of the newer one - it is in my previous posts), both
have the poor quality Insyde20 (?) (Inshite20) (I think it is) Setup
Utility, that controls whether the computer boots into UEFI or BIOS,
and forces Secure Boot when the computer boots into UEFI. So the "The
problem is really caused by halfbaked IOS/UEFI/EC firmware" sounds
quite credible. Acer needs to provide a decent Setup Utility with its
computers. The Setup Utitility (the Inshite20 one) appears to be third
party, and, not from the motherboards manufacturer(s), but, I could be
wrong in that.
Unfortunately, the newer computer being a computer less than ten years
old, did not come with a printed manual, and I can not easily remove
the battery, so I will need to make a warranty claim on it - it is, I
think, less than a month old, or, at most, less than three months old.
What happens with the computer, now, is that, when I press the power
button, a blue light flashes five times and then stops, and that is
all that happens.
--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............
"So once you do know what the question actually is,
you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
A Trilogy In Four Parts",
written by Douglas Adams,
published by Pan Books, 1992
....................................................
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