Weird behaviour with black screen on resume - Lenovo S10-3 (solved)

[miks]

I am installing this for a friend, and would like to get suspend to work correctly.

Code: Select all

System:    Host: <filter> Kernel: 5.6.0-2-amd64 x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 8.3.0 
           parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.6.0-2-amd64 root=UUID=95595584-bd11-4bba-b51e-b459b1ac1872 ro quiet splash 
           Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.14.5 wm: kwin_x11 dm: SDDM Distro: MX-19.2_KDE_x64 patito feo August 16  2020 
           base: Debian GNU/Linux 10 (buster) 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: S10-3 v: Lenovo serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Lenovo model: Mariana3A v: Rev 1.0 serial: <filter> BIOS: LENOVO v: 2ACN21WW date: 02/03/2010 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT1 charge: 37.1 Wh condition: 37.1/51.3 Wh (72%) volts: 12.5/10.8 model: SANYO L09S6Y14 type: Li-ion 
           serial: <filter> status: Full 
CPU:       Topology: Single Core model: Intel Atom N450 bits: 64 type: MT arch: Bonnell family: 6 model-id: 1C (28) 
           stepping: A (10) microcode: 107 L2 cache: 512 KiB 
           flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 ssse3 bogomips: 6649 
           Speed: 1498 MHz min/max: 1000/1667 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1498 2: 1553 
           Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected 
           Type: l1tf status: Not affected 
           Type: mds status: Not affected 
           Type: meltdown status: Not affected 
           Type: spec_store_bypass status: Not affected 
           Type: spectre_v1 status: Not affected 
           Type: spectre_v2 status: Not affected 
           Type: srbds status: Not affected 
           Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel Atom Processor D4xx/D5xx/N4xx/N5xx Integrated Graphics vendor: Lenovo driver: i915 v: kernel 
           bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:a011 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.4 driver: intel compositor: kwin_x11 resolution: 1024x600~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel Pineview M v: 1.4 Mesa 20.0.7 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
           bus ID: 00:1b.0 chip ID: 8086:27d8 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.6.0-2-amd64 
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8101/2/6E PCI Express Fast/Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Lenovo RTL810xE driver: r8169 v: kernel 
           port: 2000 bus ID: 05:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:8136 
           IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter vendor: Lenovo driver: ath9k v: kernel port: 2000 
           bus ID: 09:00.0 chip ID: 168c:002b 
           IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 149.05 GiB used: 6.50 GiB (4.4%) 
           ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Western Digital model: WD1600BEVS-22RST0 size: 149.05 GiB block size: physical: 512 B 
           logical: 512 B speed: 1.5 Gb/s serial: <filter> rev: 1G04 scheme: MBR 
Partition: ID-1: / raw size: 147.02 GiB size: 143.71 GiB (97.75%) used: 6.50 GiB (4.5%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1 
           ID-2: swap-1 size: 2.00 GiB used: 268 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache pressure: 100 (default) 
           dev: /dev/sda2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 37.0 C mobo: N/A 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:     No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list 
           1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list 
           1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster main contrib non-free
           2: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list 
           1: deb http://mxlinux.mirrors.uk2.net/packages/mx/repo/ buster main non-free
           2: deb http://mxlinux.mirrors.uk2.net/packages/mx/repo/ buster ahs
           No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/various.list 
Info:      Processes: 191 Uptime: 3m Memory: 975.0 MiB used: 464.6 MiB (47.6%) Init: SysVinit v: 2.93 runlevel: 5 default: 5 
           Compilers: gcc: 8.3.0 alt: 8 Shell: quick-system-in running in: quick-system-in inxi: 3.0.36 

It appears to suspend OK with the power light flashing at the expected rate. After pressing a key to resume, it appears to start the process, but the screen is black, no cursor. I am wondering whether to try a different kernel, but before I do, has anyone seen this behaviour and know the solution? I did find some old posts relating to kernel issues but the solutions were complex and were from around 2012 I think and unlikely to help in 2021. Besides that, it would be good to have an up to date solution published in case anyone else has issues.

Thanks

[miks]

Something strange just happened. I was sitting here having my lunch with the laptop on the table. I hit a key to resume it about 20 minutes ago and there was the black screen as expected. It was just sitting there and 20 minutes later the screen suddenly came back on! I thought I must try this again in case I am dreaming, and now the damn thing comes straight out of suspend no problem. This is very embarrassing, but I have no explanation.

EDIT: This is getting more weird. The laptop went into suspend after the default 5 mins of idling. I hit a key to resume and guess what? Black screen. I left it and kept an eye on it, and this time it came back after about 6 minutes. So, still not right, but does anyone have any ideas?

[j2mcgreg]

Maybe a cleaning and replacement of the thermal paste? What you are witnessing could be the effects of an overheating --> cool down --> overheating --> etc cycle where your laptop will only fully operate when its internal temperature is within Lenovo's guidelines.

[miks]

Maybe a cleaning and replacement of the thermal paste? What you are witnessing could be the effects of an overheating --> cool down --> overheating --> etc cycle where your laptop will only fully operate when its internal temperature is within Lenovo's guidelines.

I will look into the temps, but I don't think this very likely. It seemed to be a random time from almost instant to about 20 mins. I've tried a few more sessions and it seems to be mostly either almost instant or about 6 minutes. I have not timed it exactly, but I will when I get some more time to mess with it. Also, I am waiting for a 2gb ram stick to replace the 1 gb it came with, so it will be interesting to see if that has any effect. One thing is for sure though, it will come back if you leave it long enough!

[SwampRabbit]

@miks personally I would not run MX-KDE on a system of that age and with those specs. Upping the RAM may help, but I think the normal MX-19 may be better suited for that system, especially if your friend can get used to MX-Fluxbox (its included with MX-19) as it is much less resource intensive to use.

Also, I don't think it matters or will fix the problem, but that install needs updated, worth a try if maybe anything related to suspend/resume was fixed in the last two MX-19.x minor revisions.

[miks]

@miks personally I would not run MX-KDE on a system of that age and with those specs. Upping the RAM may help, but I think the normal MX-19 may be better suited for that system, especially if your friend can get used to MX-Fluxbox (its included with MX-19) as it is much less resource intensive to use.

Also, I don't think it matters or will fix the problem, but that install needs updated, worth a try if maybe anything related to suspend/resume was fixed in the last two MX-19.x minor revisions.

Yes, my first choice was Antix but I could not get wifi or even ethernet to work. I tried XFCE MX but it was a pain resizing windows and even grabbing windows to move them with the tiny touchpad. KDE is my main go to desktop and is so far ahead of XFCE I often wonder why anyone still uses it. I really don't get on with it at all. The resource usage is pretty much the same as XFCE, but with only 1gb ram, the system freezes solid if I try to run Chromium on either desktop environment! Firefox is slightly better, and Falkon fine, but when the ram is doubled, I'm sure it will be reasonably nippy. It's got to be better than the 2003 Mac Mini he's been trying unsuccessfully to use! I expected KDE to be really slow, but it isn't, as long as I don't try to do too much. I will try Fluxbox anyway and see how I get on.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, the system is fully updated.

[SwampRabbit]

@miks if you don’t like Xfce, then Fluxbox probably won’t be your cup of tea either.

Not sure what is up with your suspend/resume issues, but is there a swap configured, pretty sure you need at least 2GBs of RAM to use suspend/resume which may be part of the problem right now.

As far as the system being updated, that QSI showed it wasn’t. If your not getting notifications that there are updates, you might want to switch Repo mirrors. If it is updated, then disregard.

[miks]

I just checked and the only upgradeable package was Firefox. Changed to a UK mirror, still only Firefox. We'll see tomorrow whether the 2gb ram stick fixes it as it's due for delivery in the morning. 2gb swap available.

[miks]

Installed the 2gb ram stick, and still the same. I decided to search again for the kernel bug report I found from 2012 and see if any of the solutions offered would work. I worked my way through them without success until the last post which suggested hpet=disable highres=off nohz=off added to the kernel boot line, so I tried that and resume now works! That solves my immediate problem but makes me wonder why a 9 year old kernel bug is still extant. If Stevo is watching this thread, perhaps he'd be able to shed some light on what's going on, as I am unfortunately clueless with anything this techy?
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour ... bug/871891

EDIT: I had time to go through the three parameters to see if all are necessary. No need for hpet=disable. Works fine by just adding highres=off nohz=off to the boot line.