[Bug 1829620] Re: intel-microcode on ASUS makes kernel stuck during loading initramfs on bionic-updates, bionic-security

[Steve Beattie]

Chris, thanks for confirming which processor is in use.

To force downgrade the microcode package on bionic, do:

  sudo apt install intel-microcode=3.20180312.0~ubuntu18.04.1

For other releases, you will need to replace the version with what
version(s) are available for your release; you can use apt-cache policy
to see what is available.

In the worst case, if the version you want to downgrade to is not
available in the archive any more (e.g. for xenial or trusty), you can
navigate to that release's information page for that package (e.g.
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/xenial/+source/intel-microcode), navigate
to the specific version you desire, and manually download the
appropriate binary deb for your system, and install it via 'sudo dpkg -i
intel_microcode-VERSION_ARCH.deb'.

One downside to using older versions is that, unless you use dpkg
pinning to keep them in place, unattended-upgrades or some other update
process will upgrade them to the current version available for that
release, putting you right back to where you started.

An alternative approach would be to add IUCODE_TOOL_INITRAMFS=no to
/etc/default/intel-microcode and then re-running 'update-initramfs -u'
to remove the microcode bits from the initramfs image. NOTE: you will
want to remember that you did this so that you can re-enable microcode
updates once this issue has been resolved.

Thanks.

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1829620

Title:
  intel-microcode on ASUS makes kernel stuck during loading initramfs on
  bionic-updates, bionic-security

Status in intel-microcode package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in linux package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in linux-hwe package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in linux-hwe-edge package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed

Bug description:
  Description:
  - my system gets stuck at "Booting, Loading initramfs" (the first 2 lines of booting, after grub)
  - does not even show the enter cryptsetup passphrase
  - affected kernels:
  # apt list --installed |grep linux-signed
  WARNING: apt does not have a stable CLI interface. Use with caution in scripts.
  linux-signed-generic/bionic-security,bionic-updates,now 4.15.0.50.52 amd64 [installed]
  linux-signed-generic-hwe-18.04/bionic-security,bionic-updates,now 4.18.0.20.70 amd64 [installed]
  linux-signed-generic-hwe-18.04-edge/bionic-security,bionic-updates,now 5.0.0.15.71 amd64 [installed]

  - the setup is not new, has been working perfectly before (about 7
  days since my last restart?)

  System:
  - HW: ASUS Zenbook 14 UX433FN
  - Ubuntu 18.04, runing latest HWE, fully updated
  - grub(-pc), cryptsetup (crypttab entries for custom encrypted LUKS setup),

  Suspected/possible cause?:
  - recent intel-microcode package update
  - recent kernel package updates

  Steps taken:
  - tried to remove "splash quiet" from grub/kernel cmd line (also tried adding nosplash, noplymouth)
  - completely removed nvidia drivers (apt purge *nvidia*)
  - completely purged and reinstalled grub (grup-pc)
  - completely purged and reinstalled all kernels (headers, modules, image, ..)
  - toggle BIOS "fastboot" (now using OFF)
  - toggle UEFI SecureBoot (now using ON)
  - remove plymouth (apt remove *plymouth* , but the workaround is working with plymouth installed)

  Workaround:
  - so far, I'm only able to boot with non-Ubuntu kernel! (linux-image-liquorix-amd64)
  - which needs "splash" option ON
  - reinstall cryptsetup & update-grub (as suggested in https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1829620/comments/10 )

  I am not sure how to get you more debug info, as this setup has been
  working before, and it's a very eary boot-process bug, so I can't even
  access dmesg etc.

  EDIT:

  Hypothesis:
  Only affects ASUS with i7-8565U Whiskey Lake Intel CPU

  Upstream Bug Report:
  https://github.com/intel/Intel-Linux-Processor-Microcode-Data-Files/issues/1

  WORKAROUND 1: disable intel microcode updates during boot
  From this bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/intel-microcode/+bug/1759920
  1/ add the boot parameter: dis_ucode_ldr to /etc/default/grub
  2/ update-grub

  WORKAROUND 2: downgrade (and hold) intel-microcode to older version from bionic/main
  apt install --reinstall intel-microcode=3.20180312.0~ubuntu18.04.1

  ---
  ProblemType: Bug
  ApportVersion: 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.6
  Architecture: amd64
  CurrentDesktop: KDE
  DistroRelease: KDE neon 18.04
  InstallationDate: Installed on 2012-12-23 (2337 days ago)
  InstallationMedia: Kubuntu 12.10 "Quantal Quetzal" - Release amd64 (20121017.1)
  Package: linux-hwe-edge (not installed)
  Tags:  bionic wayland-session
  Uname: Linux 5.0.0-17.1-liquorix-amd64 x86_64
  UnreportableReason: The running kernel is not an Ubuntu kernel
  UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
  UserGroups: adm libvirtd lpadmin netdev plugdev sudo vboxusers video
  _MarkForUpload: True
  ---
  ProblemType: Bug
  ApportVersion: 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.6
  Architecture: amd64
  CurrentDesktop: KDE
  DistroRelease: KDE neon 18.04
  InstallationDate: Installed on 2012-12-23 (2339 days ago)
  InstallationMedia: Kubuntu 12.10 "Quantal Quetzal" - Release amd64 (20121017.1)
  Package: linux-hwe-edge
  PackageArchitecture: amd64
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 5.0.0-15.16~18.04.1-generic 5.0.6
  Tags: third-party-packages bionic wayland-session
  Uname: Linux 5.0.0-15-generic x86_64
  UnreportableReason: Toto není oficiální KDE balík. Prosíme odstraňte všechny balíky třetích stran a zkuste to znovu.
  UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
  UserGroups: adm libvirtd lpadmin netdev plugdev sudo video
  _MarkForUpload: True

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