[Bug 364156] Re: powernow-k8: BIOS does not provide ACPI -PSS objects in a way that Linux understands

[Darko Dimitrovski]

Update: SUCCESS!!! Woohooo, as a beginner in Ubuntu I am quite proud. :)

Here is my understanding of this topic (please take it with reserve, I
am only a beginner).

9.04 is generating the bug powernow-k8 acpi_pss and it clearly says so
because it kicks you into busybox and the bug report is on the screen.

9.10 live cd or booting into an installation was restarting my PC just
when it should show the login screen. I wrongly assumed that it is the
same bug only that the busybox is not showing. To make further tests, I
downloaded Kubuntu 9.10 and the live environment was running just fine.
I installed it and it worked fine.

But I really wanted Ubuntu so I didn't settle for that. I asked myself,
since the core files are the same, why would Kubuntu work and Ubuntu
reboot the PC. Seems like a different problem than the BIOS, that would
affect both. How about the video driver? I googled how to install a
driver under recovery mode, did that, and it worked. Ubuntu is booting
up, showing the login screen and working normally.

It seems the driver distributed with the package reboots some video
cards/chips.

My suggestion for anyone having the acpi_pss bug or Ubuntu rebooting the PC:
1. Forget 9.04 and download 9.10. ACPI_PSS seems to be fixed there.
2. If trying the live environment of 9.10 reboots the PC, don't worry. Just select Install and go trough the whole process.
3. The first reboot after install if you select Ubuntu (normal mode) it will most probably again reboot the PC just before it shows the login screen.
4. Next time go into Ubuntu (recovery mode). When presented with the first options screen select "root with networking" to have internet access.
5. Install EnvyNG with:
sudo apt-get install envyng-core envyng-qt
6. You can run EnvyNG in text mode with:
envyng -t
7. Select to install ATI or Nvidia driver as needed (I have ATI maybe this issue doesn't exist on Nvidia).
8. After the install is complete it will offer to reboot, select the Ubuntu (normal mode) and you should be fine.

This worked for me and I am very happy now.

To the Ubuntu team:
Maybe this is not correct procedure but in case you want to investigate why 9.10 was rebooting my PC here is some info:
- motherboard Gigabyte MA78G-DS3H ver1.0 with AMD 780G northbridge, Radeon HD3200 integrated
- I wrote down the driver package that EnvyNG installed: 8.660-0ubuntu4
- With that driver it works fine, the driver inside the Ubuntu image seems to reboot with HD3200

Sorry for the long post, I hope I could help. Cheers. If someone needs
any more info just ask.

-- 
powernow-k8: BIOS does not provide ACPI -PSS objects in a way that Linux understands
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/364156
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