cpufreq
Running MEPIS 3.3.1, kernel 2.6.10.
Motherboard GA-7N400 Pro, processor AMD XP 2600+.
Mepis hung while booting today, with the message involving "cpufreq". It may have been "Loading cpufreq ...", but I'm not sure. This has never happened before. The problem did not occur after a hard reboot.
I checked some of the files in /var/log, and found this:
/var/log/syslog
Aug 15 15:01:14 mepis1 kernel: cpufreq: Detected nForce2 chipset revision C1
Aug 15 15:01:14 mepis1 kernel: cpufreq: FSB changing is maybe unstable and can lead to crashes and data loss.
Aug 15 15:01:14 mepis1 kernel: cpufreq: FSB currently at 166 MHz, FID 12.5
On the next (successful) boot, that changed to:
Aug 15 15:14:12 mepis1 kernel: cpufreq: Detected nForce2 chipset revision C1
Aug 15 15:14:12 mepis1 kernel: cpufreq: FSB changing is maybe unstable and can lead to crashes and data loss.
Aug 15 15:14:12 mepis1 kernel: cpufreq: FSB currently at 166 MHz, FID 12.5
Aug 15 15:14:12 mepis1 kernel: Warning: CPU frequency is 2062500, cpufreq assumed 2075000 kHz.
I checked earlier entries in the logs, and these messages have been present since at least Aug 9 (that's the oldest log I have).
Is this something I should worry about?
Nvidia chipset
Dave_L
Those numbers don't look so good. Assuming you haven't been trying to overclock your mobo', it looks like the Linux kernel has an issue with the Nvidia chipset that (big guess here) somehow relates to the Dual DDR channels. I'm not familiar with your mobo but I would think your FSB (front side bus) speed should be 400, 333, or 266MHz, not 166 MHz
Also, its odd that your CPU speed is listed 'kHz' instead of 'MHz'. Personally, I haven't seen that one before (which in all honesty, doesn't mean much).
And finally,
CPU frequency is 2062500, cpufreq assumed 2075000 kHz.
tells us that, at a minimum, Linux is not able to utilize the full speed of the CPU.
So, is this something to worry about? Maybe a little.
Besides the 'hanging' event, have you experienced any other odd quirks?
The box isn't going to blow up (or even overheat), but I would think the possability of errors occuring in your data would go up.
I don't know how to solve the problem, but I would dig through the Mepis archives and Mepislovers.org as well. Search for issues relating to the Nvidia chipset.
There is the smallest possibility that your mobo is failing, but I have seen several issues with the Nvidia chipset pass through the forum. Maybe there is a Linux kernel, module or patch for this chipset? I'll dig around a little too.
less dmesg | grep CPU might yield a few more clues.
q
If you treat your beta-testers as if they're your most valuable resource, they will respond by becoming your most valuable resource.
Thanks In case it helps.
Thanks
I can't think of any related symptoms.
In case it helps. the output from:
$ dmesg | grep -i CPU
is:
Initializing CPU#0
CPU: After generic identify, caps: 0383fbff c1c3fbff 00000000 00000000
CPU: After vendor identify, caps: 0383fbff c1c3fbff 00000000 00000000
CPU: L1 I Cache: 64K (64 bytes/line), D cache 64K (64 bytes/line)
CPU: L2 Cache: 256K (64 bytes/line)
CPU: After all inits, caps: 0383fbff c1c3fbff 00000000 00000020
CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2600+ stepping 01
powernow-k8: Processor cpuid 681 not supported
cpufreq: Detected nForce2 chipset revision C1
cpufreq: FSB changing is maybe unstable and can lead to crashes and data loss.
cpufreq: FSB currently at 166 MHz, FID 12.5
Warning: CPU frequency is 2075000, cpufreq assumed 2062500 kHz.