Turning off automated power management

[Statica]

Hi Shafe1:

There are a variety of ways for you to pevent apmd [APM Daemon] from starting up, depending on what you have running on your Linux box.
<LI>start linuxconf & go to Control >> Control Service activity .. select APMD and disable it [fairly intuitive]
<LI> If you have the SysV Init Editor installed you can do it, by going to the runlevel(s) you typically use and removing it.
<LI> on Redhat-ish systems use the setup tool and go to systemservices and unselect apmd
<LI>go to /etc/rc.d/rcX.d/ amd remove the symlink to the apmd
<LI>

<LI>

.
.

There are loads of ways to do things in Linux, the choice is yours, trying to outline as many in the hope that you will try them all .. each has its merits and demerits and each will contain more information to do more things that you might get stuck with later on.

Incidentally, if you are having problems with your APMD, why not <font color="red">upgrade</font> the apmd packages and try to see if you can solve the problem .. bruteforce removal maybe used as a last resort. Your first duty is to find out WHY the gui crashes, apmd may not be the problem at all. [just cos it crashes on Windoze isnt proof http://www.pcmech.com/ubb/smile.gif] .. try trapping your GUI messages to a file and then analyzing them.

Cheers
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by shafe1:
I've noticed in the past that my problem with the GUI crashing and not shutting down properly seem to happen after the PC has been on for extended periods, I'm talking only a couple hours not days, and the screen goes black. Last night I noticed, when shutting down, that the APM daemon is running. In the past I've run into problems with this feature on desktops running Windows. How can I turn off APM in Linux? Do I have to go through all the steps to reconfigure the kenel or is there a way to do it from one of the configuration tools?
As a side note, I've already disabled this feature in the BIOS.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[shafe1]

I've noticed in the past that my problem with the GUI crashing and not shutting down properly seem to happen after the PC has been on for extended periods, I'm talking only a couple hours not days, and the screen goes black. Last night I noticed, when shutting down, that the APM daemon is running. In the past I've run into problems with this feature on desktops running Windows. How can I turn off APM in Linux? Do I have to go through all the steps to reconfigure the kenel or is there a way to do it from one of the configuration tools?
As a side note, I've already disabled this feature in the BIOS.

[shafe1]

Ex,
I've been looking at a file called .xsessio-errors, there's been varying messages. For one of the user accounts there was a message that the xscreensaver wasn't running on dispaly 0.0 and could be restarted using xset. I checked that out and found out xset runs the screensaver that blanks the screen and such, if your hardware supports it. I'm thinking that I just have a cheap video card (I bought it at a show a couple years back, when I put this machine together just as a learning experience) so I'm thinking the video card just doesn't like having the screen blanked, another message I had in the .xsession-errors was that xserver had disconnected from display 0.0 (kill or shutdown), and also there's been times when the file has a continuous string of "^@" symbols at the bottom. These symbols are in one continuous line that takes up 4 or 5 screen lines. Each time the GUI crashes I have to clean the Filesystems, and once I even had to remove the user's account and rename new account differently. I may have to do that again with another account that had the GUI crash last night, after I cleaned the FS and removed the core file, I couldn't login to the KDE environment with that username, mine worked fine.
Thanks for the advice, I think I'll try disabling it in Linuxconf.

[Statica]

Hi Shafe1:
Nice of you to join in your local LUG, as I've said before [not unlike the proverbial broken record] the sense of community is unprecedented.
SMP: symmetric multi-processing aka many processors under the command of ONE OS. [as opposed to parallel computing/processing]
the PCMCIA daemon can also be turned off the same way [that is why I had given u so many options, go thru the list, read abt them disable what you dont need]. There are loads of services u can actually turn off either as a security concern or as a matter of maximizing your processor .. things like kudzu, are basically unimportant if you arent on a hotswapping computer.

Shafe1: ok you really need to look into this problem beyond the levels of APMD etc. When you say having to clean your filesystem .. what do u mean? What fs are u using? Are you absolutely sure that your device itself isnt failing on you? By the way are you using a controller card for the hardware storage device?
to roughly debug from the info you provided..
The display 0.0 is your local X server
teh screensaver warning/error messages .. i've seen in a lot of Xfree86 3.xx running systems, usually inconsequential.

How large are the core files if they arent too sensitive, and u would really want to get to the bottom of this, u could analyze the coredump.

What runlevel do you boot to?

To really check if the problem is an inconsistency/bug in KDE .. switch to GNOME .. change the windowmanager to enlightenment or something else just to check on performance.


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by shafe1:
Toaster, Thanks for the reply. This probelm is getting to me. I've been expousing to the family that UNIX systems (Hence Linux) are a lot more stable than Windows and we keep having to clean it everyday. I didn't get a chance last night to turn off APMD, but I will tonight. Can I also turn off the PCMCIA support in Linuxconf? By the way, should I run that in console mode (since I'm messing with the system) or doesn't it matter? Also, what is a SMP system?
Hey Ex-Static-Cling, btw, I found a local Linux users group maybe I can pick up some good tips and start helping other newbies as you've been kind enough to do for me.
Thanks again both of you<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Toaster]

I know for a fact that SMP systems and APMD are a bad mix. I disable APMD by default as well as PCMCIA support. Neither are needed, therefore both must go.

[shafe1]

Toaster, Thanks for the reply. This probelm is getting to me. I've been expousing to the family that UNIX systems (Hence Linux) are a lot more stable than Windows and we keep having to clean it everyday. I didn't get a chance last night to turn off APMD, but I will tonight. Can I also turn off the PCMCIA support in Linuxconf? By the way, should I run that in console mode (since I'm messing with the system) or doesn't it matter? Also, what is a SMP system?
Hey Ex-Static-Cling, btw, I found a local Linux users group maybe I can pick up some good tips and start helping other newbies as you've been kind enough to do for me.
Thanks again both of you

[shafe1]

After X crashes, I have to log in as root and run fsck on each "/" "/home" and "/programs" I made the files systems when I first set up the system. after I clean these, I can usually login again (to X or console as a regular user) after this is done. Some times the crash creates a core file some times it doesn't (at least that I could find) it seems to create one if it crashes while some one is logged on and not when it dumps X during logout. I'm fairly sure its not the card because after the screen goes blank it will come back on when you move the mouse, but llike I said after that it may lose X with just a click of the mouse on the desktop or when I'm logging out.
The storage device is just running off the standard IDE port on the motherboard. The Video card worked fine in Windoze. The fact that the timing of these incidences (after the system has blanked the screen, I usually don't have the problems if the user is continaully on the system and then shutdown)is what pointed me toward screen saver or APM (which I first turned off in the BIOS, and then When I read the error in .xsession-errors about xset I read the man pages on it).
I've even tried to have x logged out to the login screen and switched over to the console screen during times when the system wasn't going to be used for a while (didn't help.. it was just a thought). I know with a UNIX based system I should rarely have to shutdown the computer, but I have to do it everyday. About core files, I hadn't really checked how big they were, but I remember from working with UNIX that there didn't seem to be a lot of useful (for amdins and normal users) info in them... they were more for programmers if I remember right. But I can look into it. I just figured with how things were happening (and since I know it has caused problems in the past, and I really don't need or want it) turning off the APMD features was an obvious place to start trying to resolve this problem.
All in all I still prefer Linux to Windoze, I haven't had one General protection fault in ages, and the crashes from clicking the mouse on something are few (It mostly crashes... the screen goes black or gray and the cursor sits in the upper left corner blinking) when I'm logging out. Just the family is getting tired of having to wait until I get there to clean it so they can use the computer. :-) My desire for the time being is to get this system running the way it should, then when I get my family a new computer (hopefully they'll love Linux by then) I can do all the playing and configuring that I want to on this old system. I just want to get a stable OS, working properly. If it takes shutting down some of the nice to have extras, then that's what I'll do. BTW, EX, Can you think of anything else that may be causing this besides a faulty video card or the an APM incompatiblity? Should I try using frame buffers and standard VGA for the monitor, and then running the virtual desktops at 800X600 even though I set the deafult to 640X480? I've looked in books and can't seem to find a reference for this type of problem.
Thanks again,
Me!

PS.
I boot to runlevel 5 and have xstart automatically. I'm trying to keep startup as simple as possible for my family, so they don't have to worry about starting X, they can just turn on the computer and go log-in to a graphical environment. Afterall, they're used to having Windoze. Waht can I say it was a Windows world for a long while
:-(
[This message has been edited by shafe1 (edited 07-11-2000).]

[This message has been edited by shafe1 (edited 07-11-2000).]

[This message has been edited by shafe1 (edited 07-11-2000).]

[Statica]

Hi Shafe1:
Its a very interesting problem u've got there .. let me give u a brief summary of the educated guesses Vitalstatistix [^{thanx dude!}]and I were able to come up with ..
APMD is most probably not the cause of these problems, they should NOT cause fs errors, that defeats the premise of ext2. We'd really check out your HDD to see if its failing on you, or your IDE controller. Incidentally, you should know that apmd will work in spite of your X server .. meaning your monitor will turn off even in console, try seeing whether THAT causes any errors.

In addition, try clearing your /var/log and starting afresh .. post the kernel error logs and any relevant log msges.
In addition your lilo.conf.

Also .. your /programs .. what FS are u running, did u try tweaking clustersize?

[This message has been edited by Ex-Static-Cling (edited 07-11-2000).]

[copyright_1978]

God Cling, how on Earth did you fill your head with all that knowledge, how long did it take??

[shafe1]

all FS are ext2 type. Haven't tried tweaking the clustersizes. After shutting off the APM I still the problem (late last night). When I restarted, I now noticed an error
that read
/etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit:302:command not found
I used view to look in that file, line 302(which is what I assume it meant) was for modprob (which the Mandrake book says is for a Zip drive. I don't have a Zip drive and never had this error before there was also an error that referenced what looked like a keyboard file or something (Sy57k??? or something like that... it scrolled by too fast and at 1:00 AM I didn't retry.) At one point last night after it failed, I tried to do an ls -f and got a "segmentation failure", I think that was right after the GUI started giving us problems (system was in KDE, system screen saver [3d bubbles] kicked in a couple minutes later my oldest son, logged out of KDE and went into Gnome, system wouldn't let him run anything. It ried to shut it down and ended up havin to reboot. It came up to the puit in root password (or press CTRL-D for normal startup). I put in root password fsck reported the files sytesm were not cleanly unmounted. Inodes were messed up, again. Left it repair the problems and it worked fine again (GUI fine and no segmentation errors). It is frustrating....
All BIOS PM features (even hard drive) are disabled. I'll check those log files you recommended. I mamy try reloading and setting the graphics adapter to something generic, or try the Trio setting Win 98 had used. I figured since the books for my card
showed it as a DataExpert DSV3365E and that was in the list, I picked it. Do you think I may need to use framebuffer support? the mandrake book suggested that may work if you're having problems. I'm about to try a differnt Distribution and see if its hardware or the Mandrake (Macmillan version) distribution. HDD is brand new WESTERN DIGITAL, and it isn't locking up... IDE hasn't given any errors on booting.
I'll check the log files.... and let you know.



[This message has been edited by shafe1 (edited 07-12-2000).]

[Statica]

Wow Shafe1:
That is some strange goings on in your neighbourhood.
Ok lets see .. you have a module for zip being loaded up? Check out dmesg to confirm the error.
Segmentation failure could be for a vast number of reasons, post your logs here or email them to me.
The fsck after a hard reboot is normal, that is the way ext2 was designed to function.

Regarding framebuffers, its always a good thing, if you have VESA2.0 cards and 2.2.xx kernels .. is your card VESA2.0? S3 Virge and S3 Trio cards have NASTY probs cos they are VESA1.2 [I think its 1.2], [see what I mean abt it being helpful to know the hardware] .. try applying patches for these cards, if you have one of those ..
ftp://ccssu.crimea.ua/pub/linux/kernel/v2.2/unofficial/s3new.diff.gz

We've seen a few failing mobo's & mobo IDE controllers that cause problems with data integrity of a very similar nature as you described.

At this point I dont even know if this is distribution specific. However if you'd like to put up your logs, lilo.conf, rc.sysinit into my email or put it on an http address and mail me the URL, I'll look into it as soon as I get a chance.

How did you shut off the apmd?

[Statica]

http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Framebuffer-HOWTO.html

framebuffers for your reading pleasure

[shafe1]

Ex,
Thanks, the books says the board has the S3 Trio (765+) chip set so I'll check on the patches. Linux Kernel is 2.2.1.4.
I'll try to mail you the logs, liloconf, and the rc.sysinit (the machine is at home).

I used linuxconf from the consloe to shut-off APMD.

[This message has been edited by shafe1 (edited 07-12-2000).]