kernel panics

[Robert Brockway]

On Fri, 11 Jun 2010, Matt Price wrote:

> this is on ubuntu lucid amd64, running on my lenovo thinkpad t410.
> powertop probes a bunch of modules that don't always get used, which
> may be why it activates the bug.  Anyway, i'm just not at all sure how
> to locate the culprit.  Any suggestions?   Thanks,

Information such as a register dump & stack trace is written to the screen 
when the system panics[1].  You can copy the info down and feed it to the 
people maintaining your kernel[2].  I'm assuming from here on in that 
you're using a distro kernel.  With this info they can determine the exact 
routine the kernel was in when it paniced.   Even with this info some 
kernel bugs have been known to be difficult to hunt down[3].

If your kernel is behind in patch levels then they may tell you to come 
back if it happens once your system is fully patched.

If you are using a version of the distro that is in maintenance mode then 
the response of the developers may be significantly slower.

So upgrade to the latest stable kernel version that the distro provides 
and see if it still happens.

You can file a bug report with your distro.  They may or may not have 
specific procedures for a kernel panic.

It's actually good that it is reproducible as you can test fixes for the 
developers, which helps everyone in the long run.

[1] One advantage of a serial console here is that it is pretty easy to 
copy the info over from the system connected to the console.

[2] Either your distro or the kernel developers if you run a mainline 
kernel.  There is a doc in the kernel source with specific info about how 
to report a panic of a mainline kernel.

[3] There was a case recently were a user had a highly reproducible kernel 
panic like yours.  It took a while for the devs to find the bug but they 
apparently found and fixed several other bugs while looking for his :)

Cheers,

Rob

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