Ubuntu

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS won't reboot (but will shutdown)

Asked by loudmtn

I've installed 6.06 LTS on a low-end server (server install). When rebooting, the system successfully shuts down all processes and unmounts filesystems, but simply will not reboot -- it just hangs on the message:

* Will now reboot
[17179619.828000] Restarting system.

I have to hold down the power switch for a few seconds to switch the machine off, and then turn the machine back on. It does this whichever methog I attempt to reboot: ctrl+alt+del, or "shutdown -r now", or "reboot".

Mind you, "shutdown -h now" certainly works -- the system halts. But I've never seen the machine successfully reboot, even when the system attempted to reboot after the initial Ubuntu installation

I was wondering if this were a Ubuntu issue, or a BIOS issue...

My machine specs:
Cybertron rackmount server
- Celeron D310 2.13GHz CPU
- Gigabyte 8I845GVM-RZ Mainboard
- 256MB PC2700 DDR Memory
- 40 GB ATA 100 Hard Drive 7200rpm
- Dynatron D33 1U Cooler with 90° Blower
- Real 256bit 2D/3D Graphics
- 10/100 Network Interface
- Slim 1U Rackmount 16.5” Deep w/ Front USB
- 200 Watt Power Supply

Thanks in advance,

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Benoit Malet (benoit-malet) said : 		#1

Hello !

Problem probably comes from ACPI (which is the power management feature). ACPI is supported by the OS, if kernel is compiled the right way for it ...

Can you check if ACPI is launched at startup ?

dmesg | grep ACPI

Regards,
Benoît

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loudmtn (loudmtn) said : 		#2

Thanks for your help, Benoît.

The command you gave me returned a whole bunch of information, of which I'll copy a few lines here:

[17179569.184000] ACPI: RSDP (v000 AWARD ) @ 0x000f7220
[17179570.656000] ACPI: Interpreter enabled
[17179571.860000] ACPI: Fan [FAN] (on)

All in all, there were 51 lines of output which contained 'ACPI'. If you would like me to post all of these lines, I certainly can.

Many thanks,
Anthony

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Benoit Malet (benoit-malet) said : 		#3

Hello !

So it seems ACPI is installed properly (one good point !) ... Could you try this ?

1) backup your /etc/grub/menu.lst
2) edit it: locate a line looking like "kernel (hd0,0)/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda3" and append "acpi=force" (no quotes)
3) save
4) reboot and test

Result is not guaranteed as I don't master ACPI, but it should not arm your system ;) ...

For information, here you can find a list of kernel parameters linked to ACPI : http://support.novell.com/techcenter/sdb/en/2002/10/81_acpi.html

Hope this helps !

Regards,
Benoît

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loudmtn (loudmtn) said : 		#4

Thanks again for your help,

Unfortunately, no dice. I tried adding "acpi=force" to the kernel parameters, but to no avail. I tried other paramaters that looked promising from the Novell.com page you directed me to, but nothing changed the situation.

I was looking in the BIOS for any relevant info. I tried disabling ACPI there and on the kernel parameter line just to see if it would change anything, but it didn't. I've since installed Fedora 6 and OpenSuse 10.2, and neither of those could reboot my machine too!

I've been poking around the internet looking for any talk on issues concerning ACPI, rebooting, and my motherboard model. I checked again: my motherboard is actually a SiS 661FX chipset (make and model: Foxconn 661FXME)

Does you have any more suggestions of where I might look or what I might try?

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Best loudmtn (loudmtn) said : 		#5

I've found the answer at last.

After digging through page after page on the internet, I found that there is a kernel parameter ' reboot=b ' , which tells linux to use the BIOS reboot function.

So here's the fix in full, for those who are struggling:

1) backup your /etc/grub/menu.lst
2) edit it: locate a line looking like "kernel (hd0,0)/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda3" and append "reboot=b" (no quotes)
3) save
4) Shutdown, startup, and test the reboot

Thanks Benoît for all your help and effort!

Anthony

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Lex Ross (lross) said : 		#6

You should file a bug against kernel package then. Unfortunately, on my Asus F5N laptop with up-to date Ubuntu 7.10 this does not change a bit. On shutdown, the final stage is when laptop flashes its LEDs and the power goes off. On reboot, it also goes as far as to flashing all LEDs but nothing happens. The machine simply freezes. On top of this, there wasn't any problem on system install, as it has rebooted laptop successfully right after installation was over. Any ideas?

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marcobra (Marco Braida) (marcobra) said : 		#7

Ok but the parameter will disappear if the system upgrade the kernel
The right procedure to put the kernel boot parameter:

Open a Terminal from the menu Applications->Accessories->Terminal and type:

sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst

give your user password when requested, you don't see nothing when you type it, then press enter.

Search the row

# defoptions=........ your options

and add the "reboot=b" parameter

# defoptions=........ your options reboot=b

save and exit

then type:

sudo update-grub

Hope this help