Diablo users: how often do you have reboot loops?

[iamthewalrus]

Since upgrading my n800 to Diablo I have had a reboot loop twice forcing me to reflash, How widespread is this? Are there any known causes? I have read using software from the maemo SDK catalogue is a possible culprit.


To track down the cause you can install the sp-rich-core (http://maemo.org/development/tools/doc/diablo/sp-rich-core/) core-dump tool. This saves system information on one of the sd cards when a crash happens, and you can add that to a bug report.

Also a way to turn on, and automatically save system logs to the sd card is described in this thread (http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23143) (especially #8).

[lardman]

http://wiki.maemo.org/Reporting_reboot_issues

[iamthewalrus]

I have done the following to find the cause next time I get a reboot loop:

- installed sysklogd (the system log daemon) from the Maemo chinook repos
- edited /etc/syslog.conf to let it save the logfiles on one of the SD cards, in my case the directory /media/mmc2/logfiles
- made sure syslog.conf is owned by root.
- I did 'update-rc.d sysklogd defaults' and 'invoke-rc.d sysklogd restart', but that might not be needed.

Below is my syslog.conf :

# /etc/syslog.conf Configuration file for syslogd.
#
# For more information see syslog.conf(5)
# manpage.

#
# First some standard logfiles. Log by facility.
#

#auth,authpriv.* /var/log/auth.log
*.*;auth,authpriv.none -/media/mmc2/logfiles/syslog
#cron.* /var/log/cron.log
daemon.* -/media/mmc2/logfiles/daemon.log
kern.* -/media/mmc2/logfiles/kern.log
#lpr.* -/var/log/lpr.log
#mail.* -/var/log/mail.log
#user.* -/var/log/user.log
#uucp.* /var/log/uucp.log

#
# Logging for the mail system. Split it up so that
# it is easy to write scripts to parse these files.
#
#mail.info -/var/log/mail.info
#mail.warn -/var/log/mail.warn
#mail.err /var/log/mail.err

# Logging for INN news system
#
#news.crit /var/log/news/news.crit
#news.err /var/log/news/news.err
#news.notice -/var/log/news/news.notice

#
# Some `catch-all' logfiles.
#
#*.=debug;\
# auth,authpriv.none;\
# news.none;mail.none -/var/log/debug
*.=info;*.=notice;*.=warn;\
auth,authpriv.none;\
cron,daemon.none;\
mail,news.none -/media/mmc2/logfiles/messages

#
# Emergencies are sent to everybody logged in.
#
#*.emerg *

#
# I like to have messages displayed on the console, but only on a virtual
# console I usually leave idle.
#
#daemon,mail.*;\
# news.=crit;news.=err;news.=notice;\
# *.=debug;*.=info;\
# *.=notice;*.=warn /dev/tty8

# The named pipe /dev/xconsole is for the `xconsole' utility. To use it,
# you must invoke `xconsole' with the `-file' option:
#
# $ xconsole -file /dev/xconsole [...]
#
# NOTE: adjust the list below, or you'll go crazy if you have a reasonably
# busy site..
#
daemon.*;mail.*;\
news.crit;news.err;news.notice;\
*.=debug;*.=info;\
*.=notice;*.=warn |/dev/xconsole

[lazuli]

i get reboot loops but they resolve after a few cycles and battery take-outs :p

[iamthewalrus]

http://wiki.maemo.org/Reporting_reboot_issues

That page assumes you have access to the filesystem after getting reboot loops. Haven't really tried that yet, but it doesn't seem like an easy thing to do (install Fanoush's modified initfs, set up usb networking, mounting old filesystem).

[AbelMN]

i get reboot loops but they resolve after a few cycles and battery take-outs :p

Same for me.
And never happened before Diablo
Frequency: 1 / month ? (difficult to say yet).

In fact: my 2 reboots occured when the battery was low. In both cases I replaced batteries and the problem was gone (OK: for now etc).

Abel.

[XTC]

I have never experienced reboot loops.
Hildon crashes - yes but not reboots. Maybe too short for usage.

[gemniii42]

Just got my first one.
Just installed Diablo a week ago, already the, file sytem is full.
Was trying to clean up some files while waiting at the doctors.
Tried an apt-get clean, didn't work.
Shut everything down, rebooted.
And it kept rebooting, even after long term battery out-in.
Got home, put it on the mains, same thing.
Battery out-in, off the mains power up, plugged it in when the hands showed up. BOOTED,
Unplugged, rebooted, back in the reboot loop whether battery switched or not.
Couldn't get it to boot again. Time to reflash :(

[heizer]

It's been two days since it happens the first time to me.

I can confirm that it could have something to do with low battery - my N800 has shut down due to low bat.

Perhaps another hint: did you guys have bash2 installed or updated soon? I found this:
http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22624&highlight=update+boot
thread and it seems it is about the same problem. The only connection is that i have bash2 at least updated bevor the reboot loop.

Am I the only one who can not access the above linked wiki?

By, heizer

[xopher_mc]

I used to get the reboot loop a lot with chinook. Thankfully I haven't had it happen since I upgrade to diablo (as soon as it was out)

[AbelMN]

Perhaps another hint: did you guys have bash2 installed or updated soon? I found this:
http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22624&highlight=update+boot
thread and it seems it is about the same problem. The only connection is that i have bash2 at least updated bevor the reboot loop.



Bash2 Installed: No.

Abel.

[iamthewalrus]

Bash2 Installed: No.

Abel.

Me neither. In my case I suspect the screen rotate hack is the cause, at least the reboots started after I installed that.

By the way that 25% - 30% that I see in the poll is quite a percentage. Although it could be that people who have reboot loops feel more inclined to take part in the poll, and that the ITT crowd does more crazy experiminental stuff with their tablets than the average tablet owner.

[geneven]

I think that the 25-30% that you see is the kind you get if you're looking for a sensationalistic result, since you're adding in 13% for "less than once a month," which could mean "yeah, I had a reboot loop a year or so ago".

Try polling people and asking them if they have ever had racist thoughts, and then put it under a headline "most people admit that they are racists!!"

Not that I am accusing anyone here of doing that sort of thing, just saying that these results are easily exaggerated. I think it would be more scientific to add the 13% to the 71% who say they never have had troubles, since there is no proof that people who have reboot loops less than once a month -- like once ever x years? -- have had cronic reboot problems? How about this headline: "84% of Tablet Users Say They Are Not Experiencing Serious Reboot Problems!!" That's closer to the truth.

Although, I must admit, even that percentage of problems is high, probably because not as many users without reboot problems are going to participate in this kind of poll.

[iamthewalrus]

I think that the 25-30% that you see is the kind you get if you're looking for a sensationalistic result, since you're adding in 13% for "less than once a month," which could mean "yeah, I had a reboot loop a year or so ago".


Diablo has been out for 2 months, apart from the small beta tester group. So that means 'in the last few months'. Of course this poll has nothing to do with science.


Try polling people and asking them if they have ever had racist thoughts, and then put it under a headline "most people admit that they are racists!!"


I'm not saying '30% of tablet users have reboot loops'. And I think most ITT visitors are intelligent enough not to interpret it that way. Even if they do ... so be it.


Although, I must admit, even that percentage of problems is high, probably because not as many users without reboot problems are going to participate in this kind of poll.

Well..that is basically what I said.

[seething]

I just got my n810 yesterday, did the update this morning and then a downloaded update. Since then it has looped 4 times. I have no idea why as it is a clean install, no other apps or anything but it is really annoying. Middle of a majong game, surfing internet, even once while trying to sync to my computer using bluetooth.

I'm going to have to go through the steps in the early mentioned wiki link to get the dump of what's happening.

[iamthewalrus]

I've updated the original post with some pointers for tracking down the cause of a reboot loop.

[benny1967]

I got my 770 in early 2006, now have an N800 running Diablo, and I can't remember having had a reboot loop. Ever. I wasn't aware this is such a common problem at all. Seems I'm lucky this time. Or old enough to easily forget (I should search this forum for my own posts...).

[timsamoff]

Likewise, nary a reboot loop here.

Tim

[xandor]

Chronic with my n800. Basically, it just rarely boots up! It seemed like it was most stable with the release just prior to Diablo, though recently it DID run Diablo for a few days. It then had to reboot, and has not come back, despite reflashing (with pre-diablo).
I even got frustrated enough to disassemble it using Thoughtfix's helpful instructions (yes, it's out of warranty), hoping to find something obvious amiss, but it seems I'd need a microscope and X-rays to find that!
The only H/W problem I'm aware of with the device is a tendency to crackle when you touch the screen, but this sometimes disappears with booting, and I'm not convinced it's loop-related.
Really puzzled and frustrated, since I really love the little thing when it's functioning.
Perhaps I'll play with that USB-Linux boot menu/monitoring thing, but I think installing that might involve a couple of boots...

[allnameswereout]

Perhaps another hint: did you guys have bash2 installed or updated soon? I found this:
http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22624&highlight=update+boot
thread and it seems it is about the same problem. The only connection is that i have bash2 at least updated bevor the reboot loop.

Did you update your root shell to Bash2?

[deluxe]

I have had reboot loops exactly twice, both times when I changed the battery to a spare that I alternate. Each time the battery I was swapping to was at about 50 to 60% charge. It would keep on rebooting, whether on battery power, or when it was plugged in to mains power recharging.
A while back I bought a couple of batteries and a charger from Hong Kong. I find now, that if I charge the battery I am intending to swap to for a few hours, then swap, that I have no problems, so I would say my reboots are tied in to battery level.
Also, it didn't matter whether I was swapping to the Hong Kong battery, or the Nokia battery......if the % charge in the battery was less than maximum, it rebooted.

[Rezigrene]

Oddly enough, my tablet won't reboot at all if I try to restart while it's charger is plugged in.

[Kytrix]

i get the reboot loop after my tablet goes of on empty battery :/

the tablet try automaticaly to start when charger is plug .. so i can't recharge before booting

[xandor]

Is there some way to check the charge state of the battery using a multimeter?

[Peet]

"Hi, my name is Peet and I'm a reboot looper..." :o

So I had my first experience with the loops yesterday after updating OM Weather (to 0.21.6) + stations.dbs in an otherwise solid and unexciting (but uptodate) Diablo system.

Battery was fairly full at ~75-80%, no bash2 installed, emelfm2 was installed but not used during the latest boot session. The system resided on dual-booting N800's internal SD card and I had recently (a week ago) booted from built-in flash to run fsck on all partitions.

OM Weather+stations packages updated without complaints and I turned the device off for reboot. After restart the desktop comes up for a few seconds (without OM Weather visible on screen) before the screen flashes and goes back to restart...

(Precautionary note: Thanks to the slightly outdated "backup OS" in built-in flash, and another slightly outdated Diablo backup on another SD card I'm not completely screwed even if I was on the road...)

[Thesandlord]

+1 to the battery problem. I think my battery is loosing its charge. So, aside from the sudden drops from 40% to 0%, when I plug in the charger, I guess it does not charge fast enough, so it reboots.

Oh, look, while I was typing this it just rebooted. In the last ten minutes, it has rebooted about 4 times. This goes on for about 30 mins (each time it takes longer to reboot), then it finally has enough charge to not reboot.

Scenario -> Low Battery Warning -> Plug it in -> 5 mins later it reboots -> Install Tools OS selector comes up -> Boots into the "Charging" state -> Reboots about 5-6 more times -> Finally charges....

I am booting from MMC (though the problem still exists from a clean flash), have rotation enabled (only on MMC).

Is this normal?


IT ONLY REBOOTS WHEN PLUGGED IN. WTF, SO NOW I CAN'T CHARGE THE TABLET!