acpi_cpufreq doesn't load

okonesec · 09-25-2007, 12:28 AM

I know this has been beat to death in other forums, at least when I do some Google queries, it is apparent, but nobody answered the question in the context I was looking for, so here goes. I want to understand how to correct this or properly diagnose it, not copy and paste a few commands and pray.

badass:/home/user# modprobe acpi_cpufreq
FATAL: Error inserting acpi_cpufreq (/lib/modules/2.6.21-2-amd64/kernel/arch/x86_64/kernel/cpufreq/acpi-cpufreq.ko): No such device
badass:/home/user#

This is what I type to try and load the module so that I can have CPU frequency scaling on my desktop. The desktop has a Supermicro motherboard. It's a PDSGE, here is a link for the specs:

http://www.supermicro.com/products/m.../955/PDSGE.cfm

The CPU is a Pentium D 3.0 ghz dual core.

I am thinking the motherboard doesn't support ACPI, because of this:

badass:/home/user# ls -l /lib/modules/2.6.21-2-amd64/kernel/arch/x86_64/kernel/cpufreq/acpi-cpufreq.ko
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 18540 2007-07-10 18:18 /lib/modules/2.6.21-2-amd64/kernel/arch/x86_64/kernel/cpufreq/acpi-cpufreq.ko
badass:/home/user#

The module is there. This is a freshly installed Debian system. I just tried Ubuntu Fiesty 7.04 as well. I have tried Debian 4.0, but it currently has been installed from the latest testing netinst.iso.

badass:/home/user# ls /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/
cache crash_notes thermal_throttle topology
badass:/home/user#

I don't know what else to put on here. I am not a true Newbie, just not very in depth. I don't know how to troubleshoot these issues.

If you know of anything, even a clue, please share it. If you think it's a bug or just lack of support for the 955 chipset, then please share that with me as well.

If there are alternatives available to reduce power and idle speed, please share. I had another motherboard install in this PC and considered the SuperMicro an upgrade, esp for Linux support, and it's been what I wanted, until acpi_cpufreq failed to load. I hope it's a software problem or bug that I can fix, or operator problem

.

Thanks!

win32sux · 09-25-2007, 10:53 PM

The link you posted says it has ACPI 1.0 support. Are you sure it's enabled in the BIOS?

okonesec · 09-26-2007, 09:31 AM

It is definately enabled. Is it possible for the motherboard to have acpi and not support cpu freq scaling?

Thanks!

win32sux · 09-26-2007, 01:53 PM

I would think scaling is a pure CPU thing, not dependant on the motherboard - but I don't know. Hopefuly this will be a software issue which can be worked-around. If you could post the output of the following commands it might help someone see what is happening. I've posted mine for comparison.

Code:

win32sux@candystore:~$ cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor       : 0
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 14
model name      : Genuine Intel(R) CPU           T2050  @ 1.60GHz
stepping        : 8
cpu MHz         : 800.000
cache size      : 2048 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 0
cpu cores       : 2
fdiv_bug        : no
hlt_bug         : no
f00f_bug        : no
coma_bug        : no
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 10
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx constant_tsc pni monitor est tm2 xtpr
bogomips        : 3196.56
clflush size    : 64

processor       : 1
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 14
model name      : Genuine Intel(R) CPU           T2050  @ 1.60GHz
stepping        : 8
cpu MHz         : 800.000
cache size      : 2048 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 1
cpu cores       : 2
fdiv_bug        : no
hlt_bug         : no
f00f_bug        : no
coma_bug        : no
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 10
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx constant_tsc pni monitor est tm2 xtpr
bogomips        : 3193.09
clflush size    : 64

win32sux@candystore:~$ cat /proc/acpi/processor/CPU*/info
processor id:            0
acpi id:                 0
bus mastering control:   yes
power management:        yes
throttling control:      yes
limit interface:         yes
processor id:            1
acpi id:                 1
bus mastering control:   yes
power management:        yes
throttling control:      yes
limit interface:         yes
win32sux@candystore:~$ cat /proc/acpi/processor/*/throttling
state count:             8
active state:            T0
states:
   *T0:                  00%
    T1:                  12%
    T2:                  25%
    T3:                  37%
    T4:                  50%
    T5:                  62%
    T6:                  75%
    T7:                  87%
state count:             8
active state:            T0
states:
   *T0:                  00%
    T1:                  12%
    T2:                  25%
    T3:                  37%
    T4:                  50%
    T5:                  62%
    T6:                  75%
    T7:                  87%
win32sux@candystore:~$ lsmod | grep acpi
acpi_cpufreq           10056  1 
freq_table              5792  3 acpi_cpufreq,cpufreq_stats,cpufreq_ondemand
pcc_acpi               13184  0 
sony_acpi               6284  0 
dev_acpi               12292  0 
asus_acpi              17308  0 
backlight               7040  1 asus_acpi
processor              31048  2 thermal,acpi_cpufreq
win32sux@candystore:~$ lsmod | grep cpu
acpi_cpufreq           10056  1 
cpufreq_powersave       2688  0 
cpufreq_stats           7360  0 
cpufreq_userspace       5408  0 
cpufreq_ondemand        9228  1 
cpufreq_conservative     8200  0 
freq_table              5792  3 acpi_cpufreq,cpufreq_stats,cpufreq_ondemand
processor              31048  2 thermal,acpi_cpufreq
win32sux@candystore:~$ uname -a
Linux candystore 2.6.20-16-generic #2 SMP Sun Sep 23 19:50:39 UTC 2007 i686 GNU/Linux

okonesec · 10-02-2007, 08:30 AM

Ok, it's a motherboard issue, because I had an Intel motherboard in the machine first, and it would scale the frequency, and even show up in the syslog. Now that the Supermicro board is in the machine, the CPU will not scale. However, I do not want to go back to the Intel board.

Code:

processor       : 0
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 15
model           : 6
model name      :               Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.00GHz
stepping        : 2
cpu MHz         : 3150.062
cache size      : 2048 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 0
cpu cores       : 2
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 6
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm syscall nx lm constant_tsc pni monitor ds_cpl vmx cid cx16 xtpr lahf_lm
bogomips        : 6305.61
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 128
address sizes   : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

processor       : 1
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 15
model           : 6
model name      :               Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.00GHz
stepping        : 2
cpu MHz         : 3150.062
cache size      : 2048 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 1
cpu cores       : 2
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 6
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm syscall nx lm constant_tsc pni monitor ds_cpl vmx cid cx16 xtpr lahf_lm
bogomips        : 6300.54
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 128
address sizes   : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

Code:

root@badass:/home/vipadmin# cat /proc/acpi/processor/CPU*/info
processor id:            0
acpi id:                 0
bus mastering control:   no
power management:        no
throttling control:      no
limit interface:         no
processor id:            1
acpi id:                 1
bus mastering control:   no
power management:        no
throttling control:      no
limit interface:         no

Code:

root@badass:/home/vipadmin# cat /proc/acpi/processor/*/throttling
<not supported>
<not supported>

Code:

root@badass:/home/vipadmin# lsmod | grep acpi
sony_acpi               7064  0 
pcc_acpi               15616  0 
dev_acpi               17028  0

Code:

root@badass:/home/vipadmin# lsmod | grep cpu
cpufreq_userspace       6176  0 
cpufreq_powersave       3072  0

Code:

Linux badass 2.6.20-16-generic #2 SMP Sun Sep 23 18:31:23 UTC 2007 x86_64 GNU/Linux

I added the cpufreq_userspace and cpufreq_powersave just to show that they load. They don't make an impact. Do they need acpi_cpufreq?

Anyways, I've tried many combinations of modules, but nothing works. At least not through process of elimination. The cpuinfo shows it has not power management. If we can't reach a solution via software, I will swap motherboards and then run through this process again with all the commands and list the results here. I will try to get to the bottom of this. I appreciate your help.