When upgrading to kernel 3.2.1-r2 with most of the same settings as 3.1.6, starting X would lock-up the system. I researched a bit and found that by just disabling CONFIG_INTEL_IOMMU_DEFAULT_ON, X would start normally again. I have an Intel Xeon E5645 workstation with and AMD Radeon 5700. I found that the same problem seems to be affecting people with Nvidia and Intel graphics as well but cannot confirm. Reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1. Upgrade kernel from 3.1.X series to 3.2.X series using "make oldconfig" (with CONFIG_INTEL_IOMMU_DEFAULT_ON config option enabled). 2. Compile new kernel, update boot-loader and reboot 3. Start X. Actual Results: System locks-up, unable to ctl-alt-f1 back to console Expected Results: X would start normally as it did on kernel 3.1.6 with CONFIG_INTEL_IOMMU_DEFAULT_ON enabled.
I forgot to mention that I am using xorg-server-1.11.3.
... and both the xorg-server and the ati-drivers version (11.12-r1) remained the same between kernel 31.6 and 3.2.1-r2
Support is not provided for closed source proprietary drivers. I'll feel your pain as I do sometimes run this driver on one of my laptops. You may wish to search the web for people experiencing similar issues. I find with ati problems, I'm usually not alone. If you can reproduce with open source drivers, that would be a good start.
Thanks Mike, but this problem is present only in my workstation at work. If I have free time to test it with an open source driver I will register this here.
