Bug 487158 – sys-kernel/gentoo-sources [drm:evergreen_startup] *ERROR* radeon: error initializing UVD (-1). paying attention to dmesg warning about new firmware ends to radeon with no backlight when using vgaswitcheroo

• Status: RESOLVED INVALID
• Product: Gentoo Linux

[Description Jimis Hol 2013-10-06 22:40:52 UTC]

On some hybrid notebooks
Trying to fix dmesg warning
radeon 0000:01:00.0: radeon_uvd: Can't load firmware "radeon/CYPRESS_uvd.bin"
by adding radeon/CYPRESS_uvd.bin in CONFIG_EXTRA_FIRMWARE makes switch in black screen. Ignoring seems better.

Reproducible: Always

Actual Results:  
displaying dmesg warning about CYPRESS in systems that need only CEDAR

Expected Results:  
more clear warning. Some thing like adding "ignore if you dont need CYPRESS firmware"

Probably its HP fault. I own HP G62 b75ev hybrid in dual win-linux boot. Windows through last updates, firmware probably, are booting on black screen, Black screen in linux at the same time gives the wrong impression that its a hardware failure while probably has to do with firmware.

I tried install sys-kernel/linux-firmware-20130421 but needed radeon/CEDAR_smc.bin I used CONFIG_EXTRA_FIRMWARE="radeon/CEDAR_me.bin radeon/CEDAR_pfp.bin radeon/CEDAR_rlc.bin" and CONFIG_EXTRA_FIRMWARE_DIR="/lib/firmware" till now.
Lastly because of dmesg I gave "make clean" and after installing firmware-20130728 compiled kernel 3.11.3 with CYPRESS_uvd.bin and "/lib/firmware/" and had black screen upon switching to radeon.
Just removing CYPRESS didn't fixed the problem. I, also, removed last / from firmware dir in order not to find CYPRESS and i switched graphics with success. Upon adding / again somehow it succeeded switching and still didn't find CYPRESS!!!! and for the first time all years i have this notebook brightness works with radeon graphics. 
A track of what I got through to solve this, can be read in attachment and https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=487090

[Comment 1 Jimis Hol 2013-10-06 22:42:47 UTC]

Created attachment 360272 [details]
tracking and problems till succesfully install CEDAR firmware

[Comment 2 Chí-Thanh Christopher Nguyễn 2013-10-06 23:00:32 UTC]

[   12.410866] [drm:r600_uvd_init] *ERROR* UVD not responding, trying to reset the VCPU!!!
[   12.431115] [drm:r600_uvd_init] *ERROR* UVD not responding, giving up!!!
[   12.431294] [drm:evergreen_startup] *ERROR* radeon: error initializing UVD (-1).

That is probably a problem in the radeon kernel driver. You can try kernel 3.11 if you have not already.

[Comment 3 Jimis Hol 2013-10-07 12:28:38 UTC]

Created attachment 360314 [details]
emerge --info of my final perfect intel-radeon vgaswitcheroo

From # Automatically generated file; DO NOT EDIT.
# Linux/x86 3.11.3-gentoo Kernel Configuration

CONFIG_EXTRA_FIRMWARE="radeon/CEDAR_me.bin radeon/CEDAR_pfp.bin radeon/CEDAR_rlc.bin radeon/CEDAR_smc.bin"
CONFIG_EXTRA_FIRMWARE_DIR="/lib/firmware"

I attach emerge --info from perfect working radeon With Brightness control too!!! and vgaswitcheroo

[Comment 4 Jimis Hol 2013-10-07 12:55:31 UTC]

Created attachment 360316 [details]
dmesg after succesful switch

[Comment 5 Jimis Hol 2013-10-07 13:00:46 UTC]

I noticed i hadn't last slash in firmware dir. Adding it made no difference. Switching and radeon works perfect. The attachment of dmesg in comment 4 is created after adding /, so i had "lib/firmware/", and after successful switch

[Comment 6 Jimis Hol 2013-10-10 16:50:08 UTC]

I wish and I will try hard this to be my last post on the subject.
Please consider make appropriate request to proper developers, because bug must be on Windows 7 OS.

Since I enjoyed a perfect gentoo system, I, wrongly, decided to try to make windows, of my dual-boot system, to work again. I log in to windows so rarely that many times I forget their password. So,...
I cleared, installed, uninstalled drivers in windows, mostly CCC (Catalyst, known on linux as fglrx) without success. For 5 minutes I succeeded to have CCC with my mobile HD5470 on work but as I changed some parameters, about Antialising  (I don't think it matters what parameter was exactly) I faced black screen again that forced me to power off by power button. I gave up and decided to abandon Windows once for all and return to my lovely linux.
Unfortunately, upon switching by vgaswitcheroo, I faced black screen again. Somehow linux AFFECTED by my tries in windows ?!
I recompiled kernel with “/lib/firmware” (no / at end) with no success. So back to Windows
but don't remember exactly what  I've done, because I tried, whole two days, many things.
Ruffly, and what I think made the difference is these.
I downgrade  BIOS and reinstalled CCC.=> Something change but not much.
I upgraded BIOS and tried to check through some HP's UEFI bios-tools my system. Several times notebook auto powered off cause of heat!!. I gave up and canceled bios-testings.
Somehow, from some safe-mode, I succeeded in loging in windows and without even checking, through CCC, if dgpu was used I terminated PC. Without giving it time to go to black screen again.
I logged in gentoo but switching to radeon didn't worked but something looked better.
I cleared and recompiled kernel with “/lib/firmware/” (with / at the end) but this time I decided to put support of CONFIG_PSTORE, CONFIG_PSTORE_RAM and  CONFIG_EFIVAR_FS. I don't think something has to do with these last three parameters since switching worked before, without them, but I hoped that linux could overwrite somewhere some bad things windows made.
The fact is that after that, switching by vgaswitcheroo is PERFECT again.

Even if I decided not to log in windows again, I am afraid to erase them.
The request could be, as grub fixes MRB and overrides windows's stupid things maybe it would be possible, someone could think about what and where windows and their video drivers might write and override it, as grub does. Would it be some driver-cash I read?(It was enabled in windows with no option to disable) Some things about EFI? (I don't think I have gpt partition).
I would appreciate some guaranty that I could sweep off windows (gaining considerable disk space)  without losing vgaswitcheroo's functionality and the use of my gpu. 
Excuse my blog style entry and my luck of deeper knowledge about these things.
Thank you.

[Comment 7 Jimis Hol 2013-10-12 06:57:48 UTC]

Just for the record, when switched to radeon, if i have IGD off, i have desktop but no brightness control. In order to have brightness control IGD must be ON

[Comment 8 Jimis Hol 2013-10-23 21:16:17 UTC]

Next night from last comment i left laptop open. Since reboot in morning 10 days now i cant have successful switch. I tried downgrade firmware but kernel seems to ask for CEDAR_smc.bin. Forced yo use resent firmware if i dont use CYPRESS_uvd.bin then GPU stoles but external screen works with radeon. If i use CYPRESS neither screens works and dmesg gives [drm:r600_uvd_init] *ERROR* UVD not responding, trying to reset the VCPU!!!
Cant downgrade kernel enough cause of systemd.
My card is mobile HD 5470, i think its just uvd2 compatible. maybe cards uvd2.2 are supported. Somehow switch worked 3 times without having CYPRESS_uvd.bin I read in forums its equivalent to disabling uvd. I tried to patch with http://pastebin.com/0mRGb224 but since i dont know how to apply it properly i done it by hand. It didnt worked. I ask to seek for the possibility of kernel parameter that disables uvd if it seems to cause problems.
I will gladly help with more informations if asked. I have kernel 3.11.6 and firmware-99999999

[Comment 9 Jimis Hol 2013-11-07 20:00:50 UTC]

I still can't see gallium radeon in use. No option in bios and ccc isnt visible at win7 cause of black screen. When, in win7 i connect external screen comes up a crash.
The only way to see +DIS in use is as root, out of X, at external screen.
Since i can't downgrade kernel, mesa, Xorg and firmware , i tried linux-mint with 3.2 kernel with same results. I attach dmesg from git kernel and the output of fwts that copied from linux-mint and hope someone can clarify 
a) if it is a hardware failure or 
b)if ccc at win7 or sleep, made some kind of pci rom flash that can't be undone. I have seen radeon in use with the bios i use.
Thank you

[Comment 10 Jimis Hol 2013-11-07 20:03:56 UTC]

Created attachment 362752 [details]
fwts from linux-mint distribution

[Comment 11 Jimis Hol 2013-11-07 20:05:09 UTC]

Created attachment 362754 [details]
dmesg in git kernel

[Comment 12 Jimis Hol 2013-11-10 09:50:00 UTC]

Yesterday morning I decided to open laptop and reflow the ATI gpu. So, last 24 hours, dgpu is working both in win7 and gentoo. The new thing to see is
[drm] ib test on ring 5 succeeded
and I can effectively switch back and forth through vgaswitcheroo. 
So i will try to mark this as resolved invalid. Please mark this bug appropriately and excuse me for reporting a hardware problem as a bug.