Aaron Johnson, could you please provide the full computer model as noted on the sticker?
** Tags added: needs-full-computer-model ** Description changed: I have been troubleshooting an interesting bug on my Toshiba L840 laptop for a number of months now. This bug affects all versions of Ubuntu since (and including) 12.04 and other Linux distributions as well (so this is most likely an upstream bug). I have only ran the 32-bit version with PAE support because I choose application compatibility and efficient memory usage over what 64-bit Linux can provide. + + WORKAROUND: 64-bit ubuntu raring (13.04). Here is what I have experienced: Every kernel version I have tried is affected by this bug since 3.2 in Precise (kernel 3.3 - 3.7 is affected). What happens is my hard drive write performance is greatly reduced (and over time it becomes so slow it is unusable) once I run a newer version of Linux kernel. The stock kernel of Precise does not have this bug but it has too many other bugs that cause hard lockups on ivy bridge so I cannot use it. I am happy to report that the hard lockups seem to have disappeared on 13.04 (Linux kernel 3.7) and the most stable experience I have had so far is with kernel version 3.7.0-5 on Raring 32-bit. Even though I have found a relatively stable experience running Raring I am still haunted by this write performance issue. Once I boot I can get consistent write speeds at about 40MB/s (which is about half the speed of what my drive is able to write at) and read speed never really seems to be affected. Here is a test using dd to check write speed: owner@Satellite-L840:~$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/output bs=8k count=50k; rm -f /tmp/output 51200+0 records in 51200+0 records out 419430400 bytes (419 MB) copied, 10.6863 s, 39.2 MB/s owner@Satellite-L840:~$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/output bs=8k count=50k; rm -f /tmp/output 51200+0 records in 51200+0 records out 419430400 bytes (419 MB) copied, 10.4765 s, 40.0 MB/s owner@Satellite-L840:~$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/output bs=8k count=50k; rm -f /tmp/output 51200+0 records in 51200+0 records out 419430400 bytes (419 MB) copied, 10.4648 s, 40.1 MB/s owner@Satellite-L840:~$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/output bs=8k count=50k; rm -f /tmp/output 51200+0 records in 51200+0 records out 419430400 bytes (419 MB) copied, 11.2678 s, 37.2 MB/s Even though 40MB/s write speed is completely unacceptable I would actually be okay with it if it didn't drop any lower than this but eventually it does. I have experienced that over time eventually the write speed of the drive will drop to about 1-2MB/s and at that point the computer becomes unusable and has to be rebooted. Strangely enough I have finally noticed that the significant drop from 40MB/s to 1-2MB/s seems to be triggered by certain applications, for instance when I have a torrent downloading using various torrent downloader programs, I have experienced this bug more frequently. Even so, if I choose to not use the torrent downloading programs the bug will eventually crop back up (could be hours, could be several days...) but eventually it happens and I have to reboot. Here are some more troubleshooting steps I have tried in a failed attempt to isolate the issue: * I have ran memtest 86+ for over 24 hours on my laptop and it completed without error * I have scanned my hard drive using mhdd and no bad sectors * I have replaced my hard drive with a different size and different brand hard drive and same issue * I have attempted a clean install of Precise and then updating to the latest packages and then install the Quantal kernel from the stable repositories and reboot. Immediately this bug affects my computer * I have installed a clean install of 13.04 and bug still exists * I have tried installing Ubuntu (12.04 and 13.04 32-bit) on a flash drive to see if the bug crops up eventually on the flash drive and it does. Eventually the write speed even to the USB bus will drop to 1-2MB/s !!! * I have even tried installing other distributions as well (Fedora and Debian) and they both have the same issue. One more thing worth noting: The very first kernel release that I tried in 13.04 was 3.7.0-2 and even now if I reboot and choose that kernel I get better write performance at first (70-80MB/s) but eventually the write speed drops down to 1-2 MB/s just like the others. I have experienced many problems running Linux on this laptop but even so it is the fastest and best performing computer experience I have ever had. Now that the lockups are gone I feel so close to getting this computer working perfectly with Linux but I need help from someone with troubleshooting this issue further. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.04 Package: linux-image 3.7.0.6.10 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.7.0-5.13-generic 3.7.0-rc8 Uname: Linux 3.7.0-5-generic i686 ApportVersion: 2.7-0ubuntu2 Architecture: i386 AudioDevicesInUse: - USER PID ACCESS COMMAND - /dev/snd/controlC0: acjohnson 2197 F.... pulseaudio + USER PID ACCESS COMMAND + /dev/snd/controlC0: acjohnson 2197 F.... pulseaudio Date: Sat Dec 15 07:13:04 2012 HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=9f7c92ad-121c-458f-8813-1cb8191180c2 InstallationDate: Installed on 2012-12-10 (5 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.04 "Raring Ringtail" - Alpha i386 (20121206) MachineType: TOSHIBA Satellite L840 MarkForUpload: True ProcEnviron: - TERM=xterm - PATH=(custom, no user) - XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set> - LANG=en_US.UTF-8 - SHELL=/bin/bash + TERM=xterm + PATH=(custom, no user) + XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set> + LANG=en_US.UTF-8 + SHELL=/bin/bash ProcFB: 0 inteldrmfb ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.7.0-5-generic root=UUID=4836d385-16fc-47c0-8720-c369e39d0775 ro quiet splash i915.i915_enable_rc6=7 vt.handoff=7 RelatedPackageVersions: - linux-restricted-modules-3.7.0-5-generic N/A - linux-backports-modules-3.7.0-5-generic N/A - linux-firmware 1.98 + linux-restricted-modules-3.7.0-5-generic N/A + linux-backports-modules-3.7.0-5-generic N/A + linux-firmware 1.98 SourcePackage: linux UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) dmi.bios.date: 06/26/2012 dmi.bios.vendor: Insyde Corp. dmi.bios.version: 1.80 dmi.board.asset.tag: Type2 - Board Asset Tag dmi.board.name: Type2 - Board Product Name1 dmi.board.vendor: Type2 - Board Vendor Name1 dmi.board.version: Type2 - Board Version dmi.chassis.asset.tag: No Asset Tag dmi.chassis.type: 10 dmi.chassis.vendor: OEM Chassis Manufacturer dmi.chassis.version: OEM Chassis Version dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnInsydeCorp.:bvr1.80:bd06/26/2012:svnTOSHIBA:pnSatelliteL840:pvrPSK8GU-08S00D:rvnType2-BoardVendorName1:rnType2-BoardProductName1:rvrType2-BoardVersion:cvnOEMChassisManufacturer:ct10:cvrOEMChassisVersion: dmi.product.name: Satellite L840 dmi.product.version: PSK8GU-08S00D dmi.sys.vendor: TOSHIBA ** Changed in: linux (Ubuntu) Importance: Medium => Low ** Changed in: linux (Ubuntu) Status: Triaged => Incomplete ** Summary changed: - slow and sporadic hard drive write performance on ivy bridge (Toshiba L840 Core i7-3612QM) + [Toshiba L840] Slow and sporadic hard drive write performance -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Kernel Packages, which is subscribed to linux in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1090715 Title: [Toshiba L840] Slow and sporadic hard drive write performance Status in The Linux Kernel: Expired Status in “linux” package in Ubuntu: Incomplete Bug description: I have been troubleshooting an interesting bug on my Toshiba L840 laptop for a number of months now. This bug affects all versions of Ubuntu since (and including) 12.04 and other Linux distributions as well (so this is most likely an upstream bug). I have only ran the 32-bit version with PAE support because I choose application compatibility and efficient memory usage over what 64-bit Linux can provide. WORKAROUND: 64-bit ubuntu raring (13.04). Here is what I have experienced: Every kernel version I have tried is affected by this bug since 3.2 in Precise (kernel 3.3 - 3.7 is affected). What happens is my hard drive write performance is greatly reduced (and over time it becomes so slow it is unusable) once I run a newer version of Linux kernel. The stock kernel of Precise does not have this bug but it has too many other bugs that cause hard lockups on ivy bridge so I cannot use it. I am happy to report that the hard lockups seem to have disappeared on 13.04 (Linux kernel 3.7) and the most stable experience I have had so far is with kernel version 3.7.0-5 on Raring 32-bit. Even though I have found a relatively stable experience running Raring I am still haunted by this write performance issue. Once I boot I can get consistent write speeds at about 40MB/s (which is about half the speed of what my drive is able to write at) and read speed never really seems to be affected. Here is a test using dd to check write speed: owner@Satellite-L840:~$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/output bs=8k count=50k; rm -f /tmp/output 51200+0 records in 51200+0 records out 419430400 bytes (419 MB) copied, 10.6863 s, 39.2 MB/s owner@Satellite-L840:~$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/output bs=8k count=50k; rm -f /tmp/output 51200+0 records in 51200+0 records out 419430400 bytes (419 MB) copied, 10.4765 s, 40.0 MB/s owner@Satellite-L840:~$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/output bs=8k count=50k; rm -f /tmp/output 51200+0 records in 51200+0 records out 419430400 bytes (419 MB) copied, 10.4648 s, 40.1 MB/s owner@Satellite-L840:~$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/output bs=8k count=50k; rm -f /tmp/output 51200+0 records in 51200+0 records out 419430400 bytes (419 MB) copied, 11.2678 s, 37.2 MB/s Even though 40MB/s write speed is completely unacceptable I would actually be okay with it if it didn't drop any lower than this but eventually it does. I have experienced that over time eventually the write speed of the drive will drop to about 1-2MB/s and at that point the computer becomes unusable and has to be rebooted. Strangely enough I have finally noticed that the significant drop from 40MB/s to 1-2MB/s seems to be triggered by certain applications, for instance when I have a torrent downloading using various torrent downloader programs, I have experienced this bug more frequently. Even so, if I choose to not use the torrent downloading programs the bug will eventually crop back up (could be hours, could be several days...) but eventually it happens and I have to reboot. Here are some more troubleshooting steps I have tried in a failed attempt to isolate the issue: * I have ran memtest 86+ for over 24 hours on my laptop and it completed without error * I have scanned my hard drive using mhdd and no bad sectors * I have replaced my hard drive with a different size and different brand hard drive and same issue * I have attempted a clean install of Precise and then updating to the latest packages and then install the Quantal kernel from the stable repositories and reboot. Immediately this bug affects my computer * I have installed a clean install of 13.04 and bug still exists * I have tried installing Ubuntu (12.04 and 13.04 32-bit) on a flash drive to see if the bug crops up eventually on the flash drive and it does. Eventually the write speed even to the USB bus will drop to 1-2MB/s !!! * I have even tried installing other distributions as well (Fedora and Debian) and they both have the same issue. One more thing worth noting: The very first kernel release that I tried in 13.04 was 3.7.0-2 and even now if I reboot and choose that kernel I get better write performance at first (70-80MB/s) but eventually the write speed drops down to 1-2 MB/s just like the others. I have experienced many problems running Linux on this laptop but even so it is the fastest and best performing computer experience I have ever had. Now that the lockups are gone I feel so close to getting this computer working perfectly with Linux but I need help from someone with troubleshooting this issue further. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.04 Package: linux-image 3.7.0.6.10 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.7.0-5.13-generic 3.7.0-rc8 Uname: Linux 3.7.0-5-generic i686 ApportVersion: 2.7-0ubuntu2 Architecture: i386 AudioDevicesInUse: USER PID ACCESS COMMAND /dev/snd/controlC0: acjohnson 2197 F.... pulseaudio Date: Sat Dec 15 07:13:04 2012 HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=9f7c92ad-121c-458f-8813-1cb8191180c2 InstallationDate: Installed on 2012-12-10 (5 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.04 "Raring Ringtail" - Alpha i386 (20121206) MachineType: TOSHIBA Satellite L840 MarkForUpload: True ProcEnviron: TERM=xterm PATH=(custom, no user) XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set> LANG=en_US.UTF-8 SHELL=/bin/bash ProcFB: 0 inteldrmfb ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.7.0-5-generic root=UUID=4836d385-16fc-47c0-8720-c369e39d0775 ro quiet splash i915.i915_enable_rc6=7 vt.handoff=7 RelatedPackageVersions: linux-restricted-modules-3.7.0-5-generic N/A linux-backports-modules-3.7.0-5-generic N/A linux-firmware 1.98 SourcePackage: linux UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) dmi.bios.date: 06/26/2012 dmi.bios.vendor: Insyde Corp. dmi.bios.version: 1.80 dmi.board.asset.tag: Type2 - Board Asset Tag dmi.board.name: Type2 - Board Product Name1 dmi.board.vendor: Type2 - Board Vendor Name1 dmi.board.version: Type2 - Board Version dmi.chassis.asset.tag: No Asset Tag dmi.chassis.type: 10 dmi.chassis.vendor: OEM Chassis Manufacturer dmi.chassis.version: OEM Chassis Version dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnInsydeCorp.:bvr1.80:bd06/26/2012:svnTOSHIBA:pnSatelliteL840:pvrPSK8GU-08S00D:rvnType2-BoardVendorName1:rnType2-BoardProductName1:rvrType2-BoardVersion:cvnOEMChassisManufacturer:ct10:cvrOEMChassisVersion: dmi.product.name: Satellite L840 dmi.product.version: PSK8GU-08S00D dmi.sys.vendor: TOSHIBA To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/linux/+bug/1090715/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~kernel-packages Post to : kernel-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~kernel-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp