[Acer Aspire 5930] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction

Bug #578506 reported by Luca Zenatti
208
This bug affects 49 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
linux (Ubuntu)
Invalid
Medium
Unassigned

Bug Description

On my notebook acer aspire 5930G on upgrade to 10.04 version, after few minutes of use apci stops working (don't recognize ac/dc or battery, don't change lcd blacklight, etc.) and start to flood dmes with this messages:
[ 767.208058] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
[ 767.208072] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Returned by Handler for [EmbeddedControl] (20090903/evregion-424)
[ 767.208106] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed [\_SB_.PCI0.LPCB.EC0_.GBST] (Node f7017030), AE_TIME
[ 767.208197] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed [\_SB_.PCI0.LPCB.EC0_.BAT0._BST] (Node f7017120), AE_TIME
[ 767.208277] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Evaluating _BST (20090903/battery-393)

Trying to reboot (or to shutdown and restart) my pc don't want to boot!

WORKAROUND: Get out the battery and replace.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
Package: linux-headers-2.6.32-21-generic 2.6.32-21.32
Regression: Yes
Reproducible: No
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-19.56-generic
Uname: Linux 2.6.31-19-generic i686
AlsaVersion: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.20.
Architecture: i386
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: luca 5325 F.... pulseaudio
 /dev/snd/pcmC0D0p: luca 5325 F...m pulseaudio
CRDA: Error: [Errno 2] Nessun file o directory
Card0.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:0 'Intel'/'HDA Intel at 0xf6500000 irq 21'
   Mixer name : 'Nvidia MCP78 HDMI'
   Components : 'HDA:10ec0888,1025013f,00100202 HDA:11c11040,11c10001,00100200 HDA:10de0003,10de0101,00100000'
   Controls : 39
   Simple ctrls : 21
Date: Mon May 10 23:25:40 2010
Frequency: Once a day.
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=96cdf22d-d1a9-4285-818c-c7751f7b8bd4
MachineType: Acer Aspire 5930
ProcCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-19-generic root=UUID=eb29c17b-d483-46a9-853c-0236d0829819 ro quiet splash
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=it_IT:it:en_GB:en
 LANG=it_IT.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
RelatedPackageVersions: linux-firmware 1.34
SourcePackage: linux
WpaSupplicantLog:

dmi.bios.date: 08/01/2008
dmi.bios.vendor: Phoenix Technologies LTD
dmi.bios.version: V1.19
dmi.board.name: Eiger
dmi.board.vendor: Acer
dmi.board.version: Rev
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: Acer
dmi.chassis.version: N/A
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnPhoenixTechnologiesLTD:bvrV1.19:bd08/01/2008:svnAcer:pnAspire5930:pvr0100:rvnAcer:rnEiger:rvrRev:cvnAcer:ct10:cvrN/A:
dmi.product.name: Aspire 5930
dmi.product.version: 0100
dmi.sys.vendor: Acer

Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote :
Revision history for this message
gabriele bianchi (gabriele-bianchi) wrote :

This bug affects also my Acer 5930G. It does not happen at every boot. Last time I received the following messages in kern.log:

about 15 minutes after boot I received

May 10 16:22:23 francesco kernel: [ 1040.834972] CE: hpet increasing min_delta_ns to 50624 nsec

and after 1 minute

May 10 17:33:32 francesco kernel: [ 5309.196100] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
May 10 17:33:32 francesco kernel: [ 5309.696097] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
May 10 17:33:32 francesco kernel: [ 5309.696110] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Returned by Handler for [EmbeddedControl] (20090903/evregion-424)
May 10 17:33:32 francesco kernel: [ 5309.696142] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed [\_SB_.PCI0.LPCB.EC0_.GBST] (Node f7417030), AE_TIME
May 10 17:33:32 francesco kernel: [ 5309.696235] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed [\_SB_.PCI0.LPCB.EC0_.BAT0._BST] (Node f7417120), AE_TIME
May 10 17:33:32 francesco kernel: [ 5309.696436] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Evaluating _BST (20090903/battery-393)

with this last block repeating many many times.

 My OS is a fresh install of Ubuntu 10.04, Kernel 2.6.32-22-generic-pae.

Please tell me if I need to attach other files.

Gabriele Bianchi

Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote :

Hi,
some (good i hope) news.

That bug seem be "resolved" with kernel 2.6.34-020634rc7-generic, i'm trying it since 2 days and no issue coming out up to now.

Regards,
Luca Zenatti

Revision history for this message
Jeremy Foshee (jeremyfoshee) wrote :

Hi Luca,

If you could also please test the latest upstream kernel available that would be great. It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds . Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please remove the 'needs-upstream-testing' tag. This can be done by clicking on the yellow pencil icon next to the tag located at the bottom of the bug description and deleting the 'needs-upstream-testing' text. Please let us know your results.

Thanks in advance.

    [This is an automated message. Apologies if it has reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

tags: added: kj-triage
Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
status: New → Incomplete
Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote :

Hi Jeremy,
ok in next days i'll try the latest kernel from http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/?C=M;O=D and i'll report you the results.

Regards,
Luca Z.

Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote :

Ok, i tried kernel 2.6.34-020634-generic for about 3 days and all still going ok.

tags: removed: needs-upstream-testing
Revision history for this message
gabriele bianchi (gabriele-bianchi) wrote :

I am also using the kernel

2.6.34-020634rc7-generic,

but in my case the problem is not solved. Right now I am running on battery, and have the same fllood of lines complaining about

francesco kernel: [10862.365049] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
May 21 01:59:09 francesco kernel: [10862.365065] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Returned by Handler for [EmbeddedControl] (20100121/evregion-474)
May 21 01:59:09 francesco kernel: [10862.365100] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed [\_SB_.PCI0.LPCB.EC0_.BAT0._BST] (Node f7022120), AE_TIME
May 21 01:59:09 francesco kernel: [10862.365197] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Evaluating _BST (20100121/battery-439)
May 21 01:59:10 francesco kernel: [10862.864187] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
May 21 01:59:10 francesco kernel: [10862.864205] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Returned by Handler for [EmbeddedControl] (20100121/evregion-474)
May 21 01:59:10 francesco kernel: [10862.864239] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed [\_TZ_.TZS0._TMP] (Node f7025420), AE_TIME
May 21 01:59:10 francesco kernel: [10863.365054] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
May 21 01:59:10 francesco kernel: [10863.365072] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Returned by Handler for [EmbeddedControl] (20100121/evregion-474)
May 21 01:59:10 francesco kernel: [10863.365107] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed [\_SB_.PCI0.LPCB.EC0_.BAT0._BST] (Node f7022120), AE_TIME
May 21 01:59:10 francesco kernel: [10863.365208] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Evaluating _BST (20100121/battery-439)
May 21 01:59:11 francesco kernel: [10863.865124] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction

etc etc. Gabriele Bianchi

Revision history for this message
Alexey Ivasyuk (oebs-pm) wrote :

This bug affects me too on Samsung NP-N210. Does not happen every boot, but sometimes.

Revision history for this message
gabriele bianchi (gabriele-bianchi) wrote :

I have switched to the 2.6.34-020634-generic kernel and the error continue to appear.

May 24 15:44:13 francesco kernel: [ 6471.825086] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Returned by Handler for [EmbeddedControl] (20100121/evregion-474)
May 24 15:44:13 francesco kernel: [ 6471.825115] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed [\_TZ_.TZS1._TMP] (Node f70254e0), AE_TIME

This time my laptop is running without battery and connected to the electric power line.

Gabriele Bianchi

Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote :

Some (badornotbat) news.

That issue re-appear after i ibernated and waked up hours after my notebook.
I rebooted (by removing the battery :( ) and no other issue appear in last day, where I turned off and suspended the notebook several times.

Could it be a problem of hibernation at this point?

Regards,
Luca Zenatti

Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote :

I answer myself ;)

No, it could be a problem with acpi monitor!! In the sense it disappears after i removed "Hardware Sensors Monitor" from my panel.

Please ask me if you need more (detailed) information.

Regards,
Luca Zenatti

tags: added: acpi kernel-bug
tags: added: acpi-bug
removed: acpi
Revision history for this message
Alexey Ivasyuk (oebs-pm) wrote :

Installing the new kernel 2.6.34 has been solved the problem.
When the new kernel is to be released?

Revision history for this message
gabriele bianchi (gabriele-bianchi) wrote :

Dear Alexey, to which 2.6.34 kernel exactly are you referring? There are many versions Can you please indicate me the link from which you downloaded it? Thanks a lot, Gabriele Bianchi

Revision history for this message
Alexey Ivasyuk (oebs-pm) wrote :

I'm referring to 2.6.34RC7. I use it till now and everything is fine with it.

Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote :

I'm trying 2.6.35-999-generic_2.6.35-999 and STILL get that bug...i'm seriusly thinking to rollback to ubuntu 9.10....it's so boring that bug!

Revision history for this message
Vinicius Frömming (viniciusfx) wrote :

Must be the worst ubuntu bug i ever experienced. When it first occurred, i thought it was some kind of hardware failure, so i tried another kernel (rt) and it went fine until i replaced it with the main kernel again, and it *does* break everything exactly like described on the first bug report.
Btw, why is this HUGE bug marked as "incomplete"?

specs: Acer Aspire 5735-6694

Revision history for this message
Alexey Ivasyuk (oebs-pm) wrote :

Why don't you migrate to the newer kernel?
Installing kernel v2.6.34-rc7-lucid completely solves this problem at my Samsung NP-N200

http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.34-rc7-lucid/

Revision history for this message
bpowell (bpowell2008) wrote :

I am hearing mixed messages; does upgrading to 2.6.34xx solve the issue or not? I have the exact same computer as Vinicius Fromming, and the same problem...I'm hesitant to upgrade kernel without knowing the full impact to my (otherwise) stable system.

Thanks!

Revision history for this message
gabriele bianchi (gabriele-bianchi) wrote :

The kernel mentioned in message #17 unfortunately does not solve the problem here.

Gabriele

Revision history for this message
Stéphane Travostino (eazy87) wrote :

I've got the same laptop model as the OP, but running Archlinux. I though I could shed some light on this issue.

There's an open kernel bug for this: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=14733

It affects all the kernel since 2.6.32, the only way to have a functional system is applying the "Add delay before data write, take #2" patch to the kernel source.

I'm writing this here since 2.6.34.1 is still affected by this bug and there seems to be no activity on the kernel bugzilla, maybe Ubuntu can push things a bit. It's quite a important problem as it does inhibit the possibility to turn on the PC (when shutting down, remove AC and battery and replug them in).

I've tested 2.6.32.6 and 2.6.34.1, the only way to have them running correctly without 1s delays every 5 seconds and ACPI errors in the kernel log is to apply the patch.

Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote :

This bug still boring in newer ubuntu kernels...:( :(

Stèphane where can i find that patch?

Revision history for this message
Stéphane Travostino (eazy87) wrote :

@Luca: In the bugzilla page I posted. Here's the direct link to it: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/attachment.cgi?id=25261

Revision history for this message
bpowell (bpowell2008) wrote : Re: [Bug 578506] Re: [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction

I must claim my ignorance here...how do I apply this patch? I'm not sure
what steps to take. You can send me a private message if you like. Thank
you!

On 07/29/2010 07:25 AM, Stéphane Travostino wrote:
> @Luca: In the bugzilla page I posted. Here's the direct link to it:
> https://bugzilla.kernel.org/attachment.cgi?id=25261
>
>

Luca Zenatti (lucazen)
Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
status: Incomplete → New
Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote : Re: [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction

So, i compile kernel 2.6.32 get from ubuntu repository following this two guide:
- http://forum.ubuntu-it.org/index.php?topic=368450.0 (italian)
- http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=56835 + sudo update-initramfs -c -k <kernel version> + sudo update-grub (english)
They are equivalent, more or less.

Before compile i applied this two patch:
- http://launchpadlibrarian.net/37672643/patch from https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/505420 (otherwise compiling exit with error)
- https://bugzilla.kernel.org/attachment.cgi?id=25261 , suggested by Stèphane

Now i stress my system and i'll report you result.

Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote :

After 7days of testing, i'm so happy to annuce that with the previus passages the bug has disappeared!!!oleeeee!

Thanks Stèphane!!

Revision history for this message
bpowell (bpowell2008) wrote : Re: [Bug 578506] Re: [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction

I agree. I have been running a kernel I complied myself with the patch
listed above to ec.c....since then, the computer has been been going
into and recovering from stand by with no problems...I have not had to
pull my battery once to reboot! Hopefully this patch will be
incorporated into a future kernel release...I do hate being stuck on a
patched kernel!

Brendan

On 08/06/2010 03:42 AM, Luca Zenatti wrote:
> After 7days of testing, i'm so happy to annuce that with the previus
> passages the bug has disappeared!!!oleeeee!
>
> Thanks Stèphane!!
>
>

Revision history for this message
ArathoN (turionavanon-deactivatedaccount) wrote : Re: [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction

hi, i have the same problem with Maverick 10.10 with kernel 2.6.35.22, i tried to update the kernel to 2.6.36 but the problem persist, i also updated the bios and here the pc changed his behavior before it will hung at the screen boot (with the acer logo) now it try to load the system but at 1/3 ot the loading bar of the bios it crash and it try infinitely to load it again until i pull my battery and the ac/dc..
i noticed that before the errors appear i have always these two strings:
lo: Disabled Privacy Extensions
CE: hpet increased min_delta_ns to 11250 nsec

i don't know if they are related to the problem.

the patch listed above can i apply to the current kernel version?
(excuse me for my english -i'm italian- and i hope you'll solve this problem soon because i don't want to leave ubuntu)

Revision history for this message
Snooze (manuel-schwab) wrote :

hi Arathon

you must not leave Ubutnu, all the other linux based OS have the same problem. It's the kernel.
I use gentoo and have it too.

I will also try to patch the Kernel and hope it will finaly solve this annoying problem.

Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote :

Hi ArathoN,
yes i hope you can apply that patch to all 2.6.x kernel.
Just yersterday i've patched (and recompiled) kernel 2.6.35.4 of ubuntu maverik.

PS: sono italiano pure io ;-)

Revision history for this message
ArathoN (turionavanon-deactivatedaccount) wrote :

i'm trying to recompile the kernel, but i couldn't apply normally the patch it gave me some errors, so i added and eliminated the lines contained into the patch (the one signed with + and -) and now i'm waiting that it ill finish (i'm using kernelcheck for recompiling because it's the first time and i don't know how to do it, i hope it will work)

i hope it will work because ubuntu is a good distro and i'm liking it.

@Zenatti: ma sei riuscito ad applicare normalmente la patch a me da un po di errori (hunk ...), ma poi devo recompilare per ogni aggiornamento del kernel (patch) che faccio?

Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote : Re: [Bug 578506] Re: [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction

On 23/10/2010 14:35, ArathoN wrote:
> i'm trying to recompile the kernel, but i couldn't apply normally the
> patch it gave me some errors, so i added and eliminated the lines
> contained into the patch (the one signed with + and -) and now i'm
> waiting that it ill finish (i'm using kernelcheck for recompiling
> because it's the first time and i don't know how to do it, i hope it
> will work)
>
> i hope it will work because ubuntu is a good distro and i'm liking it.
>
> @Zenatti: ma sei riuscito ad applicare normalmente la patch a me da un
> po di errori (hunk ...), ma poi devo recompilare per ogni aggiornamento
> del kernel (patch) che faccio?
>
Si sono riuscito, ti sposti nella cartella dei sorgenti che vuoi
patchare (/usr/src/linux-....), ti copi le due patch che ho segnalato
sul launchpad, prima applichi
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/505420 e poi
https://bugzilla.kernel.org/attachment.cgi?id=25261. per applicare le
patch dai patch -p1 --dry-run < filepatch , in questo modo "testi" la
patch, se non ricevi errori ridai il comando senza --dry-run. poi segui
le guide per la compilazione e non ti dovrebbe dare errori.
Naturalmente ricorda di fare tutte queste operazioni con il sudo.

Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote : Re: [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction

For apply patch you have to digit "patch -p1 < /pathto/patchfile" into linux source directory. If you want simulate patch, add --dry-run option at patch command.
I suggest you to apply patchs in this order:
- http://launchpadlibrarian.net/37672643/patch from https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/505420 (otherwise compiling exit with error)
- https://bugzilla.kernel.org/attachment.cgi?id=25261 ec patch ;)

After that you can go on to compile your kernel. You have to do it every time you change kernel, until ubuntu or kernel team not resolves that issue.

Revision history for this message
ArathoN (turionavanon-deactivatedaccount) wrote :

i tried to apply the patches you told in the previous post but it gave me some error with them so i modified the file ec.cc adding and removing the necessary lines and compiled with Kernelcheck, that it gave me an error during the installation because it couldn't configure the nvidia module, but i resolved reinstalling the compiled kernel manually, now i'm testin if the patch is working, and i must tell that the system is more stable and until now no errors reported in kernel.log, i'll test for another 3 days than i'll report if it's working or not.

i noticed that the lines in the patch are different from the line in the original file (ec.cc) (considering the ones that are present in both infact the number of the lines differ), i think taht it's 'cause of this that patching gave me these errors, so please fix the patch some someone else noob like me wouldn't spend days trying to patch their kernel.

i'm also surprised that this patch wasn't applied directly to the current kernel of maverick and after because is a very serious and annoying problem, infact:
1-it didn't recognize my battery (always at 95%)
2- the hardware temperature was also a mess (cpu: -1 °C) so more possibility to damage your hw
3-the system hungs a lot (also the mouse if you press ctrl or shift)
4-impossibility to see hd video, the system can take the load to encode it (now is playing them great)
5-then the system at some point doesn't respond at any commend and you must unplug it from battery and ac/dc
so i hope that you will apply definitely this patch.

Revision history for this message
Vinicius Frömming (viniciusfx) wrote :

Well, i have to apologise for not coming back here to show my results, particularly with Ivasyuk, who gave me the kernel advice; and bpowell, who expected to see my results, as we have the same model. Sorry guys :/

The thing is, i'm still using 10.04 with the "rt" kernel, i tried several packaged kernels from that ppa mentioned earlier, and the problem doesn't seem to be solved yet. I'm running out of time these days, so i don't expect to be applying patches soon, and when i do, i will try to post my results here (seriously).

And i do hope the kernel team could solve the things up, there's something really wrong with latest kernels, and i mean *really* wrong, because i experienced weird bugs (unrelated to this one) trying to help a friend to install "the meerkat" on his desktop.

Revision history for this message
ArathoN (turionavanon-deactivatedaccount) wrote :

i noticed that with the latest kernel version of the kernel for maverick the problem is half solved, now if i have the notebook plugged only with ac/dc , there will be no errors regarding the acpi , the same things happen with only battery, but if i plug the battery with ac/dc and if the battery has finished charging the error appear telling that it didin't find any battery, slowind down the system, in fact if the battery is charging there will be no errors. If you want more information ask.

Revision history for this message
PromoGest (m3nt0r3) wrote :

so a work around is to use rt kernels instead of pae? we can miss 1gb of ram but have an ac/dc detection corret and no need to pull of the battery every starting?

Revision history for this message
Daniel Rocher (daniel-rocher) wrote :

This bug affects also my Acer 5735Z

Revision history for this message
Maykel Moya (mmoyar) wrote :

I have an Acer Aspire 5930G (like Luca). The bug is not present in kernel 2.6.31-21-generic from Karmic. I'm using until the fix get officially merged.

Revision history for this message
Frank Rupprecht (frank-rupprecht) wrote :

Also my Acer 5735Z has this bug with Ubuntu 10.10 (Kernel 2.6.35-22-generic).

Revision history for this message
Fiorenzo (fiomac84) wrote :

Hi,
this bug affects me too on notebook BenQ Joybook 7000. My version of Ubuntu is 10.10 and my kernel is 2.6.35-23-generic. In addition, the notebook freezes randomly and I have to turn off and on.

Nov 30 09:44:49 pearl-joybook kernel: [ 553.404166] ACPI Error (dsfield-0143): [TPL0] Namespace lookup failure, AE_ALREADY_EXISTS
Nov 30 09:44:49 pearl-joybook kernel: [ 553.404189] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed [\STEV] (Node f7019f90), AE_ALREADY_EXISTS
Nov 30 09:44:49 pearl-joybook kernel: [ 553.404210] ACPI: Marking method STEV as Serialized because of AE_ALREADY_EXISTS error
Nov 30 09:44:49 pearl-joybook kernel: [ 553.404275] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed [\_TZ_.THZN._TMP] (Node f701d168), AE_ALREADY_EXISTS

Brad Figg (brad-figg)
Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
status: New → Confirmed
tags: added: patch
34 comments hidden view all 114 comments
Revision history for this message
Loïc Wenkin (loic-wenkin) wrote :

Thank but I find an other tutorial on Ubuntu.fr (I'm french speaker) and I've followed it. Currently, I'm at the compilation's time. I've applied the patch. I hope it will be better.

Revision history for this message
LuisIbanez (luis-ibanez) wrote :

I was experiencing the same problem with Ubuntu 12.10, in a DELL PRECISION M6700.

Just followed Luca's nice intructions:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/578506/comments/54

( Thanks Luca ! )

but with

a) using 3.5.7 as the kernel version
b) this patch https://bugzilla.kernel.org/attachment.cgi?id=25261
c) not adding vesafb and fbcon to /etc/initramfs-tools/modules

The message:

"ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction"

I now gone, when I boot,
and things seems to be stable so far.

Revision history for this message
Sai Vnoba (saivnoba) wrote :

Hi all,

I'm on Acer 4741 laptop. I multiboot and I've problem with all the distro I have on this computer (e.g. Slackware 3.2.29 kernel, Ubuntu 3.2.0-29-generic-pae kernel). This has been like this for about 2yrs already.

I applied the patch given above with minor adjustment to one of the function name (from ACPI_EC_DELAY to ec_delay) and it seems to work fine as of this post. Now, I'm stuck with this 'patch' work until this is included in the main kernel, which seems to be bleak given the fact that this issue is atleast 2yrs old already.

My question now is how and from where do we get this patch for every kernel release? Luca, you have been posting diffs for several kernels. How do you do that?

Thanks, SV

Revision history for this message
Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote :

I'm also affected by this bug since ubuntu 10.04.. It's getting very annoying.. I have a Acer Aspire 5930g laptop, 3.5.0-21-generic kernel, ubuntu 12.10.
Thing frustrating part is that after i get this message usually the computer won't pass the post screen, just like in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rndKUE_CzLs

Is there a solution to this?? I can't take it anymore!

ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Returned by Handler for [EmbeddedControl] (20120320/evregion-501)

Revision history for this message
gabriele bianchi (gabriele-bianchi) wrote :

 A solution to the computer not passing the Post screen is to disconnect the pc from the electric power and to remove the battery for a few seconds. After reinserting the power and/or the battery my acer 5930G passes the post screen and boots.

I do not remember if this has already been written in one of the posts above and, if not, where I learned that.

Best regards, gabriele

Revision history for this message
Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote :

I know about the battery fix... but I'm looking for a permanent fix.

Regards,
Ionuț

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Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote :

I'm a total noob when it come to linux.. please do help me patch the kernel I use.. I get frustrated by this error...
I use Ubuntu 12.10 with 3.7.1 kernex. (x64)

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Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote :

*kernel

Revision history for this message
Emanuele Fumeo (fumo88) wrote :

Hi all,
I have experienced the same problem on my aspire 5930G...reading some posts, it seems to be a very common problem with linux and this laptop.
For me it's not so annoying, as I encounter it few times, but I know there are some problems. For example, my battery seems to be recognized and charged well, but the estimation of the left charge and other parameters are wrong.
I have now Ubuntu 12.10...I was trying to understand by myself if there's a way to solve this issue. I read about a patch in the first posts...is it still a valid solution? Or maybe there have been some improvements?
Thanks in advance

Revision history for this message
Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote :

I'm waiting for the same thing.. Now i'm back to 3.5.0-21-generic kernel since the 3.7.1 wasn't stable enough.
I have an acer aspire 5930G. Maybe there's something with the laptop's BIOS... I could not find an update since v. 1.24 from 2008.
I've read in this thread about patching, but I didn't quite understand how to do it..
Hope to fix this as soon as possible!

Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote : Re: [Bug 578506] Re: [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
Download full text (6.0 KiB)

This bug still present in all kernel version that i have used before the
first occurence.

The solution remain ever the same that i have posted before.

2013/1/18 Grecu Ionut Florin <email address hidden>

> I'm waiting for the same thing.. Now i'm back to 3.5.0-21-generic kernel
> since the 3.7.1 wasn't stable enough.
> I have an acer aspire 5930G. Maybe there's something with the laptop's
> BIOS... I could not find an update since v. 1.24 from 2008.
> I've read in this thread about patching, but I didn't quite understand how
> to do it..
> Hope to fix this as soon as possible!
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/578506
>
> Title:
> [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
>
> Status in “linux” package in Ubuntu:
> Confirmed
>
> Bug description:
> Hi,
> on upgrade to 10.04 version.
>
> After few minuts of use apci stop to wrok (don't recognize ac/dc or
> battery, don't change lcd blacklight, etcc..) and start to flood dmes
> with this messages:
>
> [ 767.208058] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
> [ 767.208072] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Returned by Handler for
> [EmbeddedControl] (20090903/evregion-424)
> [ 767.208106] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed
> [\_SB_.PCI0.LPCB.EC0_.GBST] (Node f7017030), AE_TIME
> [ 767.208197] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed
> [\_SB_.PCI0.LPCB.EC0_.BAT0._BST] (Node f7017120), AE_TIME
> [ 767.208277] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Evaluating _BST
> (20090903/battery-393)
>
>
> Trying to reboot (or to shutdown and restart) my pc don't want to boot!
> Unique solution: get out the battery and replace.
>
> PC: notebook acer aspire 5930G
>
> lspci
> 00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Memory
> Controller Hub (rev 07)
> 00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset PCI
> Express Graphics Port (rev 07)
> 00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI
> Controller #4 (rev 03)
> 00:1a.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI
> Controller #5 (rev 03)
> 00:1a.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI
> Controller #6 (rev 03)
> 00:1a.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI
> Controller #2 (rev 03)
> 00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio
> Controller (rev 03)
> 00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express
> Port 1 (rev 03)
> 00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express
> Port 2 (rev 03)
> 00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express
> Port 3 (rev 03)
> 00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express
> Port 4 (rev 03)
> 00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express
> Port 5 (rev 03)
> 00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI
> Controller #1 (rev 03)
> 00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI
> Controller #2 (rev 03)
> 00:1d.2 US...

Read more...

Revision history for this message
Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote : Re: [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction

How do I apply the patch for my 3.5.0-21-generic kernel...?
I am beginner and didn't quite understand it... Could you please explain again?

Revision history for this message
Emanuele Fumeo (fumo88) wrote :

Ok Luca, thank you very much!
Just to be sure, in this comment: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/578506/comments/76
LuisIbanez says that he patched his kernel, which was version 3.5.7...can the same procedure be applied to the latest kernel?
Sorry for annoying you, but I've never done it before and I need my laptop fully working.

Revision history for this message
Emanuele Fumeo (fumo88) wrote :

Edit of the previous post:
Sorry, I said something stupid. My Ubuntu Linux 12.10 is working with 3.5.0-22-generic kernel version, so it is even older than 3.5.7...

Revision history for this message
Luca Zenatti (lucazen) wrote : Re: [Bug 578506] Re: [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
Download full text (5.8 KiB)

Hi,
the procedure is almost the same for all kernels, it can changes on rows of
ec.c that must be patched. But it is simply to adapt to different version.

2013/1/21 Emanuele Fumeo <email address hidden>

> Edit of the previous post:
> Sorry, I said something stupid. My Ubuntu Linux 12.10 is working with
> 3.5.0-22-generic kernel version, so it is even older than 3.5.7...
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/578506
>
> Title:
> [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
>
> Status in “linux” package in Ubuntu:
> Confirmed
>
> Bug description:
> Hi,
> on upgrade to 10.04 version.
>
> After few minuts of use apci stop to wrok (don't recognize ac/dc or
> battery, don't change lcd blacklight, etcc..) and start to flood dmes
> with this messages:
>
> [ 767.208058] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
> [ 767.208072] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Returned by Handler for
> [EmbeddedControl] (20090903/evregion-424)
> [ 767.208106] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed
> [\_SB_.PCI0.LPCB.EC0_.GBST] (Node f7017030), AE_TIME
> [ 767.208197] ACPI Error (psparse-0537): Method parse/execution failed
> [\_SB_.PCI0.LPCB.EC0_.BAT0._BST] (Node f7017120), AE_TIME
> [ 767.208277] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Evaluating _BST
> (20090903/battery-393)
>
>
> Trying to reboot (or to shutdown and restart) my pc don't want to boot!
> Unique solution: get out the battery and replace.
>
> PC: notebook acer aspire 5930G
>
> lspci
> 00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Memory
> Controller Hub (rev 07)
> 00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset PCI
> Express Graphics Port (rev 07)
> 00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI
> Controller #4 (rev 03)
> 00:1a.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI
> Controller #5 (rev 03)
> 00:1a.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI
> Controller #6 (rev 03)
> 00:1a.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI
> Controller #2 (rev 03)
> 00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio
> Controller (rev 03)
> 00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express
> Port 1 (rev 03)
> 00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express
> Port 2 (rev 03)
> 00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express
> Port 3 (rev 03)
> 00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express
> Port 4 (rev 03)
> 00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express
> Port 5 (rev 03)
> 00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI
> Controller #1 (rev 03)
> 00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI
> Controller #2 (rev 03)
> 00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI
> Controller #3 (rev 03)
> 00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI
> Controller #1 (rev 03)
> 00:1e.0 PCI bridge: In...

Read more...

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Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote : Re: [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction

When will this bug get a permanent fix!??

Revision history for this message
Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote :

Could someone upload a patched kernel? I am using ubuntu 12.10 x64. I can't manage by myself to patch it.

Revision history for this message
Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote :

Bug prezent in Ubuntu 13.04 x64, 3.8 kernel.....

Revision history for this message
Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote :

Why doesn't anyone make a .deb file with the latest stable patched kernel and uploade it somewhere? There are people still unable to patch it!

Revision history for this message
bpowell (bpowell2008) wrote :

Grecu: Here is a link to 3.2.40 with the fix incorporated...compiled with the same config I use on my Acer Aspire 5735.

I just finished building this, so I'm not running this particular kernel, but I built it the same way I've built previous versions with success...the only difference is I built this using my desktop computer, as my laptop gets VERY HOT during the compile!

Just unzip it...it'll have the two .deb files you need to install a kernel...then you'll just need to use the package manager of your choice to install it.

http://www.filedropper.com/linux-kernel-3240-acip-fixedtar

Good luck!

Revision history for this message
bpowell (bpowell2008) wrote :

I should note the kernel I compiled and linked to above is for 12.04 LTS. At least, that's what I'll run it on.

Revision history for this message
Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote :

The thing is that the compiled kernel breaks my native resolution and 3d acceleration for my nvidia graphics. Maybe because I'm on 13.04 x64 or maybe because of the linux-headers... who knows.. Anyway.. the kernel provided does not work for me.

Revision history for this message
bpowell (bpowell2008) wrote :

Grecu: Sorry to hear that. Works fine for me on 12.04 LTS...ACER 5735.

Revision history for this message
Johannes Rudloff (johannesrudloff) wrote :

I can confirm this bug for my Samsung R60 Plus, running Debian, with every Kernel I tried from Squeeze trough Wheezy (2.6.32 - 3.2.0) and several Liquorix Kernel releases (latest was 3.8). When the bug hits, input of any kind is no longer possible. Music or videos currently running are continuing to do so. Unplugging the laptop from the power source won't make a difference (as in, the backlight brightness won't reduce as it usually does) - it just seems to continue running as it would be while stilling being connected.

In the past I was running the Xfce4-Power-Manager. Whenever one of those freezes happened I just pushed the power switch on my notebook and the system de-froze. In the configuration the result of activating the power switch was set to "Fragen" (ask me). Running i3 a temporary fix for me would be to autostart the Xfce-Power-Manager and "de-freeze" the system manually once it happens (which is, as of now, roughly once every day).

But waiting for the problem to fix itself won't do, it seems. I guess I'll have do dive into Kernel patching and compiling in the long run - one thing I hoped I don't have to do, ever.

Revision history for this message
Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote :

It is such a shame that a huge bug is left unresolved.... I think it is critical to fix this..

Revision history for this message
Damien Gallagher (deeje2) wrote :

Guys, this bug has had its patch submitted upstream to the kernel developers (https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=14733), and as of Monday, is with the ACPI mailing list (https://patchwork.kernel.org/patch/2521951/).
So progress is happening, slowly but surely.

Revision history for this message
Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote :

This is great news to us all!! Hope to see it fixed asap!! This is the only thing that keeps me, and many more to have a perfect linux experience!

Revision history for this message
gabriele bianchi (gabriele-bianchi) wrote :

This is a great news indeed! It took a while ... but excellent news. Gabriele

Revision history for this message
Grecu Ionut Florin (protos87) wrote :

I think the patch has been adden in Kernel 3.9.3
https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.9.3

Revision history for this message
manolo (mac-man2005) wrote :

So many Italians here (I'm one of those).

So, I also have the same problem since one year more or less. Same problems as everybody on my Acer Aspire 5730z (the problems has been occurring with both 32bit and 64bit operating systems):
1) infinite lines of this kind:

May 31 23:59:32 superman-Aspire-5730 kernel: [225248.316012] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
May 31 23:59:32 superman-Aspire-5730 kernel: [225248.316021] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Returned by Handler for [EmbeddedControl] (20120320/evregion-501)
May 31 23:59:32 superman-Aspire-5730 kernel: [225248.316034] ACPI Error: Method parse/execution failed [\_SB_.AMW0.WMCA] (Node ffff8800b6a3a960), AE_TIME (20120320/psparse-536)
May 31 23:59:33 superman-Aspire-5730 kernel: [225248.816042] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
May 31 23:59:33 superman-Aspire-5730 kernel: [225248.816054] ACPI Exception: AE_TIME, Returned by Handler for [EmbeddedControl] (20120320/evregion-501)

2) when the laptop does not reboot, I unplug the mains power and also the battery and then push the bower button for a couple of time, then plug the battery and/or the cable or both and everything works on again.

3) problems sometimes when trying to tune the LCD brightness, the system can even hang definitively and halting/rebooting is the only "solution"

4) generally, the system suffers some slow downs

5) one of the 4 usb ports is not working (is it related to the original problem?)

6) I'm not sure whether 64bit Linux based operating systems (as well as Win XP Professional 64) fully recognize the 4GB of RAM (is it related to the original problem?)

Kernel 3.5.0-31-generic #52-Ubuntu SMP
Linux Mint 14 (64bit)

Revision history for this message
Joseph Lansdowne (j49137) wrote :

(6) is probably just your graphics chipset reserving some of your RAM (mine takes ~1.1GiB).

Revision history for this message
manolo (mac-man2005) wrote : Re: [Bug 578506] Re: [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction

Dear Joseph,
thanks for your suggestion.

How could I check how much RAM is reserved to my graphic chipset by the
BIOS / OS?
According to what BIOS says, only 64MB are reserved to graphic card.

Any suggestion, please?
Thanks.
Manolo

Il 01/06/2013 08:44, Joseph Lansdowne ha scritto:
> (6) is probably just your graphics chipset reserving some of your RAM
> (mine takes ~1.1GiB).
>

Revision history for this message
manolo (mac-man2005) wrote : Re: [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction

Any suggestion on how to check the detailed RAM consumption/reservation by both kernel and BIOS?
Thanks,
regards.

Revision history for this message
Johannes Rudloff (johannesrudloff) wrote :

$ uname -a
Linux debian 3.9-1-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 3.9.6-1 x86_64 GNU/Linux

The same problem still occurs, and more frequently than with the 3.2 kernel series it seems.

Revision history for this message
Viking (cyberwinter666) wrote :

viking@CrazyAcerViking:~$ uname -a
Linux CrazyAcerViking 3.12.0-vikkivikki #1 SMP Sat Nov 9 22:22:36 FET 2013 i686 GNU/Linux

Works perfectly without any patching. Now I'm not getting error about "input buffer is not empty..".
Also, all ACPI works well (lcd backlight control, battery state, etc.)

penalvch (penalvch)
description: updated
Revision history for this message
gabriele bianchi (gabriele-bianchi) wrote :

I have had this problems for years.
On my Acer 5930G this problem has disappeared one month ago, once I updated to Linux Mint 16 and to kernel 3.11.
Should this bug be marked as ''solved''?

Best regards, Gabriele Bianchi

Revision history for this message
penalvch (penalvch) wrote :

Luca Zenatti, this bug was reported a while ago and there hasn't been any activity in it recently. We were wondering if this is still an issue? If so, could you please test for this with the latest development release of Ubuntu? ISO images are available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/ .

If it remains an issue, could you please run the following command in the development release from a Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal), as it will automatically gather and attach updated debug information to this report:

apport-collect -p linux <replace-with-bug-number>

Also, could you please test the latest upstream kernel available (not the daily folder) following https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds ? It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please comment on which kernel version specifically you tested. If this bug is fixed in the mainline kernel, please add the following tags:
kernel-fixed-upstream
kernel-fixed-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

where VERSION-NUMBER is the version number of the kernel you tested. For example:
kernel-fixed-upstream-v3.13-rc3

This can be done by clicking on the yellow circle with a black pencil icon next to the word Tags located at the bottom of the bug description. As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

If the mainline kernel does not fix this bug, please add the following tags:
kernel-bug-exists-upstream
kernel-bug-exists-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

Once testing of the upstream kernel is complete, please mark this bug's Status as Confirmed. Please let us know your results. Thank you for your understanding.

tags: added: bios-outdate-v1.23
Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
importance: Undecided → Medium
status: Confirmed → Incomplete
summary: - [Kernel] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting transaction
+ [Acer Aspire 5930] ACPI: EC: input buffer is not empty, aborting
+ transaction
Revision history for this message
Johannes Rudloff (johannesrudloff) wrote :

Gabriele Bianchi, at least for me the bug is still persistant on Debian.

$ uname -a
Linux debian 3.11-2-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 3.11.10-1 (2013-1
2-04) x86_64 GNU/Linux

Revision history for this message
penalvch (penalvch) wrote :

Johannes Rudloff, so your hardware may be tracked, could you please file a new report by executing the following in a terminal while booted into Ubuntu with a supported repository kernel (not a mainline one) via:
ubuntu-bug linux

For more on this, please read the official Ubuntu documentation:
Ubuntu Bug Control and Ubuntu Bug Squad: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/BestPractices#X.2BAC8-Reporting.Focus_on_One_Issue
Ubuntu Kernel Team: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeam/KernelTeamBugPolicies#Filing_Kernel_Bug_reports
Ubuntu Community: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs#Bug_reporting_etiquette

When opening up the new report, please feel free to subscribe me to it.

Thank you for your understanding.

Revision history for this message
dino99 (9d9) wrote :

This version is now outdated and no more supported

Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
status: Incomplete → Invalid
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