Dell OptiPlex 745 reboot problem -- BIOS update went poorly

[Johnathan Hegge]

> > -------- Forwarded Message --------
> > From: Bjørn Tore Sund <bjorn.sund at it.uib.no>
> > Reply-To: Community assistance, encouragement, and advice for using
> > Fedora. <fedora-list at redhat.com>
> > To: fedora-list at redhat.com
> > Subject: Re: Dell OptiPlex 745 reboot problem -- BIOS update went
> > poorly
> > Date: Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:51:54 +0200
> > 
> > Changing the subject like that is normally a very good way to make sure I
> > won't spot your reply...

Yes, my bad.  

> > 
> > > Date: Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:51:59 -0500
> > > From: Johnathan Hegge <johnathan.hegge at bluecoat.com>
> > > Subject: Re: Dell OptiPlex 745 reboot problem -- BIOS update went poorly
> > > To: fedora-list at redhat.com
> > > Message-ID: <1220651519.3856.9.camel at ios.internal.cacheflow.com>
> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
> > >
> > > > 
> > > > Got tons of Dell Optiplex 7XX, had that exact problem.  Solution is
> > > > two-step:
> > > > 1. Flash up the bios.  The ones they're shipped with suck bigtime.
> > > > 2. Add the kernel parameter "reboot=bios" to all kernel lines in
> > > > /boot/grub/menu.lst
> > > > 
> > > > Solved it for us.
> > > > 
> > > > -BT
> > >
> > > Ugh, I was having the same problem with my 745.  So, I drug out a USB
> > > floppy and applied the latest BIOS -- going from 2.3.1 to 2.6.2 from
> > > Dell.  Whoops.
> > > 
> > > Starting up looks fine, all services showed OK.  Gets to local, X starts
> > > and the box freezes at the spinning dots with a frozen mouse.  Can't
> > > break with Ctrl-Alt-Del or Ctrl-Backspace.
> > > 
> > > Hard power, restart, interactive init.  Allow all, but skip local.  X
> > > starts fine.  
> > > 
> > > rc.local contains:
> > <NOTHING>
> > 
> > 1. Did you apply the reboot=bios setting as well?
> > 2. Did you try more than once, with the new bios?
> > 
> > What you're describing sounds more like a fluke, or at least a problem
> > unrelated to the bios update.  There's nothing in your rc.local, thus
> > nothing there which should make a difference.  Reapply the most recent bios,
> > set the kernel boot parameter, and give it a few more tries to check.
> > 

Thanks for the ideas.  

1. reboot=bios does indeed let the box reboot (if not already frozen),
cool.
2. I tried several times with the same result.  I reapplied the BIOS
(BTW, are you using 2.6.2 as well?).  

I tried a few things to gain insight.  Looking at inittab for a clue as
to what happens after rc.local, I see that I need to look /etc/event.d.
I see the prefdm script.  Looks as though that just ends up launching
gdm.  So, I figured the problem at least relates more to that --
somewhere in the transition from rhgb to gdm.  


I booted to run level 3, ran gdm (as root) and X/gdm comes up fine.  I
rebooted after this successful boot and the 745 still freezes if I allow
it to boot straight to run level 5.

SELinux is disabled.  

I acquired a second 745 without the x1300 ATI card, applied the BIOS fix
and will continue installing F9 to compare.  

I just noticed the memtest suggestion in another email, I'll try that
tonight.