fglrx hard lockup on shutdown

Bug still exists, but after a few fglrx and xorg updates, kernel now panics on shutdown (looks like some paging error). Let me know how I can provide the trace for this bug, ie. whether it's logged somewhere that I can copy-paste into this ticket.

I have the same problem with an AMD RS780 chipset, ATI Radeon HD 4300. The system will not shutdown or reboot after login. It will however shutdown and reboot from gdm login screen.

Same here with an integrated ATI Radeon 4250

01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RS880 [Radeon HD 4250] (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
        Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology Device d000
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 18
        Memory at d0000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
        I/O ports at ee00 [size=256]
        Memory at fdfe0000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
        Memory at fde00000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1M]
        Expansion ROM at <unassigned> [disabled]
        Capabilities: <access denied>
        Kernel driver in use: fglrx_pci
        Kernel modules: radeon

I have the same problem, too. fglrx crashes occasionally at shutdown. I written down the whole crash dump from my screen:

 * Asking all remaining processes to terminate... pgrades: modem-manager[915]: <info> Caught signal 15, shutting down...
[ 128.680139] BUG: unable to handle kernel paging request at ffffc900110f1000
[ 128.690008] IP: [<ffffffffa0131ae4>] firegl_sig_notifier+0x4/0x40 [fglrx]
[ 128.690008] PGD 12f81067 PUD 13f819067 PMD 1338c4067 PTE 0
[ 128.690008] Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP
[ 128.690008] last sysfs file: /sys/devices/virtual/sound/timer/uevent
[ 128.690008] CPU 0
[ 128.690008] Modules linked in: binfmt_misc parport_pc ppdev joydev snd_hda_codec_realtek snd_hda_intel snd_hda_codec snd_hwde
p r8192ce_pci snd_pcm arc4 snd_seq_midi snd_rawmidi snd_seq_midi_event snd_seq rtl8192ce rtlwifi snd_timer snd_seq_device fglrx(
P) mac80211 snd edac_core cfg80211 soundcore edac_mce_amd sp5100_tco psmouse serio_raw k10temp sparse_keymap i2c_piix4 snd_page_
alloc shpchp lp parport uvesafb ahci video r8169 libahci
[ 128.690008]
[ 128.690008] Pid: 1859, comm: dbus-launch Tainted: P 2.6.38-9-generic #43-Ubuntu TOSHIBA Satellite C660D/PWWAE
[ 128.690008] RIP: 0010:[<ffffffffa0131ae4>] [<ffffffffa0131ae4>] firegl_sig_notifier+0x4/0x40 [fglrx]
[ 128.690008] RSP: 0018:ffff8801126f3d50 EFLAGS: 00010087
[ 128.690008] RAX: ffff88011d3d96e0 RBX: ffff8801329119b0 RCX: ffffc900110f1000
[ 128.690008] RDX: ffff8801126f3e68 RSI; 00000000003c0000 RDI: ffff88012729c500
[ 128.690008] RBP: ffff8801126f3d58 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000
[ 128.690008] R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000013
[ 128.690008] R13: ffff88011d3d96e0 R14: ffff88011d3d9c30 R15: 00007fffd652ad10
[ 128.690008] FS: 00007ff489ef2720(0000) GS: ffff8800af800000(0000) knlGS: 0000000000000000
[ 128.690008] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000008005003b
[ 128.690008] CR2: ffffc900110f1000 CR3: 00000001126a0000 CR4: 00000000000006f0
[ 128.690008] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000
[ 128.690008] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000ffff0ff0 DR2: 0000000000000400
[ 128.690008] Process dbus-launch (pid: 1859, threadinfo ffff8801126f2000, task ffff88011d3d96e0)
[ 128.690008] Stack:
[ 128.690008] ffffffffa012125e ffff8801126f3d88 ffffffff81078789 ffff8801126f3d98
[ 128.690008] ffff8801126f3e68 0000000000000000 ffff8801126f3e68 ffff8801126f3dc8
[ 128.690008] ffffffff81078a4e ffff8801126f3eb8 ffff88011d3d9c30 ffff8801126f3e68
[ 128.690008] Call Trace:
[ 128.690008] [<ffffffffa012125e>] ? KCL_SIGNAL_Notifier+0xe/0x10 [fglrx]
[ 128.690008] [<ffffffff81078789>] __dequeue_signal+0x139/0x210
[ 128.690008] [<ffffffff81078a4e>] dequeue_signal+0x139/0x210
[ 128.690008] [<ffffffff8107aa9c>] get_signal_to_deliver+0x18c/0x410
[ 128.690008] [<ffffffff8100b936>] do_signal+0x56/0x180
[ 128.690008] [<ffffffff8108bb16>] ? update_rmtp.clone.22+0x66/0x80
[ 128.690008] [<ffffffff8108cd27>] ? hrtimer_nanosleep+0xe7/0x190
[ 128.690008] [<ffffffff8108b980>] ? hrtimer_wakeup+0x0/0x30
[ 128.690008] [<ffffffff8100bae5>] do_notify_resume+0x65/0x80
[ 128.690008] [<ffffffff8100c2d0>] int_signal+0...

Also reproducible on my computer, but only some of the time. I think it's probably a timing problem - if the computer shuts down before fglrx gets CPU time, it doesn't access memory and thus can't cause a kernel panic.

Another crash log:

Hm... could be overheating too, now that I think about it more; it seems to occur more often after running for a longer period of time. I'll try shutting down with the case open, but I doubt it will help (no graphical issues while booted).

Same problem here with a Radeon 4870 on Ubuntu 11.10 (and had the error in 10.04, 10.10 and 11.04 as well), have the same kernel crash as fireandfuel reported:

[ 128.680139] BUG: unable to handle kernel paging request at ffffc900110f1000
[ 128.690008] IP: [<ffffffffa0131ae4>] firegl_sig_notifier+0x4/0x40 [fglrx]

The original reporter of this bug (Sandro) has AMD Fusion APU graphics. Those of you with AMD/ATI Radeon HD4000 series graphics have non-Fusion graphics and should file a new bug.

@Sandro - Does this still occur on Oneiric with ATI's Catalyst (fglrx) 11.11 driver?

@madbiologist, #9:
Here is someone with the same bug and a Radeon HD 4000 series card:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/883873

Same problem on OneIric with Radeon HD 4800

@madbiologist - I am having this exact same problem with Oneiric with the Catalyst (fglrx) 11.11 driver. I am using an AMD HD3870.

I am having this problem with Oneiric 64 bits. I am using Ati HD4850.

2011/12/15 Chris <email address hidden>

> @madbiologist - I am having this exact same problem with Oneiric with
> the Catalyst (fglrx) 11.11 driver. I am using an AMD HD3870.
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/750437
>
> Title:
> fglrx hard lockup on shutdown
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/750437/+subscriptions
>

I am having the same problem using fglrx for an ATI HD4650 with Oneiric, 32-bit. Sometimes the system will hang on shutdown (but not always) making a hard reset necessary. The log is pretty much identical to fireandfuel's log above.

The same issue for me.
* Ubuntu 11.10 x64
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400, fglrx driver 11.12
* kernel 3.0.0-14-generic 64-bit

Unfortunately I cannot switch to native radeon driver because Compiz doesn't work with it.

Took me awhile to get around to upgrading to Oneiric. Ran into a few issues during the upgrade too. Now that it's all sorted out, it seems to work ok now using the standard oneiric kernel + Catalyst 11.10.

I am now having this problem most of the time with a clean install of 11.10 Ubuntu 32-bit with Unity, using an AMD motherboard with an ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card (1GB). Catalyst version is 11.8, the default driver.

Do I need to file a new bug report since this is a Radeon, not a Fusion? It seems like most people here have a very similar problem with a Radeon, so it's not clear

I never had problems with any of the previous versions of Ubuntu, although I've only had this card (Asus) for about a year.

The last thing I see, if anything, is (via camera shot of screen):

* sking all remaining processes to terminate...
[48131.043274] BUG: unable to handle kernel paging request at f841d000
[48131.043430] IP: [<f88ef563>] firegl_sig_notifier+0x13/0x60 [fglrx]
[48131.043687] *pdpt = 00000000018b4001 *pde = 0000000037423067 *pte = 0000000000000000
[48131.043862] Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP
...
bunch more trace info, which I don't want to enter from the camera shot, but will save it if anything might be useful.

I'm having the same issue on a fresh install of Ubuntu 11.10, using the fglrx and fglrx-amdcccle packages from the Ubuntu repositories, version 2:8.911-0ubuuntu0.1 with a Mobility Radeon HD3470 card on kernel 3.0.0-15-generic.

Same with me on a Sony Vaio VPC-EB17FG with an[AMD Radeon HD 5000M Series card. I also downloaded and installed the latest ATI drivers from the AMD web site (amd-driver-installer-12-1-x86.x86_64.run).

I also have Virtualbox installed and use it to connect to my company VPN (via Windows XP). This alsmost always happens on shutdown after using the XP vm for a while.

I've attached the output from the crash command.

for me it doesn't always crash at shutdown. but it seems to be reproduceable:

if i have a webpage with a flash video loaded in firefox and shutdown, then it hard locks at shutdown.

For me it didn't happen this bug anymore, after some apt-get upgrade's.

Em 18 de fevereiro de 2012 13:18, abma <email address hidden> escreveu:

> for me it doesn't always crash at shutdown. but it seems to be
> reproduceable:
>
> if i have a webpage with a flash video loaded in firefox and shutdown,
> then it hard locks at shutdown.
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/750437
>
> Title:
> fglrx hard lockup on shutdown
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/750437/+subscriptions
>

same problem with my dell 14 inches A8-628 notebook:
     *-cpu
          description: CPU
          product: AMD A8-3500M APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics
          vendor: Hynix Semiconductor (Hyundai Electronics)
          physical id: 35
          bus info: cpu@0
          version: AMD A8-3500M APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics
          slot: Socket FS1
          size: 800MHz
          capacity: 1500MHz
          width: 64 bits
          clock: 100MHz

Flash seems to increase the probability of a crash at shutdown, yet it's not necessary to have had flash running during the session nor does running flash before shutdown guarantee a crash, especially when flash was already closed for some time before shutting down.

Same here with ubuntu precise 64bit, lastest ati drivers (12.1) and switchable 6770m/HD3000. It doesn't look to happen when I'm only using the integrated GPU though. Only when I'm using discrete GPU and most of the time after having played a bit.

Same here, ubuntu 11.10. However it doesn't happen when i manually disconect my internet conection before I shutdown.

This bug didn't happen anymore in my Ubuntu 11.10 64 bits, I had disabled
bluetooth and modemmanager because they're failing in shutdown.

Em 7 de março de 2012 14:51, 4984 <email address hidden> escreveu:

> Same here, ubuntu 11.10. However it doesn't happen when i manually
> disconect my internet conection before I shutdown.
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/750437
>
> Title:
> fglrx hard lockup on shutdown
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/750437/+subscriptions
>

Same here, HP Pavilion, Radeon HD 6400M, Ubuntu 11.10 64-bit, fresh install, latest ATI drivers, sometimes crashes on shutdown or hibernate, having flash or AVI for a longer time increases probability of hanging ...
very, very, anoying, plus whole laptop contines to "work" when this happens (heating, fans, etc ..) so I have to watch it while powering off to make sure it's really off.

Stack trace similar to already reported (have no way to copy it over).

I get this issue consistently. I can reproduce a kernel panic simply by unloading the module.

Ubuntu 11.10
AMD Radeon HD 6600M
AMD Catalyst 12.2 drivers using --buildpkg

Same issue, consistently. Tested both fglrx 12.3 and 12.4-beta

Ubuntu 12.04
AMD Radeon HD 5650
AMD Catalyst 12.4 Driver Version 8.96

I did not often shutdown my Ubuntu
Do you have try:
sudo /usr/sbin/update-r.d -f atieventsd remove
I thinh it will kill all ATI events, and diasable them when you start.
I tried add to /etc/default/grup
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi=force"
I think it can be ok for you.
May all being be well , happy and peaceful

sudo /usr/sbin/update-rc.d -f atieventsd remove
sudo vim /etc/default/grub
  GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet acpi=force"

Did not help.
BUG: unable to handle the [...] paging request [...]

Seems like I have same here with
Ubuntu 12.04, Radeon HD5670

It looks like nobody cares about this bug.
Can somebody help with this?

Since the Ubuntu was upgraded to 12.04 nevermore i see this trouble.

2012/6/22 LightCrystal <email address hidden>

> It looks like nobody cares about this bug.
> Can somebody help with this?
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/750437
>
> Title:
> fglrx hard lockup on shutdown
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
>
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/fglrx-installer/+bug/750437/+subscriptions
>

Right now restarted my 12.04 and got this bug. Its not solved :(

Maybe you need download the latest driver from ATI site or activate
additional drivers by Hardware.

2012/6/23 LightCrystal <email address hidden>

> Right now restarted my 12.04 and got this bug. Its not solved :(
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/750437
>
> Title:
> fglrx hard lockup on shutdown
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
>
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/fglrx-installer/+bug/750437/+subscriptions
>

Sadly I can confirm this issue is not solved

I can confirm this is still occurring in Ubuntu 12.04, with my Radeon HD 5450 ( http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/AMD_Series/EAH5450_SILENTDI1GD3LP )

That section in comment #4 below [ 128.690008] [<ffffffffa012125e>] ? KCL_SIGNAL_Notifier+0xe/0x10 [fglrx] looks very similar to the kernel panic error I receive. I was able to verify this by setting GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash" to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="" in /etc/default/grub and running sudo update-grub

Version info from /var/log/Xorg.0.log

[ 12.460] (II) fglrx(0): Kernel Module Version Information:
[ 12.460] (II) fglrx(0): Name: fglrx
[ 12.460] (II) fglrx(0): Version: 8.96.4
[ 12.460] (II) fglrx(0): Date: Mar 12 2012
[ 12.460] (II) fglrx(0): Desc: ATI FireGL DRM kernel module
[ 12.460] (II) fglrx(0): Kernel Module version matches driver.
[ 12.460] (II) fglrx(0): Kernel Module Build Time Information:
[ 12.460] (II) fglrx(0): Build-Kernel UTS_RELEASE: 3.2.0-26-generic
[ 12.460] (II) fglrx(0): Build-Kernel MODVERSIONS: no
[ 12.460] (II) fglrx(0): Build-Kernel __SMP__: yes
[ 12.460] (II) fglrx(0): Build-Kernel PAGE_SIZE: 0x1000

DKMS Information:

$ ls /var/lib/dkms/fglrx-updates/
8.960 kernel-3.2.0-26-generic-x86_64

also, what's the recommended method for getting the kernel panic error message logged? I had a look at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/CrashdumpRecipe and https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/KernelDebuggingTricks and wasn't able to figure out a method that worked.

Okay, I've not tested this long enough but I decided to give the drivers absolute latest drivers a shot, ie amd-driver-installer-12-6-x86.x86_64.run ie:

[ 12.508] (II) fglrx(0): Kernel Module Version Information:
[ 12.508] (II) fglrx(0): Name: fglrx
[ 12.508] (II) fglrx(0): Version: 8.98.2
[ 12.508] (II) fglrx(0): Date: Jun 11 2012
[ 12.508] (II) fglrx(0): Desc: AMD FireGL DRM kernel module
[ 12.508] (II) fglrx(0): Kernel Module version matches driver.
[ 12.508] (II) fglrx(0): Kernel Module Build Time Information:
[ 12.508] (II) fglrx(0): Build-Kernel UTS_RELEASE: 3.2.0-26-generic
[ 12.508] (II) fglrx(0): Build-Kernel MODVERSIONS: no
[ 12.508] (II) fglrx(0): Build-Kernel __SMP__: yes
[ 12.508] (II) fglrx(0): Build-Kernel PAGE_SIZE: 0x1000

$ ls /var/lib/dkms/fglrx/
8.980 kernel-3.2.0-26-generic-x86_64

You'll want to follow that: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/ATI#Manually_installing_Catalyst_12.6 to manually install them. You needn't uninstall the old ones first, just run buildpkg command and it will give you 3 .deb files to install.

I noticed after doing this I see:

$ fglrxinfo
display: :0 screen: 0
OpenGL vendor string: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: ASUS EAH5450 Series
OpenGL version string: 4.2.11733 Compatibility Profile Context

instead of:

$ fglrxinfo
display: :0 screen: 0
OpenGL vendor string: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5000 Series
OpenGL version string: 4.2.11627 Compatibility Profile Contex

Also I think the kernel panics have stopped, others might want to test this to confirm? perhaps then we could have our packages version bumped or something in backports.

Hi!
Just got this bug again and tried to do it as described above by David Cecchin (dcecchin)
After rebooting and running fglrxinfo got this message:

X Error of failed request: BadRequest (invalid request code or no such operation)
  Major opcode of failed request: 139 (ATIFGLEXTENSION)
  Minor opcode of failed request: 66 ()
  Serial number of failed request: 13
  Current serial number in output stream: 13

Please can anybody help what is wrong? Also the driver seems to be not working as I have 2d mode for unity now only.

LightCrystal please tell us what graphics card you have. Also have you tried installing the 12.6 drivers manually?

If you have a HD7850 or later I'm pretty sure you have to use the cataylst 12.6 or later drivers.

Hi David,
It is like that :
Ubuntu 12.04, Radeon HD5670 which is pretty old, and I was trying to install drivers as described in link you posted on 2012-07-03
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/ATI#Manually_installing_Catalyst_12.6
I tried 12.6 catalyst drivers.

I am beginner linux user, so I can pass any more information if required.

I've (had) this problem too and decided to give the solution by David (#40) a shot.

It seems that this helped for me. I haven't had a lockup in the last 4 days/shutdowns! (Where previously i've had a lockup almost every shutdown).

*My system POST updating the drivers:*

$ fglrxinfo
display: :0.0 screen: 0
OpenGL vendor string: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series
OpenGL version string: 4.2.11733 Compatibility Profile Context

$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
Release: 12.04
Codename: precise

$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 5520/5500/X58 I/O Hub to ESI Port (rev 13)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5520/5500/X58 I/O Hub PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev 13)
00:02.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5520/5500/X58 I/O Hub PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev 13)
00:03.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5520/5500/X58 I/O Hub PCI Express Root Port 3 (rev 13)
00:07.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5520/5500/X58 I/O Hub PCI Express Root Port 7 (rev 13)
00:14.0 PIC: Intel Corporation 5520/5500/X58 I/O Hub System Management Registers (rev 13)
00:14.1 PIC: Intel Corporation 5520/5500/X58 I/O Hub GPIO and Scratch Pad Registers (rev 13)
00:14.2 PIC: Intel Corporation 5520/5500/X58 I/O Hub Control Status and RAS Registers (rev 13)
00:14.3 PIC: Intel Corporation 5520/5500/X58 I/O Hub Throttle Registers (rev 13)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4
00:1a.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5
00:1a.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #6
00:1a.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) HD Audio Controller
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) PCI Express Root Port 1
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) PCI Express Root Port 3
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1
00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2
00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3
00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev 90)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801JIR (ICH10R) LPC Interface Controller
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) SATA AHCI Controller
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) SMBus Controller
01:00.0 SATA controller: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88SE9123 PCIe SATA 6.0 Gb/s controller (rev 11)
02:00.0 USB controller: NEC Corporation uPD720200 USB 3.0 Host Controller (rev 03)
03:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Juniper [Radeon HD 5700 Series]
03:00.1 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Juniper HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 5700 Series]
05:00.0 Ethernet controller: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 12)...

Hi,
The problem at post #41 is now solved, I successfully installed AMD drivers manually, and hope it will solve the issue with lockups.

I couldn't install the driver untill I patched it as described in link below
http://askubuntu.com/questions/129597/how-do-i-fix-my-installation-of-ati-catalyst-video-drivers-in-12-04-lts

Used 12.4 catalyst driver package

Problem affected me as well. Hardware is a Dell Inspiron with Radeon HD 6450. Anyway, disabling plymouth in Grub does work for me. So no more freezes after this, until now.

High: Has a moderate impact on a large portion of Ubuntu users (estimated)

(865984 is a possible dupe - backtrace isn't quite the same though)

Hi again,

As I have posted in #45 comment, with the mentioned measures it seems that I solved the issue by installing catalyst driver. Don't know how it works, but no more lockups since 3 of August 2012
*crossing fingers*

"Disabling kernel mode setting is important, as the driver doesn't appear to take advantage of KMS yet. If you do not deactivate KMS, your system might freeze when trying to switch to a tty or even when shutting down via your DE. "

Source: Arch Wiki

For Grub2, edit /etc/default/grub and add nomodeset to the kernel parameter options, e.g.

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="nomodeset"

In addition, run sudo update-grub ....

Same problem with VAIO E Laptop, FGLRX prevent shutdown and AMD website drivers prevent boot but allows shutdown.

Happens with precise and an ATI FirePro V4800. A reboot and a halt with both kernel panic due to a tainted kernel.

Happens with Samsung Series 7 Chronos 700Z3A-S02DE, too. Having Intel Core i5-2450m and AMD Radeon HD6490m.

Can confirm comments 49 and 50 resolved my issue on two machines running the ATI driver.

Problem still occures on Toshiba A300 with ATI Radeon 3470. (Ubuntu 12.04.2, gnome-shell).

Almost every time I was informed that watchdog detected hard lockup on cpu. (No log file to post at the moment)

I've tried adding "nomodeset" to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT, but with no luck.

Also tried this solution: http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.com/2011/11/solved-ubuntu-doesnt-shutdown-properly.html, which didn't solve it either.

No issue with open source drivers.

WORKAROUND:

For the last month I've been able to shutdown safely, killing Xorg first.

sudo killall Xorg && sudo shutdown -P now

Same problem here with Ubuntu 12.04 with latest updates and a Radeon HD3600:

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RV635 [Radeon HD 3650/3750/4570/4580]

Tried the nomodeset trick mentioned above but it did not solve the issue.

The problem occurs both with the open source driver and fglrx.

Installing manually fglrx legacy drivers from AMD site seems to reduce the freezes but it still hangs with the firegl_sig_notifier crash from time to time.

If I first logout and then shutdown it seems to avoid the freeze (similar to the trick above of killing xorg before shutting donw).

I never had this issue in Ubuntu 10.04 in the same computer with exactly the same hardware.

In my pc with Biostar TA890GXE, ATI RS690/780 with only 4000 series IGP and kubundu 12.04 shows occational hanging problem. some times a squre with dots appear around the mouse cursor and system freezes. On reboot from grub menu or sometimes from bios a screen of certain coloured strips are seen. booting is going on in the background but no graphical display otherthan certain coloured strips. but MS windows have no problem. please help, some times more than 5 reset is required to boot the system.

There is a workaround that is working in my case and avoids hanged shutdowns that could damage the filesystems.

I modified /etc/acpi/events/powerbtn so when the power button is pressed it launches a custom script to do the shutdown that basically stops lightdm, kills processes from users, waits 30 seconds and then does the shutdown.

Now to shutdown I just close the session and then I press the power button, using this procedure I have avoided the kernel panics during the last month.

In case this can be useful to others experiencing the same problem here are the contents of both files:

#### Contents of /etc/acpi/events/powerbtn
event=button[ /]power
action=/etc/acpi/powerbtn_custom.sh

#### Contents of /etc/acpi/powerbtn_custom.sh
#!/bin/sh
# /etc/acpi/powerbtn.sh
# Initiates a shutdown when the power putton has been
# pressed.

# Stop lightdm
service lightdm stop
# Stop vmware
service vmware stop

# Kill all user processes that could be left behind by the desktop environment
USERS=`awk -F: '{if ($3>=1000) {print $1} }' /etc/passwd`
for user in $USERS; do
        killall -u $user
done

# Safely unmount /mnt mount points (just in case something goes wrong)
FILESYSTEMS=`mount -t ext3,ext4,xfs,btrfs|awk '{print $3}'|grep "^/mnt"`
for fs in $FILESYSTEMS; do
        umount $fs
done

# Sleep 30 seconds just in case: it seems to help avoiding hangups
sleep 30

# Shutdown
/sbin/shutdown -h now "Power button pressed"