Chris, thanks for confirming which processor is in use. To force downgrade the microcode package on bionic, do:
sudo apt install intel-microcode=3.20180312.0~ubuntu18.04.1 For other releases, you will need to replace the version with what version(s) are available for your release; you can use apt-cache policy to see what is available. In the worst case, if the version you want to downgrade to is not available in the archive any more (e.g. for xenial or trusty), you can navigate to that release's information page for that package (e.g. https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/xenial/+source/intel-microcode), navigate to the specific version you desire, and manually download the appropriate binary deb for your system, and install it via 'sudo dpkg -i intel_microcode-VERSION_ARCH.deb'. One downside to using older versions is that, unless you use dpkg pinning to keep them in place, unattended-upgrades or some other update process will upgrade them to the current version available for that release, putting you right back to where you started. An alternative approach would be to add IUCODE_TOOL_INITRAMFS=no to /etc/default/intel-microcode and then re-running 'update-initramfs -u' to remove the microcode bits from the initramfs image. NOTE: you will want to remember that you did this so that you can re-enable microcode updates once this issue has been resolved. Thanks. -- 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/1829620 Title: intel-microcode on ASUS makes kernel stuck during loading initramfs on bionic-updates, bionic-security Status in intel-microcode package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Status in linux package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Status in linux-hwe package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Status in linux-hwe-edge package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Bug description: Description: - my system gets stuck at "Booting, Loading initramfs" (the first 2 lines of booting, after grub) - does not even show the enter cryptsetup passphrase - affected kernels: # apt list --installed |grep linux-signed WARNING: apt does not have a stable CLI interface. Use with caution in scripts. linux-signed-generic/bionic-security,bionic-updates,now 4.15.0.50.52 amd64 [installed] linux-signed-generic-hwe-18.04/bionic-security,bionic-updates,now 4.18.0.20.70 amd64 [installed] linux-signed-generic-hwe-18.04-edge/bionic-security,bionic-updates,now 5.0.0.15.71 amd64 [installed] - the setup is not new, has been working perfectly before (about 7 days since my last restart?) System: - HW: ASUS Zenbook 14 UX433FN - Ubuntu 18.04, runing latest HWE, fully updated - grub(-pc), cryptsetup (crypttab entries for custom encrypted LUKS setup), Suspected/possible cause?: - recent intel-microcode package update - recent kernel package updates Steps taken: - tried to remove "splash quiet" from grub/kernel cmd line (also tried adding nosplash, noplymouth) - completely removed nvidia drivers (apt purge *nvidia*) - completely purged and reinstalled grub (grup-pc) - completely purged and reinstalled all kernels (headers, modules, image, ..) - toggle BIOS "fastboot" (now using OFF) - toggle UEFI SecureBoot (now using ON) - remove plymouth (apt remove *plymouth* , but the workaround is working with plymouth installed) Workaround: - so far, I'm only able to boot with non-Ubuntu kernel! (linux-image-liquorix-amd64) - which needs "splash" option ON - reinstall cryptsetup & update-grub (as suggested in https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1829620/comments/10 ) I am not sure how to get you more debug info, as this setup has been working before, and it's a very eary boot-process bug, so I can't even access dmesg etc. EDIT: Hypothesis: Only affects ASUS with i7-8565U Whiskey Lake Intel CPU Upstream Bug Report: https://github.com/intel/Intel-Linux-Processor-Microcode-Data-Files/issues/1 WORKAROUND 1: disable intel microcode updates during boot From this bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/intel-microcode/+bug/1759920 1/ add the boot parameter: dis_ucode_ldr to /etc/default/grub 2/ update-grub WORKAROUND 2: downgrade (and hold) intel-microcode to older version from bionic/main apt install --reinstall intel-microcode=3.20180312.0~ubuntu18.04.1 --- ProblemType: Bug ApportVersion: 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.6 Architecture: amd64 CurrentDesktop: KDE DistroRelease: KDE neon 18.04 InstallationDate: Installed on 2012-12-23 (2337 days ago) InstallationMedia: Kubuntu 12.10 "Quantal Quetzal" - Release amd64 (20121017.1) Package: linux-hwe-edge (not installed) Tags: bionic wayland-session Uname: Linux 5.0.0-17.1-liquorix-amd64 x86_64 UnreportableReason: The running kernel is not an Ubuntu kernel UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) UserGroups: adm libvirtd lpadmin netdev plugdev sudo vboxusers video _MarkForUpload: True --- ProblemType: Bug ApportVersion: 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.6 Architecture: amd64 CurrentDesktop: KDE DistroRelease: KDE neon 18.04 InstallationDate: Installed on 2012-12-23 (2339 days ago) InstallationMedia: Kubuntu 12.10 "Quantal Quetzal" - Release amd64 (20121017.1) Package: linux-hwe-edge PackageArchitecture: amd64 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 5.0.0-15.16~18.04.1-generic 5.0.6 Tags: third-party-packages bionic wayland-session Uname: Linux 5.0.0-15-generic x86_64 UnreportableReason: Toto není oficiální KDE balík. Prosíme odstraňte všechny balíky třetích stran a zkuste to znovu. UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) UserGroups: adm libvirtd lpadmin netdev plugdev sudo video _MarkForUpload: True To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/intel-microcode/+bug/1829620/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~kernel-packages Post to : [email protected] Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~kernel-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
