The latest Linux release candidate helps circumvent a hardware disaster

Date:
Mon, 11 Oct 2021 14:47:29 +0000

Description:
A patch at the 11th hour helped Linux avoid yet another hardware trainwreck
in the latest development release of the upcoming kernel.

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An urgent set of patches for the latest release candidate (RC) of the under-development Linux v5.15 kernel reportedly helped the popular open
source kernel avert whats described as a hardware trainwreck.

Phoronix caught hold of last minute urgent updates sent hours before Linus Torvalds, the kernels principle developer, was to put out the fifth RC of the upcoming kernel.

The patch was added by longtime kernel developer Thomas Gleixner who
described it as yet another attempt at fixing the never-ending saga of
botched x86 timers... Check our roundup of the best Linux distros Heres our list of the best Linux distros for business These are the best Linux distros for developers

Gleixner's patch made it to Torvalds Linux v5.15-rc5 release , who called the release a fairly normal one at this stage of development. Saving a trainwreck

Gleixners patch was titled "use another crystalball to evaluate HPET usability," and aimed to fix an issue with the high precision event timer (HPET) coming to a halt on modern Intel processors, under certain circumstances, even if it is being used by the kernel.

Phoronix says that the kernel has employed various mechanisms in the past to workaround the problem with HPET.

The problems date back to 2019 when Linux first experimented with disabling HPET on select Intel platforms. However, since there have been quirks in the previous solutions, Gleixners latest patch will simply disable HPET when it detects the presence of the PC10 power state.

Assuming that things go according to plan, Linux 5.15 should come out towards late October/early November. Here are the best Linux laptops for running
Linux

Via Phoronix



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/the-latest-linux-release-candidate-helps-circum vent-a-hardware-disaster/


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