Graphics power state freeze on wake - EVGA GTX 650 TI BOOST 2GB

[mattsnowboard]

So I've done some reading/research on the "fermi freeze", though I guess this is more of a "kepler freeze"? GPU is EVGA GTX 650 TI BOOST 2GB (I believe device ID 0x11c2 but I'd have to double check).

Anyway, I have a Haswell build (GA-Z87MX-D3H, Intel i7 4770S) working with 10.8.5 (with the supplemental update). I followed the vanilla install guide, did not use and DSDT, did not use NullCPUPowerManagement, etc. I am using the iMac 13,2 SMBIOS. I've also added the proper kext for audio.

 

In chameleon I'm using:

dart=0

GraphicsEnabler=No

EthernetBuiltIn=Yes

darkwake=0 (I added that recently)

 

I more or less followed this guide: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/292030-success-vanilla-ml-1085-on-ga-z87x-ud4h-4770k-haswell/

 

Sleep was working, but after long sleeps, the display will not turn on when the machine wakes up. I've had to manually restart and checked the console logs. The error is always the "Channel Exception" in "NVDA".

 

I'm not home right now, but the message is similar to the following (or some combination of these, but the setPowerState one seems suspect):

NVDA(OpenGL): Channel exception! exception type = 0xd = GR: SW Notify Error

NVDA(DMA): Channel exception! exception type = 0x1f = Fifo: MMU Error

NVDA(OpenGL): Channel timeout!

NVDA::setPowerState(0xffffff8011c5c800, 0 -> 2) timed out after 45425 ms

 

I've tried removing the option to wake the computer for network connections, but that did not help.

 

So I'm wondering if there is an updated Nvidia kext that might solve my problem. Lacking that, I see that the power state transition is always 0->2, so I'm wondering if I can perhaps disable this low powerstate, get the GPU to go 0->1->2, or do something else to avoid this specific failure. I'm an experienced developer but new to Mac, so I don't know where to begin. What I do know, is I want to make as few changes as possible, as it seems easier to avoid {censored} things up or not being able to easily upgrade later.

 

Searching this issue, people seem to hit it with various graphics cards, but usually say that upgrading to a newer version of ML works. Also, a lot of the other issues are people getting this freeze while using the computer, not just from wake. So far, it doesn't sound like there is a clear solution. I would like to avoid the "fix" that just keeps a channel open, because it seems like that won't help if I want sleep to work.

 

Any tips appreciated!

[Lyle M]

Hi mattsnowboard,

 

This morning I installed the drivers available on the nvidia web site. It's been over 6 hours and I haven't seen any of these errors:

 

10/11/13 8:14:58.000 AM kernel[0]: NVDA(DMA): Channel exception! exception type = 0x1f = Fifo: MMU Error

10/11/13 8:15:18.000 AM kernel[0]: NVDA(OpenGL): Channel timeout!

10/11/13 8:15:38.000 AM kernel[0]: NVDA(OpenGL): Channel timeout!

10/11/13 8:15:58.000 AM kernel[0]: NVDA(DMA): Channel timeout!

10/11/13 9:27:52.000 AM kernel[0]: NVDA(Private): Channel timeout!

 

You likely won't be able to run the installer with a iMac13,2 smbios. I'm currently running my machine as a macpro5,1, which is supported by the installer. Note that I couldn't boot as a MacPro5,1 until I removed the AppleTyMCEDriver.kext from /System/Library/Extensions.

 

I can't say that 6 hours is a definitive win for my circumstances, but it's a pretty good run. Also, my scenario appears to differ slightly from yours. But, I wanted to give you something to try. Please make sure you clone your boot drive before changing anything so I don't feel any guilt if you hose your system following any of my advice. :-)

 

Also, note that I am using GraphicsEnabler=Yes, and that I currently have the integrated Intel 4600 video disabled in the EFI/BIOS.

 

Cheers.

[mattsnowboard]

Thanks,

Can I change smbios to macpro5,1 and then change it back after installation? i.e. does the installer not work on iMac, or does the driver not work at all on iMac? I thought iMac13,2 was best because it would support Haswell, but to be honest, I don't know enough about the details of how smbios works or what it does.

 

Did you experience this freeze when waking from sleep or just randomly? I feel like it may be a different issue, but I'd be willing to try this driver to find out.

 

Finally, does Mac support adding a new partition to a nearly empty disk without formatting? Something I've done in gparted before, but I don't know if this is possible with the built-in disk tool. I've started using the large HDD, but I'd like to add a partition that is just for a backup of the boot SSD. On a related note, is there a simple built in way (built into OS or to the install/recovery environment) to clone the system disk? Or should I just use something like gparted?

[Lyle M]

Hi mattsnowboard,

 

1. The smbios file is used to define which Mac you're telling the OS you have. You can create multiple smbios.plist files in your /Extra directory and manually specify which one to load when your bootloader is listing your bootable volumes. For instance, if you create a file named smbios51.plist you can load it on demand by entering SMBIOS=/Extra/smbios51.plist - If it works, great! If not, you reboot and let your original, default SMBios.plist file load. Your logic for selecting the iMac13,2 is sound, but I had audio problems with that choice.

I suggest grabbing a copy of Chameleon Wizard to help build your smbios file. It's selection of prebuilt system models isn't completely up to date, but it's a great tool to get a feel for building a smbios file. Aside from that, it can be used to mod your org.chameleon.boot file and update your version of Chameleon. It does plenty more than that too. It's a powerful tool, so be sure to use it with caution. I think I just convinced myself to make a donation to the author!

So, yes, you can change back to your original smbios after installing the driver. HOWEVER, my system ultimately locked around 9pm and the NVDA log entries returned around 5:20pm. I also found that the Nvidia drivers come with a preference pane that let you toggle between the default OS X drivers and the Nvidia web drivers. I couldn't get the choice for the web drivers to stick. So, I was likely running on the OS X drivers the whole time. I read somewhere that the Nvidia drivers broken with the 10.8.5 supplemental update. I'm not sure if this is the version that has that problem, or if this is how the problem manifests itself. Either way, this may simply be a dead end.

 

2. I don't sleep my system. I tried it in response to your post and the system immediately work up on its own. I'm not even going to give that a 2nd thought, or I might end up obsessing!

To answer the question, it sometimes locks while unattended. Most of the time, it locks at the moment I close an app window (seen it most often in Safari and Mail.app). The 'lock' manifests by the system clock no longer advancing and being unable to manipulate anything on the screen except the mouse pointer. When the mouse pointer is hovering over the app that was active when the freeze occurred, the pointer changes to a spinning beach ball.

 

3. Apple's disk utility does support adding partitions. If you click the 'partition' tab, you'll see a + button below the partition layout image. Hover over the + button and it will describe its function. I've used that feature once, and it worked fine. However, I would never use it on a drive for which I don't already have a backup - I'm just paranoid that way. Hard drives are relatively cheap and my data is not replaceable.

For cloning, I suggest Carbon Copy Cloner. It's not free, but it's awesome - dare I say, a must-have tool.

 

Over the weekend I'm going to pull my 560 card and run off the Intel video for a few days. We'll see if the 560 really is related to the freeze. If I don't post a reply here, I'll update the thread where you originally found me.

 

Cheers.

[Gringo Vermelho]

Don't change model identifier, it's much easier to modify the installer so that it will run with the model identifier you use.

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/291929-1085new-nvidia-web-driver-available/?p=1946332

[RobertX]

" read somewhere that the Nvidia drivers broken with the 10.8.5 supplemental update"

...check this post  http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/291822-1085-out/page-11?do=findComment&comment=1950700

 

...i unbroke them

[Gringo Vermelho]

There's a new driver out now.

[mattsnowboard]

Hi mattsnowboard,

 

1. The smbios file is used to define which Mac you're telling the OS you have. You can create multiple smbios.plist files in your /Extra directory and manually specify which one to load when your bootloader is listing your bootable volumes. For instance, if you create a file named smbios51.plist you can load it on demand by entering SMBIOS=/Extra/smbios51.plist - If it works, great! If not, you reboot and let your original, default SMBios.plist file load. Your logic for selecting the iMac13,2 is sound, but I had audio problems with that choice.

I suggest grabbing a copy of Chameleon Wizard to help build your smbios file. It's selection of prebuilt system models isn't completely up to date, but it's a great tool to get a feel for building a smbios file. Aside from that, it can be used to mod your org.chameleon.boot file and update your version of Chameleon. It does plenty more than that too. It's a powerful tool, so be sure to use it with caution. I think I just convinced myself to make a donation to the author!

So, yes, you can change back to your original smbios after installing the driver. HOWEVER, my system ultimately locked around 9pm and the NVDA log entries returned around 5:20pm. I also found that the Nvidia drivers come with a preference pane that let you toggle between the default OS X drivers and the Nvidia web drivers. I couldn't get the choice for the web drivers to stick. So, I was likely running on the OS X drivers the whole time. I read somewhere that the Nvidia drivers broken with the 10.8.5 supplemental update. I'm not sure if this is the version that has that problem, or if this is how the problem manifests itself. Either way, this may simply be a dead end.

Well I knew that the smbios tells the OS what system you are using, I just don't understand the details. Thanks for the info on multiple smbios files though! I'm already using Chameleon Wizard, I just didn't understand the implications of changing the smbios (I've since read a bit that it affects power management and some other things). I think I've found a thread about using the Nvidia drivers and there may be a Chameleon option or something to enable it (not GE, but NVDA or something).

 

2. I don't sleep my system. I tried it in response to your post and the system immediately work up on its own. I'm not even going to give that a 2nd thought, or I might end up obsessing!

To answer the question, it sometimes locks while unattended. Most of the time, it locks at the moment I close an app window (seen it most often in Safari and Mail.app). The 'lock' manifests by the system clock no longer advancing and being unable to manipulate anything on the screen except the mouse pointer. When the mouse pointer is hovering over the app that was active when the freeze occurred, the pointer changes to a spinning beach ball.

I'd like sleep to work in order to cut back on energy consumption for free without needing to shutdown at night. I'm curious, do people just shutdown their machines over night, or just waste energy (idle processor with all the fans running)? So far I haven't had any other freezes, just the freeze on wake.

 

3. Apple's disk utility does support adding partitions. If you click the 'partition' tab, you'll see a + button below the partition layout image. Hover over the + button and it will describe its function. I've used that feature once, and it worked fine. However, I would never use it on a drive for which I don't already have a backup - I'm just paranoid that way. Hard drives are relatively cheap and my data is not replaceable.

For cloning, I suggest Carbon Copy Cloner. It's not free, but it's awesome - dare I say, a must-have tool.

 

Over the weekend I'm going to pull my 560 card and run off the Intel video for a few days. We'll see if the 560 really is related to the freeze. If I don't post a reply here, I'll update the thread where you originally found me.

 

Cheers.

I know the utility supports adding partitions, but I was wondering if you could add them to an existing disk without reformatting. The data is replaceable since it's being moved from an old machine, and backed up on the cloud and on my file server. It's more of an issue of saving time because I've started moving files over and moved the folder for the main user to that drive. I'll give it a try. Also, I think I'll just use the free tool Clonezilla rather than pay for CCC.

 

Let me know how the Intel video works, that would be interesting.

 

Don't change model identifier, it's much easier to modify the installer so that it will run with the model identifier you use.

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/291929-1085new-nvidia-web-driver-available/?p=1946332

Well that sounds better. A bit like the .inf files on Windows then.

 

There's a new driver out now.

Is this what I want? http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/68439/en-us

313.01.03f02

[Gringo Vermelho]

Yes.

[mattsnowboard]

So far it seems to be working. At least when waking today, there was no freeze (and it's been a consistent freeze as long as the computer is asleep for a few hours).

Hopefully it's fixed for good!