Category Archives: patches

Kernel – 4.18 Finally Released – OK with latest NVIDIA, and Patched VMware

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Kernel 4.18 has finally arrived, and details of changes since -rc8 are here:  http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1808.1/02806.html As expected, after changes in -rc7, the latest NVIDIA and (patched) VMware all compile/load OK..    Tested with VMware 14.1.2 with the vmmon patch, and NVIDIA 390.77 and 396.51. Coincidentally, I can also confirm that 4.18 boots OK on HP PA-RISC (HP9000/785-C3700) – but … Continue reading →

Kernel – 4.18-rc6 – OK with Latest NVIDIA, and Patched VMware..

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Kernel 4.18-rc6 has been released, and details of changes since -rc5 are here:  http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1807.2/06572.html The latest NVIDIA drivers ( 390.77 and 396.45 ) compile/load OK, as does vmmon-patched VMware 14.1.2 (see http://rglinuxtech.com/?p=2322 ). Robert Gadsdon.  July 22. 2018. … Continue reading →

Fedora – Fix For Annoying F27 KDE/Dolphin QT Bug..

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The latest version of QT5 on Fedora 27 – qt5-qtbase-5.9.6-1.fc27.x86_64 – produces a very annoying display problem in KDE’s Dolphin file manager, where the window does not resize/reformat correctly, leaving large blank areas at each side: This has been identified as a QT5 bug/regression, and a patch is available, at https://codereview.qt-project.org/#/c/233482/ I have applied this, and Dolphin … Continue reading →

Kernel – 4.18-rc2 is Out – Includes fix for VMware Runtime, OK with Latest Patched VMware and NVIDIA.

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Kernel 4.18-rc2 has been released, and brief details of changes from -rc1 are here:  http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1806.3/00112.html This includes the cmdline fix, which enables the VMware runtimes to execute correctly.   The VMware 14.1.2 vmmon patch is still required (see http://rglinuxtech.com/?p=2322 ) NVIDIA 390.67 compiles OK, with the nvidia-drm-drv.c patch (see http://rglinuxtech.com/?p=2315 ) Robert Gadsdon.  June 24, 2018. … Continue reading →

VMware – New Version of 4.18-rc1 ‘cmdline’ Patch..

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As expected, there is another version of the cmdline patch for Kernel 4.18-rc1 – this time from Linus himself.. at  http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1806.2/03011.html I have applied this, and – as with the previous version –  VMware now behaves correctly.. I should mention that is is not a good idea to try to copy/paste patches from a website newsgroup listing, … Continue reading →

VMware – Problem with Kernel 4.18-rc1 Found, and a Patch..

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Thanks to Michal Kubeček, the source of the VMware problem with Kernel 4.18-rc1 has been found, and a Kernel patch produced:  http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1806.2/02730.html I have applied this, and can confirm that VMware (14.1.2 patched) now operates correctly.. The kernel patch now has to run the gauntlet of the LKML ‘review process’, and so may be changed over time, … Continue reading →

VMware – Odd Behaviour with Kernel 4.18-rc1, and a Workaround?

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VMware 14.1.2 worked OK with Kernel 4.17, on my Fedora 28 test system, but after updating to 4.18-rc1 the following occurred: Modules (vmmon/vmnet) compiled OK, but – after further testing – appeared to have a runtime problem..    I applied the vmmon patches from Michal Kubeček, at https://github.com/mkubecek/vmware-host-modules/commit/3f2a6c720f68 and this also compiled cleanly. When I ran # vmware-modconfig … Continue reading →

Kernel – 4.18-rc1 released – Breaks NVIDIA, Fix Available.. Not OK with VMware

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Kernel 4.18-rc1 has been released – earlier than expected, but Linus is in Japan, where it was already Sunday.. Brief details are here:  http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1806.2/00125.html Tested with VMware 14.1.2, and vmmon/vmnet compile OK, but NVIDIA fails: …………………………. CC [M] /home/rgadsdon/kernel/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-390.67/kernel/nvidia-drm/nvidia-drm-drv.o In file included from /usr/src/linux-4.18-rc1/include/drm/drmP.h:82, from /home/rgadsdon/kernel/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-390.67/kernel/nvidia-drm/nvidia-drm-priv.h:30, from /home/rgadsdon/kernel/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-390.67/kernel/nvidia-drm/nvidia-drm-drv.c:25: /home/rgadsdon/kernel/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-390.67/kernel/nvidia-drm/nvidia-drm-drv.c:637:23: error: ‘DRM_CONTROL_ALLOW’ undeclared here (not in a function); … Continue reading →

Kernel – GCC8 / ‘Objtool Warnings’ Patches..

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There are now patches available to deal with the host of ‘objtool‘ warnings when compiling the kernel with GCC8: …………………………….. drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbmem.o: warning: objtool: fb_set_var()+0x209: sibling call from callable instruction with modified stack frame drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbmem.o: warning: objtool: do_remove_conflicting_framebuffers()+0xa6: sibling call from callable instruction with modified stack frame drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbmem.o: warning: objtool: register_framebuffer()+0x14b: sibling call from callable instruction with modified … Continue reading →

VMware – Patch, If You Need Better ‘Meltdown/Spectre’ Protection..

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Thanks – again – to Michal Kubeček, who  has pointed out that there is still a vulnerability in some VMware (vmmon) code, that is not mitigated by Kernel/Compiler retpoline fixes, as it is written in assembler..   ( See comment on previous article – http://rglinuxtech.com/?p=2277 ) He has provided an appropriate fix for this, at https://github.com/mkubecek/vmware-host-modules/tree/player-14.1.1 Robert Gadsdon.   … Continue reading →