Bug 244305

Hello,

I'm reviewing this bug as part of the kernel bug triage project, an attempt to
isolate current bugs in the fedora kernel.

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/KernelBugTriage

I am CC'ing myself to this bug and will try and assist you in resolving it if I can.

There hasn't been much activity on this bug for a while. Could you tell me if
you are still having problems with the latest kernel?

If the problem no longer exists then please close this bug or I'll do so in a
few days if there is no additional information lodged.

Cheers
Chris

Yes, this bug is still present in kernel-2.6.22.5-76.fc7.

Hello Jack,

This is the code generating the error in question:

http://snecker.fedorapeople.org/dmi_scan.c

however there is a patch fedora carries which modifies this a little. Can you
install dmidecode and attach its output?

Cheers
Chris

*** Bug 245325 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Created attachment 198721 [details]
dmidecode output

dmidecode output attached per request

Hi Jack,

Looked into this a bit more. It seems the code is handling the error which would
otherwise have prevented the system from booting. This is output to indicate a
badly programmed BIOS. I wouldn't be concerned - oem strings for example are
pieces of information set into the BIOS concerning the system manufacturer, part
numbers, contact information. Yours is rather lengthy:

Handle 0x001C, DMI type 11, 5 bytes.
OEM Strings
	String 1: bid=71NAv3PcA5;PROD_MSWORKS;SFCHK;C_MOJ;IS.N60d;51Audio;ACPwrFai
	String 2: l=Off;Chan=CTO;CPUFan=On;DVDr;DVDRW;LegacyFloppy=No;TVout=NTSC;P
	String 3: CBRAND=Pavilion;OS=MSV;KBDRV;LScribe;DVDP_STD;Vos.B;MDVD_B;RC_B;
	String 4: FPA=HML;OEMAuditBootLink=\\10.10.5.8\OEMAuditBootLink\CTO.cmd;.m
	String 5: M;##HPCPC=00000000<900000060200000004200002535141300400000100010
	String 6: 00;5;:0665<;85>18>1<2=1:<55>?4;;=?=19:<8494;>:8011<=31953=?76?>3
	String 7: 78139;594701:=;34:;55;9128<7937==0<722<:<1:2489>:088=6:?1;2>8=8>
	String 8: 12691>>286:9?;4454>3<3>89909>=738375;02951<;>=??2?70>75;04<815:3
	String 9: 3<20846?312127;?24876>7488457<0;0?39>9;?407;8;8;09>=;==>231>;?45
	String 10: 6:100000006;00000000002000840515?454=435<49434=23405347594>444?4
	String 11: 7535020000000000000000000000000000000000000000?24?41954<8?4243:4
	String 12: 63542:9034;??09<31;8951=>:><6>3291=35:7;:7?<0;=973478<4:062629<>
	String 13: 53103<<=4651<3499:7?769::98;357697=:3483>07=6;>1<1?<>7<817?5586>
	String 14: 79?5:5?19<87:>=6507148017=835>552096;714776===1=59:5:9;7?16>;910
	String 15: ;6<?>4?;=21?;7975:6660><>729>:9<98<5<=991>7?7>
	String 16:                                                                 
	String 17:                                                                 
	String 18:                                                                 
	String 19:                                                                 
	String 20:                                                                 
	String 21:                                                                 
	String 22:                                                                 
	String 23:                                                                 
	String 24:                                                                 
	String 25:                                                                 
	String 26:                                                                 
	String 27:                                                                 
	String 28:                                                                 
	String 29:                                                                 
	String 30:                                                                 
	String 31:                                                                 
	String 32:                                                                 

and if the 5 bytes indicates the maximum memory allotted then it certainly
exceeds it. My thinkpad has the following for example:

Handle 0x0029, DMI type 11, 5 bytes.
OEM Strings
        String 1: IBM ThinkPad Embedded Controller -[1RHT71WW-3.04    ]-

and thats it. Essentially, I think you can close as WONTFIX or NOTABUG (as this
is BIOS related, not kernel) but I'll leave it up to you. I cannot see a BIOS
update available for your system.

Cheers
Chris

Chris, thanks for your analysis. I feel like this is a kernel bug in the sense
that there's no reason for me, the user, to see a warning from the kernel that
my BIOS happens to have some OEM string that's too long. It's not like I can do
anything about it! The kernel should remain silent; all it does is alarm
innocent users.

Jack,

Apologies for the delay and fair point. Are you still seeing this with the
latest kernels - if so I'll get some feedback from one of the kernel maintainers.

Cheers
Chris

Fix for this is in -mm and should be merged in 2.6.25.