Issue with Linux watchdog timer where system did not restart for NUC8BEH

[mgiachetti]

Hello,

We are an iot company using nucs in our products.

Currently with the BOXNUC8i5BEH1 we have problems with the watchdog with ubuntu 20.

Initialization seems all fine but it never restart. 

iTCO_wdt: Intel TCO WatchDog Timer Driver v1.11
iTCO_wdt: Found a Intel PCH TCO device (Version=6, TCOBASE=0x0400)
iTCO_wdt: initialized. heartbeat=30 sec (nowayout=0)

We already reported this issue in the forum and was fixed for another model (thanks again for that) https://community.intel.com/t5/Intel-NUCs/Issue-with-Linux-watchdog-timer-where-system-did-not-restart-for/m-p/1372476#M89841

Attached is the report from the  Intel® System Support Utility.

Thanks in advance!

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello mgiachetti,  

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities. I am sorry to know that you are having issues with your Intel® NUC Kit NUC8i5BEH.

In order to better assist you, please provide the following:

1. Did you notice the same issue with Windows 10 or Windows 11?

2. Was the unit working properly before?

3. When did the issue start?

4. Can you provide more details about the issue?

Regards,  

Deivid A. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[mgiachetti]

Hello Deivid,

1. Did you notice the same issue with Windows 10 or Windows 11?

We didn't test this on Windows. We only use linux in our product.

2. Was the unit working properly before?

This never worked in this unit or any other NUC8 we have in stock. Same happened to us with NUC10 but was fixed with a bios update after post the issue in this forum.

3. When did the issue start?

We notice this a few month ago. But before that we weren't using the watchdog.

4. Can you provide more details about the issue?

Yes, we have the same issue as this two post, only different NUC models.

https://community.intel.com/t5/Intel-NUCs/Issue-with-Linux-watchdog-timer-where-system-did-not-restart/td-p/1243160

https://community.intel.com/t5/Intel-NUCs/Issue-with-Linux-watchdog-timer-where-system-did-not-restart-for/m-p/1372476#M89841 (this one is ours for NUC10FNH)

Thanks Deivid for the quick response.

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello mgiachetti, 

Thanks for the information provided. As a test, please perform a BIOS recovery with the security jumper.

1. BIOS: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/19303/bios-update-becfl357.html
2. Steps: BIOS Recovery using the Security Jumper (see attachment)

Let me know if the issue persists.

Regards,  

Deivid A. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[mgiachetti]

Hello Deivid,

I followed the steps to update the bios (it was the same already installed) with the same results, the watchdog is not working.

Thanks.

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello mgiachetti, 

Thank you for the information provided 

I will proceed to check the issue internally and post back soon with more details. 

Best regards, 

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello mgiachetti, 

Thanks for your patience ad time. We are releasing a new BIOS version for Bean Canyon scheduled for WW41.

Please let me know if this is fine for you.

Regards,  

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[mgiachetti]

Hello Deivid,

Thanks for the quick response. Is there any chance to get a firmware to test earlier? We reporte this same issue for the NUC10 too and the fix took less than a month. We have a lot of NUC8 equipment in our customers hands with this issue and having an equipment that stops working is a really bad experience for an IoT product.

best,
Martin

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello mgiachetti, 

Thanks for your response. I check to confirm if there is any firmware to test, however, I do not promise anything.

As soon as I have any information I will let you know.

Best regards, 

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello mgiachetti, 

I will send you an e-mail to the e-mail address associated with your community profile with a DBIOS.

Please, be aware that this BIOS is a testing version and should not be shared with other people.

Regards,  

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello mgiachetti,  

I reviewed your post, please let me know if the issue was resolved, if not, do not hesitate, just reply back.

Regards,  

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[mgiachetti]

Hello Deivid,

Using the testing firmware still doesn't work for me.

It's not recognising  the watchdog and dmesg is only showing this line:

When it works it shows something like this:

iTCO_wdt: Intel TCO WatchDog Timer Driver v1.11
iTCO_wdt: Found a Intel PCH TCO device (Version=4, TCOBASE=0x0400)
iTCO_wdt: initialized. heartbeat=120 sec (nowayout=0)

 but still no luck.

Thanks

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello mgiachetti, 

I am sorry to know that the new BIOSP did not work for you. I will check once more and confirm if we have any other options for you.

As soon as I have any details I will let you know.

Best regards, 

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Rajiv_Kanchan]

Hi Deivid

Were the developers able to come up with a fix? We also are facing similar issue, where the iTCO watchdog is detected and enabled, but the counter does not count down.

Rajiv

[Rajiv_Kanchan]

Attached report from linux support utility. 

just as reported by 'mgiachetti', the tco watchdog modules are loaded, but the timer does not count down.

```

# dmesg | grep -i itco
[ 4.291771] iTCO_vendor_support: vendor-support=0
[ 4.293968] iTCO_wdt: Intel TCO WatchDog Timer Driver v1.11
[ 4.294051] iTCO_wdt: Found a Intel PCH TCO device (Version=6, TCOBASE=0x0400)
[ 4.294158] iTCO_wdt: initialized. heartbeat=30 sec (nowayout=0)

```

# wdctl /dev/watchdog
Device: /dev/watchdog
Identity: iTCO_wdt [version 0]
Timeout: 30 seconds
Pre-timeout: 0 seconds
Timeleft: 30 seconds
FLAG DESCRIPTION STATUS BOOT-STATUS
KEEPALIVEPING Keep alive ping reply 1 0
MAGICCLOSE Supports magic close char 0 0
SETTIMEOUT Set timeout (in seconds) 0 0

[Rajiv_Kanchan]

We have hundreds of such devices in the field and currently someone has to  visit the premises and manually cycle power. Please help.

[Rajiv_Kanchan]

I see that the fix for NUC7i7DNBE read "Fixed Watchdog timer issue with Ubuntu Linux". Are these problems only on Ubuntu linux. Will a different linux  distro work?