[Bug 7215] New: PCMCIA network card causes either X or kernel to freeze

[bugme-daemon at bugzilla.kernel.org]

http://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=7215

           Summary: PCMCIA network card causes either X or kernel to freeze
    Kernel Version: 2.6.18
            Status: NEW
          Severity: normal
             Owner: linux-pcmcia at lists.infradead.org
         Submitter: ericabel at mit.edu


Most recent kernel where this bug did not occur:  2.6.8
Distribution:  Debian
Hardware Environment: Dell Inspiron 8500
Software Environment: 
Problem Description: I am using a Dell Inspiron 8500 with a PCMCIA wireless
network card.  With kernel 2.6.8 I could run the computer for months at a time
(as should be the case with a linux system, right?).  Upon upgrading from 2.6.8
to 2.6.15 (and subsequently from pcmcia-cs to pcmciautils) the system will
become unresponsive when browsing the internet.  At that time (when 2.6.15 was
first released) I browsed the lists, hoping for some solution, but I found no
reports of these same symptoms.  I then figured I would wait it out, hoping a
fix would come in future kernel releases, but I am up to 2.6.18, and the problem
still persists.  The unfortunate aspect of this problem is that it's not
predictable, though I can cause the system freeze quickly by browsing sites with
lots of javascript.  I've checked all of the log files that I can think of
(/var/log/messages /var/log/syslog /var/log/XFree85.log, etc.), and see no
indication of an error...it's almost as if the system freezes before it gets a
chance to log the problem.  I do believe it's related to the integration of
PCMCIA from pcmcia-cs to pcmciautils for the following reasons:
1.  It worked fine with kernel 2.6.8 and less.
2.  The problem seems to be browser independent (I can kill it just as quickly
with konqueror, or Mozilla)
3.  The problem is network card independent (I've killed the system with 3
different wireless network cards, one using ndiswrapper, 2 using linux drivers)
4.  Though I can't be certain, my feeling is that X is becoming unresponsive (to
either mouse or keyboard), as I tried booting runlevel 3 (text console), and
browsing with links while uploading/downloading large files, and after still not
freezing the system for 10 minutes, I gave up (normally I can manage to cause
the freeze in less than a minute if I'm trying...I just browse warez or porn
sites...lots of javascript there).

Like I mentioned earlier, I've been patiently awaiting a solution to this
problem to appear in the mailing lists for more than a year now, but to no
avail.  If anyone has any ideas, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Eric

Steps to reproduce:

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