From 9f7aab86a046a9317656e3a57783a7b80bc0745a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Torjus=20H=C3=A5kestad?= Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2026 09:25:28 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] pn51: update stability notes, TSC/PSP issues affect both units Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 --- docs/plans/pn51-stability.md | 21 ++++++++++++++++----- 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/plans/pn51-stability.md b/docs/plans/pn51-stability.md index 307681c..268c644 100644 --- a/docs/plans/pn51-stability.md +++ b/docs/plans/pn51-stability.md @@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ Two ASUS PN51-E1 mini PCs (Ryzen 7 5700U) purchased years ago but shelved due to - Kernel warnings from boot log before freeze: - **TSC clocksource unstable**: `Marking clocksource 'tsc' as unstable because the skew is too large` — TSC skewing ~3.8ms over 500ms relative to HPET watchdog - **AMD PSP error**: `psp gfx command LOAD_TA(0x1) failed and response status is (0x7)` — Platform Security Processor failing to load trusted application -- pn01 showed neither of these warnings and remained stable +- pn01 did not show these warnings on this particular boot, but has shown them historically (see below) ### 2026-02-21: pn02 BIOS Update @@ -45,9 +45,20 @@ Two ASUS PN51-E1 mini PCs (Ryzen 7 5700U) purchased years ago but shelved due to - **PSP LOAD_TA still failing** after BIOS update - Monitoring back up, letting it run to see if freeze recurs +### 2026-02-22: TSC/PSP Confirmed on Both Units + +- Checked kernel logs after ~9 hours uptime — both units still running +- **pn01 now shows TSC unstable and PSP LOAD_TA failure** on this boot (same ~3.8ms TSC skew, same PSP error) +- pn01 had these same issues historically when tested years ago — the earlier clean boot was just lucky TSC calibration timing +- **Conclusion**: TSC instability and PSP LOAD_TA are platform-level quirks of the PN51-E1 / Ryzen 5700U, present on both units +- The kernel handles TSC instability gracefully (falls back to HPET), and PSP LOAD_TA is non-fatal +- Neither issue is likely the cause of the hard freezes — the fTPM bug remains the primary suspect + ## Benign Kernel Errors (Both Units) These appear on both units and can be ignored: +- `clocksource: Marking clocksource 'tsc' as unstable` — TSC skew vs HPET, kernel falls back gracefully. Platform-level quirk on PN51-E1, not always reproducible on every boot. +- `psp gfx command LOAD_TA(0x1) failed` — AMD PSP firmware error, non-fatal. Present on both units across all BIOS versions. - `pcie_mp2_amd: amd_sfh_hid_client_init failed err -95` — AMD Sensor Fusion Hub, no sensors connected - `Bluetooth: hci0: Reading supported features failed` — Bluetooth init quirk - `Serial bus multi instantiate pseudo device driver INT3515:00: error -ENXIO` — unused serial bus device @@ -55,8 +66,8 @@ These appear on both units and can be ignored: ## Next Steps -- Monitor pn01 stability (fTPM disabled, no other changes needed) -- Monitor pn02 stability after BIOS update -- If pn02 continues to freeze, try adding `tsc=unstable` kernel parameter -- If pn02 still freezes, may be a hardware defect on that specific unit +- Monitor both units for stability (fTPM disabled on both, BIOS updated on pn02) +- If either freezes again, try adding `tsc=unstable` kernel parameter (unlikely to help but easy to rule out) +- If freezes continue, try disabling unused hardware in BIOS (GPU, WiFi, Bluetooth, audio) +- If still freezing, may be a hardware defect - Once stable: add second RAM stick back to pn02, reinstall with NVMe