# Strange, new kernel error messages from snd_emu10k1

## platojones

I have an audigy card thats almost 6 years old and has worked perfectly all this time.  Sometime after I upgraded to one of the new 3.2 series Gentoo kernels, I started noticing some alarming errors in the dmesg output.  Looks like this:

```

[  130.399017] max memory size is 0x7fffffff (addr = 0x7fc3abdb9000)!!

[  130.399019] emu: failure page = 32

[  130.426933] max memory size is 0x7fffffff (addr = 0x8e00000000)!!

[  130.426935] emu: failure page = 32

[  130.488553] max memory size is 0x7fffffff (addr = 0x5f00000000)!!

[  130.488556] emu: failure page = 32

```

Sound still plays fine...so no functional impact.

Nothing has changed except my kernel versions...I'm not sure exactly when this first started showing up, but it was definitely in the 3.2 series kernels and continues after my 3.3 kernel upgrade today.  Google turned up absolutely nothing useful...only references to alsa driver source files containing the error messages.

Kernel has been continuously upgraded with oldconfig for the past 6 years...never had any issues before until this popped up.

Anybody have any clues?

----------

## PaulBredbury

Kernel source is:

```
static int is_valid_page(struct snd_emu10k1 *emu, dma_addr_t addr)

{

    if (addr & ~emu->dma_mask) {

        snd_printk(KERN_ERR "max memory size is 0x%lx (addr = 0x%lx)!!\n", emu->dma_mask, (unsigned long)addr);

        return 0;
```

Have you upgraded the RAM? Do a RAM check (a decent BIOS will have a RAM test built-in).

Try:

```
cat /proc/mtrr
```

Has anything changed?

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## platojones

 *PaulBredbury wrote:*   

> Kernel source is:
> 
> ```
> static int is_valid_page(struct snd_emu10k1 *emu, dma_addr_t addr)
> 
> ...

 

Yes, I looked at that code and it does make me a bit nervous...seems to suggest a hardware error.  Nothing has changed hardware wise.  I haven't looked at /proc/mtrr before, so I'm not sure if it's changed or not:

```

reg00: base=0x000000000 (    0MB), size= 8192MB, count=1: write-back

reg01: base=0x200000000 ( 8192MB), size= 1024MB, count=1: write-back

reg02: base=0x0c0000000 ( 3072MB), size= 1024MB, count=1: uncachable

```

I'll run the memory checks though and see if anything is amiss there.

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## gorkypl

My RAM failed silently and unexpectedly one day, I did not even touch it. It might also be a loose module (vibrations et al.).

Anyway, I have no issues with emu10k1 on 3.2 and 3.3.

----------

## 046

kernel 3.3.1 gentoo sources

05:00.0 Multimedia audio controller: Creative Labs SB Live! EMU10k1 (rev 0a)

[296456.751084] max memory size is 0x7fffffff (addr = 0x11ab920c019a3000)!!

[296456.751086] emu: failure page = 32

mpd stop playing.

----------

