# very slow responsive system on amd fusion e350

## psycho4m1947

hi everyone,

                   i need help as i m still fiddling with this system for the last 4 days but cant figure out the problem....basically i m still a noob in gentoo kingdom, recently i installed gentoo 64bit (kernel-3.3. :Cool:  on lenovo x120e netbook ,it has amd fusion e350 apu ,1.6 GB of available ram and 360 GB harddisk....as soon as i exited from the chrooted environment to native gentoo text mode during the course of installation, the system felt very sluggish...even a simple command like 'date' and 'ls' took around 2 seconds to show the output.....so formatted it and reinstalled again but the problem still haunts....now i have installed kde-4.8.3 but i still face the trouble......before dis i have installed gentoo in 4 other systems but all are intel based and dey work pretty fine.....but this time i am facing serious trouble....i am attaching my make file and kernel config here..plz help!!!

CFLAGS="-O2 -march=amdfam10 -mno-3dnow"                                                                                                                                                  

CXXFLAGS="${CFLAGS}"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

# WARNING: Changing your CHOST is not something that should be done lightly.                                                                                                                    

# Please consult http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/change-chost.xml before changing.                                                                                                                 

CHOST="x86_64-pc-linux-gnu"                                                                                                                                                                     

USE="acpi mmx sse msse msse2 msse3 sse2 -hal gtk dbus -cups -bluetooth -semantic-desktop -ipv6  -myspell -hunspell -wpa_supplicant -lvm -cryptsetup -modemmanager -cairo -openssh -sshd -raid -ssh -pam -multilib -nls -pambase -mailbase -qca -libssh -ssmtp -pineentry -strigi -khelpcentre -kinfocentre -konqueror -klipper -guide -userguide -handbook -bluez   -sane -cups  -mysql -openssh -mysql -selinux -blowfish -crypto -gnome -wvstreams qt4 kde -branding -a52 -emboss -exif -fam -firefox -cairo -dts -lcms -ldap -libnotify -mad -pango -pdf -spell -xulrunner"                  

MAKEOPTS="-j3"                                                                                                                                                                                  

INPUT_DEVICES="evdev synaptics"                                                                                                                                                                 

VIDEO_CARDS="radeon"

LINGUAS="en"

ACCEPT_LICENSE="*"

GENTOO_MIRRORS="http://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/Linux/Gentoo/ ftp://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/Linux/Gentoo/ http://ftp.iij.ad.jp/pub/linux/gentoo/ ftp://ftp.iij.ad.jp/pub/linux/gentoo/ http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/distributions/gentoo http://ftp.ncnu.edu.tw/Linux/Gentoo/

my kernel config file

http://pastebin.com/hYcj8PB9

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## Logicien

Hi,

I am not sure I fully understand what you mean by

 *psycho4m1947 wrote:*   

> as soon as i exited from the chrooted environment to native gentoo text mode during the course of installation,

 

Is that mean you reboot on Gentoo using your new kernel in text mode or you simply exit the Gentoo chroot and stay on the installation media with his kernel?

The way you talk, the installation media is not sluggish with your Lenovo x120e netbook. Have you try to use the kernel configuration of the media for the one you need with Gentoo.

I have a HP Pavilion Dm1 with a dual core AMD E-350 Processor. It's on Debian. It is not the fastest system, but it is responsive. I have 4 gig of ram and 640 gig of harddrive space.

Did you install the four others Gentoo systems on Netbooks? It's hard to compare Netbooks, Notebooks and Desktops. I never feel to compile on Netbooks.

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## jpc22

You have a lot of use flags in your make.conf  wich meand that all packages you emerge will be compiled with all those flags if they support it.

You could use the ones you cant depart from in  you make.conf and using specific packages per package in /etc/portage/make.conf     but it will involve a lot of config.

Amd processors have features that differ from the intel you were used to.

i dont remember the fancy commands i used to check what the compiler used and what features my processor had. 

i just remember comparing outputs and removing duplicated features from make.conf until the compiler used everything the processor had.

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## Odward

Preface this with also a new linux user, sorry if I'm wrong about any info.

Your original description is a little unclear about the slowness.  When you exit the chroot environment during the install, and issue a command, there 

can be some delay because of the mounted media.  For example if you used a LiveDVD, the DVD may have to seek for that command.  Or at least I

think this is how it behaves.

Does the slowness still exist if you boot into the fully installed environment?  At the command line?  Just Desktop slowness?

Also I see your use flags are predominantly prefaced with '-' to remove support.  I assume you're trying to make the system more lean since it is

a netbook.   Not sure you haven't overdone things a bit, or if it's even relevant.  I don't think some of those are valid use flags, they don't all appear

on the Gentoo documentation page -> http://www.gentoo.org/dyn/use-index.xml nor do they appear in my own local /usr/portage/profiles/use.desc

Example 'pambase' is a package, not a use variable.  There are others.  Also you have '-cairo' twice.  Cleaning that up might be a good place to start.

I have an E-450 using Gentoo, it is not a netbook but rather a mini PC about the size of a book.  No optical drives, no monitor and no touchpad.  It

uses my LCD TV for display via hdmi but overall it's surprisingly quick / responsive.  I also have an SSD though, which helps.

My /etc/make.conf contains

```
CFLAGS="-march=amdfam10 -O2 -pipe -mno-3dnow -mcx16 -mpopcnt -msse3 -msse4a -mmmx"

CXXFLAGS="${CFLAGS}"

CHOST="x86_64-pc-linux-gnu"

USE="mmx sse sse2 -3dnow -gtk -gnome -cdr -dvdr qt4 kde alsa a52 aac dri ffmpeg flac lm_sensors mp3 mp4 mpeg"
```

Also, regarding the use flags, I believe the profile you select will have some default USE flags set.  I don't know an easy way to list those, maybe someone

else can provide that command.  To see what profile you're using you can

```
eselect profile list
```

then as root (or su)

```
eselect profile set X
```

where X = the number of the profile you wish to use.  If you want to change yours.  I am using /default/linux/amd64/10.0/desktop/kde

Also if you want to look at an alternate kernel config (It may not be the best either, I compiled it myself and may have some extras) mine can be found

http://bpaste.net/show/36621 and I'm also using kernel 3.3.8

**Edit#2:  I also just remembered my kernel is compiled against a custom dsdt, I couldn't get this box to boot any distro until I fixed that.  It was a

problem with my particular BIOS - not the hardware.  Needless to say you probably DO NOT want to use this config with

 "CONFIG_ACPI_CUSTOM_DSDT_FILE="DSDT.hex"".

In make menuconfig

--> Power management and ACPI options

    --> ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) Support

    -- delete the DSDT.hex value

If you disable that and try to use this config to build from, don't forget to fix the drivers you need as they surely won't be the same as all of mine and I am

using fglrx - the ati proprietary driver - atm so fix the video to your needs too.

Sorry for complicating things.

**End Edit

Hope something I said helps  :D

Edit:  Wanted to add, if you do clean up your USE flags you need to re-emerge (possibly a lot).  I think the correct way would be something like

```
emerge -avN world
```

That will check New use flags, display verbose changes so you can look at them and then ask if you want to proceed.Last edited by Odward on Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:36 pm; edited 1 time in total

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## jpc22

i found that the best command when you change use flags is

sudo emerge -au  --deep --with-bdeps=y --newuse world

add -j4 if you want more things to be installed at once.

and if you get circular dependencies add --keep-going

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## psycho4m1947

 *Logicien wrote:*   

> Hi,
> 
> I am not sure I fully understand what you mean by
> 
>  *psycho4m1947 wrote:*   as soon as i exited from the chrooted environment to native gentoo text mode during the course of installation, 
> ...

 

Thank u 'log' for ur quick reply......n srry i didnt write it clear....yes i completely exited from the installation media n booted into gentoo environment with the new kernel.....no the other system were i5 and i7 machines....bt even then i am noway comparing this amd 350apu with them....and the installation media was ubuntu 12.04 64bit runnin via usb and it wasnt sluggish.........is it possible that the hard disk is culprit ? Btw dis system works reasonably well with windows 7......

So what  sud b d next step ? I know dat i hv strippd d kernel a lot to make it lean, shall i enable some more features?......thank u

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## psycho4m1947

 *jpc22 wrote:*   

> You have a lot of use flags in your make.conf  wich meand that all packages you emerge will be compiled with all those flags if they support it.
> 
> You could use the ones you cant depart from in  you make.conf and using specific packages per package in /etc/portage/make.conf     but it will involve a lot of config.
> 
> Amd processors have features that differ from the intel you were used to.
> ...

 

Thank u...bt actually i hav tried to disable those use flags '-' sign...to make the system lean

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## psycho4m1947

 *Odward wrote:*   

> Preface this with also a new linux user, sorry if I'm wrong about any info.
> 
> Your original description is a little unclear about the slowness.  When you exit the chroot environment during the install, and issue a command, there 
> 
> can be some delay because of the mounted media.  For example if you used a LiveDVD, the DVD may have to seek for that command.  Or at least I
> ...

 

Thank u odward..srry to b a bit unclear...bt its sluggish when i booted to gentoo with the new kernel after removing the installation  media....yes, i hav overdone the things with use flags......n thank u for ur kernel config file and make file...i'll use urs and try to check....thank u

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## DaggyStyle

psycho4m1947, two side notes:

it is recommended to put long pastes in sites such as dpaste as it is hard to watch a huge post, wgetpaste is the right tool for such things.

as your cpu is bobcat based and assuming that you are using =<gcc-4.6, your march is wrong, it should be either btver1 or native (latter is best).

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## psycho4m1947

thank u 'daggystyle'......srry for my long posts, as i was using my cellphone to post my comments so i messed it up...bt i ll take care of it in future......

till now i was using gcc 4.5.3 so i used dat inappropriate march.....rite nw i m updating to gcc 4.6.3...........so, will it be safe to use march=native as d previous versions of gcc used to detect certain incorrect flags for the bobcat family....thank u

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## DaggyStyle

 *psycho4m1947 wrote:*   

> thank u 'daggystyle'......srry for my long posts, as i was using my cellphone to post my comments so i messed it up...bt i ll take care of it in future......
> 
> till now i was using gcc 4.5.3 so i used dat inappropriate march.....rite nw i m updating to gcc 4.6.3...........so, will it be safe to use march=native as d previous versions of gcc used to detect certain incorrect flags for the bobcat family....thank u

 

dude, basic punctuations...  please...

native will decide for you what march to select, afaik, native is fairly new and didn't worked well in previous versions of gcc, I'd suggest you google it.

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## psycho4m1947

dude, basic punctuations...  please...

native will decide for you what march to select, afaik, native is fairly new and didn't worked well in previous versions of gcc, I'd suggest you google it.[/quote]

yeah,  i'll take care of it in future.......

   n thank you for ur help....

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## psycho4m1947

hi.....i m still fiddling with my sluggish netbook  tryin differnt settings, bt no improvement so far.........is it possible that the harddisk is not working properly? it has a 7200 rpm disk,..the output of hdparm is shown  below.....

/dev/sda:

 Timing cached reads:   1816 MB in  2.00 seconds = 907.98 MB/sec

 Timing buffered disk reads:  68 MB in  3.03 seconds =  22.46 MB/se

r d values okay for a 7200 rpm disk?.....d 'buffered disk reads' seems to b a bit low.....

plz help....

after running the netbook for half an hour.............

/dev/sda:

 Timing cached reads:   1832 MB in  2.00 seconds = 915.49 MB/sec

 Timing buffered disk reads:  20 MB in  3.02 seconds =   6.63 MB/sec

/dev/sda:

 Timing cached reads:   1870 MB in  2.00 seconds = 934.77 MB/sec

 Timing buffered disk reads:  16 MB in  3.01 seconds =   5.31 MB/sec

plz help

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## jpc22

can you check smart2 data about your hdd,  lower performance is generally not a good sign.

also check smart2 with and with something eles than hdparm (according to hdparm all my drives are bound to fail, but most of them are new and have no reallocated sectors)

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## psycho4m1947

 *jpc22 wrote:*   

> can you check smart2 data about your hdd,  lower performance is generally not a good sign.
> 
> also check smart2 with and with something eles than hdparm (according to hdparm all my drives are bound to fail, but most of them are new and have no reallocated sectors)

 

Thank you.....i'll check n post the results......

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## psycho4m1947

hi....

       after switching from cfq scheduler to deadline , my netbook feels much better...... bt from discussions on various forums, it seems dat cfq is a better option....is it okay if i continue to use deadline scheduler? or is it possible to use cfq n deadline both?.......plz help .....

thank u

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## jpc22

you can only use one scheduler. the best one for you depends on a lot of thingslike the filesystem (ext2,jfs,etc) you have chosen.

i only use deadline but trying others cant hurt. 

find the one that works best and use it.

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## psycho4m1947

 *jpc22 wrote:*   

> you can only use one scheduler. the best one for you depends on a lot of thingslike the filesystem (ext2,jfs,etc) you have chosen.
> 
> i only use deadline but trying others cant hurt. 
> 
> find the one that works best and use it.

 

thank u......i think i'll stick to deadline for a couple of days to check the overall system performance....

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## NeddySeagoon

psycho4m1947,

```
Timing buffered disk reads: 68 MB in 3.03 seconds = 22.46 MB/sec
```

is a bit on the low side for a 2.5" disk and  

```
Timing buffered disk reads: 20 MB in 3.02 seconds = 6.63 MB/sec
```

looks like DMA has been turned off. Thats really bad.

Your kernel is using the Conservative power saving govenor, which is good for batter life and poor for performace.  The On Demend govener is more responsive.

Can you install smartmontools and wgetpaste use them to tell us about your drive.

```
smartctrl -a /dev/sda | wgetpaste
```

If you have drive issues, I would expect to see something in dmesg too

```
dmesg | wgetpaste
```

tell us the URLs you get back in each case.

I can share a kernel .config if you like.  It won't work as is as my E350 is a net boting media player. No fans, no HDD, no moving parts, no noise.

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## psycho4m1947

 *NeddySeagoon wrote:*   

> psycho4m1947,
> 
> ```
> Timing buffered disk reads: 68 MB in 3.03 seconds = 22.46 MB/sec
> ```
> ...

 

thank u neddy...................

  d output of smartctl is up here...... http://bpaste.net/show/37071/

d output of dmesg .....http://bpaste.net/show/37072/

n plz provide ur kernel config file...........

thanks

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## NeddySeagoon

psycho4m1947,

My diskless fanless system reports a CPU temperature of 84C when its working hard.

Your smart data is OK.

What was your system doing when you recorded those very low HDD speeds.  If the disk was in use for something else too, the result you got with dd would be reduced due to the other disk activity.

Your dmesg is truncated, I was expecting a few screenfulls of data.  Post it with wgetpaste.

My E35M-I kernel configis for a diskless system.  It has no SATA support, (which you will need) and it has root over NFS support, which you should turn off.

You will need to make a few other checks/adjustments too.

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## psycho4m1947

 *NeddySeagoon wrote:*   

> psycho4m1947,
> 
> My diskless fanless system reports a CPU temperature of 84C when its working hard.
> 
> Your smart data is OK.
> ...

 

thank u,

             neddy, dat time my netbook was completely idle, no user application was running......dis is wat i got from dmesg    http://bpaste.net/show/37262/

regard

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## Dark Shoyu

psycho4m1947,

can you chroot to your instalation and show us the speed of your hd, using the hdparm command from there? This is just to make sure it's not a problem with the hd.

Can you also provide the result from `free -m`, both from chroot and from your installation, please? This is just to check if you're using the swap file (I couldn't find the swap option in your config file)

Just for comparison, this is the result from my hd (ST640LM000 HM641JI):

```
# hdparm -tT /dev/sda

/dev/sda:

 Timing cached reads:   2314 MB in  2.00 seconds = 1156.55 MB/sec

 Timing buffered disk reads: 270 MB in  3.00 seconds =  89.94 MB/sec

```

----------

