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I have noticed a lot of questions lately about generic "errors on boot" (ACPI warnings and such).

Here are some that came up since June 1st:

  1. How to fix these errors during boot?
  2. Strange messages on startup after the latest update
  3. Multiple errors when booting Ubuntu (SGX disabled by BIOS among others)
  4. BIOS ACPI error when dual booting Ubuntu
  5. Can someone explain/help me understand/solve this ACPI error bug?
  6. Ubuntu boot ACPI error
  7. Ubuntu firmware bug on boot

And some more from earlier:

  1. When I turn on my desktop every time showing some error
  2. ACPI error messages during boot
  3. How do I fix an ACPI error?
  4. Error messages at boot, what they mean and how can I fix them?

As I understand, if the OS otherwise boots properly and seems to be working, it is safe to ignore the errors. Are there specific cases where we should be recommending some debugging steps (even when the OS otherwise works properly)? Is there some canonical answer I can send these kinds of questions to?

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    similar situation: OP sees these boot errors and thinks they have some relation to a totally unrelated issue they are having
    – Esther
    Commented Jul 11, 2022 at 18:52
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    This one comes closer to a decent answer: askubuntu.com/q/1333069/57576 and perhaps might be the base answer? With these acpi warnings there seem to be 3 choices: 1. Update bios, potentially lethal if done incorrectly and no guarantee to stop errors. 2. Disable acpi in grub, errors stop but so do a lot of things. 3. Ignore these warnings as benign and praise the diligence of Linux as opposed to the sloppiness of bios developers 🙂.
    – andrew.46 Mod
    Commented Jul 11, 2022 at 21:16

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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To expand a little on my thoughts, expressed in the comments above:

Questions related to ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) warnings on boot are in fact in over supply on Ask Ubuntu. Thanks to @Esther for some keen detective work in not only seeing the trend but also in documenting the trend so exactly! And thanks as well to @Artur Meinild for getting things moving along!

My own view of the ACPI warnings is that there are three general classes of answers that could be given, with one answer being the most usually acceptable (hint: it is the number 1 bullet point!):

  1. Benign warnings which can be safely ignored: BIOS / UEFI developers have not followed the exact ACPI specifications that Linux tests for and a warning is issued; often unfortunately labelled as an error. 95% of these warnings can be safely ignored.
  2. BIOS updates and/or adjustments required: In rare cases an updated BIOS may address the errors and perhaps in some cases some small changes in the existing BIOS settings may be required to address the warnings. Keeping in mind the target audience on AU and the very real possibility of bricking the computer with a bad BIOS flash I would suspect that advice of this sort would be issued sparingly and with considerable warnings. (I would think the same caveats would apply to updating the Kernel in a bid to escape ACPI warnings.)
  3. Turn ACPI off via grub: This would general be a 'Bad Idea™' as this would open the door to many applications and services that use ACPI not functioning at all. Heating and hardware issues are addressed here on AU where it can be seen that while it can be done it is not a great idea.

On my look through Ask Ubuntu the question and answer that I found that seemed to address the safest course was this:

And after the required discussion on this Meta thread I would suggest that this would be a reasonable canonical thread with which to close as Duplicates most (not all) of the many other ACPI error threads.

But I am more than prepared for this and all the points raised in this answer to be robustly debated and/or challenged before a wholesale set of Duplicates are created!

Edit: I have closed some as Duplicates and I see the Community has sorted out the rest...

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As per Andrew's suggestion, I've updated the canonical questions thread, and included the suggested base answer, as well as all Esther's findings.

Please upvote or improve the canonical answer, if you feel this is warranted. Also, @Rinzwind has a good answer here, which could possibly be merged as an answer to the canonical question?

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    Well, I wouldn't say I have improved the answer but I have improved the formatting a little to enhance readability. Rinzewind's answer is quite specific to the question as it mentions Trusted Platform Module so this would perhaps be lost in another question if merged?
    – andrew.46 Mod
    Commented Jul 13, 2022 at 3:06

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