[Bug 1123330] [NEW] Shutdown fails when hwclock cannot be set

[Peter Lemieux]

Public bug reported:

Kubuntu 12.04.1

I have an older laptop with, I suspect, a failed or failing battery.
When I shutdown or reboot the computer it hangs at the hwclock command
in /etc/init/hwclock-save.conf.  Apparently there is no timeout applied
to this command.  The system repeatedly keeps trying and failing to save
the system time to the hardware clock so the shutdown process never
completes.

I have solved the problem for myself by commenting out the appropriate
command in /etc/init/hwclock-save.conf.  I diagnosed the problem by
switching to another tty and observing the shutdown sequence hang at the
hwclock command.  However a less experienced user would wonder why the
shutdown splash screen continues to be displayed, but the computer never
halts.

There should be some method for checking whether the command can be
executed, or at least a time out applied so that it doesn't keep
checking forever.

** Affects: util-linux (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Undecided
         Status: New

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1123330

Title:
  Shutdown fails when hwclock cannot be set

Status in “util-linux” package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  Kubuntu 12.04.1

  I have an older laptop with, I suspect, a failed or failing battery.
  When I shutdown or reboot the computer it hangs at the hwclock command
  in /etc/init/hwclock-save.conf.  Apparently there is no timeout
  applied to this command.  The system repeatedly keeps trying and
  failing to save the system time to the hardware clock so the shutdown
  process never completes.

  I have solved the problem for myself by commenting out the appropriate
  command in /etc/init/hwclock-save.conf.  I diagnosed the problem by
  switching to another tty and observing the shutdown sequence hang at
  the hwclock command.  However a less experienced user would wonder why
  the shutdown splash screen continues to be displayed, but the computer
  never halts.

  There should be some method for checking whether the command can be
  executed, or at least a time out applied so that it doesn't keep
  checking forever.

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