#1147098 linux-image-6.12: nouveau: "failed to create ce channel, -22" logged on every boot on GT218, not present with 6.1

Package:
src:linux
Source:
src:linux
Submitter:
Xavier Chantry
Date:
2026-09-10 08:31:08 UTC
Severity:
normal
Tags:
#1147098#5
Date:
2026-09-07 14:56:53 UTC
From:
To:
Dear Maintainer,


CONTEXT
=======

I upgraded this machine from Debian 11 to Debian 12 to Debian 13. While
looking
into a Wayland freeze on the same machine (Debian bug #1147096) I noticed
this
error message, which is unrelated as far as I can tell but is new since the
upgrade.


WHAT I OBSERVE
==============

On a GeForce 210 (GT218, Tesla), nouveau logs an error-level message on
every
boot with the 6.12 kernel:

  nouveau 0000:01:00.0: drm: failed to create ce channel, -22
  nouveau 0000:01:00.0: drm: MM: using COPY for buffer copies

Booting the same machine on linux-image-6.1.0-52-amd64 does not print it.

I have not noticed any misbehaviour I could attribute to it, and the second
line suggests buffer copies still work. I am reporting it because it is an
error that was not there before, on hardware that is presumably not tested
much any more.


HARDWARE AND VERSIONS
=====================

  01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GT218 [GeForce 210]
(rev a2)
  Dell Inc. OptiPlex 390/0M5DCD, BIOS A07 05/27/2012
  nouveau 0000:01:00.0: NVIDIA GT218 (0a8280b1), bios 70.18.49.00.00, 1024
MiB DDR3

  linux-image-6.12.107+deb13-amd64: 6.12.107-1
  not present on:                   linux-image-6.1.0-52-amd64 (6.1.180-1)


WHAT THE LOGS CONTAIN
=====================

6.12, every boot:

  nouveau 0000:01:00.0: NVIDIA GT218 (0a8280b1)
  nouveau 0000:01:00.0: bios: version 70.18.49.00.00
  nouveau 0000:01:00.0: fb: 1024 MiB DDR3
  nouveau 0000:01:00.0: drm: VRAM: 1024 MiB
  nouveau 0000:01:00.0: drm: GART: 1048576 MiB
  nouveau 0000:01:00.0: drm: TMDS table version 2.0
  nouveau 0000:01:00.0: drm: failed to create ce channel, -22
  nouveau 0000:01:00.0: drm: MM: using COPY for buffer copies
  [drm] Initialized nouveau 1.4.0 for 0000:01:00.0 on minor 0

6.1, same machine, same place in the sequence:

  nouveau 0000:01:00.0: DRM: TMDS table version 2.0
  [...]
  nouveau 0000:01:00.0: DRM: MM: using COPY for buffer copies

i.e. the "using COPY" line is there in both cases; only the error is new.
#1147098#10
Date:
2026-09-10 08:30:08 UTC
From:
To:
Hi

This bug report was most likely written by a LLM.  It lacks all the
information we collect via the preferred way of using reportbug.  We
consider this unactionable and will just close it without looking
further.

For the future: please use "reportbug kernel".

Bastian