Re: [PATCH v2] pci: Do not enable PCIe GEN3 link retrain workaround by default

["Maciej W. Rozycki" <macro@orcam.me.uk>]

On Sat, 27 Aug 2022, Pali Rohár wrote:

> Moreover this workaround is enabled for all existing hardware and also all
> future PCIe hardware, which opens a hole that other PCIe vendors may
> introduce same HW issue as on systems where this workaround is required and
> nobody would notice it because U-Boot automatically apply workaround for it.

 Why is it a problem?  Is the intent to cause hassle to end users and 
force them to take action when they have a non-working piece of hardware?  

 I'd say in 99% of cases this will only cause frustration and they won't 
bother.  They will just conclude that either piece of hardware involved is 
broken and will throw it away.  Just as I almost did.  The seller has 
offered me a refund, which seems thought to be a universal solution 
nowadays (but I need to do what I meant to and getting money back doesn't 
solve it).

 And at least I know what U-boot (or indeed firmware) is and have a 
general understanding of how computers work.  Most people just want to 
plug stuff in and use it for whatever their need is.  Expecting them to 
take action to get things working is wasting their time (which BTW seems 
to have been a growing trend in last ~30 years: putting burden on the end 
user to get our problems solved, which saves our time and money at the 
expense of end user's).

 NB I'm slowly getting fed up with the amount of non-working stuff piling 
up around.  Every other piece of equipment I try doesn't work for one 
reason or another and I need to either chase bugs myself or to spend days 
and weeks to persuade someone at least to believe a problem is there to 
get that sorted.  All in my free time I'd rather spend on something else.  
I'd welcome things working automagically for a change so that I could 
focus on what I mean to be doing, and therefore I take breaking things 
deliberately as a major offence.

 FWIW,

  Maciej