[BUG] Seriously important module for intel hardware missing

[daedaevibin]

Pre-flight checklist

• I have searched existing issues and this is not a duplicate.
• I have read the Contributing Guidelines.
• I have verified the issue is reproducible with the latest available CachyOS kernel.

Upstream / vanilla kernel check

I tested with a vanilla/upstream kernel and the issue does NOT reproduce there (CachyOS-specific bug)

Kernel variant

linux-cachyos-eevdf (EEVDF, GCC)

System information (cachyos-bugreport.sh)

Unrequired

Manual system information (if cachyos-bugreport.sh is unavailable)

6.19.10-1-cachyos-eevdf-lto
i3-1215U
Intel UHD (XE-LP using XE driver)
x86-64v3
scx_lavd (auto)

Bug description

This particular kernel module
intel_hfi
is a hard requirement for systems such as mine to have properly working thermals. it is not included in the config, as well as many alderlake specific items are also completely excluded.

Steps to reproduce

1. run modinfo intel_hfi
2. Receive modinfo: ERROR: Module intel_hfi not found.

Expected behavior

Module to either load or be pre-loaded.

Actual behavior

Reproduction steps.

Logs / stack traces

Additional system information

System:
  Kernel: 6.19.10-1-cachyos-eevdf-lto arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: clang
    v: 22.1.1 clocksource: tsc
  Desktop: Hyprland v: N/A with: waybar dm: SDDM Distro: CachyOS
    base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: HP product: HP ProBook 450 15.6 inch G9 Notebook PC
    v: SBKPFV3 serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <filter>
  Mobo: HP model: 8978 v: KBC Version 07.74.00 serial: <filter>
    part-nu: 6Y7N8UP#ABA uuid: 04669f45-6d59-47bd-84e6-d438c57be202
    Firmware: UEFI vendor: HP v: U72 Ver. 01.17.00 date: 11/06/2025
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 36.8 Wh (98.4%) condition: 37.4/51.3 Wh (72.9%)
    volts: 12.42 min: 11.58 model: Hewlett-Packard Primary type: Li-ion
    serial: <filter> charging: status: not charging cycles: 207
CPU:
  Info: 6-core (2-mt/4-st) model: 12th Gen Intel Core i3-1215U bits: 64
    type: MST AMCP smt: enabled arch: Alder Lake rev: 4 cache: L1: 544 KiB
    L2: 4.5 MiB L3: 10 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 862 min/max: 400/4400:3300 volts: 1.2 V
    ext-clock: 100 MHz cores: 1: 862 2: 862 3: 862 4: 862 5: 862 6: 862 7: 862
    8: 862 bogomips: 39936
  Flags-basic: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Alder Lake-UP3 GT1 [UHD Graphics] vendor: Hewlett-Packard
    driver: xe v: kernel arch: Xe ports: active: eDP-1 empty: DP-1, DP-2, DP-3,
    DP-4, HDMI-A-1 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:46b3 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: Quanta HP HD Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 3-1:2 chip-ID: 0408:5483 class-ID: fe01
    serial: <filter>
  Display: unspecified server: X.org v: 1.21.1.21 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.9
    compositor: Hyprland driver: X: loaded: modesetting
    alternate: fbdev,intel,vesa dri: iris gpu: xe display-ID: :1 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-size: <missing: xdpyinfo>
  Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: ChiMei InnoLux 0x1512 res: mode: 1920x1080 hz: 60
    scale: 100% (1) dpi: 143 size: 340x190mm (13.39x7.48") diag: 394mm (15.5")
    modes: 1920x1080
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris platforms: device: 0 drv: iris
    device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: iris surfaceless: drv: iris x11: drv: iris
    inactive: wayland
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 26.0.3-arch2.2
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel Graphics (ADL GT2)
    device-ID: 8086:46b3
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.341 layers: 2 surfaces: N/A device: 0
    type: integrated-gpu driver: mesa intel device-ID: 8086:46b3
  Info: Tools: api: eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor gpu: gputop, intel_gpu_top, lsgpu
    x11: xprop,xrandr
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Alder Lake PCH-P High Definition Audio
    vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: sof-audio-pci-intel-tgl bus-ID: 00:1f.3
    chip-ID: 8086:51c8 class-ID: 0401
  API: ALSA v: k6.19.10-1-cachyos-eevdf-lto status: kernel-api
  Server-1: sndiod v: N/A status: off
  Server-2: JACK v: 0.126.0 status: off
  Server-3: PipeWire v: 1.6.2 status: n/a (root, process) with:
    1: pipewire-pulse status: active 2: wireplumber status: active
    3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8852BE PCIe 802.11ax Wireless Network
    vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: rtw89_8852be v: kernel pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s
    lanes: 1 port: 4000 bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:b852 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
    vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s
    lanes: 1 port: 3000 bus-ID: 04:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp4s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Realtek Bluetooth Radio driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 1.0
    speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 3-10:3 chip-ID: 0bda:b85c class-ID: e001
    serial: <filter>
  Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 5.2
    lmp-v: 11 class-ID: 6c010c
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 156.43 GiB (65.6%)
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: KIOXIA model: N/A size: 238.47 GiB
    speed: 63.2 Gb/s lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: HP02AN00
    temp: 31.9 C scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 236.36 GiB used: 156.3 GiB (66.1%) fs: xfs dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
  ID-2: /boot size: 2 GiB used: 137.5 MiB (6.7%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
Swap:
  ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 12.87 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100
    dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 57.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
  Memory: total: 16 GiB note: est. available: 14.82 GiB used: 6.97 GiB (47.0%)
  Processes: 378 Power: uptime: 33m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: s2idle
    wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform Init: systemd v: 260 default: graphical
  Packages: 2152 pm: pacman pkgs: 2138 pm: flatpak pkgs: 14 Compilers:
    clang: 22.1.1 gcc: 15.2.1 Shell: Sudo (sudo) v: 1.9.17p2 default: fish
    v: 4.5.0 running-in: kitty inxi: 3.3.40

[daedaevibin]

Note: on further investigation I was informed incorrectly. However, it is not functioning as needed. Cause unknown.

[1Naim]

intel_hfi is builtin to the kernel image. Can you please elaborate more whats not working?

[daedaevibin]

intel_hfi is builtin to the kernel image. Can you please elaborate more whats not working?

Well from the observation I have alone it just does not function. Power settings and such are either not manageable or immutable in a way I can't touch (Including with secure boot disabled)

[daedaevibin]

additonal note:

please ask specifics, provide commands, etc.
I will check all items properly.

HFI is never initialized. dmesg remains empty.

Addition information:

My cpu would only max at 70 celsius in older kernels, and now hits 90 with wattage limits being far too high. This is dangerous for mobile chips like i3-1215U.

I am manually using intel-undervolt because of this..

intel-undervolt.txt

[1Naim]

HFI is never initialized. dmesg remains empty

The driver is meant to be silent if its working correctly, i.e. print nothing.

now hits 90 with wattage limits being far too high. This is dangerous for mobile chips like i3-1215U.

I don't think that's true at all. The usual maximum temps a mobile CPU can reach before thermal throttling is around 95+, and as long as the system doesn't crash it's operating well withing safe limits.

please ask specifics, provide commands, etc.
I will check all items properly.

I guess logs would be nice, and also elaborate what "power settings" actually is.

I tested with a vanilla/upstream kernel and the issue does NOT reproduce there (CachyOS-specific bug)

Is this also actually true?

[daedaevibin]

intel-undervolt.txt

intel-undervolt.txt

HFI is never initialized. dmesg remains empty

The driver is meant to be silent if its working correctly, i.e. print nothing.

now hits 90 with wattage limits being far too high. This is dangerous for mobile chips like i3-1215U.

I don't think that's true at all. The usual maximum temps a mobile CPU can reach before thermal throttling is around 95+, and as long as the system doesn't crash it's operating well withing safe limits.

please ask specifics, provide commands, etc.
I will check all items properly.

I guess logs would be nice, and also elaborate what "power settings" actually is.

I tested with a vanilla/upstream kernel and the issue does NOT reproduce there (CachyOS-specific bug)

Is this also actually true?

The answer to the question

That was NOT supposed to be marked. I guess something must not of registered a click on my end (among many other issues with my browser)

PL1 and PL2 are incapable of being directly managed unless you force it:

~ ❯ # Set PL1 to 15W and PL2 to 25W (Safer for ADL-U)
    echo 15000000 | sudo tee /sys/class/powercap/intel-rapl:0/constraint_0_power_limit_uw
    echo 25000000 | sudo tee /sys/class/powercap/intel-rapl:0/constraint_1_power_limit_uw
15000000
25000000
~ ❯ sudo cat /sys/class/powercap/intel-rapl:0/constraint_0_power_limit_uw
    sudo cat /sys/class/powercap/intel-rapl:0/constraint_1_power_limit_uw
15000000
25000000

Plus, many things indicate that the cores (E vs P) are not being mapped seperately and hindering throttle controls and efficiency (putting a task for a P core onto an E core)

intel-undervolt.txt

[daedaevibin]

also adding this information:

~ ❯ grep . /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpu_capacity
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpu_capacity:1024
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu1/cpu_capacity:1024
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu2/cpu_capacity:1024
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu3/cpu_capacity:1024
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu4/cpu_capacity:1024
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu5/cpu_capacity:1024
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu6/cpu_capacity:1024
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu7/cpu_capacity:1024

This is NOT correct for a hybrid-core CPU like my i3-1215U (Alder Lake U)

I use scx_lavd to bypass this though since is supposedly relies on the CPPC values which are actually correct

~ ❯ grep . /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/acpi_cppc/highest_perf

/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/acpi_cppc/highest_perf:56
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu1/acpi_cppc/highest_perf:56
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu2/acpi_cppc/highest_perf:56
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu3/acpi_cppc/highest_perf:56
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu4/acpi_cppc/highest_perf:33
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu5/acpi_cppc/highest_perf:33
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu6/acpi_cppc/highest_perf:33
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu7/acpi_cppc/highest_perf:33

[daedaevibin]

I have come to find that Intel's HFI just never functions. The reason is unknown, as there is no attempt made for it to even initialize.

[ptr1337]

I think the best would be reporting it upstream, if you can not reproduce it with the "linux" kernel

[daedaevibin]

I think the best would be reporting it upstream, if you can not reproduce it with the "linux" kernel

I will install the standard kernel and update on that. I'll be back soon!

[daedaevibin]

~ ❯ sudo dmesg
[    7.611015] Bluetooth: MGMT ver 1.23
[    7.615803] NET: Registered PF_ALG protocol family
[    7.736192] Bluetooth: hci0: AOSP extensions version v1.00
[    7.782624] nvme nvme0: using unchecked data buffer
[    7.785480] block nvme0n1: No UUID available providing old NGUID
[    7.910201] Consider using thermal netlink events interface
[    8.297279] overlayfs: "xino" feature enabled using 2 upper inode bits.
[    8.407274] overlayfs: "xino" feature enabled using 2 upper inode bits.
[    8.512001] overlayfs: "xino" feature enabled using 2 upper inode bits.
[    8.643563] wlan0: authenticate with 22:8b:76:8b:8e:fc (local address=f8:54:f6:1a:65:f8)
[    8.643569] wlan0: send auth to 22:8b:76:8b:8e:fc (try 1/3)
[    8.646034] wlan0: 22:8b:76:8b:8e:fc denied authentication (status 77)
[    8.704779] overlayfs: "xino" feature enabled using 2 upper inode bits.
[    8.840748] wlan0: authenticate with 22:8b:76:8b:8e:fc (local address=f8:54:f6:1a:65:f8)
[    8.840752] wlan0: send auth to 22:8b:76:8b:8e:fc (try 1/3)
[    8.866516] wlan0: authenticate with 22:8b:76:8b:8e:fc (local address=f8:54:f6:1a:65:f8)
[    8.866520] wlan0: send auth to 22:8b:76:8b:8e:fc (try 1/3)
[    8.866906] overlayfs: "xino" feature enabled using 2 upper inode bits.
[    8.889376] wlan0: authenticated
[    8.889612] wlan0: associate with 22:8b:76:8b:8e:fc (try 1/3)
[    8.894314] wlan0: RX AssocResp from 22:8b:76:8b:8e:fc (capab=0x1511 status=0 aid=1)
[    8.970435] overlayfs: "xino" feature enabled using 2 upper inode bits.
[    8.998809] wlan0: associated
[    8.998898] wlan0: Limiting TX power to 24 (24 - 0) dBm as advertised by 22:8b:76:8b:8e:fc
[    9.075561] overlayfs: "xino" feature enabled using 2 upper inode bits.
[    9.211920] overlayfs: "xino" feature enabled using 2 upper inode bits.
[    9.393946] overlayfs: "xino" feature enabled using 2 upper inode bits.
[    9.611187] overlayfs: "xino" feature enabled using 2 upper inode bits.
[    9.912280] Bluetooth: RFCOMM TTY layer initialized
[    9.912301] Bluetooth: RFCOMM socket layer initialized
[    9.912313] Bluetooth: RFCOMM ver 1.11
[   11.848625] ops->cpu_acquire/release() are deprecated, use sched_switch TP instead
[   11.869063] sched_ext: BPF scheduler "lavd_1.1.0_gc505008f_x86_64_unknown_linux_gnu" enabled
[   23.610286] warning: `kdeconnectd' uses wireless extensions which will stop working for Wi-Fi 7 hardware; use nl80211

Standard arch kernel says this, will look into it further.