GL screensaver hangs when using multiple displays

[sibidiba]

Binary package hint: gnome-screensaver

Running Hardy and using the integrated intel video controller
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 0c)

I can't use GL screensavers on two monitors (LVDS and VGA).

Using them on a single display, or running them in multiple (preview) windows works fine. But if they start up normally (full screen on both displays at once), I either get abrupt only a black screen (e.g. with glblur) or it starts normally, but hangs later when it should pop up the password dialog on some keyboard/mouse event (e.g. queens).
Only solution is to log in remotely, and kill the appropriate processes.

[Grahame Cooper (grahame-jandg-cooper)]

I am experiencing similar behaviour running Hardy on a Lenovo z61p laptop with Mobility FireGL V5200 VGA controller and the ATI accelerated graphics driver in dual head mode with a separate desktop on the secondary display.

When the screensaver has been activated, once the main screen has become fully blank, the secondary screen does not blank, but keeps the same desktop showing. Moving the mouse or pressing shift have no effect, and neither screen responds to mouse clicks (the cursor is still active and will move across both screens).

I can recover by switching to a console and killing the gnome-screensaver-gl-helper process. When I kill this process the first time, another instance of the process is created (and the screen still does not respond), but when I kill that second instance of the process, the (Gnome) screens are active again.

Also, the Gnome screensaver preferences dialogue will not work when operating in dual head mode. The dialogue box opens, but it hangs before any content is displayed in the dialogue.

It all works fine in single head mode.

(Note, I am not using Compiz as that will not work in dual head mode.)

[kurt_tas (kurt-taschl)]

I am experiencing the same situation described above with following video card:

product: RV370 5B60 [Radeon X300 (PCIE)]
vendor: ATI Technologies Inc

in dual-head mode using Xinerama.
I am not using Compiz, too.

[Anant Khaitan (anantkhaitan)]

Same as Grahame Cooper,

Product : Compaq Presario C773TU Notebook PC

Config : Linux computer-name 2.6.24-21-generic #1 SMP Tue Oct 21 23:43:45 UTC 2008 i686 GNU/Linux

Distro : Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron

[Charles Galpin (cgalpin)]

Same as Grahame Cooper

cgalpin@hog:~$ cat /etc/lsb-release
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=8.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=hardy
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 8.04.1"
cgalpin@hog:~$ uname -a
Linux hog 2.6.24-21-generic #1 SMP Tue Oct 21 23:43:45 UTC 2008 i686 GNU/Linux

Seems to be the same as Bug #45018.

I have not had luck killing the gnome-screensaver-gl-helper process but didn't look to see if another was started. Will try that, thanks!

Anyone know how to disable the screen saver on the commandline?

[Daniel T Chen (crimsun)]

Is this symptom still reproducible in 8.10 or 9.04?

[sibidiba (sibidiba)]

Can't reproduce it on 8.10.