Xubuntu: downloading packages in Synaptic freezes

[Michael Cook]

Xubuntu 8.04: Sometimes when downloading new packages via Synaptic the Apply will start downloading packages. This typically freezes, sometimes halfway through. If you press cancel, after 'some reasonable amount of time' the manager continues (having actually downloaded the files) and unpacks and installs.

Seems to have happened about 3/5 times installing over 30 packages from the Xubuntu 8.04 baseline.

I noticed tonight that this freeze can also happen when its building its dependency tree. I dont know if it is the manager's fault or it is waiting for some Xubuntu server. Moving the manager window or disturbing it seems to unfreeze it so it feels like it is the application itself that is faulty. Never seen on Ubuntu 7.10.

WORKAROUND:
This is no longer an issue with the recompiled edition of vncserver as per:
http://www.francescosantini.com/index.php?page=linux&lang=en

[Michael Cook (michaelcook-mjc)]

I 'think' this is a result of package manager waiting on queued items.

[Michael Cook (michaelcook-mjc)]

If I click on some of the items in the "Show progress of single files" dialogue box they immediately jump from Queued to Done. I'm only talking about say four files, 400Kb each. It should normally take seconds, not minutes but I have to click on them and then the download completes, moves to install phase.

[Michael Cook (michaelcook-mjc)]

Further to this freezing, the update-manager freezes reporting installable patches.
I found if I rapidly mouse around the inactive dialog controls while its searching for patches then the scroll bar starts moving across and eventually completes a list of available patches.

Otherwise it just sits there doing nothing, progress bar is stuck. Although it seems the work is pretty much done in the background it feels like the dialog box is only updating in response to HID/Mouse input and not actually related to the activity it is supposed to be reporting.

GUI widget issue? I have updated over 15 updates and will reboot and report back if this has been addressed.

[Michael Cook (michaelcook-mjc)]

Same behaviour with installation & unpacking dialog box... just sits there until you move the dialog window or mouse around on it, clicking.

[Michael Cook (michaelcook-mjc)]

No one else seeing this behaviour. Even after weeks of updates I'm still seeing this. Maybe related to 219473 "no policykit access on ltsp thin client" which seems to be getting little attention according to bug-tracker although a few of us have reported seeing the same behaviour.

If this isn't going to be fixed let me know... I will pick an alternative distribution.

[Michael Cook (michaelcook-mjc)]

This is no longer an issue with the recompiled edition of vncserver as per:
http://www.francescosantini.com/index.php?page=linux&lang=en

[Charlie Kravetz (cjkgeek)]

Are you running Synaptic Package Manager through vnc? What applications are in use while it is running? Does the freeze happen if you have no other apps running while the Package Manager completes the tasks?

Thanks for helping improve Xubuntu.

[Michael Cook (michaelcook-mjc)]

I run the package manager through vnc... as I dont have a local terminal. There need not be any applications running. The system I am using is particularly low-powered so its really used as a server but I use the GUI to do admin stuff because its slightly more obvious! ;o) Noob ;o) I chose Xubuntu because of its low power and crappy graphics. Its the C7 Eden chipset from pccappacino.com.

I noticed performance issues with Ubuntu and vnc until I used the recompiled-vncserver package from my previous note. I did not have hte same problem with unpacking dialogue hanging. It seemed like a GUI/X-server type problem because if I furiously moused and clicked around the GUI the unpacking dialogue progress bar would progress. The issue is probably independent to the package manager in this case... but it was the only application I really used (as the machine is more a proxy/server).

(Another oddity: I know the GUI package manager in laymans terms is calling cmd-line facilities. I noticed however I'd always have stuff to install with the GUI that the 'apt-get update; apt-get upgrade' didn't always complete.)

[Charlie Kravetz (cjkgeek)]

I am changing the Package from synaptic to vnc4, since the bug is fixed by using an upgrade of vnc4-server and vnc4-common.

Thanks for reporting this bug and any supporting documentation. Since this bug has enough information provided for a developer to begin work, I'm going to mark it as confirmed and let them handle it from here. Thanks for taking the time to make Ubuntu better!