X video rendering intermittently fails if DRI or composite is enabled

[Peter T Hayward]

I am running Ubuntu 8.04 as at 3 May 2008.
I suspect the package compiz (1:0.7.4-0ubuntu6) to be involved. Visual Effects are set to 'normal'.
I have a Intel 945 video card in a Apple Mac Mini (early 2007).

Using the gnome desktop I have occasionally lost video rendering suddenly and completely. The desktop is there and I can type commands, even shutdown -r etc., but I cannot see any desktop. I can use ctl-alt-backspace to restart X, during which, sometimes, I can get ctl-alt-F1 to work and get VT1 showing. At the command prompt I can then run telinit 1 and then telinit 2, to restart X. This results in a blank screen again, and so on ...
The way I get rid of the blank screen is to reboot. Things are normal after that.
I think each time this has happened (about 4 times in the last 3 weeks) I was using a VM of some sort. I have been running windows server 2003 in virtualbox and, more recently, windows 2008 in qemu/KVM. The last X blackout was while I was using qemu/KVM.

The only possibly relevant message I can find in .xessionerrors is:
"gnome-terminal: Fatal IO error 11 (Resource temporarily unavailable) on X server :0.0.
Unsupported value at /apps/compiz/plugins/scale/allscreens/options/initiate_edge
settings from that path won't be read. Try to remove that value so that operation can continue properly"

This value is []

I have also had the same blackout on kde4 desktop also whilst using qemu/KVM.

[Jean-Baptiste Lallement (jibel)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Please attach your X server configuration file (/etc/X11/xorg.conf) and X server log file (/var/log/Xorg.0.log) to the bug report as individual uncompressed file attachments using the "Attachment:" box below. Could you please also try to run without any /etc/X11/xorg.conf and let Xorg autodetect your display and video card? Please also attach the /var/log/Xorg.0.log from this attempt. Thanks in advance.

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

Existing xorg.conf file attached

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

Existing Xorg.0.log attached

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

xorg.conf resulting from choosing xfix during X restart is attached.

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

Xorg.0.log resulting from first run of X after choosing xfix is attached.

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

One other point to note. I notice that the screen flashes occasionally since I have been using 8.04 (starting with beta). At apparently random moments, the screen seems to jump, a flash for perhaps a quarter second. It happens perhaps two or three times per hour but I haven't noticed any pattern. There seem to be no after effects.
I also use OSX 10.4. It doesn't jump.
I also use Suse 10.3, which seems not to jump, but I haven't used it that much.

The loss of X video seems different because the video goes more gradually, a fast fade. Today it faded again, but to white for the first time.

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

Flashing still happening. About once every 10 mins, sometimes more frequent, but still seems unconnected with screen activity.

Content of current .xsession-errors might be useful
(gnome-panel:8833): Gtk-WARNING **: gtk_widget_size_allocate(): attempt to alloc
ate widget with width -1 and height 24

** (nautilus:8838): WARNING **: Unable to add monitor: Not supported
  PID TTY TIME CMD
** Message: GetValue variable 1 (1)
** Message: GetValue variable 2 (2)
** Message: GetValue variable 1 (1)
** Message: GetValue variable 2 (2)
** Message: GetValue variable 1 (1)
** Message: GetValue variable 2 (2)
** Message: GetValue variable 1 (1)
** Message: GetValue variable 2 (2)
** Message: GetValue variable 1 (1)
etc...

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

After 4 days of not running a VM guest in Ubuntu and not getting any X video failures I have now got another X video failure.
I was using virtualbox 1.5.6 with guest of W2K8 (demo) in KDE 4 desktop. I had run for about 15 mins and was editing a text file in vim, installed on W2K8. Video just faded to black. Could not recover it.
Although I can use a VM for a while (even an hour or two) and not get this problem, all the instances of X video failure have happened while I was running and using a VM guest. May not be that many people using a VM but it is important to those that are.

[Pontus Freyhult (pontusf)]

I experience the same problems on a similar setup (Intel Mac mini with a 945, visual effects set to normal).

However, for me, it seems to happen much quicker (at least once a day), without running any VMs. As far as graphical applications go, I run only (in addition to a standard gnome desktop with some applets enabled) gnome-terminal, Psi, Thunderbird, Firefox and GNU Emacs.

I've resorted to i810 usage for the moment, but would be happy to test anything that might improve the situation.

(I'm also pretty sure this is a new issue since 7.10.)

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

I have reinstalled ubuntu both in virtualbox on Macosx and on the hard disk (as a dual boot with Macosx).
The one in virtualbox in Macosx runs without problems. Quite stable.
The one on the hard disk is now at the '-17' kernel, but still has the video problem with VMs.
I have tried running windows 2003 in KVM/QEMU and got the video fade soon after install was complete.
I tried uninstalling KVM (no kernel module) and running virtualbox (with Win2k3 guest). Again I got fade out.
I think my Hardy is unusable with VMs (but has been stable so far when VM not running).

I decided I must use virtualbox under Macosx for now, until some fix is reported.
So I have stopped using ubuntu, because of this issue. It's a stopper.

p.s. My Xorg.0.log file reports many warning lines
"fbc already enabled on plane a, not enabling on plane a"

also some lines saying
"AIGLX: 3D driver claims not to support visual 0x23"
"AIGLX: 3D driver claims not to support visual 0x24"
etc

[Pontus Freyhult (pontusf)]

Turns out I didn't make friends with 915resolution, so I went back to the intel driver. But I actually have some good news to report.

After sticking a

        Option "DRI" "false"

in my device section, everything works as a charm. Both the flashes and the complete stop of rendering are gone. Of course DRI's disabled, but that's not a problem for me (might of course be an issue for those relying on 3d graphics, for others, this should be a suitable workaround).

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

That's very good advice Pontus. Thanks.
I've run my system with DRI disabled for two days now, and run Windows Server 2003 in virtualbox for most of that time. No fades or flashes at all.
I'm pleased; I think it is fixed.
Is this something for 'xfix' to take into account when generating new xorg.conf file for this video card?

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

Using the same fix in sidux (disable DRI in xorg.conf) also makes virtualbox stable - but the desktop is then prone to regular and frequent X rendering freezes. Switching to a VT and back again to X cures it, for a few minutes. In sidux - but not in Ubuntu in my experience - DRI must be enabled to have a stable desktop.

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

I have installed Ubuntu 8.04.1 on the 8.04 partition - 'upgraded'. It now locks up completely after a few minutes. Desktop is frozen, cannot switch to VT, hard reset is the only way out. It is the same whether DRI is enabled or not. The live CD also locks up, but it kept going to finish the install.
So my experience is that moving from 8.04 to 8.04.1 has made the lockup problem worse.
Sidux is a little better but in neither case can I run virtualbox.

This is the first time I have found my system to be unusable in 15 years of Linux.
From the ubuntu forums there are a number of people - more than usual - with similar problems. It must be a priority to fix this.
Posting from MacOSX.

[Alberto Milone (albertomilone)]

Please remove the option that disables dri and add the following section to your xorg.conf:

Section "Extensions"
    Option "Composite" "Disable"
EndSection

Save the file and restart either the xserver or your computer. Compiz won't work.

See if you can still reproduce the problem.

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

About a week ago I inserted the Extensions section and not disabled DRI.
Since then ubuntu 8.04.1 has worked well. No black screens or freezes. Still get the occasional screen flash but this is rare now. Maybe once an hour, was once a minute.
As an aside, I tried the same xorg settings on a recently upgraded sidux. Sidux desktop still black-screens, usually after, or during, a graphical event, like a picture in a web page or running a bbc news video. If I then disable DRI on sidux it is totally unusable; the desktop freezes inside a minute and have to switch VTs to unfreeze.
I have run an update on ubuntu and the desktop still seems stable provided I keep the Extensions section that disables Composite.
Thanks for the advice.

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

Update. Up until today, 13 Aug, I had no more black screens or freezes. I have installed virtualbox 1.6.4 (PUEL) and that has worked well (apart from failed access to USB unless running vbox as root).
Still get occasional screen flashes but screen stays on.
Today I was zooming a multimap window on firefox and the screen went black.
It turned out that I could get to VT1 and I restarted gdm. This did restart X but still no login screen rendering on VT7. I then did telinit 1 on VT1 and this also got back to a login window on a black VT7.
Only restart of ubuntu made rendering work normally.
This is similar to previous black screens but this time I was able to get to a VT - my keyboard input was recognized. I have enabled usb now (by editing /etc/init.d/mountdevsubfs.sh) due to trying to get virtualbox USB support to work. This may have affected my ability to get to a VT.
So my confidence in X on ubuntu (or sidux) is still not high. There is some fundamental, though intermittent, instability in X for my system.

[Peter T Hayward (energonic)]

I seem to have re-activated this by accident. No need to keep this bug going. The problem is sorted by using kernel 2.6.27-2 in Hardy or just going straight to Intrepid - which is what I've done. X is perfectly stable so far in Intrepid Alpha 5 and 6.

[Jean-Baptiste Lallement (jibel)]

Thanks for following up. I'm closing this report due to your last comment regarding this being fixed in Intreprid.

Don't hesitate to submit any new bug.

[Jean-Baptiste Lallement (jibel)]

closing xorg task.

[etcetcetc (etcetcetc-mailinator)]

I'm experiencing exactly the described problems under Jaunty Jackalope using an intel graphics card and an external monitor. I don't think this is fixed yet...

[Pontus Freyhult (pontusf)]

Is this with a Mac Mini or some other system? It seems (although I haven't determined it well enough to bother writing a comment here before) that if the connected display is without power for an extended period of time (seems to be a couple of days or so), it causes my Mini to lock up.

[etcetcetc (etcetcetc-mailinator)]

It's with a Samsung Q35 with VGA Output. Before I used Gentoo and I didn't have any problems connecting the external monitor.
In the beginning it works, just after a while it starts flashing every few minutes until finally the monitor becomes black. I can still switch to TTY1 to reboot the system (restarting gdm doesn't help, afterwards the monitor still stays black).
I'm using the external monitor only, switching of the laptop monitor.