Desktop corrupt with ume-launcher > 0.6.5

[Steve Jackson]

Since upgrading from 0.6.5, ume-launcher creates horizontal stripes on my desktop instead of its beautiful icon display, but only when I am using an external monitor. Other windows display correctly on top of it, as do refreshed parts of the panel. It works fine on the internal screen. Tested up to 0.6.8, reverting to 0.6.5 fixes it, no other changes. Ubuntu Hardy 8.04.1, Nvidia 96.43.05, 1280x1024 external screen, 1024x768 internal screen.

I believe ume-launcher is detecting the internal screen size even when the external screen is active. Xrandr query shows the correct size in use.

I think this really belongs to 'Ubuntu Netbook Remix Launcher', the Hardy version, but not sure how to remove 'Netbook launcher' - sorry!

[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

Hmm, this is really weird. I just read a diff of the changes between 0.6.5 and 0.6.8 and can't see where resize events wouldn't be honoured :-/.

How does gnome-panel react? Can I see a screenshot of the issue please?

[Steve Jackson (aearenda)]

Screenshot 1 attached: this is shortly after starting ume-launcher 0.6.8. The panel is messed up too.

[Steve Jackson (aearenda)]

Screenshot-2 - this is about 5 seconds later. More info: There is a terminal window left mostly corrupt and without a frame, and the centre area is black. Some panel applets refresh correctly as the mouse moves over. Ume-launcher is taking about 90% cpu. All application windows refresh correctly when minimised and then maximised. If I then click on 'Go Home', the entire screen below the panel goes white. 'Killall ume-launcher' followed by downgrade to 0.6.5 and ALT-F2 ume-launcher puts everything back as it should be, except it doesn't refresh the corrupted parts of the panel until the panel is triggered to refresh another way.

[Steve Jackson (aearenda)]

Third screenshot - another instance, with the terminal session running top.

[Steve Jackson (aearenda)]

A thought that arises from your comment, Neil - it most likely isn't an on-the-fly resize event causing this. It happens when I log on using an external screen, and the screen size is set to 1280x1024 when the nvidia driver starts up for GDM.

However, I have just tested to see what happens when the screen IS resized on the fly, by using the nvidia-settings applet. The result is that everything is fine when switching to 1024x768 on the internal screen OR the external screen, and it gets messed up again when switching on the fly to 1280x1024 on the external screen (the internal screen can't go that high).

[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

This is really odd, normally nvidia drivers are the benchmark for gl on any display :-)

Can you please try running the launcher with `CLUTTER_VBLANK=none ume-launcher` and see if you still get the same problem (try replacing the "exec" line for ume-launcher in Preferences->Sessions->Startup Programs with it.

[Steve Jackson (aearenda)]

If I just put that in the command line of Preferences->Sessions->Startup Programs it doesn't start at all. However, I have already come across that issue in connection with the glxgears frame rate, so I put it in a script and start the script from Preferences->Sessions->Startup Programs. The script looks like this:

#!/bin/bash
CLUTTER_VBLANK=none ume-launcher

It makes no difference, other than to the frame rate in glxgears. I've tested today with 0.6.10, same deal. Reverting to 0.6.5 still fixes it without logging off.

[Steve Jackson (aearenda)]

I just looked at the code changes in 0.6.6, and then did some experimentation with the desktop background settings. Here is the outcome, using 0.6.10:

Style: Fill screen, centered, or scaled: everything is fine.
Style: Zoom or tiled: desktop is corrupt.

I had been using 'zoom'.

This should help!

[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

Nice catch :-).

Does this happen with all wallpaper or just certain pictures (I can't reproduce it on my system)? If it's only some pictures, could you please attach them to the bug so I can test it out.

[Steve Jackson (aearenda)]

I don't have time to do that testing just now - but it definitely gives the error with the default Hardy Heron background image. I wonder if it is peculiar to this Nvidia driver.

[Steve Jackson (aearenda)]

OK, it happens with all the wallpapers I have tried, whenever 'zoom' is set using only the external screen, including the default Hardy Heron background. You have to start ume-launcher, or change the screen resolution, with the background already in place to see the effect - just changing the background will not trigger it. It does not happen without a wallpaper being selected.

[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

I can't see anything obviously wrong with the code, so I'm going to try and reproduce this again with a dual-head set-up.

What worries me is display corruption that your seeing which is effecting the panel too (the panel is plain Gtk, so this doesn't seem to be a gl-only bug).

[Steve Jackson (aearenda)]

Regardless of the wallpaper, and regardless of the vblank setting, I see the same corruption on the external display if I start ume-launcher while glxgears is running.

[Steve Jackson (aearenda)]

I'm running on Intrepid now, updated to today, and I get the screen corruption if I start netbook-launcher on the external screen unless there is *no* wallpaper set.

[gdfs gsg dfs (tzetz)]

I've got the same problem ... If i connect a second screen and use the screen configurator tool, netbook-launcher use 100% CPU. Even a restart or deleting and reinstalling netbook-launcher doesn't resolve the problem. Last time i had to re-install Ubuntu. This time i don't know if i'll do ...

[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

I'm seriously out of ideas. I've use nvidia based laptop and desktop and I've tested both and none exhibit these errors. The final thing that I can think of is trying to upgrade to the latest nvidia drivers on your own system, or trying to use one of the Jaunty live-cds to test out the latest Xorg and nvidia drivers.

[Steve Jackson (aearenda)]

Unfortunately my TC1100 has failed and I have now downgraded to an Acer Aspire One. It has other issues with external screens, but this is not one of them. This means that I can't do any further testing, sorry.

[Adam Friedlander (fanbeatsman)]

I am experiencing this bug and can send any configuration files that would help. My machine is a vanilla Eee PC 900A running eeebuntu.

[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

Hi Adam, you may be experiencing a different bug which in the Jaunty kernel. Some information is available here: https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/linux/+bug/349314. That bug also contains a kernel which should fix the issue. Unfortuantely it seems that the patch was committed to jaunty, and then reverted. It will probably land as a stable-release-update, but you should be able to use it now and get performance back.