[i845] [i82845G/GL Brookdale-G] Screen freeze after while of working

[Terry O'Brien]

This bug was reported previously and relates to bug number 497179 with the following details:

DETAILS: Hi, hope someone can help out. I have Ubuntu 9.10 upgraded from 9.04 and running dual boot parallel with XP Windows (which is not experiencing the same problem, so not a hardware fault). I start up and work for awhile and eventually the screen stops responding to the cursor, so I have to switch off power and reboot to continue. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can fix this problem?

The source package (as I understand it) is to do with this upgraded version.
1) the release is currently 9.10
2) the response to this command is 'W: Unable to locate package packagename'. I don't know what to check for in Synaptic??

INTERRUPTION!! - the screen keeps freezing as I attempt to complete this information so I will send now and add to it later if I can.

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: i386
Date: Fri Jan 1 20:34:55 2010
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
ExecutablePath: /usr/bin/yelp
Package: yelp 2.28.0-0ubuntu2
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_AU.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-16.53-generic
SourcePackage: yelp
Uname: Linux 2.6.31-16-generic i686
XsessionErrors:
 (gnome-settings-daemon:1540): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
 (gnome-settings-daemon:1540): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
 (nautilus:1629): Eel-CRITICAL **: eel_preferences_get_boolean: assertion `preferences_is_initialized ()' failed
 (polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1:1651): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_once_init_leave: assertion `initialization_value != 0' failed
 (gnome-panel:1587): Gtk-WARNING **: gtk_widget_size_allocate(): attempt to allocate widget with width -3 and height 24

[lspci]
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82845G/GL[Brookdale-G]/GE/PE DRAM Controller/Host-Hub Interface (rev 01)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 82845G/GL[Brookdale-G]/GE Chipset Integrated Graphics Device (rev 01)
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82845G/GL[Brookdale-G]/GE/PE DRAM Controller/Host-Hub Interface (rev 01)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 82845G/GL[Brookdale-G]/GE Chipset Integrated Graphics Device (rev 01)

[Alex Wardle (awardle)]

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? When you do please also attach the /var/log/Xorg.0.log from this attempt. Thanks in advance.

[Terry O'Brien (dialogue-quest)]

Thanks Alex,
I am still quite a novice to the terminal, but 'permission denied' was the response to each of the entries, and could not locate from 'File Search'. I will check out the bug report links again to get more info on how to proceed. And how do I run without any /etc/X11/xorg.conf?
Terry

[Alex Wardle (awardle)]

You should be able to attach the files by going to the "Add Attachment" link on this page and selecting the files. At the moment, the best way of running without using xorg.conf would be to type this in to the command line: sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf ~/Desktop/xorg.conf

[Terry O'Brien (dialogue-quest)]

Tried as suggested, and I assume you mean to go to the 'File System' - but then I am confronted by abbreviated names of folders so I do not have a clue where to look for the required files - could you please be more specific as I am not all that PC tech minded, though I can follow logical steps easily enough - thanks

[Alex Wardle (awardle)]

What you need to do is do what you did last time and when you have selected 'File System' then go to the folder called 'var' then to one called 'log' and there should be a file called Xorg.0.log. You then need to attach this file. For the second file do the same but when you get to 'file system' click on 'etc' then 'X11' and then choose the file called xorg.conf . To run without xorg.conf you will need to type this into the terminal:

sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf ~/Desktop/xorg.conf

This will move the xorg.conf file to your desktop which will be useful if we need to restore it.

Hope these steps will help, Alex

[Terry O'Brien (dialogue-quest)]

ok - will try now!

[Terry O'Brien (dialogue-quest)]

next attachment...

[Terry O'Brien (dialogue-quest)]

Thank you - that all went well - xorg.conf is now on the desktop - it has a 'lock' symbol on it, so hope this is not an obstacle?

[Akria (akria62)]

Can confirm this bug on girlfriend's father's computer upgraded from 9.04 to 9.10 - will attach Xorg logs in one moment. Having looked through system logs I can see that various things are still working - NetworkManager for example, disconnected from the wireless network and then attempts to reconnect, there are still reports from PulseAudio, Avahi et al.

[Alex Wardle (awardle)]

Terry O'Brien: Could you run this command in the terminal " lspci >> lspci " and then attach the file called lspci that you should find in your Home folder. Thanks

[Akria (akria62)]

As promised.

[Alex Wardle (awardle)]

Akria: Since this is a problem with xorg please could you open a new bug and report your bug there. The reason this needs to be done is because in xorg there are a lot of bugs that show the same symptoms but have different causes therefore until we are sure that it is a duplicate it would be useful to have it as a separate bug. Thank you

[Terry O'Brien (dialogue-quest)]

Attached lspci as instructed.
Checked the site to do with xorg - the command to open a new bug is "ubuntu-bug -p xorg" - should I then refer to this current bug number? - how much of the details of this bug should I transfer?
Alex - you posted: Changed in xserver-xorg-video-intel (Ubuntu):
status: Incomplete → New
is this something I need to act on in some way, or is it just a statement of current status for general information?

[Terry O'Brien (dialogue-quest)]

Thanks for your input Akria. I don't know why it attempts to reconnect to wireless as it is connected permanently to broadband via ethernet cable. And I notice when I click on the icon (installed on the top toolbar) for signing in to hotmail, the screens shakes slightly and a flash of a green line appears around the edges - at its worst this has appeared as a series of green line boxes, but that hasn't happened for awhile.
I will wait to hear back before creating a new bug report.

[Alex Wardle (awardle)]

Terry O'Brien: You don't need to make a new bug, I was telling Akria to make a new one. The message which said "Changed in xserver-xorg-video-intel (Ubuntu): status: Incomplete → New" is a message from launchpad telling that I had changed what package this bug was assigned to and its status.

Does the freeze happen when you do something particular because they are hardly random?

[Terry O'Brien (dialogue-quest)]

will start keeping a record of when freezes occur - lately they have been less often, but it always freezes when after screensaver eventually defaults to sleep (or is it hibernation - same thing?) - it won't restore by moving mouse or pressing enter, so I have to shut power off. But noticed yesterday that this does not happen when music player is on.
Seems to occur more when surfing net or emailing, but also happens when word processing or using pc generally. The thin green line left of screen accompanied by a quick shudder of the screen - upon clicking on toolbar icons - is the main symptom of the fault - aside from the eventual freezing itself.

[Alex Wardle (awardle)]

The only way I know to get ubuntu out of sleep is to press the power button once, moving the mouse or pressing keys does not seem to wake it up. I think the green line may be important though, unfortunately I am not a xorg developer and have no idea how it works so I don't think I can do much more except to wait and see if a developer looks at this. Thank you for responding to my queries, I think the developer will now have enough information to debug this fault.

[Terry O'Brien (dialogue-quest)]

I have 2 machines each with Ubuntu 9.10, and I have always been able to just move the mouse to restore, so maybe machines later than pentium 4 do not respond in this way.
Latest on freeze is that it froze last night while viewing photos, so is not specific to whatever I am doing on the workspace, though - just a few minutes ago - I unlocked the window changer on the lower panel as it had somehow slipped to the middle as I relocated a url icon. I successfully relocated the window changer, but then when I tried to move the garbage bin after unlocking it, the screen froze and I had to press the boot up button on the pc to shut down. When it came up again, the top and bottom panels appeared but the screen was all black. Rebooted again and screen was again black but came back on after moving the cursor around a few times. Then unlocked and moved the shut down applet on the top panel - successfully - and then the date/time applet, where it again frose after unlocking and clicking on 'move' (in the drop down menu - right click), and again it froze, but after rebooting, the screen did not go black again, and I was able to complete the relocating operation without a further freeze.
Sorry for the convoluted detail but figure it is best to give as clear a picture as possible.
And thanks for all your patience and assistance Alex - I understand that I have to wait now for a developer to take a look at it (hopefully!). Learning a lot through this exercise though, in terms of the process involved in locating package faults and reporting them effectively. I am overall very much enjoying my Linux experience - problems included!
All the best - Terry

[Terry O'Brien (dialogue-quest)]

Thanks for your response Bryce, I am thinking of re-installing 9.10 as the last resort unless you suggest otherwise? But if you think that might be the best action to take at this point could you provide any links that may assist me in the process? I found the following but would be good to have more detail:

http://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/reinstallation

Sometimes, in the beginning of your Linux adventure, you'll want to reinstall Ubuntu. Because you've inadvertently spoiled the system beyond repair (it happens to us all!).

There are several ways to reinstall, but this is probably the easiest way to do it:

1. Backup your personal documents, music, pictures et cetera, on an external storage medium. Like a CD, a DVD, an external hard drive or a USB memory stick.

2. In Ubuntu 9.10, you can use the Desktop CD: boot your computer from the Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop CD and start GParted: System - Administration - GParted. Then use this disk partitioner, to completely destroy the Ubuntu partitions. Or you can use the free GParted LiveCD for that (Ubuntu 8.04).

Don't format the Ubuntu partitions, just destroy them. The result will be unallocated free space.

3. Reboot your computer. Don't remove the Ubuntu CD.

4. Boot again from the Ubuntu CD and choose again "Install Ubuntu". During it's course, the installation application will automatically suggest to install Ubuntu on the unallocated free space on the hard drive. Which is what you want.

After you've agreed to it's proposal, the installer takes automatically care of the rest!

[Tom (tom6)]

Terry,

Point 1 about backing up all your data and settings to external drive is excellent advice otherwise you will lose all the data on the Ubuntu side unless you follow a fairly simple procedure that no-one seems to know about except me & i am late for work. So backup your entire /home to external drive or onto another machine to backup everything.

Please ask this as a new question. It might seem like a stupid question or "obvious" but i think there are a lot of people that would appreciate finding a clear question about this in the "Solved Answers Database" in the future. It was something i looked for when i first started.
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+addquestion

The "obvious" guide is
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot

I am sure i once found an excellent guide elsewhere but cant find the bookmark to it now :(

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

[jbowen7 (jbowen7)]

I can confirm this problem, I'm experiencing the same symptoms on a dell dimension 2350 with a pentium 4 2.0 MHz, same chipset, karmic, etc.

Reinstalling does not fix the problem, but using the older (2.4) intel xorg driver significantly helped. My processor usage dropped from about 90% while watching movies to about 50% (which is still too much) after changing drivers, but I still can't watch hulu (very choppy).

here's a link: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ReinhardTartler/X/RevertingIntelDriverTo2.4

Also if your screen does freeze do this:
1) press control, alt, and f2
2) you'll come to a black screen that says your computer name and login (e.g. 'computer name' login:)
     i) login in with your user name and then enter your password
3) then when you've reached the command line enter:
     i) sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart
    ii) enter your password

This should bring your screen back.

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 82845G/GL[Brookdale-G]/GE Chipset Integrated Graphics Device (rev 03)
 Subsystem: Dell Device 0147
 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
 Memory at e0000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=128M]
 Memory at ee000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512K]
 Capabilities: <access denied>
 Kernel driver in use: i915
 Kernel modules: i915

[Terry O'Brien (dialogue-quest)]

Thanks for all that. I am on standby at the moment to see if it freezes again as it has not for the past week - hoping it has magically corrected itself! but great to know how I can get to the command post.

> Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:30:29 +0000
> From: <email address hidden>
> To: <email address hidden>
> Subject: [Bug 502055] Re: [i82845G/GL Brookdale-G] Screen freeze after while of working
>
> I can confirm this problem, I'm experiencing the same symptoms on a dell
> dimension 2350 with a pentium 4 2.0 MHz, same chipset, karmic, etc.
>
> Reinstalling does not fix the problem, but using the older (2.4) intel
> xorg driver significantly helped. My processor usage dropped from about
> 90% while watching movies to about 50% (which is still too much) after
> changing drivers, but I still can't watch hulu (very choppy).
>
> here's a link:
> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ReinhardTartler/X/RevertingIntelDriverTo2.4
>
> Also if your screen does freeze do this:
> 1) press control, alt, and f2
> 2) you'll come to a black screen that says your computer name and login (e.g. 'computer name' login:)
> i) login in with your user name and then enter your password
> 3) then when you've reached the command line enter:
> i) sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart
> ii) enter your password
>
> This should bring your screen back.
>
>
> 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 82845G/GL[Brookdale-G]/GE Chipset Integrated Graphics Device (rev 03)
> Subsystem: Dell Device 0147
> Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
> Memory at e0000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=128M]
> Memory at ee000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512K]
> Capabilities: <access denied>
> Kernel driver in use: i915
> Kernel modules: i915
>
> --
> [i82845G/GL Brookdale-G] Screen freeze after while of working
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/502055
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in “xserver-xorg-video-intel” package in Ubuntu: Confirmed
>
> Bug description:
>
>
> This bug was reported previously and relates to bug number 497179 with the following details:
>
> DETAILS: Hi, hope someone can help out. I have Ubuntu 9.10 upgraded from 9.04 and running dual boot parallel with XP Windows (which is not experiencing the same problem, so not a hardware fault). I start up and work for awhile and eventually the screen stops responding to the cursor, so I have to switch off power and reboot to continue. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can fix this problem?
>
> The source package (as I understand it) is to do with this upgraded version.
> 1) the release is currently 9.10
> 2) the response to this command is 'W: Unable to locate package packagename'. I don't know what to check for in Synaptic??
>
> INTERRUPTION!! - the screen keeps freezing as I attempt to complete this information so I will send now and add to it later if I can.
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> Architecture: i386
> Date: Fri Jan 1 20:34:55 2010
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
> ExecutablePath: /usr/bin/yelp
> Package: yelp 2.28.0-0ubuntu2
> ProcEnviron:
> LANG=en_AU.UTF-8
> SHELL=/bin/bash
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-1...

[Geir Ove Myhr (gomyhr)]

This bug report has been inactive for quite some time and in the meantime Ubuntu has moved along. I hope the reported problem has been resolved in the current version of Ubuntu. If it has not and there are people willing to follow up with information collecting and testing, it is best to file a new bug report with the latest Ubuntu development version (currently 10.04, but soon 10.10), using the ubuntu-bug command if possible. Feel free to mention the bug number of this bug.

We are sorry that we are not always have the capacity to look at all reported bugs in a timely manner. Occationally we have to purge old bug reports where no progress has been made, whether it is due to reporter not being able to respond or lack of manpower on the Ubuntu side, in order to keep our list of "active" bugs current. Sorry for the inconvenience this may cause.

Here are a few tips that will increase the chances that your bug gets priority:
* Read https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Reporting
* Browse https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X and see if there is some relevant information for you problem
* Respond quickly to questions from triagers
* Try changing things to see if the behaviour changes, e.g.
  * A new mainline kernel from http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/?C=M;O=D (more information at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeam/MainlineBuilds)
  * The xorg-edgers PPA: https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa
  * Various options in `/etc/X11/xorg.conf` (see `man intel`)
* Browse other bug reports to see if you find a similar one and provide the information that is being asked for there.

[Geir Ove Myhr (gomyhr)]

PS: There are still freezes in in Lucid on 845G chipsets. No need to file a new bug report about it at the moment. See bug 541492.

[Terry O'Brien (dialogue-quest)]

Thanks for the tips which I will try out when necessary - Terry

> Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:16:11 +0000
> From: <email address hidden>
> To: <email address hidden>
> Subject: [Bug 502055] Re: [i845] [i82845G/GL Brookdale-G] Screen freeze after while of working
>
> This bug report has been inactive for quite some time and in the
> meantime Ubuntu has moved along. I hope the reported problem has been
> resolved in the current version of Ubuntu. If it has not and there are
> people willing to follow up with information collecting and testing, it
> is best to file a new bug report with the latest Ubuntu development
> version (currently 10.04, but soon 10.10), using the ubuntu-bug command
> if possible. Feel free to mention the bug number of this bug.
>
> We are sorry that we are not always have the capacity to look at all
> reported bugs in a timely manner. Occationally we have to purge old bug
> reports where no progress has been made, whether it is due to reporter
> not being able to respond or lack of manpower on the Ubuntu side, in
> order to keep our list of "active" bugs current. Sorry for the
> inconvenience this may cause.
>
> Here are a few tips that will increase the chances that your bug gets priority:
> * Read https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Reporting
> * Browse https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X and see if there is some relevant information for you problem
> * Respond quickly to questions from triagers
> * Try changing things to see if the behaviour changes, e.g.
> * A new mainline kernel from http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/?C=M;O=D (more information at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeam/MainlineBuilds)
> * The xorg-edgers PPA: https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa
> * Various options in `/etc/X11/xorg.conf` (see `man intel`)
> * Browse other bug reports to see if you find a similar one and provide the information that is being asked for there.
>
> ** Changed in: xserver-xorg-video-intel (Ubuntu)
> Status: Confirmed => Invalid
>
> --
> [i845] [i82845G/GL Brookdale-G] Screen freeze after while of working
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/502055
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in “xserver-xorg-video-intel” package in Ubuntu: Invalid
>
> Bug description:
>
>
> This bug was reported previously and relates to bug number 497179 with the following details:
>
> DETAILS: Hi, hope someone can help out. I have Ubuntu 9.10 upgraded from 9.04 and running dual boot parallel with XP Windows (which is not experiencing the same problem, so not a hardware fault). I start up and work for awhile and eventually the screen stops responding to the cursor, so I have to switch off power and reboot to continue. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can fix this problem?
>
> The source package (as I understand it) is to do with this upgraded version.
> 1) the release is currently 9.10
> 2) the response to this command is 'W: Unable to locate package packagename'. I don't know what to check for in Synaptic??
>
> INTERRUPTION!! - the screen keeps freezing as I attempt to complete this information so I will send now and add to it later if I can.
>
> ProblemType: B...

[ubuser (ubuser)]

I hit this issue running 9.10 on a Dell 2400 with integrated Intel graphics chip 82845G/GL[Brookdale-G]. Intermittently, probably once a day at least, the screen would freeze, with no pointer or keyboard response. ssh to the box did work. Restarting X or gdm did not work. Usually the problem was precipitated by use of firefox. I tried several of the workarounds listed in wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Bugs/Lucidi8xxFreezes with no joy.

FWIW, the following appears to have successfully worked around the problem, as I have not experienced it for the past two weeks (Jul 4 2010). I pasted this, and only this, in /etc/X11/xorg.conf:

Section "ServerFlags"
 Option "AllowEmptyInput" "false"
EndSection

This was done based on a thread found here:

http://www.linux-solved.com/post/solved-Xorg-freezes-with-Intel-Corporation-82845G-GL-50231.html