Windows don't repaint after alt+tab, desktop switch (compiz, nvidia)

[Radu Cristescu]

Binary package hint: compiz

I upgraded from Ubuntu 9.10 to Ubuntu 10.04, and since then I seem to be getting a strange artefact.

When I switch windows with Alt+Tab, regardless of the used switcher (I used both the Ring Switcher and the Static Application Switcher so far), sometimes, without a specific pattern, the window I switch to stops repainting itself. That is, I can click in it, type in it, etc., and it updates itself internally, but it doesn't repaint to show the changes. It feels as if it's frozen.

After I Alt+Tab again, and switch to it, I can see the changes I made while it was frozen, and then everything works for a while, until next time it decides to do it. It doesn't have any preferences on which window to freeze. It can be any window, at any time.

Switching between desktops has the same effect (with the same uncertain reproducibility). So far, it never happened while switching windows using the mouse and the taskbar.

Now, I don't know if it's compiz or nvidia at fault here. I tend to think it's nvidia, because I don't get this behaviour on an Intel video card running the same software with the same settings. And if I get a new nvidia driver and it stops doing this, I may even close this bug.

Packages:
- nvidia-current 195.36.15-0ubuntu2
- compiz 1:0.8.4-0ubuntu15

LSB Version: core-2.0-ia32:core-2.0-noarch:core-3.0-ia32:core-3.0-noarch:core-3.1-ia32:core-3.1-noarch:core-3.2-ia32:core-3.2-noarch:core-4.0-ia32:core-4.0-noarch
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS
Release: 10.04
Codename: lucid

---
Architecture: i386
CompizPlugins: [core,ccp,move,resize,place,decoration,session,workarounds,dbus,gnomecompat,imgjpeg,regex,mousepoll,video,png,commands,svg,neg,wall,vpswitch,extrawm,text,resizeinfo,animation,snap,fade,scale,expo,scaleaddon,ezoom,switcher]
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" - Release i386 (20091028.5)
Lsusb:
 Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
 Bus 001 Device 002: ID 04f2:b012 Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd 1.3 MPixel UVC Webcam
 Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
MachineType: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. F5GL
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
Package: compiz 1:0.8.4-0ubuntu15
PackageArchitecture: all
PciDisplay: 02:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: nVidia Corporation C79 [GeForce 9200M G] [10de:086f] (rev b1)
ProcCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic root=UUID=fecc5b58-b6a6-42f4-80f8-32d41aa1e840 ro quiet splash
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, user)
 LANG=en_GB.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-22.33-generic 2.6.32.11+drm33.2
RelatedPackageVersions:
 xserver-xorg 1:7.5+5ubuntu1
 libgl1-mesa-glx 7.7.1-1ubuntu3
 libdrm2 2.4.18-1ubuntu3
 xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.9.1-3ubuntu5
 xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:6.13.0-1ubuntu5
Tags: lucid
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-22-generic i686
UserGroups: adm admin cdrom dialout lpadmin mythtv plugdev sambashare uml-net
dmi.bios.date: 11/04/2009
dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
dmi.bios.version: 218
dmi.board.asset.tag: ATN12345678901234567
dmi.board.name: F5GL
dmi.board.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
dmi.board.version: 1.0
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvr218:bd11/04/2009:svnASUSTeKComputerInc.:pnF5GL:pvr1.0:rvnASUSTeKComputerInc.:rnF5GL:rvr1.0:cvnASUSTeKComputerInc.:ct10:cvr:
dmi.product.name: F5GL
dmi.product.version: 1.0
dmi.sys.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
system: distro = Ubuntu, architecture = i686, kernel = 2.6.32-22-generic

[Pedro Villavicencio (pedro)]

Thanks for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Could you please run from a command line: apport-collect 583401 .It will attach the required information to the report, for more detailed Debugging instructions please look at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingCompiz. Thanks in advance.

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

apport information

[Pixtu (mail4pixtu)]

I'm not sure where you are with this bug, but I believe the bug lies with Compiz rather than nVidia.

I am using Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid) on a Sony FS315S Laptop (Intel Pentium M CPU with on board nVidia graphics).

I have experienced the same problem with the screen not refreshing and the mouse/cursor being 'trapped' and inactive within the application concerned. Again, it would not appear to be a complete system freeze as changes such as new tabs in Firefox don't show but do happen in the background.

I have not found that switching to another desktop or application will refresh the screen, although I have found that minimising and maximising the screen will often refresh it correctly.

If I switch from running Compiz to Metacity I do not get these problems and the screens in open applications refresh correctly.

[Pixtu (mail4pixtu)]

I should have added to the above that this is a new problem with Lucid. I did not experience this problem with Karmic.

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

Latest updates didn't fix it.

As an addition, if I don't notice that nothing is repainting, and I press Alt+F4 just after Alt+Tab (to close Gnome Calculator in this case), the closed window goes away as far as X is concerned (the mouse cursor behaves correctly for the window underneath, and all the keys affect the window underneath now), but the window I closed is still on the screen until I alt tab again, even though focus changed to the underneath window (which happens to be a maximized Gnome Terminal).

Can anyone tell me what causes painting to stop and what triggers it again? What are the conditions for this to happen?

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

To make a note, in parallel with the screen not repainting, I also lose keyboard events on the machine where I get these symptoms. On the machine where I don't get the repaint issue, I don't lose keyboard events either.

Does this ring any bells in order to triage this report better?

The lost keyboard events happen separately from the repaint issue, but I think they may be related.

[Radu Cristescu (radu.c)]

Still no ideas on this one huh?

More info:

* If I start typing before the desktop-to-desktop transition slide finishes, and this bug decides to occur, the first 1-2 keys do get painted in the field I'm typing in, but then the slide transition finishes and the window stops updating until I switch windows/desktops again (and I see the characters that I typed in while the window was frozen).
* If the Window is playing a Youtube video and I switch away and back and this bug decides to occur, the Youtube video doesn't update (as it's part of the same window that won't repaint) until I switch windows/desktops again.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for compiz (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]