XOrg uses 100% CPU after upgrade to 12.04 and freezes computer

[edvar]

You can read a little bit about my quest to get my computer back to normal on here http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=11920008#post11920008

After upgrade from 11.10 to 12.04 Unity 3D was unusable and slow. I managed to get it fixed by deleting ~/.config however after a couple of minutes my computer freezes and the only way to get it back is using the reset button. I can SSH from another computer and see Xorg is taking 100% of the CPU.

It seems Gnome Shell is not affected. The problem only happens in Unity 3D.

$cat /etc/lsb-release
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=12.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=precise
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 12.04 LTS"

$sudo lshw -c video
  *-display
       description: VGA compatible controller
       product: G80 [GeForce 8800 GTS]
       vendor: NVIDIA Corporation
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0
       version: a2
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
       configuration: driver=nvidia latency=0
       resources: irq:16 memory:fd000000-fdffffff memory:d0000000-dfffffff memory:fa000000-fbffffff ioport:cc00(size=128) memory:fe8e0000-fe8fffff

$dpkg -l |grep nvidia
ii nvidia-common 1:0.2.44 Find obsolete NVIDIA drivers
ii nvidia-current 295.40-0ubuntu1 NVIDIA binary Xorg driver, kernel module and VDPAU library
ii nvidia-current-updates 295.49-0ubuntu0.1 NVIDIA binary Xorg driver, kernel module and VDPAU library
ii nvidia-settings 295.33-0ubuntu1 Tool of configuring the NVIDIA graphics driver
ii nvidia-settings-updates 295.33-0ubuntu1 Tool of configuring the NVIDIA graphics driver

$ dpkg -l |grep Xorg
ii nvidia-current 295.40-0ubuntu1 NVIDIA binary Xorg driver, kernel module and VDPAU library
ii nvidia-current-updates 295.49-0ubuntu0.1 NVIDIA binary Xorg driver, kernel module and VDPAU library
ii xserver-xorg-core 2:1.11.4-0ubuntu10.2 Xorg X server - core server

[Ubuntu Foundations Team Bug Bot (crichton)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. It seems that your bug report is not filed about a specific source package though, rather it is just filed against Ubuntu in general. It is important that bug reports be filed about source packages so that people interested in the package can find the bugs about it. You can find some hints about determining what package your bug might be about at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/FindRightPackage. You might also ask for help in the #ubuntu-bugs irc channel on Freenode.

To change the source package that this bug is filed about visit https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/997075/+editstatus and add the package name in the text box next to the word Package.

[This is an automated message. I apologize if it reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

[edvar (edvar-f)]

.xsession-errors

[edvar (edvar-f)]

$ cat /var/log/syslog* |grep -i xorg
May 9 21:48:10 ed-linux kernel: [ 64.057129] Xorg[1206]: segfault at 7c ip b75fecd5 sp bfb317b0 error 4 in Xorg[b75c0000+1f3000]
May 8 22:24:12 ed-linux kernel: [ 658.636580] Xorg[1172]: segfault at 7c ip b7595cd5 sp bfe657d0 error 4 in Xorg[b7557000+1f3000]
May 8 23:19:17 ed-linux kernel: [ 2815.301576] Xorg[1229]: segfault at 7c ip b7565cd5 sp bf839b50 error 4 in Xorg[b7527000+1f3000]
May 8 23:29:36 ed-linux kernel: [ 3433.881645] Xorg[4828]: segfault at 7c ip b7636cd5 sp bf901a40 error 4 in Xorg[b75f8000+1f3000]
May 8 23:39:24 ed-linux kernel: [ 4021.737595] Xorg[10722]: segfault at 7c ip b75c1cd5 sp bf88a080 error 4 in Xorg[b7583000+1f3000]
May 8 23:43:06 ed-linux kernel: [ 4244.217507] Xorg[12977]: segfault at 7c ip b75a1cd5 sp bfa73460 error 4 in Xorg[b7563000+1f3000]
May 9 00:14:25 ed-linux kernel: [ 153.357274] Xorg[1238]: segfault at 7c ip b75cacd5 sp bfbce8c0 error 4 in Xorg[b758c000+1f3000]

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Stuart Bleeden (vladashram)]

I have the same issue. I think it has to do with the Nvidia 8 series, because I have a Nvidia 8800 GTX.
I tried the proprietary driver packages, didnt help. I then tried to manually install the latest driver via Nvidia's website. Again, didnt help.
I have only tested it using XFCE, but I suspect the same under Unity. I really am only affected when doing anything requiring any "special effects" such as from Cairo-dock and switching workspaces. I also have compositioning enabled to allow a proper transparency on my conky.

[edvar (edvar-f)]

I haven't used Unity for months because of that. My fix so far is using Gnome Shell with a couple of useful extensions and a different theme. I got used to it and haven't had any crash since. It's unfortunate because I really liked Unity but now I'm a Gnome 3 convert... Haven't looked back

[Alex Solanos (hakermania)]

Same issue here...

[Mercer Rivière (vincentuq)]

I confirm.
100% CPU by Xorg, sometimes segfaults (it restarts Xorg).
I'm using binary nvidia drivers, not nouveau

I did a previous-LTS to current-LTS upgrade. Prior to that it worked.

[penalvch (penalvch)]

edvar, thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Please execute the following command, as it will automatically gather debugging information, in a terminal:
apport-collect 997075
When reporting bugs in the future please use apport by using 'ubuntu-bug' and the name of the package affected. You can learn more about this functionality at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ReportingBugs.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for xserver-xorg-video-nouveau (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]