composited desktop environments wont autoload from gdm/lightdm when using i915

[Antoine Niek]

Hi. I hope this is the right place to report this bug.
I'm running ubuntu 12.04 on a laptop with sandy bridge hardware, switchable graphics (intel HD3000 / AMD HD 6770m). I use the latest version of fglrx (12.2) to manage switching between discrete and integrated gpus.

It seems that composited environments like unity3d or gnome-shell won't load from gdm or lightdm when I'm using the integrated GPU. It will log me in but it will just display the background but nothing else.
However I'm able to reload it from tty with "DISPLAY=:0.0 gnome-shell --replace" or "DISPLAY=:0.0 unity --replace" and the environment will be fully functionnal.

Here are some informations about my setup:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_backlight=vendor i915.i915_enable_fbc=1 i915.i915_enable_rc6=1"

uname -a
Linux zapo-notebook 3.3.0-030300rc7-generic #201203101735 SMP Sat Mar 10 22:36:28 UTC 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu precise (development branch)
Release: 12.04

xserver-xorg-video-intel:
  Installed: 2:2.17.0-1ubuntu4
  Candidate: 2:2.17.0-1ubuntu4
  Version table:
 *** 2:2.17.0-1ubuntu4 0
        500 http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

xserver-xorg:
  Installed: 1:7.6+10ubuntu1
  Candidate: 1:7.6+10ubuntu1
  Version table:
 *** 1:7.6+10ubuntu1 0
        500 http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[htrex (hantarex)]

My laptop is an HP DV6-6169sl (Intel HD Graphics 3000 + AMD 6770M).

Restarting Unity also did the trick for me for Unity 3D except some issues with right click (eg: no effect on desktop background or unity launcher, while is ok on nautilus).

With an updated, unmodified 12.04 beta + Catalyst 12.2 (.deb packages self created with AMD installer ) I'm seeing progress with Multi GPU switching, below what I've found so far:

* Unity 3D doesn't work at login with integrated GPU:
X starts but there's no menu bar and no unity bar.
When using just the laptop display I can't see any file, and right click has no effect.
When using multiple monitors I can see and open files on the desktop but windows are without any decoration, right click shows context menu.
In either case CTRL+ALT+CANC shows a dialog to logout, so I can login again with Unity 2D.

DISPLAY=:0.0 gnome-shell --replace starts Unity but I'm seeing some issues with right mouse clicks (right click on the desktop background or unity launcher has no effect...)

* Unity 2D with integrated GPU is almost perfect:
Using multiple monitors with different resolution you need to top align theme, otherwise the shortest monitor doesn't show the menu bar.
glxgears works

Code:

glxgears
Running synchronized to the vertical refresh. The framerate should be
approximately the same as the monitor refresh rate.
347 frames in 5.0 seconds = 69.030 FPS
320 frames in 5.3 seconds = 60.008 FPS
300 frames in 5.0 seconds = 60.000 FPS
300 frames in 5.0 seconds = 59.993 FPS

* Unity 2D with discrete GPU:

With a single display seems ok.
With a second external HDMI display I can get the menubar on the FULLHD secondary monitor only if is right aligned in respect to the laptop monitor (no menu bar on top, but unity bar is ok).

Code:

glxgears
1851 frames in 5.0 seconds = 370.177 FPS
3362 frames in 5.0 seconds = 672.191 FPS
2165 frames in 5.0 seconds = 432.971 FPS
2221 frames in 5.0 seconds = 444.170 FPS

* Unity 3D with discrete GPU:
With a single display, either internal or external seems ok.
With a second display sort of works if the secondary external FullHD monitor is on right of the laptop monitor, in this case I'm seeing 2 Unity launch bars, one for each monitor, but when widows are maximized they span across both monitors.

Code:

glxgears
2608 frames in 5.0 seconds = 521.010 FPS
2595 frames in 5.0 seconds = 518.740 FPS
2602 frames in 5.0 seconds = 519.889 FPS
2601 frames in 5.0 seconds = 519.312 FPS

[htrex (hantarex)]

The problem is still there updating all packages after beta 2, now using fglrx 2:8.960-0ubuntu1 directly from repos.

[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/954021/+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.]

[htrex (hantarex)]

Niccola found the culprit http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=11819555&postcount=107

[Roger Olivé Muñiz (rogerolivem)]

Has someone digged into solving this bug?

With a fresh 12.04.1 install + post-release version of fglrx this bug affects me as well. I haven't tried the workaround/solution posted by htrex yet, but I assume that these problems should not be tolerated on an LTS that has been released for months now...

Considering how dual graphics laptops are becoming more and more common, fixing those bugs should be a high priority for the Ubuntu team IMHO. I know binary blobs don't make it easy, but if it really is only a configuration issue, I hope you will be able to update the necessary scripts to fix it. ;)

My laptop is a 2011 Sony Vaio SA with a Core i5 CPU (HD3000 graphics) and dedicated HD6640M Radeon graphics.

I will try the solution from the link and let you know if it works for me.

[Roger Olivé Muñiz (rogerolivem)]

I tried the solution in the post linked by htrex, and it works perfectly for me! (64 bit Ubuntu) :D

It really is only a matter of adding some text at the end of the 4th line in the file /etc/X11/Xsession.d/10fglrx

The text is:

32 bit systems --> :/usr/lib32/dri/
64 bit systems --> :/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/

The post explains it very well. It seems that fglrx messes up the paths to certain driver files required by the Intel card.

I hope someone with the necessary skills will update the installer scripts. Honestly, I don't think newbies would try the solution explained by Niccola, even if it's stupidly easy. The out-of-the-box experience thing, you know... :P