gnome-screenshot exits with BadWindow (X Windows Error)

[skrisman]

Binary package hint: gnome-utils

gnome-screenshot exits cleanly with a return code of 01. It prints a message before it ends however:

The program 'gnome-screenshot' received an X Window System error.
This probably reflects a bug in the program.
The error was 'BadWindow (invalid Window parameter)'.
  (Details: serial 4799 error_code 3 request_code 15 minor_code 0)
  (Note to programmers: normally, X errors are reported asynchronously;
   that is, you will receive the error a while after causing it.
   To debug your program, run it with the --sync command line
   option to change this behavior. You can then get a meaningful
   backtrace from your debugger if you break on the gdk_x_error() function.)

To reproduce this bug:
1. $ gnome-screenshot --interactive
2. Click the "Grab the current window" radio button option
3. Click the "Take Screenshot" Button.

What should happen:
A window should pop up asking you where you want to save the file.

What happens instead:
gnome-screenshot exits cleanly with a return code of 01. It prints a message before it ends however:

The program 'gnome-screenshot' received an X Window System error.
This probably reflects a bug in the program.
The error was 'BadWindow (invalid Window parameter)'.
  (Details: serial 4799 error_code 3 request_code 15 minor_code 0)
  (Note to programmers: normally, X errors are reported asynchronously;
   that is, you will receive the error a while after causing it.
   To debug your program, run it with the --sync command line
   option to change this behavior. You can then get a meaningful
   backtrace from your debugger if you break on the gdk_x_error() function.)

running:

$ gnome-screenshot --interactive --sync

fixes the issue.

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: amd64
Date: Sat Dec 26 05:18:35 2009
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" - Release amd64 (20091027)
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
Package: gnome-utils 2.28.1-0ubuntu1
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-16.52-generic
SourcePackage: gnome-utils
Uname: Linux 2.6.31-16-generic x86_64
XsessionErrors:
 (gnome-settings-daemon:10887): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
 (gnome-settings-daemon:10887): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
 (nautilus:10925): Eel-CRITICAL **: eel_preferences_get_boolean: assertion `preferences_is_initialized ()' failed
 (polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1:10932): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_once_init_leave: assertion `initialization_value != 0' failed

[skrisman (ssandboxx)]

I should add that this bug did not exist for me in 9.04. This is a new clean install.

[Andreas Heinlein (aheinlein)]

I have seen this one too, but only sometimes. Sometimes gnome-screenshot --interactive works as expected, sometimes not. Found no way to exactly reproduce it; occurs even if trying repeatedly with the same window.

[Victor Vargas (kamus)]

I tried to reproduce this under a fully updated Lucid with gnome-utils 2.30.0-0ubuntu1 but works fine for me, please could you check if this issue is still affecting you under latest release included in Ubuntu Lucid ? Thanks

[Miklos Juhasz (mjuhasz)]

I was able to reproduce it on a fully updated Lucid install (gnome-utils 2.30.0-0ubuntu1). Most of the time capturing the window fails with the X Window System Error, but sometimes it works.
I had to add --sync to all gnome-screenshot commands in gconf-editor in order to make it work. BTW, 1 second delay also solved the issue.

[skrisman (ssandboxx)]

I'm on a completely different computer with a fresh lucid lynx install and i still get the same bug.

[skrisman (ssandboxx)]

I should also add that the thing these two computers have in common is a nvidia graphics card, although types of graphics cards are very different.

[Andrej Mernik (r33d3m33r-deactivatedaccount)]

This is not nvidia related bug, as this happens to me in Lucid on Ati fglrx.

[Chris Beaven (smileychris)]

With fglrx, I can consistently reproduce this by checking the "Include the window border" box after selecting "Grab the current window".

If the window border checkbox is not ticked, the screenshot is taken successfully.