graphics distorted, lightdm restarting

[Christian Brandt]

The system was running ubuntu 12.04 without any problems, quite fast and definitly worth keeping, I was able to play 3D games at decent quality while using official nvidia drivers. Overall a pretty stable system based on an Intel 965 Chipset and a Geforce 7600.

I did a clean install of 16.04 and added nvidia-graphics-drivers-304-updates. At first the system was horribly unstable, displayed garbage at the slighted GPU load, even starting frozen bubble in full screen made lightdm restart.

After using "dconf write /org/compiz/profiles/unity/plugins/opengl/enable-x11-sync false" the system became stable but display is still often distorted, missing picture elements, doesn't draw all elements in firefox, scrolling of firefox and terminal output is missing parts. This happens around once every minute so it is still workable but unprofessional. Happens a lot more often in Firefox than any other application.

Also I have the feeling lots of stuff is working a lot slower than it did in 12.04, e.g. starting frozen bubble in full screen takes a lot longer than earlier.

I think this error is somewhere between nvidia drivers, compiz and firefox.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Package: nvidia-304-updates 304.131-0ubuntu3
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-22.39-generic 4.4.8
Uname: Linux 4.4.0-22-generic i686
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
.proc.driver.nvidia.gpus.0: Error: [Errno 21] Is a directory: '/proc/driver/nvidia/gpus/0'
.proc.driver.nvidia.registry: Binary: ""
.proc.driver.nvidia.version:
 NVRM version: NVIDIA UNIX x86 Kernel Module 304.131 Sun Nov 8 21:44:08 PST 2015
 GCC version: gcc version 5.3.1 20160413 (Ubuntu 5.3.1-14ubuntu2)
.tmp.unity_support_test.0:

ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2
Architecture: i386
CompizPlugins: No value set for `/apps/compiz-1/general/screen0/options/active_plugins'
CompositorRunning: compiz
CompositorUnredirectDriverBlacklist: '(nouveau|Intel).*Mesa 8.0'
CompositorUnredirectFSW: true
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Sun May 8 12:36:09 2016
DistUpgraded: Fresh install
DistroCodename: xenial
DistroVariant: ubuntu
DkmsStatus: nvidia-304-updates, 304.131, 4.4.0-22-generic, i686: installed
GraphicsCard:
 NVIDIA Corporation G73 [GeForce 7600 GS] [10de:0392] (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
   Subsystem: Point of View BV G73 [GeForce 7600 GS] [1acc:8132]
InstallationDate: Installed on 2016-05-05 (3 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS "Xenial Xerus" - Release i386 (20160420.1)
MachineType: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. 965P-DS3
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-22-generic root=UUID=79fb27e9-d5d1-48c8-9210-7045256917c0 ro quiet splash nomodeset
SourcePackage: nvidia-graphics-drivers-304-updates
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 05/28/2007
dmi.bios.vendor: Award Software International, Inc.
dmi.bios.version: F12
dmi.board.name: 965P-DS3
dmi.board.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
dmi.chassis.type: 3
dmi.chassis.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAwardSoftwareInternational,Inc.:bvrF12:bd05/28/2007:svnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:pn965P-DS3:pvr:rvnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:rn965P-DS3:rvr:cvnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:ct3:cvr:
dmi.product.name: 965P-DS3
dmi.sys.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
version.compiz: compiz 1:0.9.12.2+16.04.20160415-0ubuntu1
version.libdrm2: libdrm2 2.4.67-1
version.libgl1-mesa-dri: libgl1-mesa-dri 11.2.0-1ubuntu2
version.libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental: libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental N/A
version.libgl1-mesa-glx: libgl1-mesa-glx 11.2.0-1ubuntu2
version.nvidia-graphics-drivers: nvidia-graphics-drivers-* N/A
version.xserver-xorg-core: xserver-xorg-core 2:1.18.3-1ubuntu2
version.xserver-xorg-input-evdev: xserver-xorg-input-evdev 1:2.10.1-1ubuntu2
version.xserver-xorg-video-ati: xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:7.7.0-1
version.xserver-xorg-video-intel: xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.99.917+git20160325-1ubuntu1
version.xserver-xorg-video-nouveau: xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 1:1.0.12-1build2
xserver.bootTime: Sun May 8 12:27:11 2016
xserver.configfile: default
xserver.devices:
 input Power Button KEYBOARD, id 6
 input Power Button KEYBOARD, id 7
 input Microsoft Microsoft IntelliMouse® Explorer MOUSE, id 8
 input HID 046a:0001 KEYBOARD, id 9
xserver.errors: open /dev/fb0: No such file or directory
xserver.logfile: /var/log/Xorg.0.log
xserver.outputs:

xserver.version: 2:1.18.3-1ubuntu2

[Christian Brandt (brandtc)]

Let me add that at first I got tons of these logs:

syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:13 merl1 kernel: [ 642.861032] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:14 merl1 kernel: [ 644.665198] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:15 merl1 kernel: [ 645.265375] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:16 merl1 kernel: [ 646.467207] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:18 merl1 kernel: [ 648.270090] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:20 merl1 kernel: [ 650.072991] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:22 merl1 kernel: [ 651.877111] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:22 merl1 kernel: [ 652.477087] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:43 merl1 kernel: [ 673.026411] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:43 merl1 kernel: [ 673.087381] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:43 merl1 kernel: [ 673.091834] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 9, Channel 00000002 Instance 00000000 Intr 00100000
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:43 merl1 kernel: [ 673.137264] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:43 merl1 kernel: [ 673.141565] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 9, Channel 00000002 Instance 00000000 Intr 00100000
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:44 merl1 kernel: [ 674.202933] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:45 merl1 kernel: [ 675.268481] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:45 merl1 kernel: [ 675.274201] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 9, Channel 00000002 Instance 00000000 Intr 00100000
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:46 merl1 kernel: [ 676.317376] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:52 merl1 kernel: [ 682.538334] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 9, Channel 00000002 Instance 00000000 Intr 00100000
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:53 merl1 kernel: [ 683.047345] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:53 merl1 kernel: [ 683.176992] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:37:54 merl1 kernel: [ 684.225897] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 1, Channel 00000002 Method 00000060 Data beef0233
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:38:00 merl1 kernel: [ 689.936479] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 9, Channel 00000002 Instance 00000000 Intr 00100000
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:38:00 merl1 kernel: [ 689.942095] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 9, Channel 00000002 Instance 00000000 Intr 00100000
syslog.2.gz:May 6 09:38:00 mer...

[Christian Brandt (brandtc)]

Now I am in a Catch 22 situation:

By using the propietary drivers I get instability and display errors.

By using Nouveau I can not start Steam due other libGL errors (see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/steam/+bug/1527669 - the workaround is only viable for official drivers, nouveau is totally useless with steam)

Overall there isn't any meaningful setup to use Ubuntu for me right now.

[Sven Neuhaus (sven0)]

I'm having similar issues. The PC in question has Geforce 6100 onboard graphics. It was previously running Ubuntu 14.04 without any issues.

I then upgraded the install to 16.04.
With nouveau, the system doesn't run stable. As soon as there is a little bit of load, I get diagonal stripes on the monitor (see http://i.imgur.com/X3Am8U2.jpg) and it appears to lock up (can't switch to text console either).

I tried a fresh install of 16.04, switching from i686 to amd-x64 in the process.
The lockups with the diagonal stripes remain.

So I tried nvidia-304 instead. Lots of problems there. First I get X11 with just the desktop and no menus and launchers.

Then I got black screen with just the mouse pointer.

Currently, I get a desktop but with massive screen corruption. I am also getting the errors that were reported in comment #2.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[Bruzzlee (bruzzlee-ch)]

Upgraded from 14.04.4 to 16.04.1

Hardware:
GeForce 7025 / nForce 630a
AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 640 Processor

Actual nvidia-304-updates driver installed.

Boot to Login ok.
After login: Distorted desktop as described above

Leave it running as it is auto logout gets triggered.
After a while this message appears:
"The screen locker is broken and unlocking is not possible anymore. ...etc"

Same "kernel: [ xxxx] NVRM: Xid " Messages in the log as described above.

[Christian Brandt (brandtc)]

I think I can now reliably produce this bug:

Install Ubuntu on a System with official NVidia-Drivers whith the graphics older than G80 and system becomes unstable as written above.

Tested on:

1. Core2 with Geforce 7600
2. Pentium M with Geforce 6400M
3. Pentium 4 with Geforce 6800 AGP
4. Athlon X2 with Geforce 6600

A short test on the Core2 and Pentium4 with a Geforce 640 showed the problem is related to the old graphic board.

[mkurz (matthias.kurz)]

I also just bumped into this issue.

That's what's written in my log:
Sep 29 12:28:09 mycoolpc kernel: [14246.377138] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 13, Graphics Exception: ChID 0003, Class 00008297, Offset 000015e0, Data 00000000

I will disable x11-sync for now and see how this is going.

If someone could fix this bug this would be nice.
Thank you!

[mkurz (matthias.kurz)]

Forgot to mention I am running
GeForce 9800 GT with driver: Nvidia 340.96
Ubuntu 16.04.1 with latest updates/patches
Linux 4.4.0-38-generic #57-Ubuntu SMP Tue Sep 6 15:42:33 UTC 2016 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
compiz 0.9.12.2+16.04.20160823-0ubuntu1

[mkurz (matthias.kurz)]

Nvidia released updated legacy drivers today - you may want to give them a try.

[nbags (b-neil-w)]

tested the new driver today - no change

[Bruzzlee (bruzzlee-ch)]

Installed nvidia-304 (304.131-0ubuntu3) - not the "updates" package
listed by "sudo ubuntu-drivers devices"
no more display errors

GeForce 7025 / nForce 630a

[nbags (b-neil-w)]

scrub my comment #11. i have NOT tested the new driver - the build in the graphics-drivers ppa doesn't insmod on 16.04 with kernel 4.4 and my system fell back to nouveau without me realising. i will test again when a working build is available.

as for switching to nvidia-304 (instead of -updates), this did not resolve the problem for me.

[Mateo Guynn (mateojonsonguynn)]

I was able to reproduce this bug on a Pentium 4 with a GeForce 6600. Installing nvidia-304 rather than updates gives the exact same problem. I will try to reproduce it with a different 6600 to see if it has to do with the maker (my current card is a PNY).

[Mateo Guynn (mateojonsonguynn)]

Unfortunately I seem to have misplaced my other 6600.

[Bruzzlee (bruzzlee-ch)]

Before it worked I tried a lot of different approach. Manually disabling nouveau before installing the driver, etc.

Here are some steps I did:
(I cant remember the specific order and don't know which had played a decisive role. Maybe I had a different problem)

- installing the chip set driver (amd64-microcode)
- sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia-*
- compiled and tested nvidia driver installer by myself (failed to install)
- added following to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf
blacklist nouveau
blacklist lbm-nouveau
options nouveau modeset=0
alias nouveau off
alias lbm-nouveau off
- echo options nouveau modeset=0 | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/nouveau-kms.conf
- sudo update-initramfs -u
- sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf
- echo 'nouveau' | sudo tee -a /etc/modules

Hope it helps someone.
Let me know if you need anything like versions, logs, etc.

[nbags (b-neil-w)]

The new 304.132 driver appears to be broken in 16.10 main and 16.04 ppa (won't insmod, missing mtrr symbols).

I did manage to test it on debian unstable and believe I'm still hitting this bug with the new driver.

[Bruzzlee (bruzzlee-ch)]

Today I've updated the packages.
Graphics distortions are back again. Tried to reinstall the nvidia-304 driver. No success.

As far as I can remember, the only nvidia related software which was updated was the nvidia-settings package.

[mkurz (matthias.kurz)]

This sucks...

[Mateo Guynn (mateojonsonguynn)]

nVidia just released their new driver 304.134. They say they fixed it. Testing it myself right now but first results are that the same problem is present.

[mkurz (matthias.kurz)]

> nVidia just released their new driver 304.134. They say they fixed it.
Can you link where they say they fixed it?
Thanks!

[Bruzzlee (bruzzlee-ch)]

Updated all packages of the system (I think there was also an update of lightdm) yesterday.
Using the update manager which is now gone?!?

Today I've installed 304.134 (not -updates)
--> no freeze until now. Reboot / Cold start. Still works like it should until now.

I'll keep it like that an will report if there is a freeze.