After upgrade 9.10 to 10.04, using nvidia, KDE4 starts for a second, then dies

[Mark Ellison]

Binary package hint: nvidia-current

My machine: AMD64 with NVidia (GF8800) graphics
After upgrade of kubuntu from 9.10 to 10.04
Package versions: nvidia-current 195.36.15-ubuntu2

What I saw:
* booted to kdm ok (and later tested gdm)
* chose kde and logged in
* expected: normal kde4 start with startup icons gradually appearing in a central panel before desktop appears (as I had before distribution upgrade)
* got: a second of initialisation (background) then black screen and back to *dm

After checking /var/log/Xorg.0.log and /var/log/kdm.log without finding anything useful, I started an X session from the command line using startx, and checked .xsession-errors. The most serious looking of the many messages was:
> kdeinit4: preparing to launch /usr/lib/libkdeinit4_ksmserver.so
> <unknown program name>(3448)/ KStartupInfo::createNewStartupId: creating: "niedzwiedz;1272707639;697843;3448_TIME0" : "unnamed app"
> Could not open library ksmserver: Cannot load library /usr/lib/libkdeinit4_ksmserver.so: (/usr/lib/libGL.so.1: undefined symbol: _nv000025gl)
> ksmserver: symbol lookup error: /usr/lib/libGL.so.1: undefined symbol: _nv000025gl

Investigating /usr/lib/libGL.so.1, I found that it was a symbolic link to: libGL.so.185.18.36 which was a bad idea, as I was running nvidia driver 195.36.15. Ooops. I tried various combinations of package choices from synaptic (including running nvidia-common which should delete ), but none seemed that they would clobber the errant libGL.so.1. So I performed the following work-around:
$ sudo rm /usr/lib/libGL.so.1
$ sudo ln -s /usr/lib/nvidia-current/libGL.so.195.36.15 /usr/lib/libGL.so.1

(on later testing, the second step appears to be unnecessary)

Having made this change, I could start kde without issues.

On another system still running 9.10:
$ dpkg -S /usr/lib/libGL.so.1
diversion by nvidia-glx-173 from: /usr/lib/libGL.so.1
diversion by nvidia-glx-173 to: /usr/lib/nvidia/libGL.so.1.xlibmesa
libgl1-mesa-glx, nvidia-glx-173: /usr/lib/libGL.so.1

which makes me think that nvidia-glx-173 was responsible for the link into /usr/lib in the first place. Unfortunately, synaptic reports no equivalent package for 195.36.15, with the files apparently having been bundled into nvidia-current.

The bug is that this package (nvidia-common) should clobber any link in /usr/lib resulting from a superseded package (or at least cause that package to be deleted, deletion of which should remove the link). I can understand the niceness of alternative drivers sitting on the system at one time, but if it means that kde won´t start, some clobbering of these inopportune links should be part of installing the nvidia-current package.

[VladBlanton (vblanton)]

Thank you, I also had this problem after upgrading kubuntu to 10.04 from 9.10 and followed the same path of inquiry as you did. After doing:
$ sudo rm /usr/lib/libGL.so.1

I could start kde without any problem and there was no more error associated ksmserver and libGL.so.1 in .xsessions-errors

However, after successfully starting kde, there continues to be no symlink "libGL.so.1" anymore.
I hope that this is not a necessary file to have. If it is, I hope it'll be creating again if/when I reinstall or upgrade the nvidia drivers.

Vlad

[VladBlanton (vblanton)]

Today, in lucid-proposed, there was an update to three nvidia driver related packages. Not sure which bug report that is attached to. DKMS was updated after the install and libGL.so.1 is back in action. This is after I deleted it myself originally. I do not know if it would have properly updated the package if I hadn't deleted it earlier.

$ ls -l /usr/lib/libGL.so.1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 17 2010-05-03 18:51 /usr/lib/libGL.so.1 -> libGL.so.1.0.9746

So, most probably this bug can be closed?

[VladBlanton (vblanton)]

scratch my previous post please. The problem continues to plague my system and I had to both delete the symlink "libGL.so.1" again and switch to the "nv" driver in order to start X and KDE properly this time. Perhaps this issue is related to changes in the way the nvidia driver is handled?

I tried to delete all nvidia related packages and install nvidia-current, but to no avail.

[VladBlanton (vblanton)]

Bug #551567 appears to be the same

[Alberto Milone (albertomilone)]

@Mark
Did you install driver 185.18.36 from the installer on NVIDIA's website?

@VladBlanton
If you're using Lucid there should be no /usr/lib/libGL.so.1 as we switched to the new alternatives system.

[Mark Ellison (tmarkellison+ubuntu)]

@Alberto
It is possible that I did, I don't recall. Is there any diagnostic I can use to distinguish how the driver was installed?

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

[This is an automatic notification.]

Hi Mark,

This bug was reported against an earlier version of Ubuntu, can you
test if it still occurs on Lucid?

Please note we also provide technical support for older versions of
Ubuntu, but not in the bug tracker. Instead, to raise the issue through
normal support channels, please see:

    http://www.ubuntu.com/support

If you are the original reporter and can still reproduce the issue on
Lucid, please run the following command to refresh the report:

  apport-collect 572937

If you are not the original reporter, please file a new bug report, so
we can work with you as the original reporter instead (you can reference
bug 572937 in your report if you think it may be related):

  ubuntu-bug xorg

If by chance you can no longer reproduce the issue on Lucid or if you
feel it is no longer relevant, please mark the bug report 'Fix Released'
or 'Invalid' as appropriate, at the following URL:

  https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/572937

[Mark Ellison (tmarkellison+ubuntu)]

@Bryce:
As the header/title says, this problem arose from the update to 10.04 (that's Lucid). After the update, I was unable to start KDE. Before the update, while using 9.10 (that's Karmic), I did not have this problem. Seems to me, that makes it a Lucid bug. If not a bug, then at least something people need to be warned about.

[VladBlanton (vblanton)]

@Alberto Milone:

That is interesting. yet the file is created and makes it impossible for me to start KDE. opening 'galternatives', i could not find anything associated with nvidia or startup graphics. What would the associated config file be called?

I will post up a few logs soon.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for nvidia-graphics-drivers (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]