Xorg crash with qt4 apps using nvidia drivers

[Sakari Maaranen]

These threads and other reports seem similar to the condition I'm experiencing:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1864672

Launchpad bug #905877

Several Qt4 applications, for example Google Earth, Skype and some Xscreensaver modes crash the desktop. This happens with the nvidia drivers (both nvidia-current and nvidia-current-updates) and qt4.

X crashes immediately taking out the desktop and going back to the Unity login screen.

Skype (skype:i386 on Oneiric 64-bit) starts normally first, but crashes always when trying to open any chat window or when selecting the Options menu. Skype login works, and then it seems to run normally on the background and the desktop panel icon shows normally. I can use Skype for example via Pidgin D-Bus account, but if I try to use the Skype's own GUI it always crashes as explained.

I have Dell M4600 with nVidia 2000M.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10
Package: xorg 1:7.6+7ubuntu7.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.0.0-15.26-server 3.0.13
Uname: Linux 3.0.0-15-server x86_64
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_64 Kernel Module 280.13 Wed Jul 27 16:53:56 PDT 2011
 GCC version: gcc version 4.6.1 (Ubuntu/Linaro 4.6.1-9ubuntu3)
.tmp.unity.support.test.0:

ApportVersion: 1.23-0ubuntu4
Architecture: amd64
CompizPlugins: No value set for `/apps/compiz-1/general/screen0/options/active_plugins'
CompositorRunning: compiz
Date: Sun Feb 5 21:36:57 2012
DistUpgraded: Fresh install
DistroCodename: oneiric
DistroVariant: ubuntu
DkmsStatus:
 nvidia-current, 280.13, 3.0.0-15-server, x86_64: installed
 nvidia-current-updates, 280.13, 3.0.0-15-server, x86_64: installed
ExtraDebuggingInterest: Yes, whatever it takes to get this fixed in Ubuntu
GraphicsCard:
 nVidia Corporation GF106 [Quadro 2000M] [10de:0dda] (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
   Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:04a3]
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" - Release amd64 (20111011)
JockeyStatus:
 xorg:nvidia_current - NVIDIA accelerated graphics driver (Proprietary, Disabled, Not in use)
 xorg:nvidia_current_updates - NVIDIA accelerated graphics driver (post-release updates) (Proprietary, Enabled, In use)
MachineType: Dell Inc. Precision M4600
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_GB:en
 LANG=en_GB.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-3.0.0-15-server root=/dev/mapper/vg_secure-hostname1_root ro
SourcePackage: xorg
Symptom: display
Title: Xorg crash
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 10/18/2011
dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.bios.version: A08
dmi.board.name: 08V9YG
dmi.board.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.board.version: A00
dmi.chassis.type: 9
dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellInc.:bvrA08:bd10/18/2011:svnDellInc.:pnPrecisionM4600:pvr01:rvnDellInc.:rn08V9YG:rvrA00:cvnDellInc.:ct9:cvr:
dmi.product.name: Precision M4600
dmi.product.version: 01
dmi.sys.vendor: Dell Inc.
version.compiz: compiz 1:0.9.6+bzr20110929-0ubuntu6
version.ia32-libs: ia32-libs 20090808ubuntu26
version.libdrm2: libdrm2 2.4.26-1ubuntu1
version.libgl1-mesa-dri: libgl1-mesa-dri 7.11-0ubuntu3
version.libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental: libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental N/A
version.libgl1-mesa-glx: libgl1-mesa-glx 7.11-0ubuntu3
version.nvidia-graphics-drivers: nvidia-graphics-drivers N/A
version.xserver-xorg: xserver-xorg 1:7.6+7ubuntu7.1
version.xserver-xorg-input-evdev: xserver-xorg-input-evdev 1:2.6.0-1ubuntu13
version.xserver-xorg-video-ati: xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:6.14.99~git20110811.g93fc084-0ubuntu1
version.xserver-xorg-video-intel: xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.15.901-1ubuntu2.1
version.xserver-xorg-video-nouveau: xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 1:0.0.16+git20110411+8378443-1

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[Carsten A. Dahlmann (ace-s)]

Hi!

Same here. The qt programs start in the first place. But as soon as one starts to click onto a button or a menu, the whole gui crashes and the system starts the dm again.

Any idea when this might be fixed? Since this effects every qt program, I cannot use the system properly. :( Sometimes one just needs a qt program.

[Hussam (nasir-netlab)]

Solution to this problem seems to be very simple which i found after struggling with the problem for a year.

This is on the assumption that all of you have used the nvidia-settings utility to generate your xorg.conf file.

Edit the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file and comment out or delete the below shown lines

Section "Files"
FontPath "unix/:7100"
EndSection

Save the file and restart GDM or lightDM which ever is your login manager using

/etc/init.d/gdm restart

or /etc/init.d/lightdm restart

Now all of the QT applications like virtualbox and skype should not crash X

[rusart (ruslan-levitskiy)]

This solution works for me. Thank you, Hussam!

[simone buratti (buratti-simone)]

Hussam's solution worked for me too. Ubuntu 11.10 64bit with Nvidia GeForce 210. Skype and Earth - the ones tested - went back. Thanks

[juri (eng-juri)]

Thank you for this solution because finally i can open all my application without crashing XORG.

Solution to this problem seems to be very simple which i found after struggling with the problem for a year.

This is on the assumption that all of you have used the nvidia-settings utility to generate your xorg.conf file.

Edit the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file and comment out or delete the below shown lines

Section "Files"
 FontPath "unix/:7100"
 EndSection

Save the file and restart GDM or lightDM which ever is your login manager using

/etc/init.d/gdm restart

or /etc/init.d/lightdm restart

Now all of the QT applications like virtualbox and skype should not crash X

[juri (eng-juri)]

I am running on ubuntu 12.04 with nvidia-drivers

[Riku Lääkkölä (rlaakkol)]

Yay! Hussam's fix saved me too! Thanks a bunch!

My system:
Ubuntu 12.04 64bit
GeForce 210 with nvidia-current-updates, dualhead with TwinView

There was a lot of confusion with a similar bug that was fixed by not using Xinerama. And also removing xfs removed the X server segfault, but made Qt4 apps hang on startup.

[Jack Sparrow (jacksparrow)]

effects me on 12.04, GTX 480 video card,

qt4.8 and nvidia 495.49. X crashes and resets to the login screen. Just about all QT X apps.

Intresting note, when re-installing the drivers, they work the first time you reboot, but none after that.

I am running the gnome-shell with GDM.

[James Avery (avery-diku)]

This started affecting me on 12.10 (no emacs, no skype, no Mathematica, etc => impossible to use Ubuntu for work), had to revert to 12.04, but had hoped the issue had been fixed for 13.04. It hasn't.

Hussam's hack fixed the problem (but why does it work?), and QT programs no longer crash X. But why has this not been fixed for over a year? This is a serious bug that renders Ubuntu completely unusable for many people with NVIDIA graphics cards, and not everyone will be able to find the solution, which must be temporary anyway (commenting out the font pipe in xorg.conf is not really a solution).

[rysson (r-kalinowski)]

Thanks Hussam!

It works. I had the same problem for many months in Debian (in GTX 560, and GTX 660 and many nvida drivers).
I could not even login, because I'm using KDM.

[dino99 (9d9)]

That version is no more supported; please open a new bug report if the actual archive found version also has the same issue.