Unity launcher, top panel, and window titles flicker and disappear when clicking launcher for apps that have more than one instance running on it

[James Nissen]

I upgraded my laptop from Ubuntu 13.10 to 14.04, shortly after the launch, and things were working pretty good. However, after a recent software update, the 14.04 Unity launcher, top panel, and window titles all flicker and disappear, when clicking the launcher for an application that has multiple instances running (multiple left array indicators next to launcher).

The first time I click the launcher, the whole desktop flickers, blanks out, then comes back. The second time, everything but window contents disappears. In this case, the window contents are unusable, and I have to restart my laptop. This has become quite disruptive to my work day.

[James Nissen (jimson1969)]

$ cat /etc/*release*
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=14.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=trusty
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 14.04 LTS"
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="14.04, Trusty Tahr"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 14.04 LTS"
VERSION_ID="14.04"
HOME_URL="http://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="http://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="http://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
$ uname -a
Linux jdnissen-TECRA-M11 3.13.0-24-generic #46-Ubuntu SMP Thu Apr 10 19:11:08 UTC 2014 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Also, just to note, I performed my latest software update, earlier on the day I noticed the bug (5/5/2014).

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[caine (cainethanatos)]

I have also an issue with the flickering,

I don't see any warnings or errors in the logs
It is not always happens, but when it happens I see it for example in Firefox, thunderbird and synaptic .

Sometimes when I resize the window, the flickering stops

I have an

cpu : Intel 4770k
chipset : (asus) z87
memory : 32GB ram
gpu : nvidia gtx 750 ti

ps. I accidently added the 'affects: unity ' , I removed it , sorry for this

[James Nissen (jimson1969)]

Also seeing some other Unity weirdness with 14.04. For some launched applications, there is an arrow indicator on the app icon, but clicking it doesn't bring forward the application.

Another oddness is it loses mouse location, somehow. Clicking emails, docs, etc. results in the item above or below it getting the focus.

[James Nissen (jimson1969)]

Lately, the first time I click an item on Unity panel that has open instances of the application, my laptop hangs for a few seconds, then flickers. After, I get the Ubuntu Crash/Problem Notification tool. This tool doesn't seem to let me cut/paste snippets from it, so attaching the first section of it. I always submit the info, so hopefully this results in some fixes.

In reading through it, it notifies me that many of my compiz packages are obsolete...

"You have some obsolete package version installed. Please update...
compiz, compiz-core, compiz-gnome, compiz-plugins-default,..."

which I find odd, since I've upgraded to 14.04, and have done regular updates.

[James Nissen (jimson1969)]

I've resolved this issue by loading unity-reset utility and resetting via http://www.webupd8.org/2012/10/how-to-reset-compiz-and-unity-in-ubuntu.html. No more unity/compiz flickers and hangs.