Ubuntu
xorg-server package

  1. Bug #353126
  2. Comment #105

Comment 105 for bug 353126

Revision history for this message
jjericho (jjjericho) wrote : Re: Compiz / vnc screen refresh with nvidia-restricted driver/VirtualBox/ATI fglrx driver

Folks,

Sorry for the multiple posts, I've been posting as I go.

Seems I was slightly off course in blaming solely Compiz for this issue. I installed some older versions of it and had the exact same issue with two different versions (9.04 has 1:0.8.2-0ubuntu8, whereas a fresh install of 8.10 has 0.7.8-0ubuntu4.1....thanks VMware Fusion). So I went after the next likely offender...Nvidia. It seems that whatever is new in Nvidia's software is not playing nice with any version of Compiz, newer or otherwise. So yes, removing Compiz fixes the VNC...the problem is all of your windows open half off the screen in the top left, I'm assuming some goofy default x/y coord setting somewhere that I don't have the patience to find. So here's a different workaround.

I went into Package Manager again and ripped out anything that even hinted it belonged to Nvidia. Then I ran an update to put the newest Compiz back on, since that wasn't the main offender anyways. Now the windows open normally again, and whats more is VNC works great! I've proven this by making these system changes from my Macbook pro, while simultaneously watching the screens on my Windows 7 and Windows XP laptops. All 3 worked nice with VNC, as expected.

There's a bit of a downside to my workaround. My resolution isn't ideal. I'm rocking the 800x600 (It's hosted on a 15" HP Pavilion widescreen), so it's not uber great, but it's usable.

For those of you interested, I found a quite useful server hosting all the old versions of Compiz and Compiz related goodies, and in .deb packages no less. You can find it here:

https://mirror.umoss.org/ubuntu/pool/main/c/compiz/

It has a security cert, so your browser may freak out. I know FF on ubuntu did, but you just have to allow the cert, no biggie.
I'm still hunting down the previous versions of the Nvidia stuff, and I'm going to try and isolate what exactly Compiz doesn't like, since ripping out ALL of the Nvidia components is somewhat drastic.

If anyone makes any more headway in the meantime, please for goodness sakes post it, sitting for hours hunting this stuff down gives me a headache.

But at least we now have a workaround!