[fglrx] GL screensaver obscures window to enter password when lock is enabled

[Lance Alligood]

Binary package hint: xscreensaver-gl

Currently running 10.04 i386 RC (fresh install on same hardware), although the problem was also happening on 9.10 i386.
Graphics card is ATI Radeon 4350.
Graphics driver is ATI/AMD proprietary FGLRX.
System is configured to lock when screensaver is active & require password to terminate. Screensaver is also set to activate after 5 minutes of inactivity.
If any GL-based screensaver from xscreensaver-gl 5.10-3ubuntu-4 (such as GLBlur, GLCells, etc.) is selected & is active, when I move mouse/press any key to stop screen saver, I do not see the dialog where I can enter my password. However, if I type my password carefully, it will unlock & display the desktop. If I mis-type my password, it locks & requires either restarting X server and/or rebooting.
With a non-GL screensaver (such as Cosmos), the screensaver clears & the enter password dialog is shown.

Thank you for taking the time to look into this issue!

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
Package: xscreensaver-gl 5.10-3ubuntu4
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-21.32-generic-pae 2.6.32.11+drm33.2
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-21-generic-pae i686
NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx
Architecture: i386
Date: Sun Apr 25 21:18:57 2010
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04 "Lucid Lynx" - Release Candidate i386 (20100419.1)
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_US.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: xscreensaver

[Lance Alligood (lalligood-gmail)]

Today I installed Ubuntu 10.04 RC as a Virtualbox virtual machine. Hardware was quite different--namely a Nvidia Quadro 290 graphics card. The VM was configured with 3D acceleration enabled.
With the exact same GL-screensaver, I observed the exact same result: the password window is obscured by the (now "frozen") screensaver graphics.
I forgot to mention originally it does not matter if the screen saver is forced to start (ala gnome-screensaver-command --lock tied to a keyboard shortcut) or allowed to start after the defined 5 minute wait. Either way will provide the same result.

[Sean (svz90)]

I can confirm this problem persists regardless of when using xscreensaver or when using gnome-screensaver (running xscreensaver-lock, I cannot see the unlock dialog box, but if I type my password correctly, I can return to the desktop).

[Sean (svz90)]

The problem also appears when using screensavers from the rss-glx package.

[Alan Goldblatt (alan-b-goldblatt)]

I can confirm this bug as well. Same behavior. I'll provide my hardware info when I go home tonight, but I'm running Lucid with all current updates.

[Gant Laborde (gantman)]

I can confirm this bug, as well as I have some strange info, I'd love you to try at home.

When I try to change my theme from Blend to Air, and then back, it just doesn't change back. To fix I log off and back in. At this point compositing is suspended indefinitely, but my unlock screen is back.

mind... blown....

[Jesse Sweetland (sweetlandj)]

Same issue. Password dialog is not visible when an OpenGL screensaver is running (as I type the password I can occasionally see it flicker in the background). It looks like the OpenGL stuff is rendered on top of everything else.

Also, in the Desktop section of the System Settings dialog, if I select an OpenGL screensaver and click apply, then navigate to other sections, occasionally the little screensaver preview box will remain on top of the other items (with the screensaver actively running within it). This disappears when I close System Settings.

Kubuntu 10.04 LTS (final), ATI Radeon HD 4350, latest updates, including the new fglrx drivers from this morning.

[Derek (bugs-m8y)]

Same problem, has been going on for quite some time.
The one correction I didn't see explicitly made by the others is that you don't have to reboot if you mistype your password.

Just wait a few seconds for the presumably invisible shake, then try again.

Confusing though.

[Tormod Volden (tormodvolden)]

You are all using the closed-source fglrx driver, right?

[Derek (bugs-m8y)]

Yep.

[Lance Alligood (lalligood-gmail)]

No. I've been able to reproduce the problem in a VM (XP host running
VirtualBox with Ubuntu guest). The VM uses a generic video driver & that PC
has an Nvidia GPU.

--Lance

"I maintain there is much more wonder in science than in pseudoscience. And
in addition, to whatever measure this term has any meaning, science has the
additional virtue, and it is not an inconsiderable one, of being true." --
Carl Sagan

On Fri, Jul 9, 2010 at 5:16 PM, Tormod Volden <email address hidden>wrote:

> You are all using the closed-source fglrx driver, right?
>
> --
> [fglrx] GL screensaver obscures window to enter password when lock is
> enabled
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/569993
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in “xscreensaver” package in Ubuntu: Confirmed
>
> Bug description:
> Binary package hint: xscreensaver-gl
>
> Currently running 10.04 i386 RC (fresh install on same hardware), although
> the problem was also happening on 9.10 i386.
> Graphics card is ATI Radeon 4350.
> Graphics driver is ATI/AMD proprietary FGLRX.
> System is configured to lock when screensaver is active & require password
> to terminate. Screensaver is also set to activate after 5 minutes of
> inactivity.
> If any GL-based screensaver from xscreensaver-gl 5.10-3ubuntu-4 (such as
> GLBlur, GLCells, etc.) is selected & is active, when I move mouse/press any
> key to stop screen saver, I do not see the dialog where I can enter my
> password. However, if I type my password carefully, it will unlock & display
> the desktop. If I mis-type my password, it locks & requires either
> restarting X server and/or rebooting.
> With a non-GL screensaver (such as Cosmos), the screensaver clears & the
> enter password dialog is shown.
>
> Thank you for taking the time to look into this issue!
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
> Package: xscreensaver-gl 5.10-3ubuntu4
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-21.32-generic-pae 2.6.32.11+drm33.2
> Uname: Linux 2.6.32-21-generic-pae i686
> NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx
> Architecture: i386
> Date: Sun Apr 25 21:18:57 2010
> InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04 "Lucid Lynx" - Release Candidate i386
> (20100419.1)
> ProcEnviron:
> LANG=en_US.utf8
> SHELL=/bin/bash
> SourcePackage: xscreensaver
>
> To unsubscribe from this bug, go to:
>
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xscreensaver/+bug/569993/+subscribe
>

[Derek (bugs-m8y)]

Oh. And happens with both metacity and compiz

[Thijs van Dijk (ametheus-deactivatedaccount)]

Also, when I hit Ctrl+Alt+F1 and then Ctrl+Alt+F8 again, the password box suddenly becomes visible. Glad to know you can also just blindly type your password.

[Dallman Ross (spamless)]

I have been seeing this bug ever since installing 11.04. Why is it still here two years afterward? I didn't know I could type in the password blindly. I've been resetting the machine and otherwise driving myself nuts.

[Avi (avi-j)]

Eight months after the last comment, this bug still exists. Linux Mint 12 (Lisa), 64-bit, running MATE, Radeon HD6370D processor. The funny thing is, this bug did not show up until I attempted to upgrade the Catalyst driver from 12.3 to 12.4. Unfortunately, 12.4 does not support my graphics card (gave me the ugly "AMD Unsupported Hardware" watermark, so I removed it and reinstalled 12.3. After that, this bug appeared. Tried Complete Uninstall and Install of xscreensaver, xscreensaver-data, etc., but this did not work.

An interesting "feature" is that if I screw up my password, I can wait for the screensaver to reappear (after the "invisible" "wrong-password" dialog), then log in again simply by typing my password into the screensaver (no dialog appears), and hitting <enter> TWICE. (Once to dismiss the "invisible" unlock screen, and a second time to dismiss the "invisible" report of unsuccessful unlocks.) This indicates to me that the unlock screen, wrong-password screen, and unsuccessful-unlocks report screen are all appearing "behind" the screensaver.

Is there still no fix for this?

[Avi (avi-j)]

I uninstalled the Catalyst driver and the dialog worked correctly under the open source driver (which unfortunately is unsatisfactory for other reasons, including available screen resolutions). When I reinstalled the Catalyst driver, the problem came back.

[Avi (avi-j)]

I uninstalled the Catalyst driver again and installed the "additional driver" ("ATI/AMD proprietary FGLRX graphics driver") from System > Preferences > Additional Drivers, and this solved the problem. Odd, because the website driver is supposed to be a later version than the one downloaded by Mint/Ubuntu from the manufacturer.

[Dave W. (dave.w)]

I posted a workaround on the Ubuntu Forums that doesn't require you to uninstall the Catalyst driver:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2010230&referrerid=546810

[MichiGreat (michi20091979)]

I am also affected: Xubuntu 12.04 i386 with ATI card. Switching to "True Color" makes the password entry dialog visible again, but the screen saver (gl slide show) won't be started then. Instead, the screen turns dark and bright repeatedly.