[i830] black screen after intrepid login intel graphics unless 3d/compiz disabled

[rad_sci_guy]

If I run a LiveCD of Ubuntu, Kubuntu or Linuxmint 8.10 or even install them on my IBM ThinkPad X30 I get a blank screen with just the mouse cursor. With the install I get a blank screen after entering the login information. I can hear the startup sounds for all startups but I don't see a desktop. If do a ctrl-alt-backspace can sometimes see the desktop for a split second before returning to the login screen. This problem does not occur with Xubuntu 8.10.

I've seen this bug reported for the xserver-xorg-video-ati but my Thinkpad is running Intel graphics i810 (I think).

Xorg.0.log ends with lots of
[mi] EQ overflowing. The server is probably stuck in an infinite loop.
with a few
[mi] mieqEnequeue: out-of-order valuator event; dropping.
intersped.

[lspci]
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 82830 830 Chipset Host Bridge [8086:3575] (rev 04)
     Subsystem: IBM Device [1014:021d]
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation 82830 CGC [Chipset Graphics Controller] [8086:3577] (rev 04)
     Subsystem: IBM Device [1014:0513]

[Peter Antoniac (pan1nx)]

I experience the same behaviour except in different situations. I will try to investigate more when I get my hands on the i810 computer...

[Charlie Kravetz (cjkgeek)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Unfortunately we can't fix it without more information.

Please include /var/log/xorg.0.log and lspci -vvnn (v v n n) as separate attachments. Since you are unable to see the desktop, you can do this using a tty terminal (Ctrl+Alt+F2). With the live cd, you may be able to get to a desktop using F4 - Safe Mode.

[rad_sci_guy (radsciguy)]

Here is the xorg.0.log from the live cd. I chose the safe mode and then did a ctrl+alt+f2 to get the file. I can't figure out how to get the output from lspci -vvnn to a file to attach. Can someone explain how to capture the output to a file. I'm sill in a learning mode with the command line.

thanks

[rad_sci_guy (radsciguy)]

I figured out how to get the info for lspci to a text file. here it is.

[Geir Ove Myhr (gomyhr)]

Great you figured out how to write to a file (`lspci -vvnn >lspci.txt` in case you did something more complicated). Xorg.0.log logs what happens from the X-server starts (just before you see the login screen) until you log out. To catch any error messages from when things go wrong we need the Xorg.0.log that is generated when you don't run in safe mode. There are a few ways to do this (I list two in case one doesn't work)
- Log in - get the blank screen (you hear the login sound), then do Ctrl+F2 to get a text login where you can copy the file to your home directory with `cp /var/log/Xorg.0.log ~/Xorg.0.log.txt`. Ctrl+F7 will take you back to the blank screen where you can Ctrl-Alt-Backspace to kill the X-server and get the login screen again.
- Log in - get the blank screen (you hear the login sound). Do Ctrl-Alt-Backspace. This kills the X-server and starts a new X-session and a new Xorg.0.log, but the old one is moved to /var/log/Xorg.0.log.old. You can then log in using failsafe mode and upload that file.

If you look at the file, it should have many lines starting with (II) intel(0): as opposed to (II) VESA(0): for the failsafe one.

[rad_sci_guy (radsciguy)]

I reinstalled 8.10 on my laptop (it's now dual booting with 8.04). I tried the two suggestions for getting to a command prompt but neither Ctrl-F2 or Ctrl-Alt-Backspace will take me away from the blank screen. (the screen is actually the beige background color seen before the desktop shows up). The cursor is the arrow cursor and it can be moved. I also here the ubuntu theme music as if the desktop has started, but I can only do a hard restart to get out of the blank screen.

[rad_sci_guy (radsciguy)]

Would it be possible to access the Xorg.0.log from my hardy install after I reboot? Would this file be of use?

[rad_sci_guy (radsciguy)]

I logged into hardy and copied the Xorg.0.log file from the intrepid install after rebooting the attempted intrepid login.

Hope this helps.

[Geir Ove Myhr (gomyhr)]

Yes, you could mount the Intrepid partition from Hardy and get /var/log/Xorg.0.log (which would then show up as something like /media/something/var/log/Xorg.0.log) from there. However, there is one more method which is far easier to explain:
- Log in - get the blank screen (you hear the login sound)
- At this point, do what you usually do to get away from here - I guess you reboot using the power button or Ctrl+Alt+Delete since Ctrl+Alt+Backspace didn't work
- Next time you get the login screen, use safe mode and get the file /var/log/Xorg.0.log.old instead of Xorg.0.log (I don't understand why you needed to use Ctrl+F2 to get the file - but you can do it like that if that's what you're familiar with). This is the Xorg.0.log from the previous session, which is the one with a log from the blank screen behaviour.

[Geir Ove Myhr (gomyhr)]

You beat me to it by one minute :-)

The file you uploaded was just what we wanted - the bug report now has all the required information and I'm setting it's status to Confirmed.

A developer should be able to take it from here. If you want to be a bit up front it would be great if you could test the upcoming release of ubuntu as well. The newest Live CD of Jaunty (currently alpha-3) can be downloaded from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/9.04/ .

[Leonardo (rnalrd)]

Same problem here with DELL Optiplex 960.

X gets stuck after resuming from screensaver, after a log period of inactivity (no keyb/mouse input), mostly after a night long. Ctrl+F2, Ctrl+Alt+Backspace and Ctrl+Alt+Del don't help. Pushing the power button, it shutdowns gracefully.

[Geir Ove Myhr (gomyhr)]

Leonardo, that is interesting, since rad_sci_guy has a pretty old graphics chipset (i830) and you have a very new one (Q45). It probably means that the bug isn't really in the intel driver. This may be why rad_sci_guy has seen it reported for the ati-driver. Probably, the same bug has been reported in other packages.

PS: It is also a possibility that there are multiple bugs which give the same behaviour, but my gut feeling for this is that it is the same

[Leonardo (rnalrd)]

I've found a workaround: using "Blank Screen" as screensaver, X no longer locks up.

[Tormod Volden (tormodvolden)]

The log message "[mi] EQ overflowing. The server is probably stuck in an infinite loop." indicates that the card got hung. The xserver 1.5.3 or newer will automatically add a backtrace to the log in this case to make it easier to identify the reason for this. It would therefore be helpful if you could try either Jaunty, or the xserver-xorg-core 2:1.5.3+git20081216+server-1.5-branch.4970d757-0ubuntu0tormod1 for Intrepid from the PPA https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa

[Leonardo (rnalrd)]

Tormod, please see attached log.
Thanks

[Geir Ove Myhr (gomyhr)]

rad_sci_guy, could you also test the 1.5.3 xserver and post the Xorg.0.log.old? We should be able to see from the backtrace if you and Leonardo indeed have the same problem.

[Flemming Bjerke (flem)]

I have the same problem as Leonardo:
"X gets stuck after resuming from screensaver, after a log period of inactivity (no keyb/mouse input), mostly after a night long. Ctrl+F2, Ctrl+Alt+Backspace and Ctrl+Alt+Del don't help. "

But, it is on an old asus motherboard running Kubuntu - intrepid:
Host bridge: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 645xx (rev 51)
VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RV280 [Radeon 9200 SE] (rev 01]

I cannot get in touch with the system except through ssh, from where I have succeeded in killing kdm and X with kill -9 (kill -15 did no do the job). But, nevertheless, nothing happens when I Ctrl+Alt+Fx at the PC. Having stopped klog and dbus, too, I was able to restart by Ctrl+Alt+Del. But else, it doesn't look like I could communite with the PC except through ssh (which seems to work perfectly).

I have a suspicion: There are a number of power management function in the BIOS, which I have turned on. Among other things, there is a screen suspend function. Perhaps intrepid don't cope with this? (I notice that Leonardo writes: "mostly after a night long"). Well, I disable all this stuff, and you will hear tomorrow, if it helps. (Incidentally, when intrepid shuts down, it doesn't switch off the hardware.)

# ps aux
USER PID %CPU %MEM VSZ RSS TTY STAT START TIME COMMAND
root 1 0.0 0.2 3056 1900 ? Ss Feb13 0:01 /sbin/init
root 2 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [kthreadd]
root 3 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [migration/0]
root 4 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:19 [ksoftirqd/0]
root 5 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [watchdog/0]
root 6 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:02 [events/0]
root 7 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [khelper]
root 46 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [kintegrityd/0]
root 48 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:01 [kblockd/0]
root 50 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [kacpid]
root 51 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [kacpi_notify]
root 120 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [cqueue]
root 124 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [kseriod]
root 166 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:15 [kswapd0]
root 206 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [aio/0]
root 1139 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [ksuspend_usbd]
root 1143 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [khubd]
root 1153 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:47 [ata/0]
root 1157 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [ata_aux]
root 1410 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [scsi_eh_0]
root 1411 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 1:17 [scsi_eh_1]
root 1887 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:00 [scsi_eh_2]
root 1889 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S< Feb13 0:13 [usb-storage]
root 2089 0.0 0...

[Flemming Bjerke (flem)]

Suspicion confirmed: It was at one of the power management functions in the BIOS, perhaps screen suspend, that killed my intrepid (as described just above and by Leonardo). Now, it even switch of nicely af shutdownj.

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

[Still awaiting feedback from rad_sci_guy]

[rad_sci_guy (radsciguy)]

Tried the latest Ubuntu Jaunty. Can't get passed the login screen after trying liveCD without the usually black screen and cursor.. Tried to install on my thinkpad but system freezes up with black screen before I can start the install process.

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

Thanks for testing jaunty. Marking confirmed for now.

Fwiw, a troubleshooting guide for blank/black screens is here:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Troubleshooting/BlankScreen

The next step will be to get register dumps. See the above link for directions on how to get that.

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

[ping?]

[Peter Antoniac (pan1nx)]

We'd like to figure out what's causing this bug for you, but we haven't heard back from you in a while. Could you please provide the requested information? Thanks!

[rad_sci_guy (radsciguy)]

Sorry I have been busy setting up a home server. I'll try and install Intrepid again this week and try the register dumps. I'll report back as soon as I get a chance

[rad_sci_guy (radsciguy)]

I read throught the troubleshooting guide and noticed the non-symptom suggestion

"If it occurs *after* entering your password on the login page, you have some different class of issue. Try disabling compiz (sudo chmod a-x /usr/bin/compiz), logging in as a different user, or turning off DRI.

This was the problem I've been having with Intrepid since I can enter my login and password but then I get the blank screen. So tried the command

"sudo chmod a-x /usr/bin/compiz"

and I was finally able get to the desktop.

[Peter Antoniac (pan1nx)]

So, we can conclude that it is a problem with compiz? Tormod Volden can check it deeper.... I will mark it also likely-dup as I have a feeling I have seen something similar...

[Tormod Volden (tormodvolden)]

It is most likely a graphics driver bug which is triggered by compiz. So disabling compiz is a workaround, but the bug might appear in other circumstances too. Please provide the register dumps.

[rad_sci_guy (radsciguy)]

Here is the register dump for a working screen. I cannot duplicate the blank screen anymore since running the command to disablecompiz.

How do you re-enable compiz? I cannot get it to restart. I get an error message stating

Checking for Xgl: not present.
Blacklisted PCIID '8086:3577' found
aborting and using fallback: /usr/bin/metacity

but then nothing happens.

[Tormod Volden (tormodvolden)]

Your specific card has been blacklisted by compiz because of the issues in bug 259385. There is an option to overrule the blacklisting, you can google to find this (--skip-checks?), or you can edit /usr/bin/compiz and comment out the line which has 8086:3577 in it.

[L300 (l300)]

upgrading from 8.10 to beta Jaunty on Ibm Thinkpad R31 with i830 graphics resulted in X corruption.

I tried previous workaround from 8.10 as described here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/293059 to no avail, it didn't work this time.

I've found solution mentioned by Marques Johansson here https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/jaunty/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/304871/comments/42

This was the only working solution for i830

[Carey Underwood (cwillu)]

Tormod, did you want this left open? It's a duplicate of bug 259385, but it looks like there's relevant information that you want.

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

There's been a good bit of work recently on fixing issues with 8xx bugs such as this one, so this may be fixed now.

Would you mind testing on karmic using the xorg-edgers PPA and verify the issue is gone?

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

We're closing this bug since it is has been some time with no response from the original reporter. However, if the issue still exists please feel free to reopen with the requested information. Also, if you could, please test against the latest development version of Ubuntu, since this confirms the bug is one we may be able to pass upstream for help.

[rad_sci_guy (radsciguy)]

I've tried the Karmic 9.10 alpha 3 (liveCD only) today and the system loads up with the black screen and only the cursor arrow visible. The cursor can be moved and I hear the ubuntu startup music play. It's very similar to the original bug I had with 8.10

[Geir Ove Myhr (gomyhr)]

rad_sci_guy, when you say that the bug is "very similar", does that mean that there are any differences from your original bug? If there are any differences, it would be nice if you could report it as a new bug, so we avoid being distracted by the issues and logs that are no longer up to date, otherwise set the status back to Confirmed to reopen this bug. Could you upload Xorg.0.log and a register dump from Karmic alpha-3?

[rad_sci_guy (radsciguy)]

I only ran the LiveCD so I didn't get a login screen. I haven't installed karmic on the laptop as I can't do it at this time. If I get a chance to repartition my drive I'll try and do an install. My original bug was from a hard drive install and I had the login screen appear and then the black screen would show up after entering the login & password. That's the only difference with the liveCD that I noticed.

[Geir Ove Myhr (gomyhr)]

That the problem now happens already on xorg startup suggests what is happening is different from before. I think what is most efficient for all of us would be if you report this as a new bug once you are able to get the logs. That way we may skip the more than 30 comments that are now more or less obsolete when handling your problem.

You should be able to get logs even with a LiveCD if you have another computer to ssh from and install openssh-server. If you have a USB stick with 2 GB or more you may use that as a LiveUSB and enable persistent storage, so that log files (and other files) will be kept when rebooting. System -> Administation -> USB Startup Disk Creator lets you do this on an installed Ubuntu system.

I have a separate Karmic partition, which also works (except that it got corrupted this week when I was testing out some xorg-edgers stuff - but that might be unrelated).