Arch Linux

kuba144

Member

Registered: 2012-05-02

Posts: 18

Failed to activate compiz

I can't make Compiz working with Arch. My DE is XFCE. Either on nVidia drivers or Noveau Compiz dosen't work. After make: compiz --replace computer stucks for minute and after that i can manage windows. I loose decoration, keystrokeys (even alt+tab) but there is no sign of having dekstop effect. Ok, there is one, i can activate semi-transparent skin in Gnome-Do. I also tested xcompmrg and i don't have shadows and transparency too.

What can i do?

Last edited by kuba144 (2012-05-04 08:26:38)

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,977

Re: Failed to activate compiz

Do you have the compiz configuration tool installed?

sudo pacman -S ccsm

You need to enable features like window decorations, movement, and such using that configuration tool before they'll actually work.

Once you do have it installed, assuming you didn't, launch it with:

ccsm

kuba144

Member

Registered: 2012-05-02

Posts: 18

Re: Failed to activate compiz

Yep, ofc i did that and nothing

edit: yeah! I got the answer: compiz ccp --replace

Last edited by kuba144 (2012-05-02 15:12:16)

triplesquarednine

Member

Registered: 2011-04-12

Posts: 630

Re: Failed to activate compiz

Can you please edit your first post and mark it as [SOLVED], so that people like myself who were going to try to help you, know that you've solved the problem.

thanx

kuba144

Member

Registered: 2012-05-02

Posts: 18

Re: Failed to activate compiz

Hm and problem again. It works ok on Nouveau, but on this driver even teeworlds isn't 100% smooth (it should, 2 cores AMD + GT8800GTS), so i switched again on nVidia drivers and ok i can activate compiz, but it is slow as hell. I mean switching desktop last 1 minute etc.
This is my xorg file:

# nvidia-xconfig: X configuration file generated by nvidia-xconfig
# nvidia-xconfig:  version 295.40  (buildmeister@swio-display-x86-rhel47-04.nvidia.com)  Thu Apr  5 22:33:07 PDT 2012

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Default Layout"
    Screen         "Default Screen" 0 0
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Keyboard0"
    Driver         "keyboard"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Mouse0"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "Protocol" "auto"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "n"
    Driver         "nvidia"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Default Screen"
    Device         "n"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Modes      "nvidia-auto-select"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
    Option         "Composite" "Enable"
EndSection

edit: i generated this with: nvidia-xconfig --composite

Last edited by kuba144 (2012-05-02 19:19:28)

triplesquarednine

Member

Registered: 2011-04-12

Posts: 630

Re: Failed to activate compiz

you most likely need to adjust some stuff in CCSM. But as a disclaimer - i am using compiz 0.9.x series, so these keys in ccsm may be in slightly different locations in 0.8.8's ccsm.

I can give you a few tips/things to try (to enable);

- ccsm->composite->detect refresh rate   (which may be in a different location) for older compiz/ccsm versions.

- ccsm->composite->Sync to Vblank

- ccsm->workarounds; (there are a few to test/try)

'force synchronization between X and GLX' & 'force complete redraws on initial damage'... i'm not sure if the old compiz has it, but 'force fullscreen redraws(buffer swap) on repaint' ....the last one fixes slow graphics (plus enabling vsync) for me.

also make sure that nvidia-settings (for the driver) has;

- opengl settings->Sync to vblank enabled.

cheerz

kuba144

Member

Registered: 2012-05-02

Posts: 18

Re: Failed to activate compiz

I found everything except: "force fullscreen redraws(buffer swap) on repaint"
After enabled theese options unfortunately nothing changed.

triplesquarednine

Member

Registered: 2011-04-12

Posts: 630

Re: Failed to activate compiz

I found everything except: "force fullscreen redraws(buffer swap) on repaint"
After enabled theese options unfortunately nothing changed.

hmmm.... What Nvidia card are you using? -> i also noticed you are using 2.90.40 - i've heard that version of the nvidia driver has  had some regressions, that being said; how are other composited environments? is it possible that it could be an issue?  myself, i never upgraded because of reading in the forums about 2.90.40 causing issues.... But i am going to upgrade to 302.x driver shortly.

I looked at your xorg.conf which is quite a bit different than mine, so i am not really positive whether or not there is anything wrong in there. On my desktop, i have an xorg.conf, but most lines in the config are for my wacom tablet. Nvidia/display related stuff is only mentioned here;

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Unknown"
    HorizSync       28.0 - 33.0
    VertRefresh     43.0 - 72.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    Option "DynamicTwinView" "False"
EndSection

Section "Screen";
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

then i have a separate config found in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-nvidia.conf, that contains all of the nvidia-specific;

Section "Device"
	Identifier      "Default nvidia Device"
        Driver  	"nvidia"
        Option 		"NoLogo" "True"
	Option 		"TripleBuffer" "1"
	Option 		"DamageEvents" "1"
    	Option          "PixmapCacheSize"           "70000"
        Option         	"ConnectedMonitor" "DFP"
    	Option         	"RegistryDwords" "PerfLevelSrc=0x2222"
	Option          "BackingStore"      "True"
EndSection


Section "DRI"
	Mode 0666
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
	Option "Composite" "Enable"
EndSection

I take it you've went through the archwiki for nvidia, as well;

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NVIDIA

Compiz 0.8.8 should work fine with nvidia (i've never had issue with 0.8.x or 0.9.x).

kuba144

Member

Registered: 2012-05-02

Posts: 18

Re: Failed to activate compiz

My card is nVidia 8800GTS 320mb/320mbit. Hm, maybe there is something wrong with compiz?
I ran glxgears and got:
71742 frames in 5.0 seconds = 14348.293 FPS
and on fullscreen:
10085 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2016.928 FPS

This isn't bad right?
Maybe i have to upgrade to 0.9.x version from AUR?

Edit: Ok, i upgrade to 0.9.x and still the same (even with missing workaround). I also noted that teeworlds dosen't work now (loading screen freeze) so it has to be problem with driver.

Uh, this isn't easy...

Last edited by kuba144 (2012-05-03 11:49:59)

triplesquarednine

Member

Registered: 2011-04-12

Posts: 630

Re: Failed to activate compiz

My card is nVidia 8800GTS 320mb/320mbit. Hm, maybe there is something wrong with compiz?

I suppose it is possible, have you tried any other composied DE? ~ ie: gnome-shell / cairocompmgr / kwin

I ran glxgears and got:
71742 frames in 5.0 seconds = 14348.293 FPS
and on fullscreen:
10085 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2016.928 FPS

This isn't bad right?

I've always found using glxgears to be a waste of time. it doesn't really give any useful / accurate info.

Edit: Ok, i upgrade to 0.9.x and still the same (even with missing workaround). I also noted that teeworlds dosen't work now (loading screen freeze) so it has to be problem with driver.

Uh, this isn't easy...

It probably is the driver. why don't you try the latest nvidia (beta) driver - 302.07  ... as i pointed out 290.40 was causing lots of performance regressions - you can have a look through the forums to verify this. Myself, I've just upgraded this morning to 302.07 (for all of my kernels, except i'm still compiling the latest linux-rt). The beta driver is available in the AUR;

https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=31123

you will also need to upgrade nvidia-utils(-beta);

https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=19453

You will probably need to upgrade nvidia-beta-utils before installing the nvidia-beta-all package. if you get any errors about not being able to upgrade - remove your current nvidia package -> for the nvidia driver, but don't remove the nvidia-utils package (pacman won't let you anyway).... then upgrade the nvidia-utils-beta, after that you should be able to install/upgrade nvidia-beta-all.

the -beta-all package will install the driver for all of your kernels (if you have more than one).

if you are still experiencing slow graphics - remove the xorg.conf that you made - the driver shouldn't require it. (ie: i currently don't have an xorg.conf nor do i have 20-nvidia.conf ... this is because i was using nouveau, briefly ~ in the last 24hours. so my nvidia-related xorg stuff, is backed up/renamed for now.).  xorg/nvidia driver should be able to start regardless of having nvidia-related .conf files.

Last edited by triplesquarednine (2012-05-03 15:03:09)

kuba144

Member

Registered: 2012-05-02

Posts: 18

Re: Failed to activate compiz

MANY thanks for your time. It works now

triplesquarednine

Member

Registered: 2011-04-12

Posts: 630

Re: Failed to activate compiz

MANY thanks for your time. It works now

Hey, no problem. I'm happy we've gotten it sorted out.

I've run into problems with GFX drivers in the past, so i can appreciate the frustration that it can cause. In fact, i was running into issues lastnight/today, but thankfully squashed every issue - i've even gotten 302.07 running on linux-rt (3.2) now   The driver seems good, no regressions or shotty performance that i have come across, yet.

2.90.40 - was complete crap, it was released to fix a security flaw, but introduced lots of (performance) regressions - across the board (i've seen users complain about kwin, GS and compiz using that particular version). Hence, why in the end i suggested using the nvidia-beta packages.

Also, in case you are concerned over using the -beta packages, over the stock nvidia stuff. I've never had any problems at all (using them for over a year). 

I've also got a good tip for you;

- before upgrading nvidia (when a new update is available). wait a while (like 4-8hours, maybe in 24hours for good measure) and check through the forums to see if people are having issues, if the driver update sucks - than don't upgrade. You can even tell pacman to ignore upgrades (for nvidia) via /etc/pacman.conf using the 'IgnorePkg' parameter;

# Pacman won't upgrade packages listed in IgnorePkg and members of IgnoreGroup
IgnorePkg   = nvidia-beta-all nvidia-utils-beta

So say 302.48 (as an example) has performance regressions or some other issue, just set pacman.conf to ignore updates for nvidia (like above), and wait until a new release comes, where the problem has been corrected.

this is one way i avoid having problematic updates for nvidia -> but it is rare, that i would actually need to do this. That being said, that is exactly what i did for 290.40

cheerz

Last edited by triplesquarednine (2012-05-03 16:38:37)

kuba144

Member

Registered: 2012-05-02

Posts: 18

Re: Failed to activate compiz

Ok, i know i marked as solved twice but eh... it dosen't work.
Switch desktop ok, but alt+tab - hangs system, scale - can't exit this view and other problems with plugins too. Worst part is i can't get to ctrl+alt+f2 or other console, i have to restart system so testing is annoying

SanskritFritz

Member

From: Budapest, Hungary

Registered: 2009-01-08

Posts: 1,924

Website

Re: Failed to activate compiz

Have you tried compiz in standalone mode? I heard xfce4 causes trouble with compiz.

---

zʇıɹɟʇıɹʞsuɐs AUR || Cycling in Budapest with a helmet camera || Revised log levels proposal: "FYI" "WTF" and "OMG" (John Barnette)

kuba144

Member

Registered: 2012-05-02

Posts: 18

Re: Failed to activate compiz

Now i'm just frustrated and just switched to Nouveau. If i calm down and get bored and have some free time i will try to do something with that

triplesquarednine

Member

Registered: 2011-04-12

Posts: 630

Re: Failed to activate compiz

Ok, i know i marked as solved twice but eh... it dosen't work.
Switch desktop ok, but alt+tab - hangs system, scale - can't exit this view and other problems with plugins too. Worst part is i can't get to ctrl+alt+f2 or other console, i have to restart system so testing is annoying

technically, this thread is solved and should've stayed that way. After all, the thread is called "failed to activate compiz" and not compiz crashing, right?

Which version of compiz are you using?

at one point you had 0.8.8, but you also said you tried 0.9.x ... it sounds like (by the problems above) that you are using 0.9.x - but not from bzr, just the compiz-dev packages, which contains lots of bugs that have already been fixed in the master branch. NOTE: compiz 0.9.x is not necessarily super-stable, it can be (ie: i grab compiz from the master branch, and i have it working very well). That being said, i also know where some of the current bugs are, and with a bit of effort i could probably crash compiz.

I would probably test/use 0.8.8 (if i were you). I use 0.9.x series because i do testing for the devs and bug reporting - as well as there being some stuff about 0.9.x that i prefer over 0.8.8. But 0.8.8 is more stable for the average user.

cheerz

madmack

Member

Registered: 2012-05-06

Posts: 13

Re: Failed to activate compiz

I have the same GPU card, and the same exact problem. Nouveau stablizes compiz and alt-tab works but the FPS is pretty low for high def video content (having problems with xbmc). Nvidia proprietary drivers work but compiz freezes Xorg and only a restart of the X server gets me back to my DE. The freeze is not immediate, it's easy to produce it with alt-tab.

I'll be watching this thread to see if you or someone finds a solution.

triplesquarednine

Member

Registered: 2011-04-12

Posts: 630

Re: Failed to activate compiz

I have the same GPU card, and the same exact problem. Nouveau stablizes compiz and alt-tab works but the FPS is pretty low for high def video content (having problems with xbmc). Nvidia proprietary drivers work but compiz freezes Xorg and only a restart of the X server gets me back to my DE. The freeze is not immediate, it's easy to produce it with alt-tab.

I'll be watching this thread to see if you or someone finds a solution.

Can i assume you are using compiz 0.9.x? if so, try;

Go into CCSM->Application Switcher;

disable 'mipmap' option.

I don't actually use the application switcher, but just tested it here. If i have mipmap enabled - compiz freezes (not xorg)... After disabling 'mipmap', app switcher seems to work just fine (i've tested it multiple times over the last hour, doesn't seem to crash.

I am reporting the bug right now.

Also, as a side note: we have another compiz thread going, where we are focusing on compiz 0.9.x discussions / development / bug reporting. have a read through and consider joining Launchpad (where compiz development happens) to help report bugs... The compiz dev thread is a good place to share your bug reports, so that myself and other archers who do testing/reporting can help get your bugs some attention on LP. here is the thread;

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=139195

cheerz

PS: do NOT enable 'mipmap' in EXPO - it will result in the same issue (which i also just discovered, and will reprot). make sure it is disabled, if using EXPO.

madmack

Member

Registered: 2012-05-06

Posts: 13

Re: Failed to activate compiz

I have the same GPU card, and the same exact problem. Nouveau stablizes compiz and alt-tab works but the FPS is pretty low for high def video content (having problems with xbmc). Nvidia proprietary drivers work but compiz freezes Xorg and only a restart of the X server gets me back to my DE. The freeze is not immediate, it's easy to produce it with alt-tab.

I'll be watching this thread to see if you or someone finds a solution.

Can i assume you are using compiz 0.9.x? if so, try;

Go into CCSM->Application Switcher;

disable 'mipmap' option.

I don't actually use the application switcher, but just tested it here. If i have mipmap enabled - compiz freezes (not xorg)... After disabling 'mipmap', app switcher seems to work just fine (i've tested it multiple times over the last hour, doesn't seem to crash.

http://ompldr.org/tZG5nZw

I am reporting the bug right now.

Also, as a side note: we have another compiz thread going, where we are focusing on compiz 0.9.x discussions / development / bug reporting. have a read through and consider joining Launchpad (where compiz development happens) to help report bugs... The compiz dev thread is a good place to share your bug reports, so that myself and other archers who do testing/reporting can help get your bugs some attention on LP. here is the thread;

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=139195

cheerz

PS: do NOT enable 'mipmap' in EXPO - it will result in the same issue (which i also just discovered, and will reprot). make sure it is disabled, if using EXPO.

I appreciate your reply. I believe that the issue was in fact the driver itself and not with compiz per se (yes, I am using 0.9.6) . I went around to see if nvidia had any new proprietary drivers and this is what their latest v295.49 changelog says (released 3 days ago):

Fixed a problem where starting, stopping, and moving OpenGL application windows was very slow on Quadro FX 4600, Quadro FX 5600, GeForce 8800 GTX, GeForce 8800 GTS, and GeForce 8800 Ultra.

I installed that driver, rebooted.. and bam.. compiz works without an issue. I've been using the static application switcher and so far everything is smooth. I still have to temporarily switch compiz off before watching anything in xbmc on my twinview TV but that's another thing.

triplesquarednine

Member

Registered: 2011-04-12

Posts: 630

Re: Failed to activate compiz

I appreciate your reply. I believe that the issue was in fact the driver itself and not with compiz per se (yes, I am using 0.9.6) . I went around to see if nvidia had any new proprietary drivers and this is what their latest v295.49 changelog says (released 3 days ago):

Fixed a problem where starting, stopping, and moving OpenGL application windows was very slow on Quadro FX 4600, Quadro FX 5600, GeForce 8800 GTX, GeForce 8800 GTS, and GeForce 8800 Ultra.

I installed that driver, rebooted.. and bam.. compiz works without an issue. I've been using the static application switcher and so far everything is smooth. I still have to temporarily switch compiz off before watching anything in xbmc on my twinview TV but that's another thing.

Can you do me a quick favor?? (please, oh please?)

can you try to reproduce the 'mipmap' issue. try enabling it in applicaiton switcher (which should freeze compiz), in static switcher (it should create artifacts) and in EXPO (it should crash compiz).

I only ask because i have linked my bug report to this thread, and another thread elsewhere - and i have been able to reproduce these 'mipmap' issues on 2 machines, now. but i would like the compiz devs to have quick verification, by checking out the linked threads.

it'll take all of 2 seconds to confirm / with compiz and/or xorg crashing being the worst outcome...lol

cheerz and appreciated.

Last edited by triplesquarednine (2012-05-07 03:43:26)

madmack

Member

Registered: 2012-05-06

Posts: 13

Re: Failed to activate compiz

I appreciate your reply. I believe that the issue was in fact the driver itself and not with compiz per se (yes, I am using 0.9.6) . I went around to see if nvidia had any new proprietary drivers and this is what their latest v295.49 changelog says (released 3 days ago):

Fixed a problem where starting, stopping, and moving OpenGL application windows was very slow on Quadro FX 4600, Quadro FX 5600, GeForce 8800 GTX, GeForce 8800 GTS, and GeForce 8800 Ultra.

I installed that driver, rebooted.. and bam.. compiz works without an issue. I've been using the static application switcher and so far everything is smooth. I still have to temporarily switch compiz off before watching anything in xbmc on my twinview TV but that's another thing.

Can you do me a quick favor?? (please, oh please?)

can you try to reproduce the 'mipmap' issue. try enabling it in applicaiton switcher (which should freeze compiz), in static switcher (it should create artifacts) and in EXPO (it should crash compiz).

I only ask because i have linked my bug report to this thread, and another thread elsewhere - and i have been able to reproduce these 'mipmap' issues on 2 machines, now. but i would like the compiz devs to have quick verification, by checking out the linked threads.

it'll take all of 2 seconds to confirm / with compiz and/or xorg crashing being the worst outcome...lol

cheerz and appreciated.

I wasn't able to reproduce the problems you're having with mipmap. Enabled it in app switcher (enabled by default) and switched between windows without a problem. Did the same in the static switcher and no problems either.

triplesquarednine

Member

Registered: 2011-04-12

Posts: 630

Re: Failed to activate compiz

I wasn't able to reproduce the problems you're having with mipmap. Enabled it in app switcher (enabled by default) and switched between windows without a problem. Did the same in the static switcher and no problems either.

Interesting.

I've already gotten people elsewhere to reproduce the problem. it probably doesn't exist in 0.9.6 but those who have confirmed are using 0.9.8.

thanks anyway - just trying to squash some bugs.

cheerz