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#1 2013-04-03 19:29:16

bpont
Banned
Registered: 2010-03-24
Posts: 161

[SOLVED] Critical rendering problems after system update

I updated my system about a week ago and noticed some rendering problems after a reboot.  Specifically, the information in my fluxbox menu bar and my wallpaper were both missing.  I thought I'd just be patient and ride things out for a few days and hopefully the problems would resolve themselves after my next update.  Instead, after another system update today, the problem has grown much worse as this screenshot shows:

http://imageshack.us/a/img43/9793/87374590.png

I would like some help troubleshooting what is causing this problem and how I can resolve it.  Also, I'd like to know how to roll back to my previous update, since even though the problem existed during my last update, my desktop was still readable and usable.  Now I have to resort to a rescue OS because for the first time since my Arch installation years ago, my system has become effectively unusable.



-- mod edit: read the Forum Etiquette and only post thumbnails http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/For … s_and_Code [jwr] --

Last edited by bpont (2013-04-04 18:20:10)

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#2 2013-04-03 21:10:36

Lone_Wolf
Member
From: Netherlands, Europe
Registered: 2005-10-04
Posts: 11,868

Re: [SOLVED] Critical rendering problems after system update

Looks like you have issues with firefox and with the program you use for file management.

You'll have to narrow down the possible causes.

Do other programs (office, pdfviewer etc) have the same issues ?

Put exec firefox in .xinitrc instead of exec fluxbox, this will start firefox without any WM/DE directly in X.
does firefox have problems this way ?


Disliking systemd intensely, but not satisfied with alternatives so focusing on taming systemd.


(A works at time B)  && (time C > time B ) ≠  (A works at time C)

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#3 2013-04-03 23:15:04

bpont
Banned
Registered: 2010-03-24
Posts: 161

Re: [SOLVED] Critical rendering problems after system update

It just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

When my programs first load after X starts, firefox looks distorted as my original screenshot shows...other programs like PCManFM, GIMP, Leafpad, Sylpheed, Transmission, Geeqie, all looked similarly strange.  VLC, Libreoffice, Xterm all looked normal.  Then, after a certain amount of time like within a minute or so...if I close the affected programs and reopen them they seem to look normal again!  However, the left side of the fluxbox menubar is supposed to show the current desktop name and the right side is supposed to show the clock...it shows nothing...but the middle part of the menu bar does show the current program name.

Now it gets even more strange...after experimenting a bit, I discovered that if I run the command, 'sudo leafpad' from xterm and start typing out the alphabet, only certain letters will show and others won't.  If I simply start 'leafpad' as a normal user from xterm and start typing it will show all the characters of the alphabet.  Here's a screenshot showing the comparison:

http://imageshack.us/a/img542/884/82385413.png

If if makes any difference, here's some information about my specs and config settings:

Intel Corporation 82845G/GL[Brookdale-G]/GE Chipset Integrated Graphics Device

.bash_profile

[[ -z $DISPLAY && $XDG_VTNR -eq 1 ]] && exec startx

.xinitrc

xset dpms 0 1800 3600 &
xset s off &
xautolock -time 30 -locker slock -notify 30 &
numlockx &
exec startfluxbox

fluxbox startup file (edited)

exec fluxbox

I honestly have no idea what's going on here.  Is it a fluxbox issue?  An X issue?

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#4 2013-04-03 23:16:05

bpont
Banned
Registered: 2010-03-24
Posts: 161

Re: [SOLVED] Critical rendering problems after system update

Lone_Wolf wrote:

Put exec firefox in .xinitrc instead of exec fluxbox, this will start firefox without any WM/DE directly in X.
does firefox have problems this way ?

It didn't make any difference.

Please see my previous post.

Last edited by bpont (2013-04-03 23:17:16)

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#5 2013-04-04 06:52:29

bpont
Banned
Registered: 2010-03-24
Posts: 161

Re: [SOLVED] Critical rendering problems after system update

I noticed if I change fluxbox styles, I can resolve the problem of the fluxbox menu bar displaying the workspace name on the left and the clock information on the right.  Strangely, some styles display this information correctly, some are distorted (e.g. showing just the two minute digits of the clock), and some not at all.

Also, if I 'su -' in xterm to get to a root prompt and then try to open leafpad, I get 'leafpad: Cannot open display:'

I also suspect there's something going on with my boot process.  For a while now, prior to these new problems, sometimes when I boot, my soundcard gets recognized and sometimes it doesn't and I have no sound until I reboot again.  Sometimes during boot I see messages about dhcpcd failing, but then it seems to "catch up" because I have internet connectivity after I log in and start X.  Also, for quite some time, when I get to a login prompt during boot, the login prompt will show and then the last four or five boot messages will show afterwards and I'll have to hit 'enter' to get to a new login prompt.  It's almost like my system is booting too fast or something.  And now, with the kind of distortions as shown in my original post screenshot, the problem seems similar to the soundcard one...on some boots it looks normal and on some boots it looks distorted.

Any ideas what's going on with my system or how else I can troubleshoot?

Last edited by bpont (2013-04-04 07:12:11)

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#6 2013-04-04 08:25:26

JGC
Developer
Registered: 2003-12-03
Posts: 1,664

Re: [SOLVED] Critical rendering problems after system update

Intel 8xx hardware needs SNA enabled. The default UXA acceleration method is broken and causes corruption or even blank screens on this old hardware.

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#7 2013-04-04 08:39:55

bpont
Banned
Registered: 2010-03-24
Posts: 161

Re: [SOLVED] Critical rendering problems after system update

JGC wrote:

Intel 8xx hardware needs SNA enabled. The default UXA acceleration method is broken and causes corruption or even blank screens on this old hardware.

How do I enable SNA?  I don't even know what that is.  If there's a wiki link, please direct me...thanks.

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#8 2013-04-04 10:46:04

JGC
Developer
Registered: 2003-12-03
Posts: 1,664

Re: [SOLVED] Critical rendering problems after system update

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … ion_method

googling "archlinux sna" brings you to that page...

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#9 2013-04-04 11:13:37

bpont
Banned
Registered: 2010-03-24
Posts: 161

Re: [SOLVED] Critical rendering problems after system update

JGC wrote:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … ion_method

googling "archlinux sna" brings you to that page...

But why does the distorted text only apply to certain programs, whereas VLC always displays correctly?  If it was a video driver issue, wouldn't all programs be distorted?  I can offer you comparative screenshots if you aren't clear about what I'm trying to resolve.

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#10 2013-04-04 18:19:38

bpont
Banned
Registered: 2010-03-24
Posts: 161

Re: [SOLVED] Critical rendering problems after system update

JGC wrote:

Intel 8xx hardware needs SNA enabled. The default UXA acceleration method is broken and causes corruption or even blank screens on this old hardware.

Enabling SNA did seem to resolve the issue.  Thank you, marking as "solved."

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