Arch Linux

mwilson

Member

Registered: 2018-01-19

Posts: 5

[SOLVED] Long delays opening some applications like free42

I've had a problem with my Arch installation for a while now. I will focus on one example since it affects me most frequently: launching the free42 calculator application (from the AUR, but this problem also happens with remote-viewer, as well as the first time a file browser dialog opens in Firefox or VSCode after I reboot).

The problem is that it takes 25 seconds for the application to appear from the time I launch it from the command line (or any other way).

I don't run a desktop environment, just the dwm window manager. My gut instinct is that free42 and other applications experiencing delays are trying to talk to a service over dbus, and there's nothing running to handle the method call. But I really don't know how to confirm this or track it down. If I `strace free42`, the calls leading up to the delay are:

eventfd2(0, EFD_CLOEXEC|EFD_NONBLOCK)   = 11
write(11, "\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0", 8)        = 8
write(6, "\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0", 8)         = 8
futex(0x561317cf00c8, FUTEX_WAKE_PRIVATE, 1) = 1
poll([{fd=11, events=POLLIN}], 1, 25000) = 1 ([{fd=11, revents=POLLIN}])
read(11, "\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0", 16)        = 8
poll([{fd=11, events=POLLIN}], 1, 25000

That 25000, I'm assuming, is 25,000 milliseconds, which exactly matches the 25-second delay I'm seeing. So that call is timing out, then the application launch is proceeding.

I'd appreciate any ideas on the cause of this or how I might further investigate the problem.

Last edited by mwilson (2021-08-02 07:04:00)

Slithery

Administrator

From: Norfolk, UK

Registered: 2013-12-01

Posts: 5,776

Re: [SOLVED] Long delays opening some applications like free42

How are you starting dwm? If you use startx please post the full contents of your ~/.xinitrc

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No, it didn't "fix" anything. It just shifted the brokeness one space to the right. - jasonwryan
Closing -- for deletion; Banning -- for muppetry. - jasonwryan

aur - dotfiles

mwilson

Member

Registered: 2018-01-19

Posts: 5

Re: [SOLVED] Long delays opening some applications like free42

How are you starting dwm? If you use startx please post the full contents of your ~/.xinitrc

I am using startx. My .xinitrc contains:

#!/bin/sh

test -f ~/.Xkeymap && xkbcomp ~/.Xkeymap $DISPLAY
xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources
xset s off
xset dpms 0 0 0
dunst &
xidlehook --socket /tmp/xidlesock --timer 900 slock '' &
xrandr --dpi 144
xsettingsd &
~/.local/bin/tools/setbg
picom -b
unclutter -b
mpd

dwmblocks &
while true; do
        dwm || break
done

seth

Member

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 50,983

Re: [SOLVED] Long delays opening some applications like free42

Last link below …

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How to upload text · How to boot w/o GUI · Disable Windows Fast-Start! · Fix your xinitrc

mwilson

Member

Registered: 2018-01-19

Posts: 5

Re: [SOLVED] Long delays opening some applications like free42

Last link below …

Aha, thank you! Indeed, 50-systemd-user.sh wasn't being run and that solved the delay.