Possible ubuntu video driver bug

Fri Nov 11 21:54:26 MST 2011

XP's desktop doesn't hit the gpu - this started in the redheaded bastard 
known as vista.  Most xp functions and codecs don't either.  Linux will 
by default now with compiz, video rendering, lots of things.

-mb

On 11/11/2011 09:49 PM, Derek Trotter wrote:
> This is something I hadn't heard before. Thanks for letting me know. If
> this is the problem, there's one thing I don't understand. Why do I not
> have any problems when the machine is running XP?
>
> On 11/11/2011 21:28, Michael Butash wrote:
>> You might be dealing with hardware issues. I've not seen that kind of
>> problem in my laptop with that chip under solid use for 4 years until
>> it gave up the ghost. I had an 8400 in my dell laptop, and those had
>> serious and well known (read: class-action lawsuit) on that chipset
>> for defective chips. BGA chip use began that generation for nvidia and
>> ati, and they're notorious horrible at popping off and losing
>> conductivity also into the 9600 series. Read about a like issue,
>> something called RRoD in xbox360 or YLoD in ps3's for the same reason...
>>
>> When my laptop began dying from this, 2d desktop would work great
>> until something hit the gpu, and artifacting would begin instantly but
>> still *kinda* work. Sounds like playing a video is hitting vdpau (most
>> video engines default to using this if available, thus hitting gpu
>> shaders, and locking. Desktop compositing probably likewise causes
>> this with complexity due to hitting gpu.
>>
>> That kind of hard lock could be driver related, but sketchy hardware
>> is often the cause too, especially with that genre of gpu.
>>
>> -mb
>>
>>
>> On 11/11/2011 01:52 PM, Stephen wrote:
>>> If you want to try an alternate Graphics card i do have some AGP cards
>>> floating about still.
>>>
>>> On Fri, Nov 11, 2011 at 11:23 AM, Derek Trotter
>>> <expat.arizonan at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Good idea, but the motherboard does not have a video card onboard.
>>>> The bios
>>>> does have a setting to set the primary video adapter as AGP or PCI.
>>>> It's
>>>> set to PCI.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for taking the time to write your suggestion.
>>>>
>>>> Derek
>>>>
>>>> On 11/11/2011 07:44 AM, Stephen wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Something to consider in some CMOS you can have settings that choose a
>>>>> preferred video card, and sometimes on-board video is not disabled
>>>>> fully. some Intel boards are notorious for this.
>>>>>
>>>>> Look in your settings and see what you can find. this may help. I had
>>>>> one helluva time with PCI-e graphics and Ubuntu for a while back in
>>>>> the 8.xx days with this.
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 4:38 PM, Derek
>>>>> Trotter<expat.arizonan at gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It happens whether or not I'm playing a video. Most of the videos I
>>>>>> watch
>>>>>> are not flash videos. They're mostly avi files with xvid, but some
>>>>>> were
>>>>>> mpeg1 or mpeg2. I used vlc to play them.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 11/10/2011 16:32, Dazed_75 wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> All of your issues sound like they happen when playing videos. Is
>>>>>> that
>>>>>> true
>>>>>> or are there other times as well?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> As far as what else it could be, there could be lots of
>>>>>> possibilities but
>>>>>> they might be hard to track down to elements that are common to
>>>>>> Ubuntu,
>>>>>> Kubuntu, and Fedora. If it is localized to playing videos, I would
>>>>>> certainly be suspicious of the command line based underpinnings the
>>>>>> players
>>>>>> might use. Oh, and are the videos Flash based or not?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If you are coming to the meeting tonight and can come to the
>>>>>> restaurant
>>>>>> after, someone there may be able to help.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 4:21 PM, Derek
>>>>>> Trotter<expat.arizonan at gmail.com>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 11/10/2011 16:10, Dazed_75 wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Try looking to see if you are using the open source generic nvidia
>>>>>>> driver
>>>>>>> or the proprietary one. I am not sure where that is in the Kubuntu
>>>>>>> menus
>>>>>>> but look for something in System, or Administration with a name
>>>>>>> that is
>>>>>>> probably something about Hardware. It should run a program that
>>>>>>> looks
>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>> see if there are proprietary drivers you might choose to use.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> When I first installed the os I noticed the problem with the
>>>>>>> driver it
>>>>>>> came with. I checked and found where it suggested a proprietary
>>>>>>> driver
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> offered one other. I chose the one that was recommended. The bug
>>>>>>> showed
>>>>>>> itself with the driver that came with the install and the one I
>>>>>>> installed
>>>>>>> later.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I AM curious though if you have some particular reason for
>>>>>>> suspecting it
>>>>>>> is due to you having that video card since a screen freeze could be
>>>>>>> something above the driver level.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I've had that card for about 2 years while the machine was
>>>>>>> running XP
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> didn't have this problem. It only showed itself after I installed
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> latest Ubuntu and Kubuntu version as well as the other latest linux
>>>>>>> flavors
>>>>>>> I mentioned earlier. Fedora 15 was the worst. It would freeze the
>>>>>>> screen
>>>>>>> as soon as I started playing a video. The others would let me
>>>>>>> watch at
>>>>>>> least for a few minutes before the screen froze.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Also if it's not a driver problem, what else could it be?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 3:59 PM, Derek
>>>>>>> Trotter<expat.arizonan at gmail.com>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I have an NVIDIA Geforce 8400 GS card that plugs into a PCI slot. I
>>>>>>>> have
>>>>>>>> no problems with it in XP, but when I installed Kubuntu 11.10 I
>>>>>>>> found a
>>>>>>>> problem. Occasionally the screen freezes. I can't switch to a
>>>>>>>> console.
>>>>>>>> Also I can't kill the x server. I know the machine has not
>>>>>>>> completely
>>>>>>>> locked up because when I have audio playing, it keeps playing even
>>>>>>>> though
>>>>>>>> the screen has frozen. None of the usual means to shut down a
>>>>>>>> machine
>>>>>>>> work.
>>>>>>>> The only thing I can do is hit the reset button, press the power
>>>>>>>> switch for
>>>>>>>> several seconds until the machine shuts off, or pull the plug. I've
>>>>>>>> encountered this on Ubuntu 11.10, Kubuntu 11.10, Mepis 11 and
>>>>>>>> Fedora
>>>>>>>> 15. I
>>>>>>>> installed the LTS verson of Kubuntu 10 and haven't had any problems
>>>>>>>> with it.
>>>>>>>> Does anyone have any idea what's going on or how to fix it?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Thanks
>>>>>>>> ---------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>>> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss at lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
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>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Dazed_75 a.k.a. Larry
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain
>>>>>>> occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive.
>>>>>>> - Thomas Jefferson
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Dazed_75 a.k.a. Larry
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain
>>>>>> occasions,
>>>>>> that I wish it always to be kept alive.
>>>>>> - Thomas Jefferson
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
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>
>
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