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Bug Graphics Intel Ubuntu IT Linux

Stubborn Intel Graphics Bug Haunts Ubuntu 12.04 320

Posted by timothy from the stupid-ghosts dept.
jones_supa writes "The current long-term support version of Ubuntu (12.04) has been experiencing a remarkably tough-to-crack and widely affecting bug related to laptops using an Intel graphics solution. When the lid is closed, every now and then the desktop freezes and only the mouse cursor can be moved. Compiz is usually found hung in the process, switching to a VT afterwards works. The Freedesktop guys are also informed. Have Slashdotters been bitten by this bug and possibly could offer some detective work to help the OSS community find and apply the correct fix?"
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Stubborn Intel Graphics Bug Haunts Ubuntu 12.04 More

Stubborn Intel Graphics Bug Haunts Ubuntu 12.04

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  • What they are actually reporting an Issue. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Thursday September 20, 2012 @08:24AM (#41398093)

    I have been reporting that problem for a while, but they just assume that I am an idiot who just doesn't know how to use a computer.

    • Re:What they are actually reporting an Issue. (Score:5, Informative)

      by Funk_dat69 ( 215898 ) on Thursday September 20, 2012 @08:28AM (#41398141)

      Yeah, this issue has been around long before 12.04. Glad its getting some attention. My workaround was to switch to a different distro. :)

      • Re:What they are actually reporting an Issue. (Score:4, Interesting)

        by riondluz ( 726831 ) on Thursday September 20, 2012 @08:59AM (#41398605) Homepage

        Tho I prefer E17 to compiz I have CCM running on a toshiba that had this problem. The only fix (for me) that i found is to enable screen-locking.

        It brings up the login dialog and restores the desktop

        • Tho I prefer E17 to compiz I have CCM running on a toshiba that had this problem. The only fix (for me) that i found is to enable screen-locking.

          It brings up the login dialog and restores the desktop

          My screen locks after suspend, and it doesn't fix the problem for me.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Lumpy ( 12016 )

        Exactly. my whole family abandonded Ubuntu when they did the Unity thing. Happy putting along on Fedora now.

        • sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop (Score:5, Informative)

          by tepples ( 727027 ) <.tepples. .at. .gmail.com.> on Thursday September 20, 2012 @10:12AM (#41399691) Homepage Journal
          You didn't really need to switch to Fedora over that. What I did when Unity got on my nerves was sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop

          • Sure, you could - but why switch to a somewhat under-powered and less-well-supported community branch distro when you could switch to a completely different distro whose direction is more in keeping with your own desires? It's called voting with your feet.

            Ubuntu really only has two things going for it - a nice user friendly interface, and a large friendly community that's nice for beginners. If you no longer feel you can have (1) without switching to a branch that will cost you a fair slice of (2), then w

            • I guess part of the difference is the philosophy behind the inclusion criteria. Unlike Debian legal, Fedora legal has made the decision to exclude console emulators on grounds that the non-infringing uses (namely to run homebrew applications) are not substantial enough to overcome the risk of a lawsuit from Nintendo.

            • sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop
              sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

              Or if you fancy something different:
              sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://packages.mate-desktop.org/repo/ubuntu [mate-desktop.org] precise main"
              sudo apt-get install mate-desktop-environment

              Or...
              sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gwendal-lebihan-dev/cinnamon-stable
              sudo apt-get install cinnamon

              Honestly, it's not like you didn't have plenty of options besides "nuke it from orbit". The Kubuntu and Xubuntu communities in particular are pretty large and friendly.

              Not that I'

      • Yeah, this issue has been around long before 12.04. Glad its getting some attention.

        My Core i3 laptop didn't have this problem before 12.04. It appeared with 12.04.

        • Same here. I had the lid issue, crashing programs and it would not play nice with my KVM box. I switched to KDE and after a few upgrades the lid and KVM issues went away. I still have an occasional issue with crashes. xfce seems to be a little more stable.

      • My workaround was to go back to 11.10 :\
        • I tried that; but my wireless-N drivers don't work on anything less than 12.04; so I'm F-ed either way. Given the choice between patchy (and almost useless) wireless and patchy suspend, I'll choose the suspend issue, since really I'd rather fully shutdown to conserve battery anyway. It's good to hear that things are fine on other distros; I'll happily go back to OpenSUSE.

        • I have the same lock up problem here with 10.10. It's actually worse - it usually happens when lid is closed, but randomly (with much, much lower priority) can happen at any time.

    • Re:What they are actually reporting an Issue. (Score:5, Funny)

      by muszek ( 882567 ) on Thursday September 20, 2012 @08:31AM (#41398189) Homepage

      I have been reporting that problem for a while, but they just assume that I am an idiot who just doesn't know how to use a computer.

      Have you tried turning it off and on again?

      • I tried turning mine off then back on again with a Mint LXDE usb key in it, and it's been fine ever since.

    • Re:What they are actually reporting an Issue. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20, 2012 @08:36AM (#41398255)

      but they just assume that I am an idiot who just doesn't know how to use a computer.

      And this is why Linux will never be more than just an "alternative" desktop OS. Because its user base is always assumed to just KNOW how everything works, and if you pose a question that some neckbeard thinks is "stupid", he'll let you know it, and you'll be the focal point of mockery and derision. Linux needs to stop being that exclusive club for the cool kids and know-it-alls and start being a more user-oriented (rather than developer-oriented) community.

      The Linux community needs a drastic culture-change before it's ready to compete on any meaningful level with Windows and OS X.

      Oh, and I WILL be modded down for this, and it WILL validate my point even more.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Skapare ( 16644 )

        Problems like this are the result of closed drivers. Hardware manufacturers need to make their hardware interfaces open (keeping internal firmware closed is OK in this regard) and need to make all code that runs in the host CPU anywhere all open source.

        • Re:What they are actually reporting an Issue. (Score:5, Informative)

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20, 2012 @08:45AM (#41398389)

          Except this Intel driver IS open source.

        • Comment removed based on user account deletion

          • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

            by Anonymous Coward

            Wow I didn't know GPUs were programmed in a manor ! How big are the grounds ? Do they have servants too ?

            • Wow I didn't know GPUs were programmed in a manor ! How big are the grounds ? Do they have servants too ?

              Stately Wayne Manor, in fact. It was designed by Nathan Van Derm for Darius Wayne, and now houses Keith Packard's Bat-Cave. The grounds are huge but there's only one servant.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by tepples ( 727027 )

              How big are the grounds ? Do they have servants too ?

              I have pictures [google.com], and I have pictures [google.com].

        • Not exclusively. (And in this case not at all since the Intel driver is open)

          Bug-reporting is extremely important if you actually want to provide a high-quality product. Bug-reports can be seen along two axes.

          1. Whether your product is understandable to the user. If people consistently make mistakes , you've got a design issue somewhere. The usage of the product is obviously not sufficiently clear, or the documentation is not sufficient etc etc etc.
          2. Whether your product has bugs. In this case, getting a

      • Linux needs to stop being that exclusive club for the cool kids and know-it-alls and start being a more user-oriented (rather than developer-oriented) community.

        Oh don't worry, that's already well underway with Gnome3, Unity, Ubuntu and Android. ... And it sucks badly for those who know what they're doing.

      • but they just assume that I am an idiot who just doesn't know how to use a computer.

        And this is why Linux will never be more than just an "alternative" desktop OS.

        Every time I've tried to get help for something commercial, they assume I'm an idiot who doesn't know how to use a computer. It's a fair assumption, since it is statistically correct.

        Linux needs to stop being that exclusive club for the cool kids and know-it-alls and start being a more user-oriented (rather than developer-oriented) commu

        • it's not exactly hard to get good hardware which runs Linux excellently already.

          This is true if you are in a position to discard old hardware and buy new hardware, not so much if you are trying to reuse an existing PC. Or are used computer stores where you live familiar with Linux?

      • but they just assume that I am an idiot who just doesn't know how to use a computer.

        And this is why Linux will never be more than just an "alternative" desktop OS. Because its user base is always assumed to just KNOW how everything works, and if you pose a question that some neckbeard thinks is "stupid", he'll let you know it, and you'll be the focal point of mockery and derision.

        Some Linux users are like that. But it seems to me that askubuntu.com is quite newbie-friendly.

        Oh, and I WILL be modded down for

      • I have never found that to be particularly true. Yeah, there have been the occasional a**holes, but surprisingly far fewer than with MAC. What a smug self-righteous bunch of turds. As for Windows, there are just so many people using it, that fixes and/or work arounds are found rather quickly. With Windows, skill level varies so much, that the level of expected understanding is quite low.

        As for modding you down, when you speak out your *ss and hide behind A/C, what do you expect? However, I see that you

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by mcgrew ( 92797 ) *

        And this is why Linux will never be more than just an "alternative" desktop OS.

        No, the reason it will never be more than an alternative OS is because nobody but us nerds have ever heard of it. Windows and iOS have million dollar ad budgets, Linux doesn't.

        Because its user base is always assumed to just KNOW how everything works, and if you pose a question that some neckbeard thinks is "stupid", he'll let you know it, and you'll be the focal point of mockery and derision.

        That hasn't been my experience. I foun

        • Then you've never tried the various Linux usenet groups. Be careful as "Dragons and Wizzards be there that are quick to Temper". Seriously though, after reading what Intel's chosen in regards to the PowerVR for their new GPU's, I'm having to look very hard at the lack of future support from them in regards to graphics capabilities.

      • And this is why Linux will never be more than just an "alternative" desktop OS.

        Things have changed since 1998. There are a ton of moderated Linux forums available these days to help the less experienced. The http://www.stackoverflow.com/ [stackoverflow.com] and it's associated channels are a great place to search for, and ask, questions. Chances are, whatever you're struggling with has already been answered there. The moderation/ranking system used keeps the useless garbage cut way down. There's a big enough userbase that questions get answered quickly and accurately. There's no reason to subject yours

      • At the risk of being unpopular, most of my complaints about Linux distros is that they try too hard to be easy to use for people that know nothing about computers. By doing so, they have often made it harder to configure things, especially from the command line. Not to mention the extra kloc's of code and the extra bugs that always come with extra code. What drew me to Linux was the relative simplicity and elegant OS.
        If I wanted a Windows-like experience, I'd use ... Windows.

      • Because its user base is always assumed to just KNOW how everything works, and if you pose a question that some neckbeard thinks is "stupid", he'll let you know it, and you'll be the focal point of mockery and derision.

        I think thats a little exaggeration. My time on Ubuntu (several years and several upgrades) involved a lot of troubleshooting, and I spent a lot of time in the Ubuntu IRC channel. Generally people were polite; the only issue is that you may simply not have gotten a response if your problem wasnt "interesting" or complicated enough--you could end up just watching and repeating yourself every 10 minutes for hours.

        The forums seem like theyre a lot better-- regardless of distro (even stuff like pfsense forums

      • Ubuntu is n00000bix. Eventually someone has to deal with bugs, and not being developer oriented is bad for keeping developers with your distro.

      • The Linux community needs a drastic culture-change before it's ready to compete on any meaningful level with Windows and OS X.

        No, companies that ship Linux on their systems should step up and actually support them, rather than push the support off on the communities that surround them. I have met my fair share of dickish Windows and Apple fanboys who attack people with questions rather than help, and seen more than a few people with questions regarding Linux get help.

        The users at large are under no obligati

    • ditto... bug report submitted, nothing done on it. grumble!

    • I have been reporting that problem for a while, but they just assume that I am an idiot who just doesn't know how to use a computer.

      Aren't they XKCD/806 compliant?

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Kelerei ( 2619511 )

      I have been reporting that problem for a while, but they just assume that I am an idiot who just doesn't know how to use a computer.

      I'm guessing that, in their eyes, you didn't ask your question in the proper form [catb.org].

      (I don't necessarily agree with all of ESR's points myself, but his essay is kind of like a creed that the OSS Folks That Matter religiously follow -- so, like it or not, you have to follow it too.)

    • I have been reporting that problem for a while, but they just assume that I am an idiot who just doesn't know how to use a computer.

      My fix is switching to the 3.4 kernel on the Eee PCs at work, and the Intel graphics problems go away. Needless to say, switching to a bleeding-edge kernel can break things, so be cautious.

      • I have been reporting that problem for a while, but they just assume that I am an idiot who just doesn't know how to use a computer.

        My fix is switching to the 3.4 kernel on the Eee PCs at work, and the Intel graphics problems go away. Needless to say, switching to a bleeding-edge kernel can break things, so be cautious.

        I'd try this PPA first with a LiveCD: https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa [launchpad.net]

        ...for your /etc/X11/xorg.conf:

        Section "Device"
        Identifier "intel"
        Driver "intel"
        Option "AccelMethod" "uxa"
        EndSection

  • Dell Netbooks do this (Score:3)

    by Urban Garlic ( 447282 ) on Thursday September 20, 2012 @08:31AM (#41398191)

    I have this issue on my Dell mini netbook, it's one of the older ones that actually shipped with Ubuntu back in early 2010.

    The problem seemed to gradually get worse for a while, and at one point the graphical start-up screen stopped working, and the thing just booted in text mode. The most egregious symptoms went away with the most recent kernel update, but it's hard to tell if the hang-on-wake problem is actually fixed, because it was intermittent anyways.

  • Wow! Common bug reports get front-page stories! (Score:5, Funny)

    by CajunArson ( 465943 ) on Thursday September 20, 2012 @08:32AM (#41398205) Journal

    How about this one:
        KDE 4 has issues with displaying changes made to files in Dolphin. Sometimes the changes show up fine, other times they don't and you have to refresh manually.

    Oh and... "Ubuntu" because that magic word has to be inserted for Slashdots "editors" (and I use the term loosely) to care.

    There! Now give me a front-page story!

    • How about this one:

      For better or worse, ubuntu is the most popular distribution and Intel is the most popular vendor of graphics chips. I would say that this is a bug affecting a very substantial portion of the user base.

    • If it's KDE 4 and Dolphin, shouldn't you say Kubuntu? I've got the same issue, although I've just gotten used to hitting the F5 for reload. I can confirm that a variety of external programs that change or create files still result in Dolphin not updating, i.e. I see it when using Dolphin to create files and folders, or even using cat from the command line, or after deleting files I've just burned using the file management available internally in K3B, and so on.

  • And this is why... (Score:4, Funny)

    by ilsaloving ( 1534307 ) on Thursday September 20, 2012 @08:35AM (#41398241)
    And this is why I use a Mac. I don't have to worry about any of that unreliable unix-y stuff and shoddy quality from Intel!

  • Slow news day? (Score:3)

    by wbr1 ( 2538558 ) on Thursday September 20, 2012 @08:41AM (#41398317)
    I was under the impression that the ubuntu community had their own channels (forums, lists, etc) for this sort of thing. Are we now the help desk for a linux distribution?
    Now if ubuntu had been found to have hidden bestiality videos embedded in it somewhere, that would be news.
    Come to think of it, maybe that's what the version names are about. I need to find the hidden porn involving a Hoary Hedgehog or a Precise Pangolin!
  • Me Too, HP DV6

  • 12.10 better not be the fix (Score:5, Informative)

    by Concern ( 819622 ) on Thursday September 20, 2012 @08:43AM (#41398353) Journal

    It's an awful problem.

    LTS release that can't reliably suspend (which means, it can't suspend) on Lenovo Thinkpads...

    Ubuntu fixes this rapidly, in-stream or they cease to be credible.

    Thank you Slashdot, for bringing attention to this.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      My experience has been it's something aggravated by dbus, as turning off zeitgeist almost totally eliminates the problem.
      Note: I am not using unity, although again, unity aggravates the issue(s).
      Using something like collectd causes an increase in the issue appearing, but at a way lower rate than zeitgeist.
      e.g. collectd causes the problem to appear about once a week, vs 2-3 times a day with zeitgeist.
      fox/plugin-container /usr/lib/flashplugin-installer/libflashplayer.so -greomni /usr/lib/firefox/omni.ja also

  • I get this problem on my Dell ATI laptop. If I close the lid, then the screen will go black and become completely unresponsive. I have to power cycle to get it back.

    What's most annoying is that I cannot click shutdown and close the lid. If I do that then it will lock up during the shutdown process and remain on until a few hours later when I notice. Granted, it only takes a few seconds to shutdown, but it's incredibly annoying to have to babysit.

  • A wider scale problem (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Theril ( 606664 )

    My view is that this is only an individual symptom of a larger scale problem. It seems that there are a lot of old, verified, almost showstopper bugs that just get ignored. I'm too busy/lazy to hunt the links at this point, but for example GNOME3 has probably from the beginning had a bug that it gets very sluggish after a few days, at least on some GPU's/drivers, the kernel's trashing behavior in out-of-memory situations is horrible, the audio stack is a horrible mess etc.

    It's probably a wider problem of QA

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dargaud ( 518470 )

      It seems that there are a lot of old, verified, almost showstopper bugs that just get ignored.It seems that there are a lot of old, verified, almost showstopper bugs that just get ignored.

      Well, sometimes it takes a while. For the last few years Firefox in Ubuntu would grow in memory and then challenge the machine to a marathon in molasses. With 3 windows of 30 tabs and quite a bit of Web 2.0 browsing, it would start after only a few hours of use with 8 gigs of RAM. A few weeks ago they implemented a new memory retrieval process for plugins. Now it works like a charm. Took a few years though.

  • I saw similar behavior the other day under different circumstances with a much older version of Linux. OpenSUSE 10.2, had a YouTube video playing and plugged in a Logitech USB headset (which I've never done before). Mouse pointer would move, but windows would not respond. Would not respond to key presses. Could not ssh into the computer. May be a different trigger for the same weird state.

  • Have had Ubuntu 12.04 on my Acer laptop since late April, and I haven't come across this bug once yet. Altho, I never close my laptop without suspending it first, so maybe that's an easy workaround for anyone who's affected.

    • I'm using Linux Mint 13 KDE on a thinkpad R60. I too don't just close the lid, I use the "FN" key plus the blue moon key to suspend. I then have to use the power button and enter my password to restart the machine. I'm not surt that my older thinkpad is affected by this bug, or if the bug is even present in KDE. I have also not seen anything in this thread as to if this is a 32 or a 64 bit (or both) issue. BTW I have a newer thinkpad R400 on order and will be putting Mint 13 KDE 64 bit on it. We'll se

  • I have this problem. (Score:3)

    by Psyborgue ( 699890 ) on Thursday September 20, 2012 @09:38AM (#41399143) Journal
    On an Acer Aspire 5313. I've been dealing with it simply by doing as the summary suggests: switching to VT and restarting lighttdm. I'd be happy to help any way I can. The problem doesn't seem to happen every time it suspends, but it happens enough to be annoying. Mostly I just use that laptop for browsing the web so it's no big deal, but I can see it being a major issue if somebody was, for example, working on an important document and hadn't saved.
  • Even though the machine was new from a Ubuntu mfg, it randomly hangs. In this case there is no console available and the machine isnt pingable. Happens with the lid open or closed. Sometimea happens a few times a day, Sometimes happens after 3 days. It waa a major purchase for him as well; it cost half what he makes in a month. Now I dont know if I gave him good advice or not. Of course I've heard horror stories about major mfgs as well (yes even Macs) so it happens to all of them.

  • not just for linux (Score:3)

    by glebovitz ( 202712 ) on Thursday September 20, 2012 @10:27AM (#41399923) Journal

    I am not convinced that this is just a linux problem. I have a laptop with a Intel HD Graphics adapter (8086:01116) running Window 7 pro, that experiences similar behavior when coming out of suspend. Some times the screen freezes and the mouse moves, other times the mouse freezes but the screen continues to update (for instance alt-tab navigates windows that still respond to the keyboard).

    .

  • grub (Score:2)

    by rokj ( 933990 )
    I have Intel integrated graphics and I had similar problems, but following line into grub.conf at the end of kernel line fixed it: pcie_aspm=force i915.i915_enable_rc6=1 i915.lvds_downclock=1 i915.i915_enable_fbc=1

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