Red Hat Bugzilla – Bug 55991
xlock under XFree86 4.1.0 locks keyboard, video
Last modified: 2008-05-01 11:38:01 EDT
From Bugzilla Helper: User-Agent: Mozilla/4.78 [en] (X11; U; Linux 2.4.9-13 i686) Description of problem: I recently upgraded from XFree86 3.3.6 to XFree86 4.1.0 after I manually specified the amount of video memory I had (see Bug #55052). When I run "xlock -mode random", I come back to find the console is frozen. I am unable to get the password dialog, unable to switch to a virtual console (Ctrl-Alt-F2, etc.), and notice that the CPU usage is pegged at 100% by /etc/X11/X (not xlock). I have an Elsa Gloria Synergy card with 4M RAM in a Compaq AP350 workstation. I am able to connect remotely via telnet/ssh, and aside from the keyboard being unresponsive, and the video frozen with the xlock mode (in the most recent case, it was the colored trees), I am able to login and "do" stuff. When I kill X, xlock, etc., I see the CPU drop back to low usage, but the video is still locked and the keyboard unresponsive. I did not have this problem with XFree 3.3.6. Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): How reproducible: Sometimes Steps to Reproduce: 1. Configure XFree86 4.1.0 2. Run "xlock -mode random" 3. Go away and come back. See monitor frozen Actual Results: The keyboard is dead and the monitor shows a stuck xlock mode. Expected Results: I should receive a password prompt, followed by a restored X session. Additional info: I selected "sometimes, but not always" because I can manually invoke xlock and then type my password right away and restore it. It seems to occur when I leave it running for a bit. It has failed with different xlock modes. (Not GL ones, by the way)
Created attachment 37121 [details] XFree86 4.1.0 log file
Created attachment 37122 [details] XFree86 4.1.0 configuration file
Created attachment 37123 [details] "top" output showing 100% CPU usage by /etc/X11/X
I have exactly the same problem. The difference is that in my case it's xscreensaver and not xlock. When I leave my GNOME desktop for some period of time it _completely_ freezes. After I disabled the screensaver it works fine. I believe one of the screensavers completely freezes the system.
I think, this is because you do not have 3D hardware acceleration. you may try: $ xlock -mode atlantis and if that shows up your problems you may want to avoid software 3D (opengl) in your screensaver
oops, did overread your comment: (Not GL ones, by the way)
mharris? comments?
may you specify the xlock modes where it failed?
I'm curious if the problem exists still with XFree86-4.1.0-14 which is about to be released as errata. ftp://people.redhat.com/mharris/testing/7.2/XFree86 Does this fix the problem? Also, be sure to be using the latest official Red Hat kernel release.
Another thing worthy of noting is that you are using a resolution of 1600x1200 in 16bit depth. That is 3.8Mb of video RAM, not leaving much Video RAM for anything else such as pixmap cache, etc. When XFree86 is in tight RAM constraints, it often does not warn the user, and instead just acts erratically. You might want to try 1024x768 just for test purposes. If the problem is reproduceable at 1024, it would be useful data to know.
OK, I upgraded to kernel-2.4.9-21 and XFree86-4.1.0-15 (errata as of 1/24/2002) and still have the same problem. I've switched to 1024x768 just to verify that the problem doesn't occur. Re: your tight memory constraints comment, I assume that implies that XFree86 v3 and XFree86 v4 differ significantly in handling memory; I didn't experience this at all with the XFree86-3DLabs-3.3.6-42 RPM. By the way, is there any way to reset the text mode once XFree has wedged it? (i.e. do some kind of hardware reset/change video mode?)
Interesting... the resolution doesn't appear to be the problem as xlock has frozen XFree86 sometime in the last 4.5 hours, even at 1024x768. I'm not sure which mode was running... I don't get a video signal--I'm assuming some sort of screen blanking routine came on? As before, I can still login remotely and see /etc/X11/X consuming 100% CPU. Anything else I can try?
I don't get a video signal ... could that be dpms???
I've since reloaded this same hardware with RedHat 7.3 I again experienced the same problem with XFree86-4.2.0-8. Again, I've downgraded to XFree86-3DLabs-3.3.6-44 to alleviate this problem. Would be interested in hearing any other suggestions/ideas to try...
We have a whole slew of Compaq AP200 Workstations which all seem to have these 3D Labs video cards. I've loaded one with RedHat 7.3, and set the resolution to 1024x768, 16 bit. Using XFree86-4.2.0-8, it locked up with the xscreensaver under mode "laser". Any ideas with this one? I'd hate to not be able to upgrade to RH 7.X, 8.X or whatever just because XFree86-3.X got dropped! :-(
If there is a real bug present here in XFree86, which is entirely possible, it would require having both the video card itself, and the specifications for the video card in order to fix. Unfortunately, I have no 3Dlabs hardware or documentation, and am ultimately not able to provide any solution. The upstream driver maintainer Alan Hourihane should be notified of this problem if it still persists in XFree86 CVS. He is about the only person who knows anything about this hardware, and is capable of troubleshooting and fixing the driver. I'm closing this issue as WONTFIX right now because there is not a way that we can realistically provide a fix for this. This driver is ultimately supported by community knowledge.