X crashes watching videos

berto81 · 01-20-03, 01:54 PM

Hi.
Sometimes, when I open a video in mplayer or xine, I got this problem:
For just a moment, the screen becomes black, with some horizontal coloured lines. Then the xserver restarts (I've kdm service running).
This has never happened with older versions of drivers.
Has anyone experienced the same problem?
Thanks.

bwkaz · 01-20-03, 02:33 PM

I haven't seen it, but there are a couple of things to try.

Is this only when playing a DVD? Or only playing an AVI? Or only playing something else? If it only happens when trying to play one media or format type, try something else and see if it still happens (fyi: mplayer can play pretty much ... anything.

)

If it happens with a lot of formats, turn off xdm (by booting to a text login), startx, and get it to happen. Then, copy your /var/log/XFree86.0.log to somewhere other than /var/log (like your home directory) and post it here.

berto81 · 01-21-03, 12:12 PM

It has happened with mpg, wmv and divx files.
I will disable kdm to see the xfree log.
Thanks.

a_j_j · 01-22-03, 09:20 AM

I've been having exactly the same problem for ages, but nobody seems to have been able to help. I've submitted a bug report to NVidia, but to no avail.

I seem to get an X server crash about 50% of the time when starting any app which uses the Xv (Xvideo) extensions - e.g. xine, mplayer, xawtv, etc.

It's gratifying to know that I'm not going totally insane...

berto81 · 01-22-03, 12:24 PM

no, you aren't insane... : )
I also use the xv output.
My xserver doesn't crash the 50% of times, but quite rarely.
It never crashed after I disabled kdm.
I will post my log if it happens again.

Maybe this problem depends by videocard or agp chipset?
I have a gf2 mx400 (asus v7100 pro) with tv-out (I enable it by nvtv when needed, not by XF86Config).
My mobo is an Asus via694X. I use agpgart with agp_try_unsupported option. This is the only way I can get agp working on my mobo.
Is your configuration similar?

a_j_j · 01-22-03, 04:27 PM

I'm using a GF4 Ti4400 on an Epox 8KHA+ mobo, Athlon XP 1800+. Kernel is 2.4.20, using agpgart (although I get the same problem using NVidia's AGP code), but TV output not enabled. I'm using gdm as my login manager.

I've managed to extract core files from X (using the -core option), but they're not really a lot of use, since gdb won't backtrace through the helpfully symbol-free binary libraries...

elanthis · 01-23-03, 08:00 PM

Setup your login manager (gdm, kdm, whatever) to restart the X server after logout. I've found that with me, the problem, if it happens, always happens after a fresh restart of X - i.e., if xvideo doesn't crash the first time I use it, it never will there-after, until I log out and back in. I have GDM setup to kill/restart the X server on every logout, and the problem is basically "fixed".

a_j_j · 01-24-03, 02:12 AM

Thanks for the suggestion - I've already got gdm set up this way, and certainly you can get to watch videos in the end... but that's not really the issue. It'd really be best if it didn't crash at all - mostly because it's very annoying when, in the middle of a session, you try to watch TV and it takes all your work with it. (Yes, I've learned to save beforehand

Since this appears to be a problem which several people have experienced, does anyone from NVidia lurk here and know anything about it?

elanthis · 01-24-03, 08:29 AM

Odd - after setting up my GDM this way, X never crashes anymore. X only crashed on Xvideo for me if I "soft-restarted" X (i.e., when X does the reinitialization I think is when the bug is manifesting itself). Setting GDM to fully restart the X server, boom, no more problem.

Of course, the desktop is unbelievably slow with the new drivers' crappy Render bug...

a_j_j · 01-24-03, 12:17 PM

Hmm. Maybe my GDM config is wrong, then - what option should I check for? I can't see anything obvious in gdm.conf or find any command-line switches I should use...

Thanks.

elanthis · 01-24-03, 12:27 PM

In the [daemon] section, make sure you have

AlwaysRestartServer=true

be sure there isn't a conflicting statement, and that it is uncommented, and all that good stuff.

elanthis · 01-24-03, 12:28 PM

I should probably note, this is with GDM2 (i.e., the GTK2/GNOM2 version). I don't use the deprecated GNOME1.x stuff at all.

01-20-03, 01:54 PM	#1
berto81 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 14	X crashes watching videos Hi. Sometimes, when I open a video in mplayer or xine, I got this problem: For just a moment, the screen becomes black, with some horizontal coloured lines. Then the xserver restarts (I've kdm service running). This has never happened with older versions of drivers. Has anyone experienced the same problem? Thanks.

01-20-03, 02:33 PM	#2
bwkaz Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 2,262	I haven't seen it, but there are a couple of things to try. Is this only when playing a DVD? Or only playing an AVI? Or only playing something else? If it only happens when trying to play one media or format type, try something else and see if it still happens (fyi: mplayer can play pretty much ... anything. ) If it happens with a lot of formats, turn off xdm (by booting to a text login), startx, and get it to happen. Then, copy your /var/log/XFree86.0.log to somewhere other than /var/log (like your home directory) and post it here. __________________ Registered Linux User #219692

01-23-03, 08:00 PM	#7
elanthis Always Annoyed Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71	hackish fix Setup your login manager (gdm, kdm, whatever) to restart the X server after logout. I've found that with me, the problem, if it happens, always happens after a fresh restart of X - i.e., if xvideo doesn't crash the first time I use it, it never will there-after, until I log out and back in. I have GDM setup to kill/restart the X server on every logout, and the problem is basically "fixed". __________________ What?

01-24-03, 08:29 AM	#9
elanthis Always Annoyed Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71	Odd - after setting up my GDM this way, X never crashes anymore. X only crashed on Xvideo for me if I "soft-restarted" X (i.e., when X does the reinitialization I think is when the bug is manifesting itself). Setting GDM to fully restart the X server, boom, no more problem. Of course, the desktop is unbelievably slow with the new drivers' crappy Render bug... __________________ What?

01-24-03, 12:27 PM	#11
elanthis Always Annoyed Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71	gdm.conf setting In the [daemon] section, make sure you have AlwaysRestartServer=true be sure there isn't a conflicting statement, and that it is uncommented, and all that good stuff. __________________ What?

01-21-03, 12:12 PM	#3
berto81 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 14	It has happened with mpg, wmv and divx files. I will disable kdm to see the xfree log. Thanks.

01-22-03, 09:20 AM	#4
a_j_j Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 14	I've been having exactly the same problem for ages, but nobody seems to have been able to help. I've submitted a bug report to NVidia, but to no avail. I seem to get an X server crash about 50% of the time when starting any app which uses the Xv (Xvideo) extensions - e.g. xine, mplayer, xawtv, etc. It's gratifying to know that I'm not going totally insane...

01-22-03, 12:24 PM	#5
berto81 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 14	no, you aren't insane... : ) I also use the xv output. My xserver doesn't crash the 50% of times, but quite rarely. It never crashed after I disabled kdm. I will post my log if it happens again. Maybe this problem depends by videocard or agp chipset? I have a gf2 mx400 (asus v7100 pro) with tv-out (I enable it by nvtv when needed, not by XF86Config). My mobo is an Asus via694X. I use agpgart with agp_try_unsupported option. This is the only way I can get agp working on my mobo. Is your configuration similar?

01-22-03, 04:27 PM	#6
a_j_j Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 14	I'm using a GF4 Ti4400 on an Epox 8KHA+ mobo, Athlon XP 1800+. Kernel is 2.4.20, using agpgart (although I get the same problem using NVidia's AGP code), but TV output not enabled. I'm using gdm as my login manager. I've managed to extract core files from X (using the -core option), but they're not really a lot of use, since gdb won't backtrace through the helpfully symbol-free binary libraries...

01-24-03, 02:12 AM	#8
a_j_j Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 14	Thanks for the suggestion - I've already got gdm set up this way, and certainly you can get to watch videos in the end... but that's not really the issue. It'd really be best if it didn't crash at all - mostly because it's very annoying when, in the middle of a session, you try to watch TV and it takes all your work with it. (Yes, I've learned to save beforehand Since this appears to be a problem which several people have experienced, does anyone from NVidia lurk here and know anything about it?

01-24-03, 12:17 PM	#10
a_j_j Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 14	Hmm. Maybe my GDM config is wrong, then - what option should I check for? I can't see anything obvious in gdm.conf or find any command-line switches I should use... Thanks.

01-24-03, 12:28 PM	#12
elanthis Always Annoyed Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71	oh ya... I should probably note, this is with GDM2 (i.e., the GTK2/GNOM2 version). I don't use the deprecated GNOME1.x stuff at all. __________________ What?

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