[arch-general] Gnome Shell freezes

[Guillermo Leira]

> -----Mensaje original-----
> De: arch-general-bounces at archlinux.org [mailto:arch-general-
> bounces at archlinux.org] En nombre de Max
> Enviado el: jueves, 03 de noviembre de 2011 11:09
> Para: arch-general at archlinux.org
> Asunto: [arch-general] Gnome Shell freezes
> 
> Dear arch users and developers,
> 
> I have posted this issue also in the archlinux forum [1]. I didn't get
much
> feedback there. So I'm hoping some people here might have an idea of how
to
> resolve the problem.
> 
> Problem:
> gnome shell freezes from time to time (actually daily).
> 
> Freezing:
> "Freezing" means, the screen becomes unresponsive but everything seems to
> continue working (sound and videos continue playing; even the mouse
pointer
> can still be moved). Most of the time I'm able to switch to a virtual
console
> although sometimes it takes 10-20 seconds after
> CTRL+ALT+F1 to show up. Then, however, everything is running smoothly.
> It's not possible to restart X since it will freeze again at the gdm login
> screen, or even without using gdm when loading the desktop.
> 
> What triggers the problem:
> Usually it happens while scrolling on websites or pdfs. I feel like it
happens
> more often if there are large images.
> 
> Hardware:
> IBM T60
> ATI X1400
> 
> I think it's an issue with the open source radeon drivers. However, this
> problem doesn't occur using other desktop environments. I tried to look
into
> some log files but I couldn't find noticeable error messages.
> 
> Looking forward to your suggestions,
> Max
> 
> 
> [1] https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=129481

It happens to me now and then, and I'm using intel drivers. I have noticed
that most of the times it is when I switch from a full screen vmware
workstation VM to another task. The symptoms are the same. Usually I can
connect from other machine to the VM and shut it down, and then reboot the
computer.

Sometimes it happens once or twice a day, and then comes a new driver and
the problem vanishes for a month. Then another upgrade brings it back.
Actually, I haven't suffered it for at least two weeks...

No suggestions, only that I think that it is not related to the radeon
drivers.

Guillermo Leira