Compiz / Desktop Effects

**unluckbob** · 10-Jan-2010, 16:23

Newbie again,
I'm still having trouble enabling the eye candy. The desktop effects are what convinced me to try linux 6mos ago with 11.1 and I've been happy with suse and openoffice and evolution but I've never been able to get the eye candy running. Now I've tried several different video cards (some with disatsterous results-looking at you ATI) and I'm not getting the hardware doesn't support message when I try and enable anymore.

Now after I enable Desktop Effects, I get a message that if I don't click ok in 30 sec it will revert back to the defalt settings. After selecting ok (well within the 30 sec), selecting Advanced or ultimate and then close, when I go back in the enable Desktop Effects button isn't checked and its back to defalt.

I have 11.2 64 bit Gnome from a clean install on a Biostar TA780G M2+ with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 with 8gb of RAM. I'm using a EVGA nvidia Geforce 8400 GS video card and I've done the one click driver install and when I open the software management I can see that nvidia-gfxG02-kmp-desktop and x11-video-nvidiaG02 are installed.

Let me know if I'm doing something stupid and not appling or accepting changes properly in Compiz or Desktop Effects.

**Knurpht** · 11-Jan-2010, 03:48

You may have had a kernel update, and not updated the NVIDIA driver.

Please post output of:

rpm -qa | grep kernel-

and

rpm -qa | grep nvidia

and

glxinfo | grep direct

and

cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf

**unluckbob** · 11-Jan-2010, 18:11

Here are the results:

linux-l8y3:/home/robert # rpm -qa | grep kernel-
kernel-desktop-2.6.31.8-0.1.1.x86_64
linux-l8y3:/home/robert # rpm -qa | grep nvidia
x11-video-nvidiaG02-190.53-9.1.x86_64
nvidia-gfxG02-kmp-desktop-190.53_2.6.31.5_0.1-8.1.x86_64
linux-l8y3:/home/robert # glxinfo | grep direct
direct rendering: Yes
GL_EXT_Cg_shader, GL_EXT_depth_bounds_test, GL_EXT_direct_state_access,
linux-l8y3:/home/robert # cat/etc/X11/xorg.conf
bash: cat/etc/X11/xorg.conf: No such file or directory

**unluckbob** · 13-Jan-2010, 17:55

Anyone have any idea what this reply means, is it the cause of the desktop effects not enabling? How can I fix it?

cat/etc/X11/xorg.conf
bash: cat/etc/X11/xorg.conf: No such file or directory

**ijbreakey** · 13-Jan-2010, 18:54

Did you log out and then log back in after installing the driver?

Take Care,

Ian

**gogalthorp** · 13-Jan-2010, 19:06

Actually a kernel update requires a reboot. But if you reinstall the driver (ie the update did not do it) you generally end up in a terminal until you reinstall or change the drivers to vesa or something tame.

Don't know why the eye candy is not working

**wakou** · 13-Jan-2010, 19:14

Originally Posted by unluckbob

Anyone have any idea what this reply means, is it the cause of the desktop effects not enabling? How can I fix it?

cat/etc/X11/xorg.conf
bash: cat/etc/X11/xorg.conf: No such file or directory

11.2 does not use/generate a xorg.conf file, unless you make one, with SAX2 or nVidia or manually...

**Confuseling** · 13-Jan-2010, 19:26

Perhaps more to the point, cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf has a space in.

Always a good idea to copy/paste commands into a terminal - being aware that if you copy the whole thing including a 'return' at the end it'll execute. A good tip is to start the selection with the mouse from the right, so you can more easily miss out any invisible characters afterwards...

**unluckbob** · 13-Jan-2010, 19:28

After a couple of restarts it's working now!! About every other shutdown and restart it was hanging up at the desktop and it's just the background. The last couple after all the updates have been trouble free, I guess it just needed a clean restart.

Thanks for everyones help!!