20131030 Software update causes KDE (X?) to crash using openSuSE 12.3

English Install/Boot/Login
#1

I use openSuSE 12.3/KDE (64bit) as a development environment and am in the
habit of running software updates on it daily (using Apper.) After updating
on the morning of 20131030, when doing certain operations (there are two
that I’ve identified so far: 1) Using Chrome v30/v31 to access a specific GWT
based web application; and 2) Trying to run a VMware 9/10 VM) result in my KDE
session crashing, forcing me to login again. Firefox v25.0 can access the websites
that cause Chrome grief without problems.

When I inspect the system logs after this occurring, both kdm.log and
Xorg.0.log show a “Segmentation” fault occurring which I believe to be the
root cause of the problem I’m seeing.

I’ve logged a bug about this, but have gotten no response. I’m curious
whether anybody else has seen this problem or knows of a workaround.

I know of multiple systems that are in this state, all running openSuSE
12.3 and all working fine before the 20131030 update.

I copied the following out of my Xorg.0.log.old file:

293.705] (EE)
293.705] (EE) Backtrace:
293.705] (EE) 0: /usr/bin/X (xorg_backtrace+0x36) [0x58f946]
293.705] (EE) 1: /usr/bin/X (0x400000+0x1937b9) [0x5937b9]
293.705] (EE) 2: /lib64/libpthread.so.0 (0x7fa582e39000+0xf1f0) [0x7fa582e481f0]
293.705] (EE)
293.705] (EE) Segmentation fault at address 0x0
293.705]
Fatal server error:
293.705] Caught signal 11 (Segmentation fault). Server aborting
293.705]
293.705] (EE)
Please consult the The X.Org Foundation support
at xorg
for help.
293.705] (EE) Please also check the log file at “/var/log/Xorg.0.log” for additional information.
293.705] (EE)

Note I see this logged EVERYTIME this error occurs.

Since I update fairly regularly, there were only a few updates (installed
by apper) that could be causing this. In particular, the 20131030 update
I ran (that included whatever broke this as this operations worked previous
to the update) modified the following packages:

xorg-x11-server
xorg-x11-server-extra
timezone
timezone-java
openSUSE-2013-807
openSUSE-2013-809

I’m CERTAIN it was this set of updates that caused the problems with my
system as the operations I describe that cause it are things I
do multiple times a day, including on the days before these updates were
installed.

I’ve tried backing out to previous versions (I’ve tried 3 older versions
so far) of xorg-x11-server and xorg-x11-server-extra, but the problem persists.

#2

On 2013-11-12 21:36, drfoster wrote:

> I’m CERTAIN it was this set of updates that caused the problems with my
> system as the operations I describe that cause it are things I
> do multiple times a day, including on the days before these updates were
> installed.

What repos do you have enabled? Please run:


zypper lr --details

and paste it all here, inside code tags (the ‘#’ button in the editor).

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)

#3

The output from zypper lr --details is as follows:


#  | Alias                     | Name                               | Enabled | Refresh | Priority | Type   | URI                                                                                                                 | Service
---+---------------------------+------------------------------------+---------+---------+----------+--------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------
 1 | Google_Chrome             | Google Chrome                      | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | rpm-md | http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/rpm/stable/x86_64                                                                 |        
 2 | NVIDIA_Drivers            | NVIDIA Drivers                     | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | rpm-md | ftp://download.nvidia.com/opensuse/12.3/                                                                            |        
 3 | openSUSE-12.3-1.7         | openSUSE-12.3-1.7                  | No      | No      |   99     | yast2  | cd:///?devices=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-HL-DT-ST_DVD+_-RW_GH82N_K12C7IN3840                                              |        
 4 | openSuSE_12.3_DVD         | openSuSE 12.3 DVD                  | Yes     | No      |   99     | yast2  | iso:///?iso=openSUSE-12.3-DVD-x86_64.iso&url=file:///home/drfoster/Downloads/Novell/Linux/openSuSE/openSuSE%2012.3/ |        
 5 | repo-debug                | openSUSE-12.3-Debug                | No      | Yes     |   99     | NONE   | http://download.opensuse.org/debug/distribution/12.3/repo/oss/                                                      |        
 6 | repo-debug-update         | openSUSE-12.3-Update-Debug         | No      | Yes     |   99     | NONE   | http://download.opensuse.org/debug/update/12.3/                                                                     |        
 7 | repo-debug-update-non-oss | openSUSE-12.3-Update-Debug-Non-Oss | No      | Yes     |   99     | NONE   | http://download.opensuse.org/debug/update/12.3-non-oss/                                                             |        
 8 | repo-non-oss              | openSUSE-12.3-Non-Oss              | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | yast2  | http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/12.3/repo/non-oss/                                                        |        
 9 | repo-oss                  | openSUSE-12.3-Oss                  | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | yast2  | http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/12.3/repo/oss/                                                            |        
10 | repo-source               | openSUSE-12.3-Source               | No      | Yes     |   99     | NONE   | http://download.opensuse.org/source/distribution/12.3/repo/oss/                                                     |        
11 | repo-update               | openSUSE-12.3-Update               | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | rpm-md | http://download.opensuse.org/update/12.3/                                                                           |        
12 | repo-update-non-oss       | openSUSE-12.3-Update-Non-Oss       | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | rpm-md | http://download.opensuse.org/update/12.3-non-oss/                                                                   |
#4

You can use the command to list all installed apps, in reverse order of install.

rpm -q --all --last

I have a Zypper bash script with all sorts of useful system fixit options:

Zypper Command - Zypper Package Management Menu System - Version 2.00 - Blogs - openSUSE Forums

Thank You,

#5

On 2013-11-12 21:36, drfoster wrote:

I don’t see anything wrong with your repo setup.

> I’ve logged a bug about this, but have gotten no response. I’m curious
> whether anybody else has seen this problem or knows of a workaround.

I noticed that you are using the nvidia proprietary driver. This means
that the devs may reject to look at your report because of that.

You might try a different version of the driver. :-?

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)

#6

Hello drforster, I have exactly the same problem and a similar setup (Opensuse 12.3 64-bit) : after the update today: the x-server/kde crashes upon start of any VM within vmware 9.x You mentioned that you filed a bug, what its the number? Bye, Thommie

#7

I have since upgraded to the latest Nvidia drivers (the Nvidia server settings application reports driver version 331.20.) I made no difference.

I use the proprietary drivers because when I installed openSuSE 12.3, the Nvidia drivers installed with it would not boot into graphics mode. Immediately upon installing the proprietary drivers, graphics mode worked. I’ve stayed with them ever since.

#8

See bug 848302 (https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=848302). I believe you already found it as I see your comments there.

#9

I ran the “rpm -q --all --last” to capture and post the information, but the output was too large to include. The max I can post is 15000 characters and the output from the rpm comment was 178312 characters. I was able to attach a file containing this output to the bug report I mentioned earlier. See comment#10 in bug#848302 (https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=848302).

#10

Another option is to post the text here with link in a forum message: SUSE Paste

Thank You,

#11

A temporary workaround for vmware (not a fix!): Disable “accelerated 3d graphics” in the vm’s configuration (vmx file). Then you can start the vm without a crash, but with lower graphics quality. Greetings, Thommie

#12

On 2013-11-13 14:06, drfoster wrote:
>
> robin_listas;2597455 Wrote:
>> On 2013-11-12 21:36, drfoster wrote:
>> I noticed that you are using the nvidia proprietary driver. This means
>> that the devs may reject to look at your report because of that.
>>
>> You might try a different version of the driver. :-?
>>
>
> I have since upgraded to the latest Nvidia drivers (the Nvidia server
> settings application reports driver version 331.20.) I made no
> difference.

Pity :frowning:

> I use the proprietary drivers because when I installed openSuSE 12.3,
> the Nvidia drivers installed with it would not boot into graphics mode.
> Immediately upon installing the proprietary drivers, graphics mode
> worked. I’ve stayed with them ever since.

Oh, I agree, but proprietary drivers means no support from open source
devs. “tainted” code. It is unfortunate. Mind, I say “may happen”, it is
up to them.

If the issue was duplicated on vmware virtual hardware, that has more
chances.

You say the crash is with KDE. You might try other desktops: lxde,
xfce… they don’t use “high power” video features.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)

#13

Based on a hint from thommierother in the bug, there are work arounds for both VMware and Chrome. If you disable “3d accelerated graphics” in the settings of the VMs you run, they will run fine without causing the crash. Also, if you disable Chrome’s “Use hardware acceleration when available” feature (Chrome → Settings → Advanced → …toward the bottom… and restart Chrome), it can then access the GWT web applications that were crashing without a problem.

The problem here is related to accelerated graphics.

#14

The crash is NOT KDE related. As an additional test, I logged in using Gnome and was able to duplicate the same problem.

#15

On 2013-11-13 17:06, drfoster wrote:
>
> robin_listas;2597520 Wrote:
>>
>> You say the crash is with KDE. You might try other desktops: lxde,
>> xfce… they don’t use “high power” video features.
>>
>
> The crash is NOT KDE related. As an additional test, I logged in using
> Gnome and was able to duplicate the same problem.

Both kde and gnome use heavy features of the video driver, like 3D or
acceletariont. I think that xfce and lxde do not. It would not solve
your problem if they work, but it would allow you to use your computer
at least.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)

#16

Thanks for the suggestion, but for now at least, disabling the accelerated graphics in VMware and Chrome allow me to do everything I need from KDE.

#17

For anybody that’s curious, I upgraded my 12.3 machine to 13.1 and this particular problem went away. I was able to enable all hardware acceleration settings (in VMware and Chrome) and things work without issue.