Running Mint 12 KDE. When I log out of KDE, my system brings me back to a login screen, but the login screen is badly garbled. About the only way to get it to display properly (short of a complete reboot) is to open TTY1 (ctrl-alt-F1), logging in as root, and doing a "restart kdm; exit". Is there something I have set up wrong, or some way I can remedy this? BTW, running OpenGL.

Bah...

What is the output of

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lspci|grep -i vga

And

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lsmod

?

mannex@Leviathan:~$ lspci|grep -i vga
01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc M880G [Mobility Radeon HD 4200]
mannex@Leviathan:~$

and


mannex@Leviathan:~$ lsmod
Module Size Used by
cdc_acm 22305 0
qcaux 12515 0
usbserial 37203 1 qcaux
xt_limit 12541 8
xt_tcpudp 12531 15
ipt_LOG 12783 8
ipt_MASQUERADE 12663 0
xt_DSCP 12549 0
ipt_REJECT 12512 1
nf_conntrack_irc 13138 0
nf_conntrack_ftp 13183 0
xt_state 12514 6
rfcomm 38408 0
bnep 17923 2
bluetooth 148839 10 rfcomm,bnep
snd_atiixp_modem 18604 0
snd_via82xx_modem 18377 0
snd_intel8x0m 18498 0
snd_ac97_codec 106082 3 snd_atiixp_modem,snd_via82xx_modem,snd_intel8x0m
ac97_bus 12642 1 snd_ac97_codec
parport_pc 32114 0
ppdev 12849 0
dm_crypt 22565 0
joydev 17393 0
snd_hda_codec_idt 60049 1
binfmt_misc 17292 1
hp_wmi 13652 0
sparse_keymap 13658 1 hp_wmi
snd_hda_intel 24262 2
snd_hda_codec 91859 2 snd_hda_codec_idt,snd_hda_intel
snd_hwdep 13276 1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm 80435 6 snd_atiixp_modem,snd_via82xx_modem,snd_intel8x0m,snd_ac97_codec,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
iptable_nat 13016 0
nf_nat 24958 2 ipt_MASQUERADE,iptable_nat
nf_conntrack_ipv4 19084 9 iptable_nat,nf_nat
nf_conntrack 70103 7 ipt_MASQUERADE,nf_conntrack_irc,nf_conntrack_ftp,xt_state,iptable_nat,nf_nat,nf_conntrack_ipv4
nf_defrag_ipv4 12649 1 nf_conntrack_ipv4
iptable_mangle 12646 0
iptable_filter 12706 1
ip_tables 18106 3 iptable_nat,iptable_mangle,iptable_filter
x_tables 21975 11 xt_limit,xt_tcpudp,ipt_LOG,ipt_MASQUERADE,xt_DSCP,ipt_REJECT,xt_state,iptable_nat,iptable_mangle,iptable_filter,ip_tables
snd_seq_midi 13132 0
snd_rawmidi 25241 1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event 14475 1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq 51567 2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
arc4 12473 2
snd_timer 28932 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device 14172 3 snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
psmouse 73673 0
snd 55902 17 snd_atiixp_modem,snd_via82xx_modem,snd_intel8x0m,snd_ac97_codec,snd_hda_codec_idt,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
serio_raw 12990 0
fglrx 2595537 42
k10temp 12990 0
sp5100_tco 13495 0
soundcore 12600 1 snd
i2c_piix4 13093 0
snd_page_alloc 14115 5 snd_atiixp_modem,snd_via82xx_modem,snd_intel8x0m,snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ath9k 112711 0
mac80211 393421 1 ath9k
ath9k_common 13599 1 ath9k
ath9k_hw 293933 2 ath9k,ath9k_common
ath 19387 2 ath9k,ath9k_hw
cfg80211 172427 3 ath9k,mac80211,ath
shpchp 32356 0
lp 17455 0
parport 40930 3 parport_pc,ppdev,lp
vesafb 13489 1
video 18908 0
wmi 18744 1 hp_wmi
r8169 43104 0
ahci 21634 3
libahci 25727 1 ahci
mannex@Leviathan:~$

Thanks for posting that. You may want to consider stuff like [ code ] _code_ [ /code ] (without the spaces) next time. It just makes for easier reading

Anyway, you got an ATI video card but I fail to see an entry for the catalyst driver. There should be an item in the menu somewhere called "hardware" or "hardware drivers" or some such. Call it up to install the latest and greatest drivers for your proprietary stuff - that should get rid of garbled screen.

Let us know how you get on...

When I select "Catalyst Control Center (Administrative)" from the menu, it opens, and I select "Information." It gives the following information (retyped because it won't let me select it - EVIL!):

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Hardware:
        Bios:
                Date: 08/04/09
                Version: [nasty string of numbers]
... [other mostly meaningless stuff] ...

Software:
        Catalyst Version: 11.8
        ...
OpenGL:
        OpenGL Provider: ATI Technologies Inc.
        OpenGL Renderer: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 Series
        OpenGL Version: 3.3.11005 Compatibility Profile Context


So it appears the Catalyst drivers are running.

And thanks for the code tip!

Oh, and I ran the "Additional Drivers" thingy, and it lists the ATI/AMD proprietary fglrx driver, is activated and currently in use.

Have you tried configuring X/KDM to automatically respawn X at the end of every session?

Bah, missed the fglrx - thanks for pointing it out, xmanmonk

@Toad, no problem. Thanks for deciphering

@bcooksley, no I haven't. How can I do that?

I believe you need to add the entry TerminateServer=true. I am not sure which section of the system wide kdmrc file you need to add this to however.

In the file /usr/lib/linuxmint/mintSystem/adjustments/kde there is a kdmrc file. In that file is the following section (line 496, about 86% of the way down, according to emacs):

# Restart instead of resetting the local X-server after session exit.
# Use it if the server leaks memory etc.
# Default is false
#TerminateServer=true

Uncommenting it and rebooting now. More to follow (hopefully!)...

Made the above correction, did a complete restart, then logged out and back in again. Problem is still there. Should I edit another one of the few kdmrc files? Which one is getting executed, or in what order?

The exact location of the system wide kdmrc varies depending on the distribution unfortunately... You will need to ask the Mint folks to known which file you need to edit.

OK, I searched for all the kdmrc files:

mannex@Leviathan:~$ locate kdmrc
/etc/kde4/kdm/kdmrc
/usr/lib/linuxmint/mintSystem/adjustments/kde/kdmrc
/usr/share/doc/kde/HTML/en/kdm/kdmrc-ref.docbook
mannex@Leviathan:~$

The last one is obviously not the right one. The first one doesn't seem to have the mentioned line in it by default. It looks like this:


mannex@Leviathan:~$ cat /etc/kde4/kdm/kdmrc
[General]
ConfigVersion=2.4
ConsoleTTYs=tty1,tty2,tty3,tty4,tty5,tty6
PidFile=/var/run/kdm.pid
ReserveServers=:1,:2,:3
ServerVTs=-7
StaticServers=:0

[Shutdown]
BootManager=None
HaltCmd=/sbin/shutdown -h -P now
RebootCmd=/sbin/shutdown -r now

[X-*-Core]
AllowNullPasswd=false
AllowRootLogin=true
AllowShutdown=Root
AutoReLogin=false
ClientLogFile=.xsession-errors-%d
Reset=/etc/kde4/kdm/Xreset
Session=/etc/kde4/kdm/Xsession
Setup=/etc/kde4/kdm/Xsetup
Startup=/etc/kde4/kdm/Xstartup

[X-*-Greeter]
AntiAliasing=false
ColorScheme=
FaceSource=AdminOnly
FailFont=Sans Serif,10,-1,5,75,0,0,0,0,0
GUIStyle=
GreetFont=Serif,20,-1,5,50,0,0,0,0,0
GreetString=Welcome to %s at %n
GreeterPos=50,50
HiddenUsers=root
Language=en_US
LogoArea=Logo
LogoPixmap=/usr/share/kde4/apps/kdm/pics/kdelogo.png
MaxShowUID=29999
MinShowUID=1000
Preloader=/usr/bin/preloadkde
SelectedUsers=
ShowUsers=NotHidden
SortUsers=true
StdFont=Sans Serif,10,-1,5,50,0,0,0,0,0
Theme=/usr/share/kde4/apps/kdm/themes/mintkde
UseBackground=true
UseTheme=true
UserCompletion=false
UserList=false

[X-:*-Core]
AllowNullPasswd=true
AllowShutdown=All
NoPassEnable=false
NoPassUsers=
ServerArgsLocal=-br -nolisten tcp
ServerCmd=/usr/bin/X

[X-:*-Greeter]
AllowClose=true
DefaultUser=xxxxx
FocusPasswd=true
LoginMode=DefaultLocal
PreselectUser=None

[X-:0-Core]
AutoLoginEnable=false
AutoLoginLocked=false
AutoLoginUser=
ClientLogFile=.xsession-errors

[Xdmcp]
Enable=false
Willing=/etc/kde4/kdm/Xwilling
mannex@Leviathan:~$

**************************

The second one has this section (now modified by me):

mannex@Leviathan:~$ cat /usr/lib/linuxmint/mintSystem/adjustments/kde/kdmrc
# KDM master configuration file
#

[... more stuff ...]


#ServerArgsRemote=
# Restart instead of resetting the local X-server after session exit.
# Use it if the server leaks memory etc.
# Default is false
TerminateServer=true
# The signal needed to reset the local X-server.
# Default is 1 (SIGHUP)
#ResetSignal=1
# The signal needed to terminate the local X-server.
# Default is 15 (SIGTERM)
#TermSignal=15
# Create X-authorizations for local displays.
# Default is true
#Authorize=false

[... and even more stuff ...]

So, I uncommented the "TerminateServer=true" line, but there are some lines just following that one which might also be of interest. Anyone know what I should do here?

You may need to add TerminateServer into the /etc/ file.