Graphics crashes, no effects etc - ThinkPad T420i

[spoovy]

I have a ThinkPad T420i with the following graphics -

*-display
description: VGA compatible controller
product: 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 2
bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
version: 09
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: msi pm vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
resources: irq:42 memory:90000000-903fffff memory:80000000-8fffffff ioport:4000(size=64)

Which I know isn't great, but I would've expected it to handle kwin effects ok, and I have got similar effects working before in other distros/DEs - namely Gnome 3 in Fedora. With Kubuntu 11.10 I get crashes whenever I try to enable effects - usually within a minute of enabling the effects (compositing, cover switch, that sort of thing) it crashes and disables effects, generally forcing me to log in again. Am I using the wrong driver, if so which one should I be using?

Thanks in advance.

[Snowhog]

Re: Graphics crashes, no effects etc - ThinkPad T420i

The Intel integrated graphics processor isn't powerful enough to handle the demands placed on it with some of the available Desktop Effects. What you should try first, is disabling the Blur effect, if you have it checked. This specific effect puts a very heavy demand on the GPU, and can cause the effects crash - that effect won't work here with my Intel integrated GPU. All of the remaining effects that I want to use work fine.

[spoovy]

Re: Graphics crashes, no effects etc - ThinkPad T420i

Thanks for the reply. After a bit more experimenting I can get a single effect to work - cover switch - without the desktop crashing. But if I enable even one more effect, say magic lamp, it crashes again.

As cover switch is the only effect I can think of that I find genuinely useful, this is a decent outcome; but I can't help feeling that this machine should be capable of more. It cost over £800 a month ago, and similar effects worked fine under Gnome 3 and Windows 7.

[SteveRiley]

Re: Graphics crashes, no effects etc - ThinkPad T420i

I'm comfortable suggesting the following experiment only because there's an easy way to back out if it fails.

First, install the package ppa-purge:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge

Next, add the xorg-edgers and intel-sna repositories:

sudo add-apt-repository ppaorg-edgers/ppa
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:sarvatt/intel-sna

Then, update and upgrade:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

This will bring in newer versions of X Server, Mesa, and Intel drivers. These have greatly improved effects for me, and I've encountered no problems.

But if they don't work for you, you can easily return to your prior state:

sudo ppa-purge ppa:sarvatt/intel-sna
sudo ppa-purge ppaorg-edgers/ppa
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

[dequire]

Re: Graphics crashes, no effects etc - ThinkPad T420i

Hello. Another thing you can try would be to install the package "kubntu-low-fat-settings", which is a set of scripts that, among other things, disables some of the more taxing KWin effects while leaving others. I have it installed on an old (circa 2005) HP notebook and it seems to help a lot.

However, your notebook is pretty beefy by Linux standards:

Lenovo Thinkpad T420si Series NW1BPZA Black Notebook, Intel Core i3 Sandy Bridge Dual Core i3-2330M 2.2Ghz 3MB L3 Cache Processor, 4096MB DDR3-1333 SO-Dimm Memory (1x4096), 8GB Max Mem, 500GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive, DVD Super Multi Writer optical drive, 14.1" WXGA HD (1366 x 768 resolution) Non Gloss Type LED Backlit Display, Intel HD graphics

So I would be inclined to think that perhaps the right kernel module(s) and / or Intel drivers are not installed for your graphics chipset. Frankly, Kubuntu should fly on that iron. So hopefully what Steve is suggesting will work. Ahhh...Intel graphics drivers...always a treat...

[spoovy]

Re: Graphics crashes, no effects etc - ThinkPad T420i

Thanks guys. Steve - that worked a treat. Still a little bit sketchy - a couple of crashes when I first enabled some more effects, but they seem to have stopped, and I can now use another three or four effects without any more crashing (present windows, grid etc). We'll see how it handles under load tomorrow when i'm using it at work!

Cheers again.

EDIT - worked fine under pretty heavy load. Again, a couple of crashes early on but then they stopped and nothing since.

[holdingthematch]

Re: Graphics crashes, no effects etc - ThinkPad T420i

I tried Steve's remedy earlier this evening, desperate to get my HP g42t to work with Desktop Effects enabled. It worked--somewhat--but disabling the blur effect as another poster suggested seemed to do the trick.

HOWEVER...

Now it seems that when I log out, I can't get back to KDM. Instead, I get a long list of terminal text about processes that are being stopped, but it hangs and I have to do a cold restart. Does anybody have any ideas as to how I can remedy the situation?

Fix one thing, break another. Figures...

[kubicle]

Re: Graphics crashes, no effects etc - ThinkPad T420i

Now it seems that when I log out, I can't get back to KDM. Instead, I get a long list of terminal text about processes that are being stopped, but it hangs and I have to do a cold restart. Does anybody have any ideas as to how I can remedy the situation?

Try editing /etc/kde4/kdm/kdmrc and find the TerminateServer configuration option, uncomment and change it to true (if it's false)
#Terminateserver=true
--->
TerminateServer=true

It helps in some cases where kdm doesn't show up after a log out.

[holdingthematch]

Re: Graphics crashes, no effects etc - ThinkPad T420i

Kubuntu:

I tried what you suggested, and it seems to have worked.

Thanks!