I have managed to find a more suitable fix, one which could easily be implemented for other systems using this graphics chip or similar. The Intel X4500 graphics chip does not have dedicated memory for graphics and thus relies on the system memory. From my testing it would appear that Ubuntu by default does not allocate any permanent memory for this graphics chip and thus when a user depletes the the system memory, graphics card suffers as well, hence the graphics distortion.
The logical fix for this is to allot permanent memory for the graphics chip and have the rest available to the OS. This is done by editing grub: "sudo gedit /etc/default/grub" and reducing the amount of ram available to the system. I have 3 GB RAM and the x4500 is said to use up to 384, so 3000-384 = 2616 therefore we place the following line in grub using gedit: "GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="mem=2616 When we are done we type "sudo update-grub" in the terminal. Restart and the problem does not occur anymore. By limiting the OS to 2616mb ram we are ensuring that it does not tamper with the RAM we have dedicated to the graphics chip. This not not only fixes the graphics distortion issues but also appears to improve performance of the OS overall. Before this implementation I would have to log out once every half hour or less and sometimes restart. With this implementation I have had this pc running for 3 days non stop with out issues. The original website regarding the GRUB fix is here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupportComponentsVideoCardsPoulsbo -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to xserver-xorg-video-intel in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1358936 Title: [gm45] L-shaped memory with invalid swizzling Status in “xserver-xorg-video-intel” package in Ubuntu: New Bug description: I have been having an issue with garbled graphics on an ASUS K50IJ Laptop with Intel GMA X4500 integrated graphics. It is a difficult bug to recreate in a timely fashion as it requires you to be on the system for a decent amount of time (like an hour, sometimes less). Usage scenario to recreate this bug: would be to gradually build up to 10 Firefox or Google Chrome tabs. Minimize the applications, Open a 4000x3000 pixel photo in GIMP, do some editing. After using the computer for a while, go to the launcher and click Firefox or Chrome. Close Firefox or Chrome and then close GIMP. Firefox will take a while to close and while the hard drive is loading, the screen will suddenly become garbled. I've been a user of Ubuntu since version 6.06 (Dapper Drake) and have been using it exclusively on this laptop since version 12.04. I have not had this issue until 14.04. The temporary workaround is to log out and log back in, after which the graphics are back to normal. I also checked to see if it was a memory issue but System Monitor does not appear to display such an issue. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04 Package: xorg 1:7.7+1ubuntu8 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-34.60-generic 3.13.11.4 Uname: Linux 3.13.0-34-generic x86_64 .tmp.unity.support.test.0: ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.3 Architecture: amd64 CompizPlugins: No value set for `/apps/compiz-1/general/screen0/options/active_plugins' CompositorRunning: compiz CompositorUnredirectDriverBlacklist: '(nouveau|Intel).*Mesa 8.0' CompositorUnredirectFSW: true CurrentDesktop: Unity Date: Tue Aug 19 14:34:16 2014 DistUpgraded: Fresh install DistroCodename: trusty DistroVariant: ubuntu ExtraDebuggingInterest: Yes GraphicsCard: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:2a42] (rev 09) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller]) Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device [1043:1862] Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device [1043:1862] InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-08-07 (12 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS "Trusty Tahr" - Release amd64 (20140722.2) MachineType: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. K50IJ ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-3.13.0-34-generic root=/dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-root ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7 SourcePackage: xorg UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) dmi.bios.date: 12/04/2009 dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc. dmi.bios.version: 217 dmi.board.asset.tag: ATN12345678901234567 dmi.board.name: K50IJ dmi.board.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. dmi.board.version: 1.0 dmi.chassis.asset.tag: ATN12345678901234567 dmi.chassis.type: 10 dmi.chassis.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. dmi.chassis.version: 1.0 dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvr217:bd12/04/2009:svnASUSTeKComputerInc.:pnK50IJ:pvr1.0:rvnASUSTeKComputerInc.:rnK50IJ:rvr1.0:cvnASUSTeKComputerInc.:ct10:cvr1.0: dmi.product.name: K50IJ dmi.product.version: 1.0 dmi.sys.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. version.compiz: compiz 1:0.9.11.2+14.04.20140714-0ubuntu1 version.ia32-libs: ia32-libs N/A version.libdrm2: libdrm2 2.4.52-1 version.libgl1-mesa-dri: libgl1-mesa-dri 10.1.3-0ubuntu0.1 version.libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental: libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental N/A version.libgl1-mesa-glx: libgl1-mesa-glx 10.1.3-0ubuntu0.1 version.xserver-xorg-core: xserver-xorg-core 2:1.15.1-0ubuntu2 version.xserver-xorg-input-evdev: xserver-xorg-input-evdev 1:2.8.2-1ubuntu2 version.xserver-xorg-video-ati: xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:7.3.0-1ubuntu3.1 version.xserver-xorg-video-intel: xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.99.910-0ubuntu1 version.xserver-xorg-video-nouveau: xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 1:1.0.10-1ubuntu2 xserver.bootTime: Tue Aug 19 09:31:11 2014 xserver.configfile: default xserver.errors: xserver.logfile: /var/log/Xorg.0.log xserver.outputs: product id 488 vendor LGD xserver.version: 2:1.15.1-0ubuntu2 To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/1358936/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages Post to : [email protected] Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
