Some additional information: When the boot sequence is - GRUB boot to recovery mode - Drop to root prompt - Remove a driver and install a driver - Exit root prompt (Ctrl-D) - Resume normal boot as per the recovery mode menu
Then the display comes up at a degraded resolution (1024x768) but no gnome-session hang occurs in response to some of the reliable triggers (typically, attempting to launch Firefox, Google Chrome, or navigate gnome-settings). Booting normally (via restart or hard-reset) brings up the display at maximum resolution and gnome-session hangs immediately on one of the reliable triggers. I noted this previously. To test whether resolution is the issue, I booted normally. gnome-settings hangs gnome-session, so instead, I ran ```xrandr -s 1024x768``` which was immediately effective. I then accessed gnome-settings and it triggered another gnome-session hang. The conclusion is that degraded screen resolution itself does not prevent gnome-session hangs. Reviewing /var/log/syslog and the systemd journal, as well as /var/log/Xorg.0.log reveals that gdm3 recognizes the monitor by manufacturer and model and correctly picks up its configuration capabilities when the system boots normally. This does not occur, however, when one boots first to recovery mode, changes drivers, and resumes normal boot. To test whether a recovery mode session alone prevented a gnome-session hang, I then booted to recovery mode, did NOT change drivers, then resumed normal boot. Interestingly, the display came up in high resolution notwithstanding the prior xrandr reconfiguration. /var/log/Xorg.0.log reflected that gdm3 did identify the monitor. And, most importantly, the reliable triggers immediately caused a gnome- session hang. The conclusion, then, is that a recovery mode session alone does not prevent a gnome-session hang. One must change the driver during that recovery mode session, to prevent it (albeit at the cost of degraded screen resolution). To test whether simply removing and installing the same driver during a recovery mode session would be sufficient to avoid a gnome-session hang, I experimented with that. On resuming normal boot, the screen came up at full resolution and the usual triggers produced a gnome-session hang. The conclusion, then, is that a change of drivers is necessary during a recovery mode session to prevent a gnome-session hang after resuming normal boot from recovery mode. Again, this is at the cost of degraded screen resolution, and the protection will not persist through a normal boot. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to gnome-shell in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1892973 Title: gnome-session fails, and fails, and fails yet again Status in gnome-shell package in Ubuntu: Incomplete Bug description: Ubuntu 20.04.01, gnome-shell 3.36.4, nvidia-driver-450, nvidia- driver-440. Both drivers expressly support the hardware. All varieties of desktop environment (Xorg, Gnome Classic, Ubuntu) Bug summary Screen hangs randomly and iretrievably with the only possibility of recovery being a a hard system reset. Sometimes this is triggered by activity (launching or using gnome-settings; resizing a window; using Nautilus), sometimes, not. No session lasts more than five minutes. No combination of keystrokes will yield a terminal of any kind. The hang also interrupts System Monitor output, so no information regarding use of system resources is available. Steps to reproduce 1. Install gnome-session. 2. Reboot. 3. Use graphical applications. What happened] The screen froze irretrievably. Screen hangs randomly and iretrievably with the only possibility of recovery being a a hard system reset. Sometimes this is triggered by activity (launching or using gnome-settings; resizing a window; using Nautilus), sometimes, not. No session lasts more than five minutes. No combination of keystrokes will yield a terminal of any kind. The hang also interrupts System Monitor output, so no information regarding use of system resources is available. A hard system reset and consequent reboot yields a variety of outcomes. Sometimes, a normal gdm login. Sometimes, a black screen with an inverted-black mouse cursor/pointer/arrow that moves. Sometimes an entirely black screen. Sometimes, not even a hard system reset is sufficient and the system has to be booted into recovery mode, the existing driver removed, and another installed, before rebooting again. With nvidia-driver-440, fewer hangs but the monitor resolution can't be set to its capacity. I don't get it. GNOME hangs have been extensively documented for ten years. The drivers expressly support the hardware. This package is part of an Ubuntu LTS release. Is gnome-session intended to be serious, functional, production software subjected to rigorous and competent quality control? This is a serious question because I have a business to run and can't be sucked down some random technical rabbit hole just to do daily work. Is GNOME just a cute code project intended as a resume line for people looking for real work? What kind of quality control processes are in place that allow ancient failures, extensively reported, to persist? Is anyone at GNOME able and willing to put on their big-boy pants to get a reliable package suitable for production deployments, released? The command cat /var/log/syslog | grep gnome-session reveals fundamental errors in implementing systemd syntax and references/calls to nonexistent binaries. See the gnome-sesion units in /usr/lib/systemd/user. Maybe getting this right would be a first step to helping the developers understand the environment better. Please see man systemd. Source is, astonishingly, a hybrid of C and Javascript, which doubtless presents a QC nightmare. Has anyone given this any thought? What does it take to get this package to work today? - What is the procedure? What commands must be run? - Why doesn't GNOME simply include these commands in a script, just to make it easier? Does anyone there know how? - Why doesn't GNOME simply compile these commands into the package so it works in the first place? - Will a different graphics card matter? - Which one? - Why, if the drivers support the existing hardware, according to the documentation if not the function? Can this package be made to work today? If not, will this package be ready for production use in the next Ubuntu release (i.e., 20.04.02)? If not, what alternatives exist for production use? These are all serious questions. It is astonishing that this package has been released to the public. It getting out the door poses an existential reputational threat to the GNOME project. Any help in getting this package to work would be most gratefully appreciated. What did you expect to happen I expected the screen not to freeze. To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-shell/+bug/1892973/+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
