Public bug reported:
Binary package hint: xorg
Executive summary: Changing the desktop wallpaper under Gnome makes Xorg
resident memory usage increase non-reversibly. Given enough changes of
wallpaper, xorg ends up using up every bit of the available memory,
bringing the system down with it.
Detailed description:
I have built a program which changes the desktop wallpaper by writing a
gconf key. Nautilus monitors the key and sets the desktop wallpaper
accordingly.
I am using the program with a lot of decent-sized images (about
2000-3000 pixels wide) and setting it to change every 5 minutes.
Whenever a wallpaper change occurs, Xorg's memory usage goes up. This
does not seem to be related with apps storing resources in the server,
since xrestop remains largely unchanged. Also, nautilus (the app which
changes the desktop) does not increase its memory usage, nor does
killing it help with anything Xorg-related.
Take this status, which is normal after about 25-30 desktop changes. The
memory usage (measured with htop) is:
xorg: 1328M 422M 13580
nautilus: 499M 80712 17576
(resp. VIRT, RES, SHR).
xrestop usage:
Pixmaps: 33739K total, Other: 277K total, All: 34017K total
I now change the desktop wallpaper by writing to the gconf key:
xorg: 1341M 435M 13580 (+~14M VIRT and RES)
nautilus: 499M 80712 17576 (unchanged)
Pixmaps: 33767K total, Other: 276K total, All: 34044K total (largely
unchanged, slight differences maybe due to the different size of the underlying
wallpaper)
After another change:
xorg: 1355M 449M 13612 (+~14 M, again)
nautilus: 499M 80712 17576 (unchanged)
Pixmaps: 33741K total, Other: 274K total, All: 34016K total
(essentially unchanged, again)
Just to be sure that it's not something related to my own tool, I tried
changing the background by using Gnome's own tools a few times, with
similar results.
I am rather confused as to what the origin of this leak might be. I can
imagine nautilus being the culprit, since it is the application that
sets the background; however, since the only application increasing its
memory usage in this process is xorg, and there is no indication of
xrestop leakage, I am reporting the bug here.
I am using Hardy 8.04.1, fully updated, nVidia GeForce 8500 GT with
proprietary drivers (nvidia-glx-new).
** Affects: xorg (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
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xorg memory leak when changing desktop wallpapers (Gnome)
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/254107
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