Arch Linux

I also had this problem.

Martin could you be a bit more precise in your description. This fix did not work for me. I added

-----
command=/usr/bin/X -audit 0
telinit 3 / telinit 5
-----

to the very end of /opt/gnome/etc/gdm/custom.conf, but the problem persisted. Still have to hit Alt-Ctrl backspace a couple of times before gdm crashes and is replaced by another program.

Regards,

linfan

Sorry for being too vague.
First, add the following to /opt/gnome/etc/gdm/custom.conf:
----
[server-Standard]
name=Standard server
command=/usr/bin/X -audit 0
flexible=true
----
Second run "telinit 3" followed by "telinit 5" from the commandline to restart
gdm. A reboot or "/etc/rc.d/gdm" might also work. Just hitting Alt-Ctrl didn't do
it here.

Btw, the latest gdm upgrade (2.16.2-1 -> 2.16.3-2) didn't fix the problem, still
reproducable by commenting out the above workaround.

Regards,
Martin

me wrote:
> A reboot or "/etc/rc.d/gdm" might also work.

should say "/etc/rc.d/gdm restart" of course.

If i understand gdm's config correctly we have 3 locations:
(1) /opt/gnome/share/gdm/factory-defaults.conf (upstream)
(2) /opt/gnome/share/gdm/defaults.conf (distribution-specific/overwritten on package-upgrade)
(3) /opt/gnome/etc/gdm/custom.conf (local changes/not overwritten on package-upgrade)

So if we remove "+extension XEVIE" from line 543 in (2) / gdm package would
solve that more permanently?
Additionaly, even without explicitly loading that extension /var/log/Xorg.0.log tells me:
----
(II) Initializing built-in extension XEVIE
----
...so it seems to be loaded anyway?

Regards,
Martin

This was reported in http://bugs.archlinux.org/task/5889 too.
Do new libxcb and gdm fix this issue (I was unable to check yet)?

No. Still reproducable...
gdm (2.16.3-2), libx11 (1.1-1), libxcb (1.0-2), nvidia (nvidia 1.0.8776-1)

Just upgraded to libx11 1.1-2 and it fixed my problems with gdm.

Pudge

Using latest updates, I had the same problem (Nvidia GeForce 7600). The suggested workaround (disabling XEVIE in gdm's custom.conf) solved it for now. XEVIE allows a user to capture keyboard and mouse events and is used by Gnome's accessibility.

Same here. With libx11 1.1-2 the mentioned workaround is not needed anymore.
thx!
Martin

libx11 1.1-2 worked here too.

ok, libx11 1.1.1-1 in testing has been built with XCB support again. Several bugfixes have been done in this release, which should handle most reported problems. People who had problems with libx11 1.1-1, please update to 1.1.1-1 from testing and report if you have any problems with it.

Tried 1.1.1-1 but had the same problem. Also tried nv instead of nvidia in case it was related but it didn't work either.

If this version of libx11 didn't affect programs other than gdm/Gnome's accessibility, maybe it's a gdm or Gnome specific bug?

Same problem here again with libx11 1.1.1-1 from testing: darkscreen + Xcursor waiting for gdm to come up... removing "+extension XEVIE" works around as before.
(running GeForce4 MX 440 / nvidia 1.0.8776-1)

I have six computers running Arch Linux. The only way I have found to resolve this problem is to do a clean install using FTP. By using FTP you get all the latest packages right from the start. I have fixed five of my six computers with clean FTP installs. These five run libx11 1.1.1-1 from testing just fine now.

The one remaining computer that will not run libx11 1.1.1-1 from testing has a SIS chipset with SIS integrated graphics. It works OK with libx11 1.1-2 and I am sure that a clean FTP install will fix it also. It will be the next weekend, probably Sunday, before I get a chance to re-install.

I have checked into it, but so far I cannot figure out why a clean install fixes the problem.

Pudge

What about removing gdm and all configuration, then reinstall it?

Tried that (remove gdm, remove leftover gdm dirs in /opt/gnome manually, install testing/libx11, install gdm again) - no change, same problem.

How do you obtain a list of ALL packages installed on your system? I want to get a list of all packages from the one computer that still doesn't work and a list of all packages from one of the computers that does work with XCB. Then run the two files through diff and see what may be a different version package, or a missing package. The list of installed packages has to be there, pacman uses it when deciding what needs upgrading. I just haven't found it or figured out how to utilize it yet.

Pudge

pacman -Q

I fixed this by adding these lines to /opt/gnome/etc/gdn/custom.conf:

[server-Standard]
command=/usr/bin/X -audit 0

Removed the +extension XEVIE from the default.conf, as it is loaded by default in Xorg. gdm 2.16.4 should fix issues with libx11/xcb.