Package: xorg
Version: 1:7.5+6
I am running Debian Squeeze on the i386 architecture. The video card has
an Nvidia RIVA TNT2 chipset. The nv driver (xserver-xorg-video-nv) is
being used. The monitor is a CRT multi-sync monitor with DDC2/EDID support.
My Desktop Environment is GNOME.
Here's the scenario:
(1) I boot the system. The X server starts on vt 7, running the gdm
login interface daemon. I login on the X console using my non-superuser
userid and password. This works fine.
(2) I then logout of the desktop environment using System -> Logout
from the GNOME action bar. Logout proceeds without incident, the
X server shuts down, then restarts automatically. But when it
restarts, it restarts on vt 8 instead of vt 7. This is not immediately
apparent, but if I switch to vt 1 via Ctrl+Alt+F1, then attempt
to switch back to the X server via Alt+F7, I see a black screen.
If I use Alt+F8 instead, I see the gdm login screen.
With the help of someone on the debian-user mailing list, plus some
trial-and-error experimentation, I have come up with the following
procedure which I use to get the X server back on vt 7 again,
without a reboot:
(a) When you see the gdm login screen again after logging out,
switch to text console number 1 via Ctrl+Alt+F1.
(b) login as root on vt 1. Attempt to deallocate vt 7 with
deallocvt 7
This results in an error message:
VT_DISALLOCATE: Device or resource busy
(c) Issue the command
killall console-kit-daemon
(d) Once again issue the command
deallocvt 7
This time it succeeds.
(e) Restart gdm with
/etc/init.d/gdm restart
The X server shuts down and restarts, this time on vt 7.
Note: for some installations, "/etc/init.d/gdm3 restart" is needed instead.
Do not login yet!
(f) Switch back to vt 1 via Ctrl+Alt+F1.
(g) Issue the command
deallocvt 8
to deallocate vt 8, which was used by the previous instance of the X server.
This time it works. It is not necessary to kill the console-kit-daemon
process this time.
(i) Logout of the root session on vt 1.
(j) Switch back to the X server via Alt+F7.
(k) Login to the X server's desktop environment as usual.
This is a cumbersome and convoluted work-around, but it works. The problem
does not appear to be GNOME-related. Someone else on the debian-user mailing
list requested help with these symptoms. He also was using the nv driver,
but he was not using GNOME. He started the X server directly with "startx".
I don't remember what window manager he was using, but he was not using a
desktop environment. All he has to do is stop the X server, manually
deallocate vt 7, and issue startx again. console-kit-daemon is apparently
not used in his environment. It is apparently not specific to the nv driver
either. I have seen these symptoms in the GNOME environment using the intel
driver as well.
--
.''`. Stephen Powell
: :' :
`. `'`
`-
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