Slow GUI (NVIDIA)(KDE4)

[Renaud (Ron) Olgiati]

Since updating to 2010.2 I have a very slow GUI: moving an icon on the desktop
takes about 15 seconds, switching from desktop to an open app using the panel
7 to 10 seconds.

Also XFDrake offered me a video card that would work at none of the settings,
either with proprietary or OS driver, had to trial and error until I found
another card that would (more or less) work.

Is that a known problem ?

Cheers,

Ron.

[Jim Beard]

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
Since updating to 2010.2 I have a very slow GUI: moving an icon on the desktop
takes about 15 seconds, switching from desktop to an open app using the panel
7 to 10 seconds.
Also XFDrake offered me a video card that would work at none of the settings,
either with proprietary or OS driver, had to trial and error until I found
another card that would (more or less) work.
Is that a known problem ?

First, you need to have your system fully updated. This probably
is not your problem, as 2010.2 is simply an update from 2010.1
plus a handful of eye-candy files but if you have not updated do
so. If kernel or proprietary drivers are updated, you will need
to reboot for dkms to rebuild the drivers.

Second, recent nVidia drivers have had problems, of a variety of
types. One problem that is perpetually present is that settings
in existing config and cached files are not removed when you
change drivers. You need to use rm -rf $HOME/.*uth* $HOME/tmp/*
/tmp/* /var/tmp/* to clean these out before restarting KDE4.
Otherwise, XFdrake may have given you the correct drivers but
they may fail due to left-overs from the earlier drivers.

XFdrake is usually pretty good at setting things up, but it may
not recognize which card you have. Make sure that is correct,
and that settings within XFdrake are correct, and use the test
option to see if a setup selected works. If that works, but the
gui does not launch after leaving XFdrake try removing the old
config and tmp files. If still no joy, you may need to
experiment to find out what will work. This can be a PITA, but
is sometimes necessary.

Speed of the GUI is dependent on your system's intrinsic speed
and the load you have on it. Using 3-D and lots of eye-candy can
and will slow things down, perhaps dramatically on a slow system.
What is your system? How much RAM (for eye-candy)? How much
video RAM? nVidia drivers from the nvidia website or Mandriva's
packaged proprietary drivers? (Install both and problems are
virtually guaranteed, as the two put some files in different
places. Use one or the other.)

Using the Mandriva Linux Control Center, the section for setting
up your display has instructions for trouble-shooting. Have you
gone through that exercise?

Cheers!

jim b.

[Jim Beard]

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
Since updating to 2010.2 I have a very slow GUI: moving an icon on the desktop
takes about 15 seconds, switching from desktop to an open app
using the panel
7 to 10 seconds.
Also XFDrake offered me a video card that would work at none of the settings,
either with proprietary or OS driver, had to trial and error
until I found
another card that would (more or less) work.
Is that a known problem ?

First, you need to have your system fully updated. This probably
is not your problem, as 2010.2 is simply an update from 2010.1
plus a handful of eye-candy files but if you have not updated do
so. If kernel or proprietary drivers are updated, you will need
to reboot for dkms to rebuild the drivers.
Second, recent nVidia drivers have had problems, of a variety of
types. One problem that is perpetually present is that settings
in existing config and cached files are not removed when you
change drivers. You need to use rm -rf $HOME/.*uth* $HOME/tmp/*
/tmp/* /var/tmp/* to clean these out before restarting KDE4.
Otherwise, XFdrake may have given you the correct drivers but
they may fail due to left-overs from the earlier drivers.
XFdrake is usually pretty good at setting things up, but it may
not recognize which card you have. Make sure that is correct, and
that settings within XFdrake are correct, and use the test option
to see if a setup selected works. If that works, but the gui does
not launch after leaving XFdrake try removing the old config and
tmp files. If still no joy, you may need to experiment to find
out what will work. This can be a PITA, but is sometimes necessary.
Speed of the GUI is dependent on your system's intrinsic speed
and the load you have on it. Using 3-D and lots of eye-candy can
and will slow things down, perhaps dramatically on a slow system.
What is your system? How much RAM (for eye-candy)? How much video
RAM? nVidia drivers from the nvidia website or Mandriva's
packaged proprietary drivers? (Install both and problems are
virtually guaranteed, as the two put some files in different
places. Use one or the other.)
Using the Mandriva Linux Control Center, the section for setting
up your display has instructions for trouble-shooting. Have you
gone through that exercise?

One point I did not mention (XFdrake should take care of it),
you must have the devel package for your kernel installed for
dkms to rebuild the drivers, for any module that needs drivers
compiled.

The devel package will have the exact same name as your kernel,
except for the devel- added to the name. Example:

kernel-desktop-2.6.36.2-2mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-desktop-devel-2.6.36.2-2mnb-1-1mnb2

You may also want to install the "latest" rpm package
for both. That will keep both updated as needed.
Continuing the example:

kernel-desktop-devel-latest-2.6.36.2-2mnb2
kernel-desktop-latest-2.6.36.2-2mnb2

Use (on the command line) rpm -qa |grep kernel |sort
to see what you have installed.

Cheers!

jim b.

[Renaud (Ron) Olgiati]

On Wednesday 25 May 2011 14:34 my mailbox was graced by a message from Jim

Post by Jim Beard
Use (on the command line) rpm -qa |grep kernel |sort
to see what you have installed.

***@ron:/home/ron # rpm -qa |grep kernel |sort
kernel-firmware-20100217-1mnb2
kernel-firmware-extra-20100429-2mnb2
kernel-server-2.6.31.5-1mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-server-2.6.33.7-2mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-server-2.6.36.4-69mib-1-1mib2010.2
kernel-server-devel-2.6.33.7-2mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-server-devel-2.6.36.4-69mib-1-1mib2010.2
kernel-server-devel-latest-2.6.36.4-69mib2010.2
kernel-server-latest-2.6.36.4-69mib2010.2
libkplatokernel7-2.2.2-1mdv2010.1
nvidia173-kernel-2.6.31.5-server-1mnb-173.14.20-7mdv2010.0
nvidia173-kernel-2.6.33.7-server-2mnb-173.14.25-3mdv2010.1
nvidia173-kernel-server-latest-173.14.25-1.20100921.3mdv2010.1
nvidia96xx-kernel-2.6.33.7-server-2mnb-96.43.16-2mdv2010.1
nvidia96xx-kernel-server-latest-96.43.16-1.20100921.2mdv2010.1
nvidia-current-kernel-2.6.31.5-server-1mnb-185.18.36-4mdv2010.0
nvidia-current-kernel-2.6.33.7-server-2mnb-195.36.24-3mdv2010.1
nvidia-current-kernel-server-latest-195.36.24-1.20100921.3mdv2010.1

Seems I have far too many...

???

Cheers,

Ron.

[Jim Beard]

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
On Wednesday 25 May 2011 14:34 my mailbox was graced by a message from Jim

Post by Jim Beard
Use (on the command line) rpm -qa |grep kernel |sort
to see what you have installed.

Two packages providing firmware support. I would leave them alone.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
kernel-firmware-20100217-1mnb2
kernel-firmware-extra-20100429-2mnb2

Three server kernels. Further on this below.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
kernel-server-2.6.31.5-1mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-server-2.6.33.7-2mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-server-2.6.36.4-69mib-1-1mib2010.2

Devel packages for only two of your kernels.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
kernel-server-devel-2.6.33.7-2mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-server-devel-2.6.36.4-69mib-1-1mib2010.2

Two meta packages, that simply require that an update package be
installed whenever one becomes available.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
kernel-server-devel-latest-2.6.36.4-69mib2010.2
kernel-server-latest-2.6.36.4-69mib2010.2

I'm not sure what this is, so would leave it alone.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
libkplatokernel7-2.2.2-1mdv2010.1

Nvidia driver packages (compiled binaries included) for only two
of your kernels.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
nvidia173-kernel-2.6.31.5-server-1mnb-173.14.20-7mdv2010.0
nvidia173-kernel-2.6.33.7-server-2mnb-173.14.25-3mdv2010.1

A "latest" meta package.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
nvidia173-kernel-server-latest-173.14.25-1.20100921.3mdv2010.1

One nvidia driver package for a different set of nvidia cards,
plus the meta package, but for only one of your kernels.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
nvidia96xx-kernel-2.6.33.7-server-2mnb-96.43.16-2mdv2010.1
nvidia96xx-kernel-server-latest-96.43.16-1.20100921.2mdv2010.1

"Current" nvidia packages for two of your kernels plus the meta
package.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
nvidia-current-kernel-2.6.31.5-server-1mnb-185.18.36-4mdv2010.0
nvidia-current-kernel-2.6.33.7-server-2mnb-195.36.24-3mdv2010.1
nvidia-current-kernel-server-latest-195.36.24-1.20100921.3mdv2010.1
Seems I have far too many...

Three kernels on the system is not a problem. I recommend
keeping at least one old kernel on the system, just in case an
update/upgrade brings in an incompatible or flaky kernel. You
then have a kernel known to be good to revert to. This is more
important if you enable backports repositories for updates, if
you use a non-standard kernel (e.g. a tmb kernel), or if you test
unstable apps or use a beta system.

Running server kernels, though, may be part (or in conjunction
with other factors all) of your slow GUI problem. Server kernels
are not tailored to support x-windows or a GUI desktop. (They are
tailored to serve as servers!). There was a known problem with
the Mandriva installer a year or two ago, in that it often would
install a server kernel when it should have installed a desktop
kernel. If you have more than 4GB RAM on your system, and are
running the 32-bit OS, you may need the server kernel to make use
of all your memory. (I vaguely remember something about the
desktop 586 kernel being able to use 8GB RAM, but if so the
Mandriva website page on kernel selection has not been updated.)
64-bit systems will use all the memory you have, regardless,
but there are other considerations (e.g. Adobe flash offers only
a beta version for 64-bit).

If you have 4GB or less of RAM, or if you have 8GB or less and
are willing to experiment, I would recommend downloading and
installing the latest stock Mandriva kernel and the latest tmb
kernel. Keep the kernels you have that work, at least until you
have two new ones that you have tried and know work. Then delete
the old ones. (Keep your main kernel and at least one backup).

kernel-desktop-2.6.36.2-2mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-desktop-devel-2.6.36.2-2mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-desktop-latest-2.6.36.2-2mnb2

kernel-tmb-desktop-2.6.35.8-1mdv-1-1mdv2010.1
kernel-tmb-desktop-devel-2.6.35.8-1mdv-1-1mdv2010.1
kernel-tmb-desktop-latest

(kernel-tmb-desktop-latest is not available for 2.6.35.8)

When these two have been installed, boot first to one and then to
the other and use XFdrake to install the proprietary drivers.
You may need to use XFdrake only once, with dkms taking over the
task for the other new kernel.

Looking at the choices in Install Software (Mandriva Linux
Control Center, all packages gui or non-gui and installed or not
installed), it appears that nvidia173 is for nvidia GeForce FX
cards, nvidia96XX is for GF 2/3/4 cards, and nvidia-current is
for GeForce 6 and later cards. No mention of GeForce 5 cards. :(

Once you have the correct card selected and ask for the
proprietary driver, XFdrake should automatically download any
other packages needed. If an nvidia driver package you need is
not available with precompiled binaries, dkms will compile and
install the drivers when you reboot.

If you know the specs on your monitor, you might take a look at
/etc/X11/xorg.conf and see if what XFdrake put in it matches up
with the monitor you have.

Cheers!

jim b.

[Jim Beard]

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
On Wednesday 25 May 2011 14:34 my mailbox was graced by a
message from Jim

Post by Jim Beard
Use (on the command line) rpm -qa |grep kernel |sort
to see what you have installed.

Two packages providing firmware support. I would leave them alone.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
kernel-firmware-20100217-1mnb2
kernel-firmware-extra-20100429-2mnb2

Three server kernels. Further on this below.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
kernel-server-2.6.31.5-1mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-server-2.6.33.7-2mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-server-2.6.36.4-69mib-1-1mib2010.2

Devel packages for only two of your kernels.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
kernel-server-devel-2.6.33.7-2mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-server-devel-2.6.36.4-69mib-1-1mib2010.2

Two meta packages, that simply require that an update package be
installed whenever one becomes available.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
kernel-server-devel-latest-2.6.36.4-69mib2010.2
kernel-server-latest-2.6.36.4-69mib2010.2

I'm not sure what this is, so would leave it alone.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
libkplatokernel7-2.2.2-1mdv2010.1

Nvidia driver packages (compiled binaries included) for only two
of your kernels.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
nvidia173-kernel-2.6.31.5-server-1mnb-173.14.20-7mdv2010.0
nvidia173-kernel-2.6.33.7-server-2mnb-173.14.25-3mdv2010.1

A "latest" meta package.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
nvidia173-kernel-server-latest-173.14.25-1.20100921.3mdv2010.1

One nvidia driver package for a different set of nvidia cards,
plus the meta package, but for only one of your kernels.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
nvidia96xx-kernel-2.6.33.7-server-2mnb-96.43.16-2mdv2010.1
nvidia96xx-kernel-server-latest-96.43.16-1.20100921.2mdv2010.1

"Current" nvidia packages for two of your kernels plus the meta
package.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
nvidia-current-kernel-2.6.31.5-server-1mnb-185.18.36-4mdv2010.0
nvidia-current-kernel-2.6.33.7-server-2mnb-195.36.24-3mdv2010.1
nvidia-current-kernel-server-latest-195.36.24-1.20100921.3mdv2010.1
Seems I have far too many...

Three kernels on the system is not a problem. I recommend keeping
at least one old kernel on the system, just in case an
update/upgrade brings in an incompatible or flaky kernel. You
then have a kernel known to be good to revert to. This is more
important if you enable backports repositories for updates, if
you use a non-standard kernel (e.g. a tmb kernel), or if you test
unstable apps or use a beta system.
Running server kernels, though, may be part (or in conjunction
with other factors all) of your slow GUI problem. Server kernels
are not tailored to support x-windows or a GUI desktop. (They are
tailored to serve as servers!). There was a known problem with
the Mandriva installer a year or two ago, in that it often would
install a server kernel when it should have installed a desktop
kernel. If you have more than 4GB RAM on your system, and are
running the 32-bit OS, you may need the server kernel to make use
of all your memory. (I vaguely remember something about the
desktop 586 kernel being able to use 8GB RAM, but if so the
Mandriva website page on kernel selection has not been updated.)
64-bit systems will use all the memory you have, regardless, but
there are other considerations (e.g. Adobe flash offers only a
beta version for 64-bit).
If you have 4GB or less of RAM, or if you have 8GB or less and
are willing to experiment, I would recommend downloading and
installing the latest stock Mandriva kernel and the latest tmb
kernel. Keep the kernels you have that work, at least until you
have two new ones that you have tried and know work. Then delete
the old ones. (Keep your main kernel and at least one backup).
kernel-desktop-2.6.36.2-2mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-desktop-devel-2.6.36.2-2mnb-1-1mnb2
kernel-desktop-latest-2.6.36.2-2mnb2
kernel-tmb-desktop-2.6.35.8-1mdv-1-1mdv2010.1
kernel-tmb-desktop-devel-2.6.35.8-1mdv-1-1mdv2010.1
kernel-tmb-desktop-latest
(kernel-tmb-desktop-latest is not available for 2.6.35.8)
When these two have been installed, boot first to one and then to
the other and use XFdrake to install the proprietary drivers.
You may need to use XFdrake only once, with dkms taking over the
task for the other new kernel.
Looking at the choices in Install Software (Mandriva Linux
Control Center, all packages gui or non-gui and installed or not
installed), it appears that nvidia173 is for nvidia GeForce FX
cards, nvidia96XX is for GF 2/3/4 cards, and nvidia-current is
for GeForce 6 and later cards. No mention of GeForce 5 cards. :(
Once you have the correct card selected and ask for the
proprietary driver, XFdrake should automatically download any
other packages needed. If an nvidia driver package you need is
not available with precompiled binaries, dkms will compile and
install the drivers when you reboot.
If you know the specs on your monitor, you might take a look at
/etc/X11/xorg.conf and see if what XFdrake put in it matches up
with the monitor you have.

One more addendum. If you have a 32-bit system but more than 4GB
RAM, you can enable PAE in the kernel or get a kernel with PAE
enabled to cope with all the memory. This webpage looks
interesting, with copy/paste download and install commands.

http://mib.pianetalinux.org/mib/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2846&p=16020

Bear in mind, nothing is guaranteed with respect to this site.
If your system breaks, you get to keep all the pieces. Putting
them back together is your problem... :)

Other ways to cope may be found by googling for Mandriva server
desktop kernel pae.

Cheers!

jim b.

[Renaud (Ron) Olgiati]

So if I go for a complete re-install, is there a way to prevent the
installation of a Server kernel ?

I have (4Gb - video) memory, so do not need Server.

TIA,

Ron.

[Jim Beard]

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
So if I go for a complete re-install, is there a way to prevent the
installation of a Server kernel ?

Not that I know of. But it is relatively easy to install a
desktop kernel using Configure you computer (Mandriva Linux
Contrl Center) and then use urpme to remove the server kernel
once the desktop is workinng.

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
I have (4Gb - video) memory, so do not need Server.

Video memory (on your video card) has nothing to do with the need
for a server kernel. It will affect speed and responsiveness
when running x-windows but does not affect kernel need for or use
of memory.

How much RAM for the system do you have?

You can use top, or install and use htop, or install
and run hardinfo, or use one of the monitoring widgits to find
out how much RAM your kernel thinks it has.

I do not use 32-bit, but I went to Google Groups advanced search,
http://groups.google.com/advanced_search?q=&
and searched for Mandriva install server RAM
in group alt.os.linux.mandriva and found several threads on
problems with the server kernel installed by 2010.0 and 2010.1.
Going through that might turn up some ideas. 2010.2 is nothing
more than 2010.1 with all updates plus some eye-candy for marketing.

Cheers!

jim b.

[Renaud (Ron) Olgiati]

On Thursday 26 May 2011 17:57 my mailbox was graced by a message from Jim

Post by Jim Beard
How much RAM for the system do you have?

***@ron:~ $ free
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 3993640 3418228 575412 0 250384 2125776
-/+ buffers/cache: 1042068 2951572
Swap: 4088504 48 4088456


Cheers,

Ron.

[Jim Beard]

Post by Renaud (Ron) Olgiati
On Thursday 26 May 2011 17:57 my mailbox was graced by a message from Jim

Post by Jim Beard
How much RAM for the system do you have?

total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 3993640 3418228 575412 0 250384 2125776
-/+ buffers/cache: 1042068 2951572
Swap: 4088504 48 4088456

RAM looks good. The desktop kernel should work fine for you.

Cheers!

jim b.