Mint 19 cinnamon-screensaver issues

[AlisterL]

Grettings,

i'm having a problem with cinnamon-screensaver not running. This is different fromthe recent thread here: viewtopic.php?f=208&t=272440

What I have noticed is that after a reboot cinnamon-screensaver shows in the process list (ps -ef | grep cinnamon-screensaver) but as soon as the screensaver start parameters are met (inactivity time, CTRL-ALT-L) it exits/crashes so that it is no longer visible as a running process.
If I then run cinnamon-screensaver from the command line, it seems to work perfectly.
I've tried to reinstall the package as per the suggestion in the thread above, with no change to the behaviour.
I'm not sure where cinnamon-screensaver is initially being called from - I was going to try adding a debug option to the command if that was possible.

The real problem this leads to is that the screen does not automatically lock when I walk away from the computer, nor can I C-A-L or use the Lock option in the menu (unless I've restarted cinnamon-screensaver - which I only just figured out today).

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

System is Mint 19 that was an upgrade from 18.3.
Kernel: 4.15.0-24-generic x86-64
Cinnamon: 3.8.8
Cinnamon-screensaver 3.8.2

MTIA,

Alister.

[smurphos]

What does running cinnamon-screensaver-command -l return from the terminal after a fresh log-on.

If it crashes also report back content of cat ~/.xsession-errors

[AlisterL]

Hi Smurphos,

cinnamon-screen-saver-command -l returns Can't connect to screensaver!

The only seemingly relevant info from cat ~/.xsession-errors is:
cinnamon-session[1245]: WARNING: t+60.87640s: Detected that screensaver has left the bus
mate-screensaver: no process found

TIA,

Alister

[AlisterL]

Did some more simple testing. After a complete reboot - which is what I did previously - the cinnamon-screensaver-command -l did lock the screen. I was able to repeat this twice (unlock, run command, repeat). Then I tried a CTRL-ALT-L and that killed cinnamon screensaver. Same error as before in .xsession-errors.

TIA,

Alister

[smurphos]

OK let's get back to basics.

1) Provide the output from inxi -Fxz

2) Check for any ownership issues in your home directory - if find $HOME ! -user $USER gives any output run sudo chown -R $USER:$USER $HOME, log out, log back in. Is it fixed?

3) Try booting into an earlier kernel than -24 via grub. It's problematic for some hardware configurations. If using an earlier kernel solves the issue you can remove -24 via Update Manager and ignore any offered update until such time as a new kernel update is released.

4) If no difference, set up a temporary new user account and see if the issue occurs in the new user account.

5) Check for cinnamon-screensaver crash logs in the System Reports module (accessible from the menu).

6) Try the cinnamon screensaver debug script instructions posted by MTWebster here - https://github.com/linuxmint/cinnamon-s ... -313278385

[AlisterL]

1: inxi -Fxz
System: Host: xxxx-HP800 Kernel: 4.15.0-24-generic x86_64 bits: 64 gcc: 7.3.0
Desktop: Cinnamon 3.8.8 (Gtk 3.22.30-1ubuntu1) Distro: Linux Mint 19 Tara
Machine: Device: desktop System: HP product: HP EliteDesk 800 G2 TWR serial: N/A
Mobo: HP model: 8053 v: KBC Version 05.22 serial: N/A UEFI: HP v: N01 Ver. 02.16 date: 08/08/2016
CPU: Quad core Intel Core i7-6700 (-MT-MCP-) arch: Skylake-S rev.3 cache: 8192 KB
flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 27264
clock speeds: max: 4000 MHz 1: 997 MHz 2: 2337 MHz 3: 2280 MHz 4: 2453 MHz 5: 2407 MHz 6: 2107 MHz
7: 2508 MHz 8: 2320 MHz
Graphics: Card: Intel HD Graphics 530 bus-ID: 00:02.0
Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.6 ) drivers: modesetting (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
Resolution: 1920x1080@60.00hz
OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 530 (Skylake GT2)
version: 4.5 Mesa 18.0.0-rc5 Direct Render: Yes
Audio: Card Intel Sunrise Point-H HD Audio driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.15.0-24-generic
Network: Card: Intel Ethernet Connection (2) I219-LM driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k bus-ID: 00:1f.6
IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives: HDD Total Size: 512.1GB (21.8% used)
ID-1: /dev/sda model: MTFDDAK512MBF size: 512.1GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 452G used: 89G (21%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda4
ID-2: /boot size: 1.9G used: 376M (22%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2
ID-3: swap-1 size: 16.38GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda3
RAID: No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 37.5C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info: Processes: 233 Uptime: 6:21 Memory: 1671.5/15921.3MB Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 7.3.0
Client: Shell (bash 4.4.191) inxi: 2.3.56


2: two files had the wrong ownership - like an idiot I didn't note what they were before logging out/in...

3: Tried -23. No difference

4: Tried this - no difference

5: Jul 20 09:14:15 xxxx-HP800 cinnamon-session[2190]: WARNING: t+60.81651s: Detected that screensaver has left the bus
I'd be curious to understand the "t+60" thing a bit better - my screensaver is set to kick off after 60 seconds - but I think the process is dying after the session has been logged in for approximately 60 seconds.

6: Will do my best here, but I will need to start the process from login with the debug command - not sure how to do that.

Thanks very much for helping!

Alister

[smurphos]

version: 4.5 Mesa 18.0.0-rc5 Direct Render: Yes

This should be Mesa 18.0.5 now in Mint 19. There were problems with Mesa with the upgrade from 18.3 for a period which may have caught you depending on when you did the upgrade. I wonder if Mesa is broken?

What does dpkg -l | grep mesa return?

What does apt update return?

Also please double check the output of cat /etc/X11/default-display-manager

[AlisterL]

dpkg -l | grep mesa
ii libegl-mesa0:amd64 18.0.0~rc5-1ubuntu1 amd64 free implementation of the EGL API -- Mesa vendor library
ii libegl1-mesa:amd64 18.0.0~rc5-1ubuntu1 amd64 transitional dummy package
ii libegl1-mesa-drivers:amd64 12.0.6-0ubuntu0.16.04.1 amd64 transitional dummy package
ii libgl1-mesa-dri:amd64 18.0.0~rc5-1ubuntu1 amd64 free implementation of the OpenGL API -- DRI modules
ii libgl1-mesa-glx:amd64 18.0.5-0ubuntu0~16.04.1 amd64 free implementation of the OpenGL API -- GLX runtime
ii libglapi-mesa:amd64 18.0.5-0ubuntu0~16.04.1 amd64 free implementation of the GL API -- shared library
ii libgles1-mesa 18.0.5-0ubuntu0~16.04.1 all transitional dummy package
ii libgles2-mesa:amd64 18.0.5-0ubuntu0~16.04.1 amd64 free implementation of the OpenGL|ES 2.x API -- runtime
ii libglu1-mesa:amd64 9.0.0-2.1build1 amd64 Mesa OpenGL utility library (GLU)
ii libwayland-egl1-mesa:amd64 18.0.0~rc5-1ubuntu1 amd64 implementation of the Wayland EGL platform -- runtime
ii mesa-utils 8.4.0-1 amd64 Miscellaneous Mesa GL utilities

sudo apt update
[sudo] password for xxxx:
Hit:1 http://mirror.as24220.net/pub/ubuntu bionic InRelease
Hit:2 http://mirror.as24220.net/pub/ubuntu bionic-updates InRelease
Ign:3 http://mirror.xnet.co.nz/pub/linuxmint/packages tara InRelease
Hit:4 http://mirror.xnet.co.nz/pub/linuxmint/packages tara Release
Hit:5 http://mirror.as24220.net/pub/ubuntu bionic-backports InRelease
Get:7 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security InRelease [83.2 kB]
Hit:8 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu bionic InRelease
Get:9 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/main amd64 Packages [122 kB]
Get:10 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/main i386 Packages [102 kB]
Get:11 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/main Translation-en [47.3 kB]
Get:12 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/universe Translation-en [21.9 kB]
Fetched 377 kB in 3s (114 kB/s)
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
5 packages can be upgraded. Run 'apt list --upgradable' to see them.


Because that showed updates available, I did this:
sudo apt list --upgradable
Listing... Done
linux-generic/bionic-security 4.15.0.29.31 amd64 [upgradable from: 4.15.0.23.25]
linux-headers-generic/bionic-security 4.15.0.29.31 amd64 [upgradable from: 4.15.0.23.25]
linux-image-generic/bionic-security 4.15.0.29.31 amd64 [upgradable from: 4.15.0.23.25]
linux-libc-dev/bionic-security 4.15.0-29.31 amd64 [upgradable from: 4.15.0-24.26]
linux-signed-generic/bionic-security 4.15.0.29.31 amd64 [upgradable from: 4.15.0.23.25]


The default display manager is lighdm - /usr/sbin/lightdm

I changed to local mirrors to get updates quicker - happy to change back to defaults if that helps the situation.

Thanks again,

Alister.

[smurphos]

Thanks - it does look like you were caught by this issue regarding mesa versions during the upgrade - viewtopic.php?f=46&t=272423&p=1490953#p1490986

The official guidance was to use timeshift to go back to 18.3 and re-run the upgrade once the underlying cause was fixed - it is fixed now.

This might work though. Before agreeing to any changes having input this command do look carefully at the output for any warnings/errors about package removal etc. If you are unsure hold of and report back with the output.

sudo apt install --reinstall libegl1 libegl1-mesa=18.0.5-0ubuntu0~18.04.1 libgl1-mesa-dri=18.0.5-0ubuntu0~18.04.1 libgl1-mesa-glx=18.0.5-0ubuntu0~18.04.1 libglapi-mesa=18.0.5-0ubuntu0~18.04.1 libgles2-mesa=18.0.5-0ubuntu0~18.04.1 libwayland-egl1-mesa=18.0.5-0ubuntu0~18.04.1

[AlisterL]

There were no warnings WRT to package upgrade(?) you suggested - although I did have to change to the default repo's to get them - they were not in the mirrors I was using. No packages held back either. On the other hand the problem is still present. Whilst I was in the default repos I did a apt-get update and then apt-get upgrade. The latter showed the following:

sudo apt-get upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Done
The following packages have been kept back:
linux-generic linux-headers-generic linux-image-generic
The following packages will be upgraded:
apt apt-transport-https apt-utils bluetooth bluez bluez-cups bluez-obexd console-setup console-setup-linux dkms
evolution-data-server evolution-data-server-common gir1.2-camel-1.2 gir1.2-ebook-1.2 gir1.2-ebookcontacts-1.2
gir1.2-edataserver-1.2 gir1.2-gnomedesktop-3.0 gir1.2-udisks-2.0 gnome-control-center-data gnome-desktop3-data
gnome-disk-utility grub-common grub-efi-amd64 grub-efi-amd64-bin grub-efi-amd64-signed grub2-common gvfs
gvfs-backends gvfs-bin gvfs-common gvfs-daemons gvfs-fuse gvfs-libs keyboard-configuration language-pack-en
language-pack-en-base language-pack-gnome-en language-pack-gnome-en-base libapt-inst2.0 libapt-pkg5.0 libbluetooth3
libcamel-1.2-61 libebackend-1.2-10 libebook-1.2-19 libebook-contacts-1.2-2 libecal-1.2-19 libedata-book-1.2-25
libedata-cal-1.2-28 libedataserver-1.2-23 libedataserverui-1.2-2 libegl-mesa0 libgbm1 libgnome-desktop-3-17
libpam-systemd libperl5.26 libpython3-stdlib libsnapd-glib1 libsystemd0 libudev1 libudisks2-0 libxatracker2
linux-libc-dev linux-signed-generic netplan.io nplan perl perl-base perl-modules-5.26 python-apt python-apt-common
python-cryptography python3 python3-apt python3-cryptography python3-minimal screen systemd systemd-sysv udev
udisks2
80 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 3 not upgraded.
Need to get 29.2 MB of archives.
After this operation, 60.4 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n]

I spotted libegl-mesa0 in there so proceeded. Same problem. I noticed that there was a new kernel out (4.15.0-29) so did a dist-upgrade and same problem. Not sure if either of those were good ideas, but did it anyway.

Thanks again!

Alister.

[smurphos]

Yep - some of the local mirrors see quite a long delay in getting updates.

Did the command trying to reinstall the mesa components result in any changes?

Can you open xreader?

[AlisterL]

Sorry Smurphos - I wasn't clear.

Once I changed the repos, the reinstall command updated the specified packages, but did not resolve the problem.

Xreader opens OK.

[smurphos]

OK no more ideas. If it is still crashing I guess submit a bug report including the info in the crash report in System Reports.

The root cause is likely something that has gone wrong in the update process from 18.3 so the other fix is to back-up personal data and make a fresh install of 19.

[AlisterL]

Thanks for your efforts Smurphos - I really appreciate it.

A final question - is there value in rolling back via Timeshift and trying the upgrade again or is a complete re-install the better option. Adding to that - what would you prefer from a community perspective?

[smurphos]

Personally I'd go for a fresh install over an retry of the upgrade.

[vinella]

Hi

I have the same problem after seemingly upgrading from 18.3 without any problems.

I don't want to do a new install as everything else is working great just as it was with 18.3, the way I want it.

I only need to lock and suspend my computer. I don't need a screen saver as such. How do i disable the cinnamon screensaver and get simple manual only locking/suspend via the keyboard ?

[smurphos]

Hi,

Unfortunately the screenlock function is provided by cinnamon-screensaver.

Do try a reinstall of the screensaver - apt install --reinstall cinnamon-screensaver followed by a reboot.

If that doesn't work another workaround could be killing and restarting cinnamon-screensaver from the terminal.

pkill cinnamon-screen && cinnamon-screensaver and test whether you can lock the screen.

If you can lock the screen having tested that in a terminal open Startup Applications and create a new startup item with the custom command pkill cinnamon-screen && cinnamon-screensaver and give it a delay of something like 30 seconds. Hopefully that will give you a working screenlock from your next reboot whilst avoiding a fresh install of the OS.

[vinella]

thanks smurphos.

your above did not work for me and i can not understand why because if i set "$ cinnamon-screensaver" running in a terminal, lock screen seems to work so far without fail ???

[smurphos]

Sorry I haven't got any more bright (or not so bright ) ideas.

To properly troubleshoot this I think would need a bit of a forensic comparison of an freshly upgraded 18.3 > 19 and a freshly installed 19. Even then given not everyone whos upgraded is reporting this issue it might be something more specific. I'm not up for it

I'd recommend a fresh install.