[SOLVED] Compiz stopped working withoug any change - ATI fglrx driver

[vmp]

I am using for more than a month ATI fglrx driver in my T60p laptop witout any problem. Desktop effects work great, gl video too etc.

Today when I booted, for no obvious reason at all, compiz is not working because "The Composite extension is not available". The error is:

$ compiz --replace
Checking for Xgl: not present. 
Detected PCI ID for VGA: 01:00.0 0300: 1002:71c4 (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
Checking for texture_from_pixmap: not present. 
Trying again with indirect rendering:
Checking for texture_from_pixmap: present. 
Checking for non power of two support: present. 
Checking for Composite extension: not present. 
aborting and using fallback: /usr/bin/metacity

The desktop effects are only part of the problem, applications are very slow, for example firefox is almost unusable.

I rebooted numerous times, uninstalled fglrx from System->Adiminstration->Hardware, rebooted again, installed the fglrx again and so on but no luck.

It seems that the driver is loading fine as glxinfo shows:
OpenGL vendor string: ATI Technologies Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: ATI MOBILITY FireGL V5200
OpenGL version string: 2.1.7412 FireGL Release

I event compared /var/log/messages from a couple of days ago and all the fglrx messages are the same.

The fglrx related lines are:

Aug 13 17:27:55 yc kernel: [   67.896294] fglrx: module license 'Proprietary. (C) 2002 - ATI Technologies, Starnberg, GERMANY' taints kernel.
Aug 13 17:27:55 yc kernel: [   67.941083] [fglrx] Maximum main memory to use for locked dma buffers: 2895 MBytes.
Aug 13 17:27:55 yc kernel: [   67.941118] [fglrx] ASYNCIO init succeed!
Aug 13 17:27:55 yc kernel: [   67.942046] [fglrx] PAT is enabled successfully!
Aug 13 17:27:55 yc kernel: [   67.942066] [fglrx] module loaded - fglrx 8.47.3 [Feb 25 2008] on minor 0
...
Aug 13 17:28:04 yc kernel: [   88.945828] [fglrx] Reserve Block - 0 offset =  0Xfffb000 length = 0X5000
Aug 13 17:28:04 yc kernel: [   88.945835] [fglrx] Reserve Block - 1 offset =  0X0 length = 0X1000000
Aug 13 17:28:04 yc kernel: [   88.945838] [fglrx] Reserve Block - 2 offset =  0Xffbb000 length = 0X40000
Aug 13 17:28:04 yc kernel: [   89.173555] [fglrx] interrupt source 10000000 successfully enabled
Aug 13 17:28:04 yc kernel: [   89.173565] [fglrx] enable ID = 0x00000008
Aug 13 17:28:04 yc kernel: [   89.173577] [fglrx] Receive enable interrupt message with irqEnableMask: 10000000

The Only unusual thing I did yesterday was that I attached a vga projector to the laptop and lowered the screen resolution.

I am not entirely sure, but I think that the gnome monitor resolution utility used to identify my monitor properly while now it reports Unknown Monitor.

I am lost here because nothing has changed in the computer, I even checked /var/log/apt/term.log and I haven't found any updates installed yesterday. Kernel and driver versions are the same.

Any ideas?


My xorg.conf remained unchanged:

# xorg.conf (X.Org X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
#   sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier	"Generic Keyboard"
	Driver		"kbd"
	Option		"XkbRules"	"xorg"
	Option		"XkbModel"	"pc105"
	Option		"XkbLayout"	"us"
	Option		"XkbVariant"	"intl"
	Option		"XkbOptions"	"lv3:ralt_switch"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier	"Configured Mouse"
	Driver		"mouse"
	Option		"CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier	"Synaptics Touchpad"
	Driver		"synaptics"
	Option		"SendCoreEvents"	"true"
	Option		"Device"	"/dev/psaux"
	Option		"Protocol"	"auto-dev"
	Option		"HorizEdgeScroll"	"0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Configured Video Device"
	Driver		"fglrx"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Default Screen"
	Monitor		"Configured Monitor"
	Device		"Configured Video Device"
	Defaultdepth	24
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier	"Default Layout"
  	Screen		"Default Screen"
	Inputdevice	"Synaptics Touchpad"
EndSection

Section "Module"
	Load		"glx"
EndSection

glxinfo full output:

$ glxinfo
name of display: :0.0
display: :0  screen: 0
direct rendering: Yes
server glx vendor string: SGI
server glx version string: 1.2
server glx extensions:
    GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context, GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap, 
    GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_OML_swap_method, 
    GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig, GLX_SGIX_visual_select_group
client glx vendor string: SGI
client glx version string: 1.4
client glx extensions:
    GLX_ARB_get_proc_address, GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context, 
    GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_MESA_allocate_memory, 
    GLX_MESA_swap_control, GLX_MESA_swap_frame_usage, GLX_OML_swap_method, 
    GLX_OML_sync_control, GLX_SGI_make_current_read, GLX_SGI_swap_control, 
    GLX_SGI_video_sync, GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig, 
    GLX_SGIX_pbuffer, GLX_SGIX_visual_select_group, 
    GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap
GLX version: 1.2
GLX extensions:
    GLX_ARB_get_proc_address, GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context, 
    GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_OML_swap_method, 
    GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig, GLX_SGIX_visual_select_group
OpenGL vendor string: ATI Technologies Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: ATI MOBILITY FireGL V5200
OpenGL version string: 2.1.7412 FireGL Release
OpenGL extensions:
    GL_AMD_performance_monitor, GL_ARB_depth_texture, GL_ARB_draw_buffers, 
    GL_ARB_fragment_program, GL_ARB_fragment_shader, GL_ARB_multisample, 
    GL_ARB_multitexture, GL_ARB_occlusion_query, GL_ARB_pixel_buffer_object, 
    GL_ARB_point_parameters, GL_ARB_point_sprite, GL_ARB_shader_objects, 
    GL_ARB_shading_language_100, GL_ARB_shadow, GL_ARB_shadow_ambient, 
    GL_ARB_texture_border_clamp, GL_ARB_texture_compression, 
    GL_ARB_texture_cube_map, GL_ARB_texture_env_add, 
    GL_ARB_texture_env_combine, GL_ARB_texture_env_crossbar, 
    GL_ARB_texture_env_dot3, GL_ARB_texture_float, 
    GL_ARB_texture_mirrored_repeat, GL_ARB_texture_rectangle, 
    GL_ARB_transpose_matrix, GL_ARB_vertex_buffer_object, 
    GL_ARB_vertex_program, GL_ARB_vertex_shader, GL_ARB_window_pos, 
    GL_ATI_draw_buffers, GL_ATI_envmap_bumpmap, GL_ATI_fragment_shader, 
    GL_ATI_meminfo, GL_ATI_separate_stencil, GL_ATI_texture_compression_3dc, 
    GL_ATI_texture_env_combine3, GL_ATI_texture_float, GL_EXT_abgr, 
    GL_EXT_bgra, GL_EXT_blend_color, GL_EXT_blend_func_separate, 
    GL_EXT_blend_minmax, GL_EXT_blend_subtract, GL_EXT_compiled_vertex_array, 
    GL_EXT_copy_texture, GL_EXT_draw_range_elements, GL_EXT_fog_coord, 
    GL_EXT_framebuffer_object, GL_EXT_gpu_program_parameters, 
    GL_EXT_multi_draw_arrays, GL_EXT_packed_depth_stencil, 
    GL_EXT_packed_pixels, GL_EXT_point_parameters, GL_EXT_rescale_normal, 
    GL_EXT_secondary_color, GL_EXT_separate_specular_color, 
    GL_EXT_shadow_funcs, GL_EXT_stencil_wrap, GL_EXT_subtexture, 
    GL_EXT_texgen_reflection, GL_EXT_texture3D, 
    GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc, GL_EXT_texture_cube_map, 
    GL_EXT_texture_edge_clamp, GL_EXT_texture_env_add, 
    GL_EXT_texture_env_combine, GL_EXT_texture_env_dot3, 
    GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic, GL_EXT_texture_lod_bias, 
    GL_EXT_texture_mirror_clamp, GL_EXT_texture_object, 
    GL_EXT_texture_rectangle, GL_EXT_texture_sRGB, GL_EXT_vertex_array, 
    GL_KTX_buffer_region, GL_NV_blend_square, GL_NV_texgen_reflection, 
    GL_SGIS_generate_mipmap, GL_SGIS_texture_edge_clamp, GL_SGIS_texture_lod, 
    GL_WIN_swap_hint, WGL_EXT_swap_control

[vmp]

I solved the problem by disabling the OpenGLOverlay on the Device section of xorg.conf. Here is some info in case someone else has the same problem in the future.

The Device section at xorg.conf should look like:

Section "Device"
	Driver		"fglrx"
	Option		"VideoOverlay"	"on"
	Option		"OpenGLOverlay"	"off"
EndSection

I have no idea why it stopped working in the first place. Maybe after using the projector and playing with the "Fn+F7" keys on my laptop that cycle through dual display modes something changed. I am not even sure how these function keys work.

As usual, the information found on the "Unofficial Linux ATI wiki" is very helpful:
wiki.cchtml.com