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View Full Version : [kubuntu] KDE 4.1 keeps dying on me...



modvavet
December 21st, 2008, 10:56 AM
This problem seems to occur in two different ways, or there are two different problems, not sure which.

My laptop is a Dell Latitude D505. This is a fresh install of Kubuntu 8.10, but one of these issues I also had on a previous install of it on the same laptop. No occurrence of these issues has manifested on this laptop under XP, Xubuntu, or Ubuntu (Gnome).

My xserver seems to just die randomly. Sometimes several instances within an hour's time, sometimes only once or twice a day. It blanks out and goes back to the login screen. The display also flickers frequently. Again, this only happens to me in Kubuntu, and this is the issue that happened on an earlier install as well (also 8.10, with KDE 4).

The other issue has to do with video playback. In VLC, Xine-ui, Miro, or whichever I choose at the moment, the playback will often last for only a moment before the entire screen goes black. Sound seems to remain about half the time, but nothing will clear it- no Ctrl-alt-backspace, or trying to change to a different TTY. The screen isn't going dead, but simply to a black screen (the backlights are still obviously on). I have to kill the power and reboot to get back in.

I'm not a total noob, here, but I'm also neither a programmer nor much of a scripter, and I'm at a loss on this. No weird alterations have been made, besides installation of a few programs from the main repositories, and the restricted extras package and fwcutter for the Broadcom wifi. Please, if anyone has any ideas, I'm willing to do most anything. I'm loving the KDE 4 interface, but if this doesn't stop, I'll have to head back to regular Ubuntu, and as much as I love reinstalling, I hate being forced into it...

Thanks!

cacycleworks
December 21st, 2008, 12:21 PM
Have you posted to the Dell Support forum? There has always been some help for different issues there...

Google told me a thing or two about your problem, too (http://http://www.google.com/search?q=Dell+D505+kubuntu+crash&btnG=Search&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=com.ubuntu%3Aen-US%3Aunofficial&hs=Uo1&sa=2).

Please let us know what you find. I like me some Dell and Kubuntu!

:) Chris

rudihawk
December 21st, 2008, 03:36 PM
Have you updated your system recently?

modvavet
December 21st, 2008, 07:26 PM
Chris,
Thanks, but none of the info on your google search applies to my specific issues well at all... mostly stuff about crashing on shutdown, and the few results were all for Ubuntu base 8.04. I did a fair bit of google before I got here, but had no luck...

Rudihawk,
Yup, it's updated to the current day. I'm not sure if a particular update might have done it, but as I said, I had a previous install of 8.10 on this laptop from a month or so ago, with the same issue, so it must have been one of the earlier updates if it were that at all.

I have a feeling it's something with how Kubuntu handles video, but not certain... and the only reconfiguration for it I know in Ubuntu is dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg, which didn't seem to help (or, indeed, do much at all... no more display config at all, just mainly keyboard.).