chris426
November 4th, 2015, 03:28 AM
Somewhere along the line of distribution and package upgrades, something seems to have broke and now I have these annoying square artifacts on my desktop.
I have seen these old threads regarding the square artifacts and they look exactly like the same problem I have:
Thread 1 (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1962493)
Thread 2 (http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/705452-Small-squares-of-random-pixels-static-artifact-on-video-card)
I figure I would post in here first as I'm not convinced it's hardware as some people might initially conclude. I'm convinced it's a driver problem but would appreciate if someone had other ideas on how to fix this.
My background:
I have been using Ubuntu since 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog)
I know my way around Linux fairly well.
I don't post a lot. I've had to create a new account because of OpenId. I usually find an answer if I'm patient enough but I've broken down! haha :D I've had this issue sometime during 14.04, I'm on 15.10 now.
My current system
root@box-ubuntu:~# uname -a
Linux box-ubuntu 4.2.0-16-generic #19-Ubuntu SMP Thu Oct 8 15:35:06 UTC 2015 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
root@box-ubuntu:~# cat /etc/lsb-release
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=15.10
DISTRIB_CODENAME=wily
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 15.10"
root@box-ubuntu:/media/share1/Linux# nvidia-smi
Tue Nov 3 18:05:39 2015
+------------------------------------------------------+
| NVIDIA-SMI 355.11 Driver Version: 355.11 |
|-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| GPU Name Persistence-M| Bus-Id Disp.A | Volatile Uncorr. ECC |
| Fan Temp Perf Pwr:Usage/Cap| Memory-Usage | GPU-Util Compute M. |
|===============================+================= =====+======================|
| 0 GeForce GTS 450 Off | 0000:01:00.0 N/A | N/A |
| 40% 37C P0 N/A / N/A | 3MiB / 1022MiB | N/A Default |
+-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Processes: GPU Memory |
| GPU PID Type Process name Usage |
|================================================= ============================|
| 0 Not Supported |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
root@box-ubuntu:~# lscpu
Architecture: x86_64
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order: Little Endian
CPU(s): 8
On-line CPU(s) list: 0-7
Thread(s) per core: 2
Core(s) per socket: 4
Socket(s): 1
NUMA node(s): 1
Vendor ID: GenuineIntel
CPU family: 6
Model: 60
Model name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790K CPU @ 4.00GHz
Stepping: 3
CPU MHz: 4400.000
CPU max MHz: 4400.0000
CPU min MHz: 800.0000
BogoMIPS: 8000.08
Virtualization: VT-x
L1d cache: 32K
L1i cache: 32K
L2 cache: 256K
L3 cache: 8192K
NUMA node0 CPU(s): 0-7
root@box-ubuntu:~#
root@box-ubuntu:~# free -m
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 32036 31805 230 94 246 28267
-/+ buffers/cache: 3291 28744
Swap: 9998 0 9998
What I've done so far:
I've run memtestCL (https://github.com/ihaque/memtestCL) and have not been able to generate a single error yet.
I've tried all the following but all produce the same results:
NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.128.run
NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-340.93.run
NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-352.55.run
NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-355.11.run (currently installed)
I noticed is that if I run the Folding@Home Client and do Full Folding (to include the GPU)... these artifacts seem to go away, but this obviously can't be the solution :-/
My latest /var/log/nvidia-installer.log
nvidia-installer log file '/var/log/nvidia-installer.log'
creation time: Tue Nov 3 18:04:56 2015
installer version: 355.11
PATH: /usr/StorMan/pegasus/bin:/usr/StorMan/ssl/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
nvidia-installer command line:
./nvidia-installer
Using: nvidia-installer ncurses user interface
-> Detected 8 CPUs online; setting concurrency level to 8.
-> License accepted.
-> Installing NVIDIA driver version 355.11.
-> Running distribution scripts
executing: '/usr/lib/nvidia/pre-install'...
-> done.
-> The distribution-provided pre-install script failed! Are you sure you want to continue? (Answer: Continue installation)
-> Would you like to register the kernel module sources with DKMS? This will allow DKMS to automatically build a new module, if you install a different kernel later. (Answer: Yes)
-> Installing both new and classic TLS OpenGL libraries.
-> Installing both new and classic TLS 32bit OpenGL libraries.
-> Install NVIDIA's 32-bit compatibility libraries? (Answer: No)
-> Skipping installation of the libvdpau wrapper library.
-> Searching for conflicting files:
-> done.
-> Installing 'NVIDIA Accelerated Graphics Driver for Linux-x86_64' (355.11):
executing: '/sbin/ldconfig'...
-> done.
-> Driver file installation is complete.
-> Installing DKMS kernel module:
-> done.
-> Running post-install sanity check:
-> done.
-> Post-install sanity check passed.
-> Running runtime sanity check:
-> done.
-> Runtime sanity check passed.
-> Would you like to run the nvidia-xconfig utility to automatically update your X configuration file so that the NVIDIA X driver will be used when you restart X? Any pre-existing X configuration file will be backed up. (Answer: Yes)
-> Your X configuration file has been successfully updated. Installation of the NVIDIA Accelerated Graphics Driver for Linux-x86_64 (version: 355.11) is now complete.
I am suspecting its a driver problem, but I suspect it's going to be a hard process to find which nvidia branch and version should I be using. In the threads I mentioned above, it sounds like a bug was introduced but seems in the latest releases, the bug is still present or was reintroduced again.
Here's a short clip of what it appears. Sorry it might be hard to see but there are blue squares that show up on the black background. Usually if I leave it long enough there are multiple colors.
http://i.imgur.com/YSLYmTZ.gifv
edit: here's a better picture
http://i.imgur.com/ROwi0g8.png
I have seen these old threads regarding the square artifacts and they look exactly like the same problem I have:
Thread 1 (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1962493)
Thread 2 (http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/705452-Small-squares-of-random-pixels-static-artifact-on-video-card)
I figure I would post in here first as I'm not convinced it's hardware as some people might initially conclude. I'm convinced it's a driver problem but would appreciate if someone had other ideas on how to fix this.
My background:
I have been using Ubuntu since 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog)
I know my way around Linux fairly well.
I don't post a lot. I've had to create a new account because of OpenId. I usually find an answer if I'm patient enough but I've broken down! haha :D I've had this issue sometime during 14.04, I'm on 15.10 now.
My current system
root@box-ubuntu:~# uname -a
Linux box-ubuntu 4.2.0-16-generic #19-Ubuntu SMP Thu Oct 8 15:35:06 UTC 2015 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
root@box-ubuntu:~# cat /etc/lsb-release
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=15.10
DISTRIB_CODENAME=wily
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 15.10"
root@box-ubuntu:/media/share1/Linux# nvidia-smi
Tue Nov 3 18:05:39 2015
+------------------------------------------------------+
| NVIDIA-SMI 355.11 Driver Version: 355.11 |
|-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| GPU Name Persistence-M| Bus-Id Disp.A | Volatile Uncorr. ECC |
| Fan Temp Perf Pwr:Usage/Cap| Memory-Usage | GPU-Util Compute M. |
|===============================+================= =====+======================|
| 0 GeForce GTS 450 Off | 0000:01:00.0 N/A | N/A |
| 40% 37C P0 N/A / N/A | 3MiB / 1022MiB | N/A Default |
+-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Processes: GPU Memory |
| GPU PID Type Process name Usage |
|================================================= ============================|
| 0 Not Supported |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
root@box-ubuntu:~# lscpu
Architecture: x86_64
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order: Little Endian
CPU(s): 8
On-line CPU(s) list: 0-7
Thread(s) per core: 2
Core(s) per socket: 4
Socket(s): 1
NUMA node(s): 1
Vendor ID: GenuineIntel
CPU family: 6
Model: 60
Model name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790K CPU @ 4.00GHz
Stepping: 3
CPU MHz: 4400.000
CPU max MHz: 4400.0000
CPU min MHz: 800.0000
BogoMIPS: 8000.08
Virtualization: VT-x
L1d cache: 32K
L1i cache: 32K
L2 cache: 256K
L3 cache: 8192K
NUMA node0 CPU(s): 0-7
root@box-ubuntu:~#
root@box-ubuntu:~# free -m
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 32036 31805 230 94 246 28267
-/+ buffers/cache: 3291 28744
Swap: 9998 0 9998
What I've done so far:
I've run memtestCL (https://github.com/ihaque/memtestCL) and have not been able to generate a single error yet.
I've tried all the following but all produce the same results:
NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.128.run
NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-340.93.run
NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-352.55.run
NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-355.11.run (currently installed)
I noticed is that if I run the Folding@Home Client and do Full Folding (to include the GPU)... these artifacts seem to go away, but this obviously can't be the solution :-/
My latest /var/log/nvidia-installer.log
nvidia-installer log file '/var/log/nvidia-installer.log'
creation time: Tue Nov 3 18:04:56 2015
installer version: 355.11
PATH: /usr/StorMan/pegasus/bin:/usr/StorMan/ssl/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
nvidia-installer command line:
./nvidia-installer
Using: nvidia-installer ncurses user interface
-> Detected 8 CPUs online; setting concurrency level to 8.
-> License accepted.
-> Installing NVIDIA driver version 355.11.
-> Running distribution scripts
executing: '/usr/lib/nvidia/pre-install'...
-> done.
-> The distribution-provided pre-install script failed! Are you sure you want to continue? (Answer: Continue installation)
-> Would you like to register the kernel module sources with DKMS? This will allow DKMS to automatically build a new module, if you install a different kernel later. (Answer: Yes)
-> Installing both new and classic TLS OpenGL libraries.
-> Installing both new and classic TLS 32bit OpenGL libraries.
-> Install NVIDIA's 32-bit compatibility libraries? (Answer: No)
-> Skipping installation of the libvdpau wrapper library.
-> Searching for conflicting files:
-> done.
-> Installing 'NVIDIA Accelerated Graphics Driver for Linux-x86_64' (355.11):
executing: '/sbin/ldconfig'...
-> done.
-> Driver file installation is complete.
-> Installing DKMS kernel module:
-> done.
-> Running post-install sanity check:
-> done.
-> Post-install sanity check passed.
-> Running runtime sanity check:
-> done.
-> Runtime sanity check passed.
-> Would you like to run the nvidia-xconfig utility to automatically update your X configuration file so that the NVIDIA X driver will be used when you restart X? Any pre-existing X configuration file will be backed up. (Answer: Yes)
-> Your X configuration file has been successfully updated. Installation of the NVIDIA Accelerated Graphics Driver for Linux-x86_64 (version: 355.11) is now complete.
I am suspecting its a driver problem, but I suspect it's going to be a hard process to find which nvidia branch and version should I be using. In the threads I mentioned above, it sounds like a bug was introduced but seems in the latest releases, the bug is still present or was reintroduced again.
Here's a short clip of what it appears. Sorry it might be hard to see but there are blue squares that show up on the black background. Usually if I leave it long enough there are multiple colors.
http://i.imgur.com/YSLYmTZ.gifv
edit: here's a better picture
http://i.imgur.com/ROwi0g8.png