Install Updates Graphical Glitch

[Mart]

Has anyone experienced an annoying graphical glitch when using Linux Lite's native update utility ('Install Updates')?

I've experienced this same glitch / bug in the past when running the 4 series and now it's happening again with LL 5.0. I've never experienced this issue with LL 3.8, which I'm still running as my main driver, and I've never had any other graphical problems or bugs with Linux Lite - it's that good. I'd like to move over to the 5 series permanently before the year is out, but would like to solve this issue before doing so.

To best explain this glitch / bug, I've posted the following images to illustrate the problem -



1. The updates are fetched and displayed as per normal.




2. 'Downloading - Please wait' - graphical horizontal moving bar window appears.




3. Glitch - graphical horizontal moving bar window blinks out and disappears as quickly as it first appears.




4. Empty screen follows - no graphical confirmation of progress and that updates are being installed and working.


When this first happened, I thought the updates had failed and tried to run the process again but was locked out and told that another process was working in the background.

What I discovered later was that the updates were still downloading and installing in the background, but I only realized this later when the 'Updates Successful' window finally popped-up.

I've tried to solve this bug by running Lite Tweaks 'Package System Repair' utility but this didn't help. I've also checked for broken dependencies in Synaptic but it tells me there are none.

Any suggestions about how to fix this small but annoying graphical glitch would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help provided.

[TheDead]

Oh hi Mart!

Just wanted to let you know that this is one of the most clear and detailed help request I've seen.

It could be a bug but since I'm not on the LL team and specially not a programmer, I would just ask if you perhaps installed apps that could change how the desktop environment reacts?
For exemple, a desktop switcher or manager, something that could "manage" active tasks or maybe transfer them to desktop 2,etc. (i.e. You can have multiple desktops in Linux).

Oh, or maybe you changed Kernels manually?
A far fetched idea would be to try a different video driver... but I wouldn't bet on that.

We'll, I'm going back to work now, see ya!

[Valtam]

That UI looks anything but Linux Lite, very heavily modified it would be difficult to know where to begin troubleshooting this.

Sent from my mobile phone using Tapatalk

[TheDead]

Humm, Jerry's right.
If you change de DE to something other than XFCE, only that could cause your problem.

[Şerban S.]

Humm, Jerry's right.
If you change de DE to something other than XFCE, only that could cause your problem.

Hi!
It was a great idea to put the screen captures!
From what I see, your trouble, is called "video buffer underrun".
You probably installed Unity instead of XFCE. While Lite is way above the average tolerance limits (I know it from practice!), using either Unity or Gnome 3, it's the same thing. You probably enabled all the graphic effects and this puts a high amount of pressure both on the CPU AND GPU.
On this kind of machine, this is the result you get.
Although Lite + XFCE IS speciffically designed for low resources computers, what you are asking, requires a Quad-core CPU and a far more advanced GPU, and lots of RAM. Anyway, more than 3 GB.
Now, if you really want to use Gnome 3 or Unity, best approach is to disable from the WM, all the video effects, since all they do is eat up 50% of your resources and nothing else useful.
Since my best guess is you want to do other things with this computer than play animations and the like, disabling the video gadgets, will get you closer to a usable system, even on this configuration.

[Mart]

Hi guys, thanks for the interest

Quote from Şerban: 'You probably installed Unity instead of Xfce'.

Just to clarify: I am running and testing Linux Lite 5.0 Xfce as a triple boot  (No, I didn’t install Unity unknowingly in my sleep!). I have not modified my OS, but I have customized my xfce desktop, which Linux and Xfce easily allows you to do. For the record, I'm using three Xfce panels, a standard wallpaper, the Xfce panel weather update plugin, and Conky Manager running a Gotham script, all with Numix icons. It's the same degree of desktop customization/theming that I use on my main driver LL 3.8, which has never displayed the same graphical glitch that we're discussing.

For the sake of eliminating the modification / customization question, I have re-installed LL 5.0 and run it out of the box without any desktop customization. But the same ‘Install Updates’ graphical glitch still occurs -



As before, after graphical glitch, empty screen follows until window pops-up confirming ‘Updates Successful’ .

Of course, it could be a hardware issue (I'm using a ten year old laptop) and specs do change, but I am also running Ubuntudde 20.04 without similar problems, so I guess that eliminates the 20.04 Ubuntu base as a possible cause.

By the by, does anyone know the name of the package(s) behind the Linux Lite 'Install Updates' utility? Application Finder refers to the package variously as X-Xfce, X-Xfce-Toplevel, and exo-file-manager, but I  can' t find a listing under any of these names anywhere in Synaptic Package Manager.

Cheers

[Şerban S.]

Hi guys, thanks for the interest

You're welcome!

[...] Of course, it could be a hardware issue  [...]

To me, it is obviously a hardware issue.
You never mentioned what type of video you have.
The CPU specs, say nothing about the graphics:
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/...z-fsb.html

[...] By the way, does anyone know the name of the package(s) behind the Linux Lite 'Install Updates' utility? [...]

Yes.

Code:

/usr/bin/lite-updates

Copy and Paste the line into the terminal and hit "Enter".

[TheDead]

It maybe hardware related but in a hardware-support / supported feature sense.
IMO, I would think it's a kernel support issue.

If it's a clean install and you feel like experimenting. You could update the kernel... but also downgrade it, but this could "break" your installation and/or features.
I only downgraded once because of a hardware support issue. It worked for me but I don't know if I would suggest it "officialy".

[Valtam]

I'd like to see compositing disabled, compiz completely removed and replaced with Compton. See if it does the same thing. I only have newer pc's to test things on.

[trinidad]

I have seen this particular issue before with the 4.x series on older hardware with 3G or less of RAM. It is intermittent depending on the size of the update. It is definitely a system RAM handling issue, but given that is does not cripple the system with OOM problems it's neither a glitch nor a bug. There are some things you can experiment with.

1) Check your BIOS for internal graphics settings. Look for a frame buffer location option. If there is one choose the above RAM setting.
2) Do both of these together. Increase your swappiness setting. Default is 60. Try 80. Decrease your vfs cache pressure setting. Default is 100. Try 50. Your system will slow slightly but RAM will hold up better to big processes.
3) Watch for fifo errors, or underruns or overruns at bootup. Some older low end Intel Celerons actually do not run Linux kernels of any series without those errors. They work, but they are not programmable on some older OEM MOBOs.

TC