Hi!

I have a very annoying problem, which i hope someone can help me solve.

I usually log into my system from cli, then start the x window system by typing in "startx".

Here the problem appears: after the background image shows (it is as wide as my screen) i open up an application (chromium, konqueror...) and the application appears only on about 3/4 of the screen, the other still being a "column", part of the background image.

This only happens about 40% of the time i log in like that.

So what i usually do is move to another command line by ctrl+alt+f2, then back to the one where i opened x in, which is then showing text in command line instead of the GUI. So i stop it with ctrl+c.

Then i run startx again, and it again either works (apps are on whole screen) or not (that is, applications again only take up only part of the screen).

Running "uname -a" returns:
Linux username 3.0-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Tue Aug 30 07:32:23 UTC 2011 i686 Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU N270 @ 1.60GHz GenuineIntel GNU/Linux

Additionally, i use dynamic window manager. It is all run on a Asus 1005ha netbook.

Does anyone have a clue, hint, idea, suggestion, whatever? I would just love to hear it so much! It just sucks to be "rolling the dice" when i have to check something on the computer quick, hoping i will "win" the right layout.

With a problem like that you need to break it down, is it X, the window manager, or a problem with X configuration.

You can prove another window manager by installing another desktop

pacman -S xfce4

will install xfce4 for example. Startxfce4 will then prove if this is a problem with DWM.
Also have a look at the FAQ on the dwm
http://dwm.suckless.org/

1 members found this post helpful.

I couldn't install xfce4 for some reason, so i tried it by installing the window manager icewm. I changed the xinitrc file so that i started icewm with startx as i was previously doing with dwm.

This problem also happened with icewm.

The faq on the dwm website mentions a 2 pixel gap. My gap is a whole lot bigger than that, and when the right layout opens the app IS able to use the additional space.

Another thing, this happens ~4 seconds after the background is loaded - the pointer is first in the middle of the whole screen, then shifts left to where the app will be opening in the limited space.

When it works correctly, the pointer remains in the same position in the middle of the screen.

So, what could be wrong? Something with X? Anyone know what could cause this behavior?

So i was thinking, maybe X doesn't know what to load and somehow randomly loads a mode. It is apparently dependent on some process that still runs in the background, even after i log in cli. I think this is the case because my problem happens less frequently if i turn on my computer and log in, and only run starx after a while after i have been logged into cli like that. So something probably "switches" to the right mode. If i load it to soon that mysterious process is probably not yet running...

Additionally, if i wait logged in the cli for a while the screen quickly (half a second maybe?) flashes off and on again, as if it would choose another setting and had to readjust.

So tho help this, maybe i need to specify what "mode" to run in, the one that is apparently chosen later by an unknown process.

This (i'm guessing) could be helped with making a /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-monitor.conf file, as described here:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php...nitor_settings

Problem is, i haven't a clue what values to write into the file. The example given on the website looks like this:

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Device0"
Driver "vesa" #Choose the driver used for this monitor
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0" #Collapse Monitor and Device section to Screen section
Device "Device0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 16 #Choose the depth (16||24)
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768_75.00" #Choose the resolution
EndSubSection
EndSection

I know my resolution, but i have no clue what anything else means or where to get the correct info @.@

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I did come across another command that shows additional info about my hardware, so i will post it here in case it helps someone come up with an idea:

$lspci

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GME Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GME Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 4 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 02)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) IDE Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) SATA AHCI Controller (rev 02)
01:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications AR8132 Fast Ethernet (rev c0)
02:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)


Any help is still greatly appreciated!

Alright, so i'm now positive that the resolution (or really the width of a program) is correct after the screen turns off for a moment and on again. It behaves this way 100% of the time. I still cant figure out what to do about it though.

Another thing, this only happens after i turn my computer on after its been off for a while. Like when i turn it on in the morning, or when i turn it on after i have been somewhere for quite some time. So this only seems to happen after turning the computer on after it has been turned off for long periods of time.
If i just restart it after i logged in into the correct mode, it will usually be correct again. If it turn it off and wait for a minute and turn it on again it will usually be correct as well. Also, while if its wrong and i change to another desktop (ctrl+alt+f2) it might change to the correct one; it usually doesn't change if it was correct in the first place.
I haven't a clue what this might be the consequence of, though...