KDE4.3.3 slow boot

lean79 · 11-13-2009, 07:56 AM

Hi all.
I've just updated my slackware 13.0 to the -current version on my Dell XPS1530 laptop.
I've noticed that after the login the system takes long time to load the applications on the tray (applet for the battery monitor, calendar, klipper, info monitor). Also the desktop folder takes long time to show the files & folders (I do not use the new desktop features, I just see the folder view).
After that the system is very fast, I don't see anything wrong and I'm happy to use this new desktop environment, even if I'm an "old" user and I always prefer to keep the stable version of everything. This time I just wanted to make something new and I've update to the current tree.

So... what do you think I can check to speed up the "boot" of the kde environment?

Thanks and ciao
Lean

allend · 11-13-2009, 09:07 AM

Welcome to LQ!
KDE does take a looong time to boot.
As you are running a laptop, I would be implementing suspend to disk (aka hibernate). This would restore your working environment, rather than booting from scratch, which is a lot faster.
Kicker -> System settings -> Advanced -> Power management -> Edit Profiles is the place to look within KDE.

/usr/doc/pm-utils-1.2.5/README.SLACKWARE is the place to start reading if you want to have suspend to disk working outside of KDE.

lean79 · 11-13-2009, 09:29 AM

Thanks!!
You know what? I've installed -current version from scratch on a Asus laptop and it works really fine. The boot of KDE is really fast, thats why I'm wondering why my super-Dell (LOL) doesn't want to run as faster as the Asus.
By the way, the only difference is that on Asus I've installed from scratch. On the Dell I've upgraded many times during the new releases of the Slackware (I've never formatted)
any idea?

Thanks and Ciao
Lean

tux_dude · 11-13-2009, 09:54 AM

It has been suggested in other threads to remove the ~/.kde directory to correct problems with 4.3.3. I have the slow startup as well. I have not tried it because I have quite a bit of customization which I don't want to redo. I can live with the slow startup for now.

allend · 11-13-2009, 09:57 AM

Laptop tweaks can be very specific. One place to look is the output of hdparm -I </dev/yourharddisk> to check that your disk drive is transferring at the optimum rate. The DMA settings have a big effect.

Lufbery · 11-13-2009, 10:02 AM

Lean,

Have you deleted the .kde folder from your /home/user directory? That may help.

Also, the general recommendation is that Slackware 13 be installed from scratch rather than upgraded. It's pretty different from previous versions. Of course, your mileage may vary.

ryerke · 11-13-2009, 10:37 AM

Take a look at your *.new file in /etc. I had gotten lazy after several upgrades and left out this step. I could not believe the performance difference after taking care of this.

lean79 · 11-13-2009, 01:11 PM

Hi guys, thanks for your prompt answer.
I've deleted the .kde directory too, but the problem still appears.ù
I've also checked the hdparm parameters but I don't see problem

Code:

/dev/sda:

ATA device, with non-removable media
        Model Number:       TOSHIBA MK2546GSX                       
        Serial Number:      Z7FGT2KLT                               
        Firmware Revision:  LB012D                                  
        Transport:          Serial, ATA8-AST, SATA 1.0a, SATA II Extensions, SATA Rev 2.5, SATA Rev 2.6                                                         
Standards:                                                                      
        Supported: 8 7 6 5                                                      
        Likely used: 8                                                          
Configuration:                                                                  
        Logical         max     current                                         
        cylinders       16383   16383                                           
        heads           16      16                                              
        sectors/track   63      63                                              
        --                                                                      
        CHS current addressable sectors:   16514064                             
        LBA    user addressable sectors:  268435455                             
        LBA48  user addressable sectors:  488397168                             
        Logical  Sector size:                   512 bytes                       
        Physical Sector size:                   512 bytes                       
        device size with M = 1024*1024:      238475 MBytes                      
        device size with M = 1000*1000:      250059 MBytes (250 GB)             
        cache/buffer size  = 8192 KBytes                                        
Capabilities:                                                                   
        LBA, IORDY(can be disabled)                                             
        Queue depth: 32                                                         
        Standby timer values: spec'd by Standard, no device specific minimum    
        R/W multiple sector transfer: Max = 16  Current = 8                     
        Advanced power management level: disabled                               
        Recommended acoustic management value: 254, current value: 128          
        DMA: sdma0 sdma1 sdma2 mdma0 mdma1 mdma2 udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 *udma5                                                                           
             Cycle time: min=120ns recommended=120ns                            
        PIO: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4                                           
             Cycle time: no flow control=120ns  IORDY flow control=120ns        
Commands/features:                                                              
        Enabled Supported:                                                      
           *    SMART feature set                                               
                Security Mode feature set                                       
                Power Management feature set                                    
           *    Write cache                                                     
           *    Look-ahead                                                      
           *    Host Protected Area feature set                                 
           *    WRITE_BUFFER command                                            
           *    READ_BUFFER command                                             
           *    NOP cmd                                                         
           *    DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE                                              
                Advanced Power Management feature set                           
                SET_MAX security extension                                      
           *    Automatic Acoustic Management feature set                       
           *    48-bit Address feature set                                      
           *    Device Configuration Overlay feature set                        
           *    Mandatory FLUSH_CACHE
           *    FLUSH_CACHE_EXT
           *    SMART error logging
           *    SMART self-test
           *    General Purpose Logging feature set
           *    WRITE_{DMA|MULTIPLE}_FUA_EXT
           *    64-bit World wide name
           *    IDLE_IMMEDIATE with UNLOAD
           *    Gen1 signaling speed (1.5Gb/s)
           *    Gen2 signaling speed (3.0Gb/s)
           *    Native Command Queueing (NCQ)
           *    Host-initiated interface power management
           *    Phy event counters
           *    Idle-Unload when NCQ is active
                DMA Setup Auto-Activate optimization
                Device-initiated interface power management
           *    Software settings preservation
           *    SMART Command Transport (SCT) feature set
           *    SCT Error Recovery Control (AC3)
           *    SCT Features Control (AC4)
           *    SCT Data Tables (AC5)
Security:
        Master password revision code = 65534
                supported
        not     enabled
        not     locked
                frozen
        not     expired: security count
        not     supported: enhanced erase
        114min for SECURITY ERASE UNIT.
Logical Unit WWN Device Identifier: 50000390b17850d9
        NAA             : 5
        IEEE OUI        : 000039
        Unique ID       : 0b17850d9
Checksum: correct

also I've the

Code:

hdparm -B 255 /dev/sda

on my /etc/rc.d/rc.local

maybe I just need time to install from scratch