[SOLVED] black grey box flashing in middle part of terminal screen

linux-man · 06-29-2022, 02:26 AM

I have a greyish black box flashing somewhere in the middle on terminal screen, it changes sizes, it has 2 sizes one small one larger, and when full csreen the middle part has a white grey L shape. I have never seen this before. Something extra I did, I am not sure what, associated with one of these two codes started it

Code:

$cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward  #(this should return `1`)
0
$echo '1' >> /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward`  
> ip link
> ifconfig
>

or this

Code:

cat /proc/sys/vm/swappiness
60
sysctl vm.swappiness
vm.swappiness = 60

Is there a way to reset the terminal to factory settings?

ondoho · 06-29-2022, 03:00 AM

These commands have nothing to do with "grey boxes".
Whatever you're experiencing, they are not responsible.

All your 80+ threads here on LQ have one thing in common: you jump in at the deep end, something breaks, you ask but don't listen to advice, you don't answer requests for information. Nothing is ever solved. Your system is at the point of breaking.
Please shut down your computer, re-install Ubuntu from scratch, and stop messing around with things you do not understand.

Quote:

Originally Posted by linux-man

I have a greyish black box flashing somewhere in the middle on terminal screen, it changes sizes, it has 2 sizes one small one larger, and when full csreen the middle part has a white grey L shape. I have never seen this before. Something extra I did, I am not sure what, associated with one of these two codes started it

Code:

$cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward  #(this should return `1`)
0
$echo '1' >> /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward`  
> ip link
> ifconfig
>

or this

Code:

cat /proc/sys/vm/swappiness
60
sysctl vm.swappiness
vm.swappiness = 60

Is there a way to reset the terminal to factory settings?

rnturn · 06-29-2022, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by linux-man

I have a greyish black box flashing somewhere in the middle on terminal screen, it changes sizes, it has 2 sizes one small one larger, and when full csreen the middle part has a white grey L shape. I have never seen this before.

Does this flashing box (or "grey L") reappear after logging in/out or a reboot?

Quote:

Something extra I did, I am not sure what, associated with one of these two codes started it

I can't see how the change to /proc/.../ip_forward would cause a terminal session to have flashing boxes appear. I issue that command in the script that sets up my firewall and... no flashing boxes or any other odd video effects. (That's on Slackware 14.2.)

"ip link" simply shows the currently defined network interfaces and some of the parameters defined on them (address, mask, etc.). So does "ifconfig". None of those would produce anything flashing in a terminal.

BTW...

What distribution are you running?
Does this flashing box (or grey L) stay in the same position in the terminal window? Does it scroll off the top as you issue more commands.
Is this happening in a terminal emulator while running X? I.e., in a Konsole or xterm (or similar) window?
Is this happening in a virtual console. I.e., Did you issue something like Ctrl-Alt-F1 before issuing those commands.

I cannot duplicate the problem you're seeing but, perhaps, someone else might be able to. Answers to the questions above might help to narrow down the cause of the problem.

linux-man · 06-29-2022, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rnturn

Answers to the questions above might help to narrow down the cause of the problem.

Thank you,the one below did.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rnturn

Does this flashing box (or grey L) stay in the same position in the terminal window?

No they don't, with your help I narrowed it down to the browser laying directly behind the terminal window, what's happening on the browser seeps through. Is this normal?

ondoho · 06-30-2022, 02:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by linux-man

Thank you,the one below did.

No they don't, with your help I narrowed it down to the browser laying directly behind the terminal window, what's happening on the browser seeps through. Is this normal?

Why is this marked SOLVED already?
Nothing is solved. You're just one step into troubleshooting.

computersavvy · 06-30-2022, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by linux-man

Thank you,the one below did.

No they don't, with your help I narrowed it down to the browser laying directly behind the terminal window, what's happening on the browser seeps through. Is this normal?

There is a setting for the gnome terminal window related to opacity of the background. That may be a factor. If you are not using gnome then I don't have a clue.
The image shows it as the 'transparent background' setting.

linux-man · 06-30-2022, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by computersavvy

There is a setting for the gnome terminal window related to opacity of the background. That may be a factor.

Thank you, solved by adjusting background transparency in KDE terminal https://askubuntu.com/questions/1894...-kdes-terminal