Booted out when playing video
 

Not sure if I've posted this in the right place although I am very new to Linux, I installed Ubuntu alongside Windows xp a week ago after some problems partitioning but all that seem to work well now and I enjoy using ubuntu, there are a few problems I cant sort out but the main one is when I try to use any function while playing video I'm instantly booted out and sent back to the log in screen, this happens with either banshee or media player and it doesn't matter what function I click on (volume, full screen stop, pause etc), I dont think it's my video card because it works perfectly in my windows installation and I dont see anyone else having any issues with the software in Ubuntu so my gut feeling is that this is a driver issue but I'm not sure how I go about identifying another driver to work with Ubuntu or how I would install it My card is an on board chip S3 VIA Chrome9 HC IGP Family any help or advice would be much appreciated

I no longer use Ubuntu. But I've never liked the default media players they include and always use vlc instead.

With regards to the drivers for your graphics card, I found this tutorial that may be of some help.
http://www.hombrepac.com.ar/751/howt...-ubuntu-linux/

Thanks Qlue I didn't think anyone was gonna give me a reply I appreciate your input I've had a look at the link and although it looks like it could be the answer there is so much I just don't understand ie I don't have a clue what compilations and build essentials are let alone if I know they're installed or not and being a windows user for so long I'm not comfortable with the command line I hoped there might simply have been an updated driver I could download and install or maybe something in the ubuntu settings I could try changing,but it looks like it's not gonna be that simple, I think reading the instructions I would need someone to hold my hand step by step to install that driver and I dont want to waste anyones time with this or make myself look any more of a computer numpty, I also use VLC in my windows installation which for me is better that windows media player or any other player I've come across maybe that would work is there a linux version ?

With Gnu software that's like asking if the Pope is Catholic! :p.
There are three ways to install vlc in Ubuntu. You can use 'Software Center' or you can use Synaptic. (Settings > System > Synaptic)

Or you can open a terminal and type,
Canonical doesn't include all the non-free codecs by default so if you find that something doesn't want to play when you know it should, try Google. If that doesn't help, you can always ask here. :)

It's generally possible in most cases to do everything without the command line these days. But I encourage you to try the command line because it's often easier (and quicker) to do things from the command line!

Thanks again Glue for your help, since your last reply I posted my problem in the hardware section which I was mildly reprimanded for and i suppose rightly so, I didn't mean any disrespect to you or anyone and I do appreciate your help, I just felt I would never be able to follow the instructions on the link you sent me and had come to the end of the line, I think the problem with the command line for me is that I just dont understand the language and therefor don't know what I'm asking the computer to do when i type in a command and consequently screw everything up, I'm not completely computer illiterate (although it may seem that way) but I am completely new to linux I currently have 2 PC's networked along with a freenas server I built myself and 2 xboxes I softmodded to run xbmc, I download movies (Mainly childrens films for my grand-daughter), convert them to Xvid then test them on the pc before I add them to the collection on the server, so not being to view movie files would render Linux useless to me, anyway thank for the help you've given me so far and if you have any further suggestions I'd be deeply grateful

Emegra

S3 VIA Chrome9 video chips are notoriously bad with linux. Its a driver problem (which is why it runs OK with windows, VIA actually developed drivers that work with Chrome9 and windows...)

Finding a PCI/AGP/PCIe card to use instead of the onboard CHrome9 video chip would be easier than trying to get to the bottom of the ins and outs of the Chrome9 drivers.

Hey Emegra,

the problem you have is that your video players are trying tho send video to xv output, what you have to do is:

in all of the applications you use for video playback, you should set your video output to X11!

for example in VLC, you should go to: Tools->Preferences->Video and change Output to X11 video output (XCB) [see attachment]

Also, if you find some rare application, that does not have a way to set video output to X11, you can view how much xv ports are open on your machine by running xvinfo

usually it should be just one, so easiest workaround is to set VLC back to XV output load small video, stop playback with SPACE key, minimize VLC (to not disturb you :) ) and voila, you can load video in application you want to use, it will use X11 output.


Edit... Also if someone could tell me how to block xvport by not loading video in, for example VLC and using additional system resources, that would be just snazzy! :)

Problem solved thank you
 

Thank you Cascade & Splintercdo for your help the idea of installing another graphics card didn't escape me and would have been the prefered solution, I have a spare Radion 9250 graphics card lying around which I could have used but unfortunately I have a crap motherboard That only has one PCI slot which is taken up with a modem I use for fax.

Setting the output to X11 has solved the problem so I can now use VLC without any issues I just have to remember to right click and select the file to open with VLC as I cant find a way of making it the default player although I'm sure I must be overlooking something obvious nor can I find a way of selecting video output in Banshee or Movie Player but I'm quite happy using VLC.

Thank you both so much for you help solving this problem for me, I was beginning to think I wasn't gonna get an answer to this and I know I wouldn't have solved this myself also thank you to Glue for his help earlier

Try right click>Properties>open with :)


It's a pleasure to help! We all need help sometimes anyway! :D