Torsmo, root-tail and fluxbox

f0rk · 03-09-2005, 07:24 AM

I haven't found anything even remotely close to this particular problem ...

For the past few months I have been using fluxbox as my window manager, with Torsmo as my system monitor. Recently, I installed root-tail, so I can view logfiles easily. Here's the situation.

Both Torsmo and root-tail use the root-window to write text on. Now, when Torsmo is running on the root window instead of its own window (not with the -o argument) , and I start up root-tail, root-tail's output of my various log files appears momentarily and then vanishes, until I either:

- move a window over top of where it "was" then move it away, causing the output to appear briefly and then vanish again

or

- kill Torsmo completely, causing the output of root-tail to appear again.

This means basically that Torsmo is using all the screen area in the root window, not just the area it needs to display its text, and as such, this transparent "space" it's taking up is covering up root-tail's output making it "invisible" until after I kill Torsmo.

... I think. I mean I don't know I could be way-wrong.

Does anybody know how to get both these applications to play nice together and output thier text on the same root window, without running Torsmo in its own window, by any chance? And advice is greatly appreciated.

SocialEngineer · 03-09-2005, 12:34 PM

I've never had any problems running both root-tail and torsmo..

What resolution are you running? Could you post your .torsmorc file? And the full command line you run root-tail with?

f0rk · 03-09-2005, 12:57 PM

Thank you for the response

My resolution is 1024x768, unfortunately I cannot post the config file for Torsmo right now (I'm @ work) but I did think of something interesting ... I edited the config file, so that it would make use of double-buffering. I just read (seriously, like 5 minutes ago) that if I disable that option in Torsmo's config file that it would resolve the issue. Everything else in the config file as far as the configuration is stock. I'll give that fix a try, and see what happens.

I run root-tail with the following:

# ./root-tail -f -g 800x250+750+50 /var/log/messages,white

...thank you again, I'll let you know how it goes.

SocialEngineer · 03-09-2005, 02:03 PM

Yeah, that should probably fix it. If it doesn't let us know.

f0rk · 03-09-2005, 06:23 PM

Social --

...yeah, that did the trick, I edited the config file, and turned set the double-buffer option to "no", and launched root-tail and it did its thing, and the logs didn't vanish this time.

Then I uninstalled the previous root-tail app I had and installed a Slackware 10.1 root-tail package (I was going to do that anyway) and tried it again, root-tail and Torsmo worked fine.

So I'm happy, thank you for your input (I always get hung up on the smallest, most mundane problems) ... Thing I'd like to know is what would cause double-buffering to prevent root-tail's output from showing up to begin with? ... I'm looking into that because it will drive me nuts from now until then.

I have a lot of reading to do ...

Now all I have to do is get XMMS to play CD's ... for whatever reason I get no sound when playign one, even though I added myself to the cdrom group. You would happen to know why that is, would you?

Thank you again in any case. As always I appreciate the support. Take care.

SocialEngineer · 03-09-2005, 06:41 PM

First thing I always do, assuming I actually have sound configured, is loading alsamixer and checking volume levels. Check to make sure your CD ROM isn't muted or something. Is it showing it as playing (meaning, is time progressing)? If so, a common problem for a number of users is that they are trying to grab an analog signal when their CD drive is only prepared for digital (meaning you would either need to run a little cable from your CD drive to your soundcard, or set whatever audio player you are using to extract the audio digitally).

Analog extraction is always prefered IMHO, since it's less strain on your CPU. Go to XMMS's options, click on the CD Player plugin, click configure, and check the extraction method.

f0rk · 03-10-2005, 05:38 AM

Quote:

If so, a common problem for a number of users is that they are trying to grab an analog signal when their CD drive is only prepared for digital (meaning you would either need to run a little cable from your CD drive to your soundcard, or set whatever audio player you are using to extract the audio digitally).

Right on ... XMMS is definately playing the disc.

The first ting I do after a Slack install is un-mute and configure Alsa via the Alsamixer. XMMS plays my mp3's with no problem, and Alsa handles my surround-sound setup nicely.

I'll do as you suggested first thing after work. Thank you very much.