topic title: Laptop display shuts off....and lost "Applications" Menu
Posts: 69
Neil
Joined: 16 Oct 2013
#16
Here are my sources:

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# antiX
deb http://www.daveserver.info/antiX/debs testing main  

# Debian Testing. Default for antiX.
# Testing enabled for 'rolling' release.
#deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ testing main contrib non-free
#deb http://security.debian.org/ testing/updates main contrib non-free 
#deb-src http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ testing main contrib non-free
# Debian Stable
# Use for maximum stability INSTEAD of the 'rolling' TESTING release concept.
# So, for max stability, UNCOMMENT the next two 'deb' lines and
# COMMENT-OUT the corresponding 'deb' lines in TESTING above.
#deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy main contrib non-free 
#deb http://security.debian.org/ wheezy/updates main contrib non-free
#deb-src http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy main contrib non-free 

# Multimedia Stable and Testing
# Use to install libdvdcss2 and codecs.
#deb http://www.deb-multimedia.org testing main non-free
#deb http://www.deb-multimedia.org wheezy main non-free

###### Debian Unstable/Sid##########
###### Use at your own risk! ########
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ unstable main contrib non-free
#deb http://www.deb-multimedia.org unstable main non-free

# deb-multimedia sources added by exoodles
deb http://www.deb-multimedia.org/ unstable main non-free
Note that I have not changes anything here since choosing Sid repos during installation.
anticapitalista
Posts: 5,955
Site Admin
Joined: 11 Sep 2007
#17
The sources list looks ok. Did you remove or did python2.7 get removed?

If so, try installing it.

Ah, I just saw this from your sources.list

# deb-multimedia sources added by exoodles
deb
========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"http://www.deb-multimedia.org/"
linktext was:"http://www.deb-multimedia.org/"
====================================
unstable main non-free

What did you add from exoodles? (if anything)

Maybe that caused the breakage?
anticapitalista
Posts: 5,955
Site Admin
Joined: 11 Sep 2007
#18
And post the contents of your home users fluxbox startup file.
Posts: 69
Neil
Joined: 16 Oct 2013
#19
Don't know what/who exoodles is...so don't know if anything was added or not. So it's not part of the default AntiX install?

I didn't intentionally remove Python either, and don't know if/how it might have been removed.

Since this install seems so broken, I've decided it won't hurt to play around and experiment with it, so I installed XFCE4 this afternoon. The applications list is populated with everything (including fluxbox stuff) during an XFCE session, but if I log into a fluxbox session it's still missing.

Fluxbox startup file coming in a few minutes...
Posts: 69
Neil
Joined: 16 Oct 2013
#20
Was using a different PC. Had to go to another room so, here is the startup file contents:

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#!/bin/bash
xset -dpms; xset s off &

# fluxbox startup-script:
#
# Lines starting with a '#' are ignored.

# You can set your favourite wallpaper here if you don't want
# to do it from your style.
# fbsetbg -l
#
# This sets a black background
# /usr/bin/fbsetroot -solid black

# This shows the fluxbox-splash-screen
# fbsetbg -C /usr/share/fluxbox/splash.jpg

# Other examples. Check man xset for details.
# Turn off beeps:
# xset -b
# Increase the keyboard repeat-rate:
# xset r rate 195 35
# Your own fonts-dir:
# xset +fp ~/.font
#
# Your favourite mouse cursor:
# xsetroot -cursor_name right_ptr
#
# Change your keymap:
# xmodmap ~/.Xmodmap

# Save gpid for graceful killing of orphans (needed for fluxbox?)
# cut -d"" -f5 /proc/$$/stat > $HOME/.antix-session/startup-pgid:${DISPLAY%.[0-9]}

# Set wallpaper
login_background.sh & 

# Applications you want to run with fluxbox.
# MAKE SURE THAT APPS THAT KEEP RUNNING HAVE AN ''&'' AT THE END.
#
# unclutter -idle 2 &
# wmnd &
# wmsmixer -w &
# wicd-client -t &

# mount Samba and/or NFS shares 
#connectshares &

# run spacefm -d to automount plugin devices and popup spacefm filer.
# Do NOT enable if you use spacefm desktop.
  spacefm -d &

# keyring
# gnome-keyring-daemon &

# Set live keyboard
#setxkbmap -layout"$XKBLAYOUT" -variant"$XKBVARIANT" -option"$XKBOPTIONS"

# Auto-update menu
auto-fluxbox-menu.sh &

volumeicon &
# And last but not least we start fluxbox.
# Because it is the last app you have to run it with ''exec'' before it.

# Run conky regardless of desktop
sleep 2 && conky &

exec /usr/bin/fluxbox
# or if you want to keep a log:
# exec /usr/bin/fluxbox -log ~/.fluxbox/log
anticapitalista
Posts: 5,955
Site Admin
Joined: 11 Sep 2007
#21
That seems to be ok, a long shot - try
apt-get install --reinstall desktop-defaults-base-antix

Logout/or reboot
Posts: 69
Neil
Joined: 16 Oct 2013
#22
Reinstall downloaded 766kb of data and did it's thing, but still nothing in the applications menu. [Shrug]
Posts: 1,308
BitJam
Joined: 31 Aug 2009
#23
I've looked around and it seems that Inconsistency detected by ld.so in indeed related to a mismatch between a binary executable and a dynamic library it is trying to load. This past summer the error was associated with libc6 which used to be eglibc which used to be glibc (or something like that). So either an executable got upgraded while one if its libs did not or, more likely, the lib got upgraded while the executable did not.

Maybe I missed it but I don't see where you checked your version of python. What is the output from:

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python --version
If"python --version" errors out then you can try to track down the problem further by running:

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strace python --version
If that simple call to python works then to track things further you could try running:

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strace fluxbox-xdg-menu 2>&1
Expect copious output (over 1,000 lines) but it might bomb out early. If it does bomb out then the output right before it dies could give you clues about which library it is having trouble with. there should be no spaces in"2>&1". This incantation is not needed unless you want to pipe the output through"less":

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strace fluxbox-xdg-menu 2>&1 | less
Or redirect it to a file:

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strace fluxbox-xdg-menu 2>&1 > strace.out
The simple"python --version" uses only 7 .so libraries while fluxbox-xdg-menu uses 152.
Posts: 69
Neil
Joined: 16 Oct 2013
#24

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$ python --version
Segmentation fault $ strace python --version
execve("usr/bin/python", ["python","--version"], [19 vars) = 0
brk(0)                                  = 0x922d000
access("etc/ld.so.nohwcap", F_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
mmap2(NULL, 8192, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0xb76f4000
access("etc/ld.so.preload", R_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
mmap2(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0xb76f3000
set_thread_area({entry_number:-1 -> 6, base_addr:0xb76f3680, limit:1048575, seg_32bit:1, contents:0, read_exec_only:0, limit_in_pages:1, seg_not_present:0, useable:1}) = 0
--- SIGSEGV (Segmentation fault) @ 0 (0) ---
+++ killed by SIGSEGV +++
Segmentation fault $ strace fluxbox-xdg-menu 2>&1
execve("usr/local/bin/fluxbox-xdg-menu", ["fluxbox-xdg-menu"], [19 vars]) = 0
brk(0)                                  = 0x894b000
access("etc/ld.so.nohwcap", F_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
mmap2(NULL, 8192, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0xb7764000
access("etc/ld.so.preload", R_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
mmap2(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0xb7763000
set_thread_area({entry_number:-1 -> 6, base_addr:0xb7763680, limit:1048575, seg_32bit:1, contents:0, read_exec_only:0, limit_in_pages:1, seg_not_present:0, useable:1}) = 0
--- SIGSEGV (Segmentation fault) @ 0 (0) ---
+++ killed by SIGSEGV +++
Segmentation fault
I going to try and reinstall Python, and see what happens. Got nothing to loose here as I've already decided I'll probably reinstall the system.

Edit: Just reinstalling"Phython" didn't change anything. Maybe there is something more I need to reinstall.
Posts: 69
Neil
Joined: 16 Oct 2013
#25
I've been reading and found that sometimes faulty hardware can cause segmentation faults. So, now I'm thinking I might have a failing CF card that this system is installed on. WinXP was installed on here a while back, and I recall it finally got to where it would not boot at all. Hmmm, might just be a related problem. No problems until an attempt to address the faulty area of flash memory...maybe.
Posts: 1,308
BitJam
Joined: 31 Aug 2009
#26
I still think it is a software problem, not a hardware problem. Sure, segfaults can be caused by faulty or overheated hardware but when that happens, the segfaults appear in random places. The location of your seg fault was highly reproducible and this indicates the problem is in the software. The other, less forceful, indication that it is a software problem is that it only happened after you did a software upgrade. The key way to differentiate between a hardware and a software problem (in cases like yours) is whether the segfault always happens in the same place or not.

A Google(set_thread_area segfault) yields some interesting results.
========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"https://communities.netapp.com/thread/16130"
linktext was:"Here"
====================================
they post a problem with a segfault at the same place yours is and they say:
This usually happens when the file is corrupt. While downloading the md5 sum of the build should be available from the site, just compare that with the downloaded build.
It turns out the file was corrupt and a new download fixed the problem.

Unfortunately, we don't know which file on your machine is corrupt or even if corruption is the actual problem. I still think it is possible the problem is related to a mismatch between a library and an executable although it seems to happen before any libraries get loaded. Other search results indicated similar (but not identical) segfaults were caused by trying to run older software on a newer system. Did your kernel get upraded? You can get the kernel version with:

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uname -r
On antiX-13.1 we have:

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$ uname -r
3.7.10-antix.4-amd64-smp
for 64-bit. On 32-bit systems the answer is"3.7.10-antix.3-486-smp".

If you want to check your hardware, I suggest you use the memtest program that is available on the LiveCD and LiveUSB. If it fails then you know you have a hardware problem. If it passes then there might still be a hardware problem that the test does not detect.

You should be able to check which version of python is installed with:

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ls -lh /usr/bin/python*
On antiX-13 and antiX-13.1 we use python2.7:

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$ ls -lh /usr/bin/python* 
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root    9 Feb  8  2013 /usr/bin/python -> python2.7*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 2.8M Jan  2  2013 /usr/bin/python2.7*
Oh yes! Try to boot the antiX LiveCD or LiveUSB. If it works and you get the menu then this too would indicate the problem is related to some of the software that got updated. If it too fails to generate the menu then your problem is very likely hardware related, like you say. Use the"F4 Options" -->"check md5" option in the Live bootloader menu to make sure the Live media is not corrupted. This is a very good check that every (important) bit on the live media is what it should be.
Posts: 69
Neil
Joined: 16 Oct 2013
#27
BitJam, I really appreciate the effort you are putting into helping me trouble shoot this issue. Your logic on the software vs hardware front is solid, and does seem to indicate software. Because, yes, the problems did develop only after a dist-upgrade. Proof or coincidence? I hope we can answer that definitively. Also, remember that the applications do show up[/u] on the menu when I boot into an XFCE session, but not the default fluxbox session, or JWM sessions. Does that tell us anything?

Here is the kernel version I'm running:

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3.7.10-antix.3-486-smp
And here is the python version:

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$ ls -lh /usr/bin/python*
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root    9 Sep 13 16:40 /usr/bin/python -> python2.7
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root    9 Sep 13 16:40 /usr/bin/python2 -> python2.7
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 3.1M Sep 17 14:32 /usr/bin/python2.7
I would like to check my hardware, but the possible source of the hardware memory problem I am referring to is not RAM, but rather the compact flash card I am using as my boot device to which AntiX is installed. I ran Memtest86+ for 6 full passes anyway though, and no errors were found. And, while I have several tools for testing hard drives, none of them are specifically for compact flash storage, or even solid state drives. What is a good tool for testing solid state drives?

Of course, the LiveCD still runs fine. But since booting it bypasses both the installed OS and the device it's installed on, that doesn't point either to hardware or software.
Posts: 1,308
BitJam
Joined: 31 Aug 2009
#28
Neil wrote:the applications do show up on the menu when I boot into an XFCE session, but not the default fluxbox session, or JWM sessions. Does that tell us anything?
That is just because we don't update the XFCE menu with a Python program.
What is a good tool for testing solid state drives?
Running:

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/sbin/e2fsck -c -c /dev/sdXX
as root is a good test. It can take a long time to run. Be patient. It is sort of like running memtest on a hard (or solid state) drive.
Of course, the LiveCD still runs fine. But since booting it bypasses both the installed OS and the device it's installed on, that doesn't point either to hardware or software.
Ah, I see. It is very likely the software got corrupted because the storage device is bad. If it were me, I would just get a new cfcard and move on.

Back when I was doing hardware development, when I tracked a bug down to a faulty integrated circuit chip, I would hold the bad one up in front of the circuit board and burn it as a warning to all the others.

Another approach would be to take a pencil eraser to the contacts on the card (IIRC, they are exposed, but I may be wrong). And then brush it off very thoroughly. Bad connections are one of the most likely causes of a hardware problem. I would imagine this is even more true with a device like a compact flash card.
Posts: 69
Neil
Joined: 16 Oct 2013
#29
BitJam wrote:It is very likely the software got corrupted because the storage device is bad. If it were me, I would just get a new cfcard and move on.
Now we're on the same page! I've been ready to just install on a new device, but was giving this some time to see how to narrow down the cause of the fault. Gonna run some tests on the CF card, just for giggles, and so we can say"OK, that's definitely the source of the troubles."

After running e2fsck on the CF card, here was the output:

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Checking for bad blocks (non-destructive read-write test)
Testing with random pattern: done                                                 
/dev/sda1: Updating bad block inode.
Pass 1: Checking inodes, blocks, and sizes
Pass 2: Checking directory structure
Pass 3: Checking directory connectivity
Pass 4: Checking reference counts
Pass 5: Checking group summary information

/dev/sda1: ***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****
/dev/sda1: 114890/499712 files (0.1% non-contiguous), 793645/1969919 blocks
Not exactly what I was expecting. As far as I can tell it didn't reveal any errors. Does the output indicate a bad block? If so, I suppose that is something like what I was expecting. Is a bad block of flash memory something similar to a bad sector on a spinning drive?

Then tried running another dist-upgrade this afternoon, and got the following errors. I don't know enough to tell what it means though.

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Preconfiguring packages ...
(Reading database ... 94532 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace hostname 3.14 (using .../hostname_3.15_i386.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement hostname ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Setting up hostname (3.15) ...
(Reading database ... 94532 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace tar 1.27-1 (using .../archives/tar_1.27-3_i386.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement tar ...
Processing triggers for mime-support ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Setting up tar (1.27-3) ...
(Reading database ... 94532 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace debconf 1.5.51 (using .../debconf_1.5.52_all.deb) ...
Segmentation fault
dpkg: warning: subprocess old pre-removal script returned error exit status 139
dpkg: trying script from the new package instead ...
Segmentation fault
dpkg: error processing /var/cache/apt/archives/debconf_1.5.52_all.deb (--unpack):
 subprocess new pre-removal script returned error exit status 139
Segmentation fault
dpkg: error while cleaning up:
 subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 139
Errors were encountered while processing:
 /var/cache/apt/archives/debconf_1.5.52_all.deb
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
Posts: 4,164
rokytnji
Joined: 20 Feb 2009
#30
Run apt-get -f install again just to see what happens is all I can think of.