cks@hawkwind.utcs.toronto.edu (Chris Siebenmann) (08/15/90)
I've just upgraded a DECStation 5000 from Ultrix 3.1d to Ultrix 4.0
(plus mandatory patch tape) and now the X cursor is experiencing some
glitches. Whenever the cursor changes from one shape to another
(entering or exiting a window, for example, although it happens at
other times as well) random "snow" appears below the cursor, usually
but not always in the form of one-pixel high horizontal bars. Every
now and then the cursor itself either disappears or is clipped so that
only part of it shows, or (once or twice) is corrupted almost
completely (it may have simply lost all but one colour, however).
Moving the cursor a bit always causes it to return to normal.
The cursor changing "snow" happens under both DECWindows Xcfb and
X11R4's Xcfbpmax; I've only seen the cursor corruption/disappearance
under R4, but this may be because I only ran DECWindows for long
enough to confirm the problem. The machine has been rebooted and
powercycled, and the problem persists; I have also tried compiling
Xcfbpmax with various (lack of) optimization levels. Nothing seems to
make a difference. This problem didn't happen on Ultrix 3.1d.
So, what I am wondering is:
- has anyone run X11R4 on a colour DECStation 5000 under Ultrix 4.0
and not had this happen?
- is this a known problem? A known sofware problem? A known hardware
problem? (I am planning on having DEC Field Service take a look, but
I'd like a fast solution/diagnosis).
- are there any tests I can run from the monitor to try and check out
the cursor hardware? Or a simple non-X based test program?
Thanks in advance; if people are interested, I'll post a summary.
(Note that followups have been pointed at comp.unix.ultrix as I rarely
get a chance to read comp.windows.x here before it expires).
--
"You don't *run* programs on Ultrix." - Mark Moraes
"Right, you chase them." - Rayan Zachariassen
cks@hawkwind.utcs.toronto.edu ...!{utgpu,utzoo,watmath}!utgpu!cksjg@crl.dec.com (Jim Gettys) (08/15/90)
This sounds like a problem with the BT459 VDAC cursor chip. I run an R4 based server (multi-screen), but with a different driver than you currently are running on. I suppose there could be a driver bug, but we've certainly not seen your problem here on our machines under Ultrix 4.0. I think it is time to bother field service. - Jim