Multiple xfdesktops running, and very slow startup

[Célio Ishikawa]

Well, when you turn on the computer and apears the boot menu (Grub), there
is the commom version boot ("xubuntu -kernel...") and  RECOVERY MODE.

test1:
Try Recovery Mode and see if it´s boot is OK.
If the boot is slow in Recovery Mode, there is some service very slow in the
basic boot (these services are in the directory: /etc/rcS.d ).
If not, the problem is after the basic boot, when starts the services of
runlevel2 (the list of contents of /etc/rc2.d ) what includes the graphical
interface (like xfce). Some service in runlevel2 is slow.

As the Recovery Mode shows only the prompt, type "reboot". OPS, just before
it, lets start test2: type "lsmod" to see the list of modules the system is
using.

After it, reboot and try the commom boot ("xubuntu -kernel...") and after
xfce is running, use some terminal and type "lsmod" again. The list of
modules is much bigger. I don´t if you can identify some modules that are
not supposed to be there. If you can identify these "not-welcome modules",
you may remode then with command "modprobe -r xxxxx"...  If you are (quite)
sure the problem is caused by some module, include it in the blacklist
modules (use text editor to add it on /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist or
/etc/hotplug/blacklist) so it won´t be loaded in next boot.

Well, but I guess you can´t identiy... But let´s go ahead: type "sudo chmod
-x /etc/init.d/hotplug" and reboot. This command disables the hotplug in
next boot, and many modules won´t be load (so probably your computer will
boot 1 or 2 minutes faster, but won´t acess pendrives and other things on
USB ports).

See how the boot without hotplug works: if the xfce is still slow, the
problem almost sure is after the graphical interface starts (or some service
in text mode that starts fery closer to the time the graphical interface
starts). In terminal, use the "up" botton in keyboard so apears the "sudo
chmod -x /etc/init.d/hotplug" again. Just change "-" to "+" and the hotplug
will be OK in the next boot (or type manually "sudo chmod +x
/etc/init.d/hotplug")

test3: If abled, disable automatic user login at xcfe´s preferences and
reboot to restart xcfe. Well apears the window "type user; type password",
choose and text the "safe modes", and see if the boot is fast or slow. If
it´s slow, probably the problem is in the xcfe itself or it´s basic
aplications,  and if fast, the problem is some graphical aplication in
default xfce startup.


These 3 tests are to determinate in which boot time the problem is occuring:

Test1 see if the problem is in basic services or in runlevel2 services.
Test2 see if the problem is in modules
Test3 see if the problem is in graphical services

I don´t know if I can´t help, but probably is useful to know where the
problem is.

cheers,
Celio Ishikawa



2010/1/15 Chris G <cl at isbd.net>

> On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 02:25:40PM -0200, Célio Ishikawa wrote:
> >    2010/1/15 Ali Abdallah <[1]aliov at xfce.org>
> >      On 01/15/2010 11:44 AM, Chris G wrote:
> >
> >            ** (update-notifier:3002): DEBUG: error during dbus call: The
> name
> >        org.debian.apt was not provided by any .service files
> >
> >      The update service 'org.debian.apt' is missing, update-notifier
> applet
> >      is trying to connect to this service, using a D-Bus call, depending
> on
> >      the timeout specified by the update-notifieron this call, it may
> block
> >      for some time, but not up to several minutes, well try to disable
> this
> >      from the autostarted applications  and see if the login speed is
> better.
> >
> >    Just to comment: I removed my update-notifier and the system speeded
> up
> >
> Strangely I only see these errors when I get the slow login, in other
> words the system is *so* slow in this case that the update-notifier is
> timing ou waiting for things.
>
> When I login later (i.e. I tried it just now after the system had been
> powered up for a couple of hours) there are no update-notifier error
> messages and the load average stays down way below 1, mostly at 0.14
> this time.
>
> As I said I don't think it's anything to do with xfce or X startup
> it's just that something is loading the system very heavily at boot
> time and it takes a while for the system to recover completely.
>
> --
> Chris Green
>
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>
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