[Solved] VLC not working, causing freezes forcing reboot

[arch]

So I have this issue with VLC that sometimes when I click on videos to watch nothing seemingly happens.
However the VLC icon will appear down in the right corner.
When I double click it, it will open and the video is listed, but unable to play.

Not only that but once it has gotten to that kind of state it is really hard to close it.
Telling it to close does nothing.
Sending it sig 15 does nothing.
Sending it sig 9 seems to do nothing at first, but when I then try to close it again,
I get asked if I want to close the window by the OS, which then shuts it down.

Now this is where things get weird, as when I then try to open a random txt file suddenly everything freeze.
Mouse and keyboard do nothing, and it is clear from the hud that track processor/memory/etc,
that nothing on the screen is moving at all.
So the only option I have is to power down the computer manually for a reboot.

I have no idea what is causing this, but I figured I'd make a post about it at least.
My goto method right now, is just ignoring VLC when it acts up and run the video in chrome.
At least then I can get on with my day without the need for a reboot.
If VLC is the problem here, I will just uninstall it, but I remember the OS freezing a long time ago too,
and I don't think it was VLCs fault back then.

*Just after I posted this, I tried watching a video, and it happened again,
I tried opening a document without the kill stuff that I assumed messed things up,
and the OS froze regardless, so for some reason, VLC makes the OS unstable when it hits problems.

[JayM]

Please run MX Tools/Quick System Info, then right-click paste into a reply. (Quick System Info automatically copies the information to your clipboard, already formatted properly for pasting into the forum so all you have to do is a right-click/ paste, not a copy/paste.) Thanks.

[Eadwine Rose]

And start VLC from the terminal, post the output.


The killstuff?

killall -9 vlc


That only kills vlc and affects nothing else.

[arch]

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System:    Host: Byteworld Kernel: 4.15.0-1-amd64 x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 6.3.0 
           Desktop: Xfce 4.12.3 Distro: MX-18.3_x64 Continuum March 14  2018 
           base: Debian GNU/Linux 9 (stretch) 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: Notebook product: N85_N87,HJ,HJ1,HK1 v: N/A serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Notebook model: N85_N87,HJ,HJ1,HK1 serial: <filter> 
           UEFI [Legacy]: American Megatrends v: 1.05.14 date: 06/15/2017 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 58.9 Wh condition: 58.9/59.9 Wh (98%) model: Notebook BAT 
           status: Full 
CPU:       Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-7700HQ bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Kaby Lake 
           rev: 9 L2 cache: 6144 KiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 44928 
           Speed: 1857 MHz min/max: 800/3800 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 900 2: 900 3: 900 4: 900 
           5: 900 6: 900 7: 942 8: 900 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 
           Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK driver: nouveau v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.0 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.19.2 driver: modesetting,nouveau unloaded: fbdev,vesa 
           resolution: 1680x1050~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 630 (Kaby Lake GT2) v: 4.5 Mesa 18.2.6 
           direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k4.15.0-1-amd64 
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK 
           driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: d000 bus ID: 03:00.1 
           IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Intel driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: d000 bus ID: 04:00.0 
           IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 1.36 TiB used: 75.35 GiB (5.4%) 
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 970 EVO 500GB size: 465.76 GiB 
           ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST1000LX015-1U7172 size: 931.51 GiB 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 95.62 GiB used: 8.80 GiB (9.2%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 
           ID-2: /home size: 127.80 GiB used: 66.55 GiB (52.1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5 
           ID-3: swap-1 size: 15.62 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 62.5 C mobo: N/A gpu: nouveau temp: 511 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:     Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/antix.list 
           1: deb http://it.mxrepo.com/antix/stretch/ stretch main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list 
           1: deb http://ftp.no.debian.org/debian/ stretch-updates main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list 
           1: deb http://ftp.no.debian.org/debian/ stretch main contrib non-free
           2: deb http://security.debian.org/ stretch/updates main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-earth-pro.list 
           1: deb http://dl.google.com/linux/earth/deb/ stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list 
           1: deb http://it.mxrepo.com/mx/repo/ stretch main non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/opera-stable.list 
           1: deb https://deb.opera.com/opera-stable/ stable non-free #Opera Browser (final releases)
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/various.list 
           1: deb http://deb.opera.com/opera/ stable non-free
Info:      Processes: 272 Uptime: 1h 32m Memory: 31.30 GiB used: 2.68 GiB (8.6%) Init: SysVinit 
           runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 6.3.0 Shell: bash v: 4.4.12 inxi: 3.0.36 

Sure this is what happens when I start it, nothing special there.

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VLC media player 3.0.8 Vetinari (revision 3.0.8-0-gf350b6b5a7)
[00005610d134f1a0] main libvlc: Kjører VLC med standardbrukerflaten. Bruk «cvlc» for å kjøre VLC uten en brukerflate.
[00005610d13e76a0] main playlist: playlist is empty

Right now videos run without problem, but this is what it says in the terminal when I run them.

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libva info: VA-API version 1.3.0
libva info: va_getDriverName() returns 0
libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/i965_drv_video.so
libva info: va_openDriver() returns -1
[00007f182c0029f0] glconv_vaapi_x11 gl error: vaInitialize: unknown libva error
libva info: VA-API version 1.3.0
libva info: va_getDriverName() returns 0
libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/i965_drv_video.so
libva info: va_openDriver() returns -1
[00007f182c0029f0] glconv_vaapi_drm gl error: vaInitialize: unknown libva error
libva info: VA-API version 1.3.0
libva info: va_getDriverName() returns 0
libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/i965_drv_video.so
libva info: va_openDriver() returns -1
[00007f182c0029f0] glconv_vaapi_drm gl error: vaInitialize: unknown libva error
libva info: VA-API version 1.3.0
libva info: va_getDriverName() returns 0
libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/nouveau_drv_video.so
libva info: va_openDriver() returns -1
[00007f182c0029f0] glconv_vaapi_drm gl error: vaInitialize: unknown libva error
libva info: VA-API version 1.3.0
libva info: va_getDriverName() returns 1
libva error: va_getDriverName() failed with operation failed,driver_name=nouveau
[00007f182c0029f0] glconv_vaapi_drm gl error: vaInitialize: operation failed
Failed to open VDPAU backend libvdpau_i965.so: cannot open shared object file: Ingen slik fil eller filkatalog

[Stevo]

I think I know what's going on--VLC is trying to use va-api hardware acceleration automatically, but it's not working on your system. The best solution would be to get va-api working so your GPU handles video decoding instead of the CPU, but you can turn it off in VLC's Tools--Preferences--Input/Codecs settings.

Va-api works great when everything syncs up, but can be broken if only part of the video system it uses is upgraded from the test repo--like if you upgrade just ffmpeg from the test repo without updating VLC from the test repo, for example. The test repo VLC is exactly the same as the main repo version, but just rebuilt against the newer Mesa and ffmpeg libraries in there to keep va-api working. We don't have the same situation yet for MX 19, but it will probably become necessary to watch out for that in the future.

Va-api may also require that you switch to the "intel" video driver using MX Tweak or manually--I don't know if the default kernel modesetting driver you're using supports it.

If you haven't installed anything from the test repo, perhaps just switching to the "intel" driver will get it to work. You can install vainfo and run "vainfo" in the terminal to check if it's working in the system, if so, then it's a matter of getting the VLC version that matches your video-related packages.

I also see you have what appears to be an Optimus system. Are you going to try the Nvidia installer to see if it enables GPU switching on your laptop?

[arch]

Well I installed va-info and it said the driver wasn't there.
I played around with the settings in VLC and it ended up crashing as before.
Then I tried installing the Nvidia driver, it installed and the video played.
Though vainfo still says that the driver isn't there, so I dunno if it is working correctly.
Cause video's have sometimes worked anyway.
I will just have to see and come back here if the problem keeps being there.

[Stevo]

The system info ought say that the Intel GPU is still providing the display, not the Nvidia one, if Bumblebee is working correctly. If Bumblebee is working, you should be able to see a difference between

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glxspheres64

and

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optirun glxspheres64

where the second command has the Nvidia GPU doing the 3D acceleration.

The Intel GPU does need i965-va-driver installed to provide va-api acceleration, and like posted above, you can't mix and match its components from the main and test repo and expect it to keep working. Hopefully, you haven't done that.

[arch]

Still this:

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System:    Host: Byteworld Kernel: 4.15.0-1-amd64 x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 6.3.0 
           Desktop: Xfce 4.12.3 Distro: MX-18.3_x64 Continuum March 14  2018 
           base: Debian GNU/Linux 9 (stretch) 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: Notebook product: N85_N87,HJ,HJ1,HK1 v: N/A serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Notebook model: N85_N87,HJ,HJ1,HK1 serial: <filter> 
           UEFI [Legacy]: American Megatrends v: 1.05.14 date: 06/15/2017 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 59.3 Wh condition: 59.3/59.9 Wh (99%) model: Notebook BAT 
           status: Full 
CPU:       Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-7700HQ bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Kaby Lake 
           rev: 9 L2 cache: 6144 KiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 44928 
           Speed: 1711 MHz min/max: 800/3800 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1711 2: 1100 3: 1122 
           4: 1163 5: 1120 6: 1154 7: 1078 8: 1102 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 
           Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK driver: nouveau v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.0 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.19.2 driver: modesetting,nouveau unloaded: fbdev,vesa 
           resolution: 1680x1050~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 630 (Kaby Lake GT2) v: 4.5 Mesa 18.2.6 
           direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k4.15.0-1-amd64 
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK 
           driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: d000 bus ID: 03:00.1 
           IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Intel driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: d000 bus ID: 04:00.0 
           IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 1.36 TiB used: 75.19 GiB (5.4%) 
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 970 EVO 500GB size: 465.76 GiB 
           ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST1000LX015-1U7172 size: 931.51 GiB 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 95.62 GiB used: 8.67 GiB (9.1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 
           ID-2: /home size: 127.80 GiB used: 66.52 GiB (52.0%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5 
           ID-3: swap-1 size: 15.62 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 62.5 C mobo: N/A gpu: nouveau temp: 511 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:     Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/antix.list 
           1: deb http://it.mxrepo.com/antix/stretch/ stretch main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list 
           1: deb http://ftp.no.debian.org/debian/ stretch-updates main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list 
           1: deb http://ftp.no.debian.org/debian/ stretch main contrib non-free
           2: deb http://security.debian.org/ stretch/updates main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-earth-pro.list 
           1: deb http://dl.google.com/linux/earth/deb/ stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list 
           1: deb http://it.mxrepo.com/mx/repo/ stretch main non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/opera-stable.list 
           1: deb https://deb.opera.com/opera-stable/ stable non-free #Opera Browser (final releases)
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/various.list 
           1: deb http://deb.opera.com/opera/ stable non-free
Info:      Processes: 270 Uptime: 36m Memory: 31.30 GiB used: 2.77 GiB (8.9%) Init: SysVinit 
           runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 6.3.0 Shell: bash v: 4.4.12 inxi: 3.0.36 

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vainfo
libva info: VA-API version 1.3.0
libva info: va_getDriverName() returns 0
libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/i965_drv_video.so
libva info: va_openDriver() returns -1
vaInitialize failed with error code -1 (unknown libva error),exit

[JayM]

This probably has nothing to do with the VLC issue but I'm curious why you're using the 4.15 kernel on such a new, powerful machine? Did you install it to solve another problem you were having?

[JayM]

The system info ought say that the Intel GPU is still providing the display, not the Nvidia one, if Bumblebee is working correctly. If Bumblebee is working, you should be able to see a difference between

Code: Select all

glxspheres64

and

Code: Select all

optirun glxspheres64

where the second command has the Nvidia GPU doing the 3D acceleration.

The Intel GPU does need i965-va-driver installed to provide va-api acceleration, and like posted above, you can't mix and match its components from the main and test repo and expect it to keep working. Hopefully, you haven't done that.

@Stevo: doesn't bumblebee require the Nvidia driver? Or will it work with nouveau too? (It's been so long since I had a dual-video notebook that I've forgotten.)