Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx Hit By Major Memory Leak Problem
With less than about a week left till the final release and a day till the Release Candidate, Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx has been hit by a very serious memory leak problem involving X.Org.
Last week, the Lucid repository received an update for X.Org Server to enable GLX 1.4. This update in X.Org Server resulted is some crashes and as a result another patch was introduced to fix the crash. This update to fix the crash has resulted in a major memory leak which causes the system to get slower and slower until it becomes completely sluggish and unusable.
This problem is currently being considered “Urgent” and the attempts by the Ubuntu developers to fix this issue have been unsuccessful so far. In order to fix the problem in time for the final release, the developers are considering rolling back the patches, including the one which enables GLX 1.4. This will mean going back to GLX 1.2.
[via ubuntu-dev mailing list]
Author: Ricky Laishram
Ricky Laishram is a Linux and FOSS enthusiast. He is passionate about open source technologies and likes to keep abreast with the latest developments in KDE and Ubuntu. He also loves listening to music and is a huge Tegan snd Sara fan. You can follow him on twitter @ricky_lais.Ricky Laishram has written 230 articles for us.
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<blockquote cite="Ricky">The attempts by the Ubuntu developers to fix this issue has been unsuccessful so far.
Mm, not quite true. The patch has been released for testing, and few folks have confirmed it seems to be working "fine".
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Testing/GEMLeak
The testing they are doing is not the GLX 1.4 issue. The devs have reverted to GLX 1.2 and are currently testing it. The problem with GLX 1.4 is still not fixed.
Ricky,
I just installed ubuntu 1004 and i am having that problem. the computer is unusable. i wish i ahd read this before. the idiot who called u a sensationalist is a jerk. ubuntu put out a crummy product. i know becasue i had 904 and it ran and updated perfect everyday. they just screwed it up.
You forgot a crucial detail. Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx *BETA*. How is a beta with a flaw even newsworthy?
Because it is a major flaw which crept in at the last minute due to changes in X.Org.
Newsworthy? Ubuntu 10.04 is due out in a week or so and this 'Beta' version is very close to the end product. This is a substantial problem and could push the release date back a couple of months (remember 6.06?). Try going to Slashdot to see how important this is and stop slamming another persons reporting. People need to know about this especially about such an important distribution.
If pointing out incorrect information is slamming, then I'm happy to slam away. There is no value in providing a sensationalist headline like this. This kind of amateur hour reporting is good for nothing but lathering FUD. Now, someone who possibly read this in passing is going to have an uninformed opinion based on partial information. Then the next time the water cooler conversation turns to Linux or Ubuntu, "Oh you should avoid that Ubuntu, it has huge memory leaks!" Whereas a small amount of extra effort in reporting would have turned that into nothing more than "Is that out of beta yet? I heard about the memory leak bugs they were working hard on squashing…"
If you take community involvement or the ability of promotion through word-of-mouth seriously at all, you'd understand this. Linux doesn't have huge marketing campaigns or big budget ad agencies. Articles on a site like this matter. Take it more seriously. And don't use Slashdot to reinforce an argument if you wish to be taken seriously. Ever.
Hmm. He must have snuck in that first sentence about "less than a week before final release" after you made your comment, right?
Far from sensationalist, this was very factual reporting on a topic that should be getting more attention. I've been testing this release since alpha 2 and although this may be the biggest bug, it is far from being the only one.
I intentionally went looking for articles discussing the issues, and this was the only one I could find. Personally, I think this time next week you will see a lot of articles wondering why average users weren't warned to hold off a bit. (In addition to a bazillion articles telling people how to "fix" the minimize/maximize/close buttons).
Loyalty to a brand you like is admirable, but you do more harm than good if you aren't honest about the flaws. I hope to be pleasantly surprised, but that doesn't mean I won't leave my wife's computer at hardy until I'm sure, and recommend the same to anyone else without the skills to do their own troubleshooting.
That's strange…I have been using 10.04 Beta 2 for the last 4 weeks and running updates daily. Yet I have not been affected anyhow by this memory-leak issue.
Kind of reminds me how our poor Firefox is labelled as a memory-leaking tanker all the time :P
You are probably using a graphics card with proprietary drivers. It has been reported that it does not affect proprietary drivers.
Well….apart from this issue, for some funny reason I couldnt even install the beta 2 in my Azus F5GL. The installer as well as the live session crashes abruptly. I was eargerly waiting the RC thinking that it will be somewhat bug free….my hopes are shattered I guess…..
Btw if somebody know why the installer crashes in my laptop, it might help us all if you share the knowledge :)
It is apparent that the version was an RC (release candidate) one.
Definitely you'll encounter these types of last-minute problems. Install the full release, then update as soon as possible once fixes are released.
Already have 9.10. Upgraded to 10.04 today, and it kills my computer. Black screen only.