mixer_applet2 (aka volume control applet) hogs CPU

Bug #150089 reported by Kevin Krumwiede
18
This bug affects 1 person
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
GNOME Applets
Fix Released
Medium
gnome-applets (Ubuntu)
Fix Released
Low
Ubuntu Desktop Bugs

Bug Description

If a USB sound device is unplugged and replugged while the system is running, mixer_applet2 begins using nearly 100% of the CPU, according to top.

Revision history for this message
Michael Baumann (michael-baumann) wrote :

Same here, after unplugging the USB sound device mixer_applet2 uses the whole CPU time. Killing and restarting fixes the problem.

Revision history for this message
orbisvicis (orbisvicis) wrote :

Bump to everything said

This could be dangerous on a dual core laptop, especially some dells where the fans don't turn on till 70C and heat is an issue. Since mixer_applet2 is not multithreaded, it only uses one core, (max 100% cpu) and while everything heats up, the system nonetheless runs without noticeable lag. Unless correctly configure lm-sensors and a fan-speed control like 18k, this issue is virtually undetectable.

Revision history for this message
orbisvicis (orbisvicis) wrote :

Possibly related to the fact the mixer_applet2 doest control the sound correctly on the usb devices anyway -> changes to volume affect only one channel, changing other channels or 'locking' the controls together seem to temporarily increase cpu + not work

Anyway most likely not helpful. I cant seem to consistently reproduce this, if anyone else has any clues?
like run a strace on the process id of mixer_applet2 when cpu is hogged?

Revision history for this message
orbisvicis (orbisvicis) wrote :

Possibly related to the fact the mixer_applet2 doest control the sound correctly on the usb devices anyway -> changes to volume affect only one channel, changing other channels or 'locking' the controls together seem to temporarily increase cpu + not work

Anyway most likely not helpful. I cant seem to consistently reproduce this, if anyone else has any clues?
like run a strace on the process id of mixer_applet2 when cpu is hogged?
or attach it to gdb

Revision history for this message
hackel (hackel) wrote :

Still experiencing this issue on 8.04. Plugging in some Logitech USB speakers causes 100% CPU usage from mixer_applet2.

Revision history for this message
Pedro Villavicencio (pedro) wrote :

may someone having the issue forward this upstream? for forwarding instructions please have a look to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Upstream/GNOME ; leaving this as incomplete until that, thanks in advance.

Changed in gnome-applets:
assignee: nobody → desktop-bugs
importance: Undecided → Medium
status: Confirmed → Incomplete
Revision history for this message
Pedro Villavicencio (pedro) wrote :

Closing this bug report as no further information has been provided. Please feel free to reopen this bug if you can provide the information asked for. Thanks!.

Changed in gnome-applets:
status: Incomplete → Invalid
Revision history for this message
Kevin Krumwiede (kjkrum) wrote :

I can't take responsibility for forwarding this upstream, since I no longer use GNOME due to this and other longstanding bugs. But I don't think closing it is the correct thing to do.

Revision history for this message
Mark A. Hershberger (hexmode) wrote :

Still experiencing this in 8.10. Will work on forwarding it.

Changed in gnome-applets:
status: Invalid → Confirmed
Changed in gnome-applets:
importance: Medium → Low
status: Confirmed → Triaged
Changed in gnome-applets:
status: Unknown → Confirmed
Changed in gnome-applets:
status: Confirmed → Fix Released
Revision history for this message
Sebastien Bacher (seb128) wrote :

the bug has been fixed upstream now

Changed in gnome-applets:
status: Triaged → Fix Committed
Revision history for this message
Martin Mai (mrkanister-deactivatedaccount-deactivatedaccount) wrote :

Based on the date in the ChangeLog file, this should be fixed in Jaunty now. Thanks for reporting.

Changed in gnome-applets:
status: Fix Committed → Fix Released
Revision history for this message
rundgren (joar-rasmussen) wrote :

Still seeing this in Jaunty. Both after plug/unplug of USB Audio and at random times.

Revision history for this message
Edwin Shin (eddie) wrote :

Also still seeing this in Jaunty after plug/unplug of USB headset

Revision history for this message
JohnShep (john-boxrec) wrote :

Still have this bug, am using USB sound device with Jaunty.

Revision history for this message
Martin Mai (mrkanister-deactivatedaccount-deactivatedaccount) wrote :

ok, that doesn't sound good. Please comment upstream about your experience with this bug. Thanks in advance.

Changed in gnome-applets (Ubuntu):
status: Fix Released → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Chris Coulson (chrisccoulson) wrote :

The mixer applet does not exist anymore in Karmic.

Changed in gnome-applets (Ubuntu):
status: Confirmed → Fix Released
Revision history for this message
Trev Peterson (trev-advanced-reality) wrote :

As a work-around try:

sudo /etc/init.d/udev restart

Restarting the mixer applet does not fix the high CPU for me. It appears to be a bug in the way removing the USB sound is handled lower than that. Hope this helps,

Changed in gnome-applets:
importance: Unknown → Medium
To post a comment you must log in.
This report contains Public information  
Everyone can see this information.

Other bug subscribers

Remote bug watches

Bug watches keep track of this bug in other bug trackers.