The allowed limit of flexible X servers reached

Bug #232078 reported by sierpins
4
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
gdm (Ubuntu)
Invalid
Low
Unassigned
xorg-server (Ubuntu)
Invalid
Undecided
Unassigned

Bug Description

I am using multiple (four) users. After using GNOME's switch user feature with several users running for multiple days, some users (usually not all) can no longer return to their session because they are returned to the login screen seconds after they enter their username and password, ad infinitum. Restarting the system / X makes the problem go away temporarily, but it usually comes back after a few days. I have observed that when this bug occurs, some users have many (it takes a long time to dismiss them all) dialog box with the following message:

Cannot start new display
The allowed limit of flexible X servers reached.

I am using Ubuntu 7.10 with the NVidia Restricted drivers installed through the repository. This bug occurs with or without the desktop effects. I will try running the system without the NVidia Restricted drivers to see if the problem goes away.

I would appreciate help with this bug, as it can make the system nearly unusable.

Revision history for this message
sierpins (sierpins+launch) wrote :

The problem does not go away even when the open source drivers are used. Once again, when this bug occurs, it makes my system nearly useless for some users until a reboot. I would appreciate help with this bug.

Revision history for this message
sierpins (sierpins+launch) wrote :
Download full text (39.7 KiB)

Here are some details I forgot to mention:

Steps to reproduce:
1. Login user A
2. Login user B
3. Switch to user A
4. After staying for a few seconds on A's desktop, the login screen unexpectedly re-appears. Further attempts to login as A cause the same problem. (This only happens occationally, usually after computer has been running for a long time with B logged in; B's continually running Firefox session leaks a lot of memory. Also, login screen may repaint / flash black several times)
5. The dialog:

"Cannot start new display
The allowed limit of flexible X servers reached"

Has been observed on B after an occurance of the bug

Only rebooting / restarting X fixes the problem

Expected: I should be able to login on A after logging onto B all the time

Possible serious consequences: Data loss for A due to failure to be able to return to session

I must stress that it appears the bug only occurs for certain users. I understand this doesn't make it very easy to track down.

By the way, I am experiencing bug #195311 as well, usually around the same time I experience this bug. The two problems may be related.

======================================

System details are as follows: (let me know if you need anything else)

Ubuntu 7.10 Gusty

$uname-a
Linux Gandalf 2.6.22-14-generic #1 SMP Tue Feb 12 07:42:25 UTC 2008 i686 GNU/Linux

$lspci
00:00.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:01.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP55 LPC Bridge (rev a2)
00:01.1 SMBus: nVidia Corporation MCP55 SMBus (rev a2)
00:01.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP55 Memory Controller (rev a2)
00:02.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP55 USB Controller (rev a1)
00:02.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP55 USB Controller (rev a2)
00:04.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP55 IDE (rev a1)
00:05.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP55 SATA Controller (rev a2)
00:05.1 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP55 SATA Controller (rev a2)
00:05.2 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP55 SATA Controller (rev a2)
00:06.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP55 PCI bridge (rev a2)
00:06.1 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP55 High Definition Audio (rev a2)
00:08.0 Bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP55 Ethernet (rev a2)
00:0a.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP55 PCI Express bridge (rev a2)
00:0b.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP55 PCI Express bridge (rev a2)
00:0c.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP55 PCI Express bridge (rev a2)
00:0d.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP55 PCI Express bridge (rev a2)
00:0e.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP55 PCI Express bridge (rev a2)
00:0f.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP55 PCI Express bridge (rev a2)
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control
01:07.0 Multimedia audio controller: Creative Labs SB Audigy (rev 04)
01:07.1 Input device controller: Creative Labs SB ...

Revision history for this message
Bryce Harrington (bryce) wrote :

[Closing extraneous package task. Is an xorg usage issue rather than an xorg issue.]

Changed in xorg:
status: New → Invalid
Changed in gdm (Ubuntu):
importance: Undecided → Medium
Revision history for this message
Sebastien Bacher (seb128) wrote :

Could you try if that's still an issue in jaunty or karmic?

Changed in gdm (Ubuntu):
importance: Medium → Low
status: New → Incomplete
Revision history for this message
Pedro Villavicencio (pedro) wrote :

We are closing this bug report because it lacks the information we need to investigate the problem, as described in the previous comments. Please reopen it if you can give us the missing information, and don't hesitate to submit bug reports in the future. To reopen the bug report you can click on the current status, under the Status column, and change the Status back to New. Thanks again!.

Changed in gdm (Ubuntu):
status: Incomplete → Invalid
Revision history for this message
the_vorpal_blade (the-vorpal-blade) wrote :

I can reproduce in Jaunty. This is still a problem.

Changed in gdm (Ubuntu):
status: Invalid → Confirmed
Changed in xorg (Ubuntu):
status: Invalid → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Sebastien Bacher (seb128) wrote :

don't reopen closed bugs when you have a similar issue, open a new bug with a clear description

Changed in gdm (Ubuntu):
status: Confirmed → Invalid
Bryce Harrington (bryce)
affects: xorg (Ubuntu) → xorg-server (Ubuntu)
Bryce Harrington (bryce)
Changed in xorg-server (Ubuntu):
status: Confirmed → Invalid
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