Can't lock desktop.

Is gnome-screensaver or xscreensaver running when it doesn't want to lock?

Having the problem right now, and those don't seem to be running:

finalbeta@finalbeta-desktop:~$ ps -e
  PID TTY TIME CMD
    1 ? 00:00:00 init
    2 ? 00:00:01 ksoftirqd/0
    3 ? 00:00:00 watchdog/0
    4 ? 00:00:00 events/0
    5 ? 00:00:00 khelper
    6 ? 00:00:00 kthread
    8 ? 00:00:00 kblockd/0
    9 ? 00:00:00 kacpid
  130 ? 00:00:00 pdflush
  131 ? 00:00:00 pdflush
  133 ? 00:00:00 aio/0
  132 ? 00:00:00 kswapd0
  720 ? 00:00:00 kseriod
 1882 ? 00:00:00 khubd
 1898 ? 00:00:00 khpsbpkt
 1927 ? 00:00:00 knodemgrd_0
 2020 ? 00:00:00 kjournald
 2249 ? 00:00:00 udevd
 3093 ? 00:00:00 shpchpd_event
 3253 ? 00:00:00 saa7134[0]
 3359 ? 00:00:00 scsi_eh_0
 3360 ? 00:00:06 usb-storage
 3818 ? 00:00:00 kjournald
 3819 ? 00:00:00 kjournald
 4268 ? 00:00:00 acpid
 4387 ? 00:00:00 dd
 4389 ? 00:00:00 klogd
 4708 ? 00:00:00 gdm
 4747 ? 00:00:00 hpiod
 4763 ? 00:00:00 python
 4866 ? 00:00:01 clamd
 4924 ? 00:00:00 freshclam
 4940 ? 00:00:11 dbus-daemon
 4955 ? 00:00:14 hald
 4956 ? 00:00:00 hald-runner
 4962 ? 00:00:00 hald-addon-acpi
 4966 ? 00:00:00 hald-addon-keyb
 4975 ? 00:00:00 hald-addon-keyb
 4978 ? 00:00:00 hald-addon-keyb
 5028 ? 00:00:00 hald-addon-keyb
 5034 ? 00:00:00 hald-addon-stor
 5035 ? 00:00:00 hald-addon-stor
 5037 ? 00:00:00 hald-addon-stor
 5038 ? 00:00:00 hald-addon-stor
 5040 ? 00:00:00 hald-addon-stor
 5041 ? 00:00:00 hald-addon-stor
 5043 ? 00:00:00 hald-addon-stor
 5044 ? 00:00:00 hald-addon-stor
 5047 ? 00:00:01 hald-addon-stor
 5048 ? 00:00:01 hald-addon-stor
 5050 ? 00:00:03 hald-addon-stor
 5051 ? 00:00:03 hald-addon-stor
 5345 ? 00:00:00 mysqld_safe
 5409 ? 00:00:00 mysqld
 5410 ? 00:00:00 logger
 5513 ? 00:00:00 nmbd
 5516 ? 00:00:00 smbd
 5534 ? 00:00:00 sshd
 5539 ? 00:00:00 smbd
 5548 ? 00:00:00 xinetd
 5611 ? 00:00:00 mdadm
 5647 ? 00:00:00 proftpd
 5701 ? 00:00:00 atd
 5714 ? 00:00:00 cron
 5738 ? 00:00:00 nvtvd
 5796 ? 00:00:01 gconfd-2
 5837 tty1 00:00:00 getty
 5838 tty2 00:00:00 getty
 5839 tty3 00:00:00 getty
 5840 tty4 00:00:00 getty
 5841 tty5 00:00:00 getty
 5842 tty6 00:00:00 getty
 5855 ? 00:00:00 gnome-keyring-d
 5857 ? 00:00:00 bonobo-activati
 5914 ? 00:00:07 beagled
 6042 ? 00:00:00 evolution-data-
 6069 ? 00:00:01 beagled-helper
 6351 ? 00:00:03 cupsd
 6483 ? 00:00:00 syslogd
17926 ? 00:00:00 gdm
17929 tty7 00:02:59 Xorg
17947 ? 00:00:01 gnome-session
17995 ? 00:00:00 ssh-agent
17998 ? 00:00:00 dbus-launch
17999 ? 00:00:00 dbus-daemon
18002 ? 00:00:00 gnome-keyring-d
18004 ? 00:00:00 gnome-settings-
18009 ? 00:00:00 vino-server
18011 ? 00:00:11 metacity
18023 ? 00:00:05 gnome-panel
18025 ?...

What is the output from

  dpkg-query -s gnome-screensaver | grep ^Version

?

After you are unable to lock the screen (whereas earlier in the same session you'd been able to), does your ~/.xsession-errors have any information from gnome-screensaver? If so, please post your .xsession-errors.

What screensaver/hack do you have selected?

finalbeta@finalbeta-desktop:~$ dpkg-query -s gnome-screensaver | grep ^Version
Version: 2.14.3-0ubuntu1

------------------------------------

finalbeta@finalbeta-desktop:~$ cat ~/.xsession-errors
/etc/gdm/PreSession/Default: Registering your session with wtmp and utmp
/etc/gdm/PreSession/Default: running: /usr/bin/sessreg -a -w /var/log/wtmp -u /var/run/utmp -x "/var/lib/gdm/:0.Xservers" -h "" -l ":0" "finalbeta"
/etc/gdm/Xsession: Beginning session setup...
SESSION_MANAGER=local/finalbeta-desktop:/tmp/.ICE-unix/12219
Gnome-Message: gnome_execute_async_with_env_fds: returning -1
gnome-window-decorator: geen proces afgebroken
compiz.real: No composite extension

(gnome-panel:12292): GdkPixbuf-CRITICAL **: gdk_pixbuf_scale_simple: assertion `dest_width > 0' failed

(gnome-panel:12292): GdkPixbuf-CRITICAL **: gdk_pixbuf_scale_simple: assertion `dest_width > 0' failed

** (cgwd:12346): WARNING **: Cannot open pixmap: above

** (cgwd:12346): WARNING **: Cannot open pixmap: unabove

** (cgwd:12346): WARNING **: Cannot open pixmap: sticky

** (cgwd:12346): WARNING **: Cannot open pixmap: unsticky
Windowmanager waarschuwing: meta_window_activate called by a pager with a 0 timestamp; the pager needs to be fixed.

-------------------------------------

I've selected a blanck screen to be my screensaver.

Assigning to gnome-screensaver, although it could be a session manager thing.

does running "gnome-screensaver-command --lock" works correctly when you get the issue?

I was the reporter of this bug, changed it to rejected.
Been some time since I've had this. Currently using Feisty now.
This one won't get fixed, and I'm not sure it's still exists.

I started experiencing this yesterday under Kubuntu 7.10 x86-64, after once again trying (and failing) to get the fglrx drivers working with my Radeon HD 3870. Even though I replaced xorg.conf with a backup and restarted multiple times, I am now completely unable to lock session. The K-Menu entry "Lock Session" and the Ctrl+Alt+L keyboard shortcut both do nothing. I don't even get an error message.

I don't know if this is caused by the same bug, but if it is, the bug is not in gnome-screensaver.

The problem for me was libGL.so was missing. For some reason, uninstalling the ATI driver took out this file. I got it back by reinstalling every package with "mesa" in the name.

So I think the only bug I encountered (besides libGL.so being removed) is that the lock session feature (at least in KDE 3.x) doesn't show an error message when libGL.so can't be found. I am so sick of silent errors in open source software. ;_;

It would be great if somebody could look into the error reporting of the lock session feature and improve it if it hasn't already. I believe it's gone through alot of changes since *buntu 7.10.