Weird Graphical Glitching after installing Precise Puppy

[npierce]

Hi Repip,

Thanks again for the information, and taking the time to hand-copy it. (Yes, it would be hard to guess which of the many icons was for the text editor when the icons and their text captions were corrupt. )

I am glad to hear that the icons have been restored.

The information you supplied shows that the file /etc/DISTRO_SPECS contains this line:

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DISTRO_ARCHDIR=''

I think that is the problem. It should be:

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DISTRO_ARCHDIR='i386-linux-gnu'

If you would like the boring details of what this "386-linux-gnu" stuff is about, read this quotation. If not, feel free to skip over it. (Since you are a Windows user, and new to linux, I'll first mention that the libraries I am talking about are usually Linux "shared object" (.so) files, which are similar to Windows "dynamic linked library" (.dll) files.)

Debian and distros descended from Debian, such as Ubuntu, support "multiarch", which allows a library to have, for instance, both an Intel 32-bit build and an AMD (or Intel) 64-bit build installed on the same PC. (That is one example -- many other architectures are supported.) To do this, Debian and friends will sometimes put libraries built for the 32-bit Intel architecture ("i386") in /lib/i386-linux-gnu/ or /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/ instead of the usual /lib/ or /usr/lib/, respectively.

Other distros may handle this differently.

Currently, Puppy continues to use the standard /lib/ and /usr/lib/ directories. For compatibility with Ubuntu packages, Precise Puppy has symlinks from /lib/i386-linux-gnu and /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu to /lib/ and /usr/lib/, respectively.

The problem you have run into is that sometimes when installing a .deb package from a Debian or Ubuntu repository, those symlinks get overwritten, so some needed libraries are not where they are expected to be.

The Puppy Package Manager (PPM) in Precise 5.4.2 has code that moves the newly installed library files to their correct Puppy location and restores the symlinks. But that code depends upon DISTRO_ARCHDIR being set with the proper value, which -- for reasons I don't know -- it is not.

(Some of the commands I gave in my previous post were copied from that code, so when you executed them you were doing manually what would have been done automatically if DISTRO_ARCHDIR had been set properly.)

(I hope I'm not boring you with needless details. I'm being even more long-winded than usual here since you said that your were "really keen to learn a little about Puppy", but perhaps you were thinking of things other than all this nuts & bolts stuff. )

It really is a simple quick exercise to completely reload Puppy anyway so I am willing to try anything at this point.

I am glad that you are so willing and able to experiment.

If you are happy to have your icons back again, and ready to move on to other things, feel free to do so. But if you would like to try something else related to this problem, consider trying this:

1. Assuming that you are now able to find a text editor, use it to open /etc/DISTRO_SPECS.

2. Look for the line that begins with "DISTRO_ARCHDIR" -- it will be the same as the line in the first Code box earlier in this post.

3. Change it by adding i386-linux-gnu between the single quotation marks, so that it looks like the second Code box in this post.

4. Save the file.

5. Now try installing VLC Player again, and see if it installs without messing up your icons again.

If it works, it may save you from seeing your icons go crazy again when you install some future Ubuntu package. If it doesn't work, well . . . you get the fun of installing Puppy again!

Good luck.

[Repip]

Hi npierce

Have successfully restored VLC Player with that code you gave me, all systems go now in that area anyway ... hopefully it was a help to you guys.

Thankyou for all your help , I assure you I will need much more in the near future... trying to get a Canon PIXMA IP1000 going ... bit of a challenge, however I will read some info 1st and then request HELP !

regards for now

[npierce]

Hi Repip,

You're welcome.

Have successfully restored VLC Player with that code you gave me, all systems go now in that area anyway ...

That is good to hear.

... hopefully it was a help to you guys.

Yes, it was. Your reports made it clear that the code that was supposed to fix the problem wasn't executing, and your report of DISTRO_ARCHDIR=' ' showed us why.

Barry has implemented a fix for the problem, which will be included in his next Service Pack for Precise.

See my bug report at http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 616#669616 and Barry's blog entry: DISTRO_ARCHDIR variable not set

Thanks for your help in tracking this down.

[metallica5456]

I am new user here...am member on other forums..but never used Linux before...I am having this SAME problem. Can you describe simple easy way to fix??

[npierce]

What flavor and version of Puppy are you using?

The problem discussed in this thread was the result of bugs in early versions of Precise Puppy 5.4, including 5.4.2. It was fixed in December 2012, so Precise Puppy 5.4.3 and newer do not have this bug.

If you are using an earlier version of Precise, the "simple easy way to fix" would be to switch to a newer version. If you are already using the newest version then your symptoms may be caused by a similar problem, such as installing a corrupt package that overwrote the /lib/i386-linux-gnu and /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu symlinks.

[metallica5456]

Hi I am using Precise Puppy RETRO I think its 5.7.1 and its the NON PAE version too...I am sorry for posting on this old thread but I am new to the site..

[npierce]

Since you have the same symptoms described in this thread, it is appropriate for you to post your question here, so no apology is necessary. Probably your problem is similar, and may also be related to the /lib/i386-linux-gnu and /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu links discussed in this thread.

So first, let's see if the links are working. From a terminal window (Menu -> Utility -> Urxvt) please enter the following two commands and tell us what output you see:

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ls -ld /lib/i386-linux-gnu
ls -ld /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu

This will tell us if those items are still symbolic links, as they should be, or if something (such as the installation of a package) changed them to directories or removed them entirely.

[metallica5456]

after I do each command I get the following

irwxrwxrwx 1 root root 2 Aug 2 2013 (then directory command u suggested) highlighted in light blue

BTW I did this while having loaded one of the save files

[npierce]

irwxrwxrwx 1 root root 2 Aug 2 2013 (then directory command u suggested)

OK, I'm assuming that the first character there is actully a lower case L ('l), not a lower case I ('i'), and that you also see "-> /lib" and "-> /usr/lib", respectivally, at the end of the output line. If so, this indicates that these are correctly still links, not directories. So that cause can be ruled-out. (If my assumption about what the output is wrong, please let me know.)

Does the text under the icons display OK for you, or do you just see little boxes as in this image?
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... h&id=61078

[metallica5456]

yes it IS a lower case "l" sorry bout that...and I see the little arrow thingy at the END of the lines after the command is input

Text is correctly there JUST the icons as in your picture...BTW I should mention EVERYTIME I SHUTDOWN it freezes and I have to hard boot the machine and then when comes on next time it gives me a message saying X was exited incorrectly and to just ignore it if was a power failure of some sort.

[npierce]

OK, so the problem is with the icons, but not the text. That narrows it down some.

Possibly the cache file for the gdk pixbuf loaders or the link that points to that file has been damaged.

First, the file. What output do you get for this command?:

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ls -l  /etc/gtk-2.0/gdk-pixbuf.loaders

(Note that you can copy the above command by first selecting it with your left mouse button, then clicking in the terminal window and pressing Shift + Ins simultaneously.)

(You can also copy the output from the command by first selecting it with your left mouse button, then going to the place you want to paste it and clicking your middle mouse button. If you don't have a middle mouse button you may press both left and right buttons simultaneously -- that might take a bit of practice to get right.)

If you get a "No such file or directory" error, you can recreate the file with the following command:

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gdk-pixbuf-query-loaders > /etc/gtk-2.0/gdk-pixbuf.loaders

Next, the symlink. What output do you get for this command? (Note that this is just one command although it may appear as more than one line if your browser window is small.):

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ls -l  /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/gdk-pixbuf-2.0/2.10.0/loaders.cache

You should get something like this:

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lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 42 Aug  2  2013 /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/gdk-pixbuf-2.0/2.10.0/loaders.cache -> ../../../../etc/gtk-2.0/gdk-pixbuf.loaders

(As for the freeze on shutdown, that's probably an unrelated, separate issue, and one that I've not experienced. But if you look around the forum you will find that many others have had similar problems and fixed them in the past, and you may find an answer that also works for you.)

[metallica5456]

After first command:

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Aug 2 2013 /etc/gtx-2.0/gdk-pixbuf.loaders

holy smokes for the second command I got EXACTLY what you said I should get..

Are we making any progress yet?? This linux coding and what not is interesting BUT I have no IDEA what t means LOL

[npierce]

Yes, I think we are getting close.

It looks like the file is there, but is empty (the zero before the date is the file size). This command should make a new file with the correct contents:

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gdk-pixbuf-query-loaders > /etc/gtk-2.0/gdk-pixbuf.loaders

Then you can verify that that worked by trying this command again:

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ls -l  /etc/gtk-2.0/gdk-pixbuf.loaders

This time the number before the date should be greater than zero, and the date will be today's.

If that looks good, save any work you are doing and restart the X server (Menu -> Shutdown -> Restart X Server).

Are the curious triangle icons gone after doing that?

[metallica5456]

OMG OMG OMG.....DUDE its working!!!! Last night I didn't even bother to try to shut it off properly and NOW I just started it up and it loaded the icons correctly and automatically loaded internet and everything. Only thing is theres no wallpaper just gray background...please advise what to do now?? Is it fixed??

EDIT:

NVM the backgrounds ARE working I just selected them in the background wallpaper chooser and it worked just fine...OMG what did you do!! You are a true puppy god sir!!!

[npierce]

metallica5456,

Hi. Sorry not to respond sooner. I've not logged-in for a couple of months.

Anyway, I'm glad to read that you got it working. Belatedly, welcome to the forum.

[metallica5456]

LOL its ok I actually gave that lapper away about a month ago. THANK YOU for your help though.

[npierce]

You're welcome.