gnome-screensaver fails to run right after being activated

Thanks for filing this new bug.

If you select "Blank Screen", does it work?

Thanks for getting on this so quickly.

If you are referring to the screensaver setting of "Blank Screen", no, it exibits the same behavior regardless of which screensaver is selected. Also they all run successfully in Preview mode.

If you are referring to the "Blank Screen" setting in power management panel, yes dpms power saving works as expected.

What desktop environment does this problem occur in? (GNOME, XFCE, KDE, etc.)
Do you use visual effects? (System/Preferences/Appearance/Visual Effects)
Is this a laptop or a desktop machine?
How many monitors do you use?
If it is a laptop, do you use an external screen?

Could you please also run the following command and attach the resulting file here:

gconftool-2 --dump /apps/gnome-screensaver /desktop/gnome/session /desktop/gnome/lockdown > debug.xml

This is under Gnome
compiz is enabled
Netbook
1 monitor
no external screen

Attached output from gconftool-2 --dump /apps/gnome-screensaver /desktop/gnome/session /desktop/gnome/lockdown > debug.xml

Also, I should add that the screensaver does function properly when started with

gnome-screensaver --debug --no-daemon

I've attached the output from that as well.

If you disable desktop-effects (System/Preferences/Appearance/Visual Effects/None) and reboot, does it work?

I would like to note the following behavior:

1) enable the screensaver via checkbox in screensaver preferences
2) for duration of session, note same behavior described in this bug report
3) leaving the option enabled, reboot
4) following boot and subsequent reboots, screensaver functions as expected.

This isolates the bug to the following STR:

1) disable screensaver via checkbox in screensaver preferences
2) reboot
3) enable the screensaver via checkbox in screensaver preferences
4) for duration of session, note same behavior described in this bug report

Thanks for discovering that! I can reproduce the problem with the steps you've described.

I didn't want to disable compiz to test this as I don't really care about having a screensaver, more about a fully functional system. So, I created a new user and followed the STR. I can reproduce the exact issue following the above steps.

I then disabled desktop effects on the new user, rebooted, enabled the screensaver and yes, it is now functional. It seems compiz is indeed playing a role in this bug.

Having multiple workarounds now is better than nothing. Also are you able to reproduce this following the above steps with compiz enabled? If not and it's just me, I will mark this bug invalid. This is a system upgraded from intrepid to jaunty to karmic alpha 2 thru current karmic updates all the while with the same main user profile. I have verified this bug does not exist on a fresh VM install.

Oops sorry, didn't see you already reproduced it. That's good. Also, I've not really ruled this out on a fresh install as I never did enable compiz in the virtual machine and that seems to make all the difference. Looks like a valid bug after all. Let me know if there is any other info / debugging I can provide. Thanks.

I can reproduce the problem without compiz.

Well, this is fun: as soon as I add "--debug" to /etc/xdg/autostart/gnome-screensaver.desktop, I can't reproduce the issue anymore.