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[Alexander Lindo <alindo.fm@xxxxxxxxx>]

I have managed to find a more suitable fix, one which could easily be
implemented for other systems using this graphics chip or similar.  The
Intel X4500 graphics chip does not have dedicated memory for graphics
and thus relies on the system memory. From my testing it would appear
that Ubuntu by default does not allocate any permanent memory for this
graphics chip and thus when a user depletes the the system memory,
graphics card suffers as well, hence the graphics distortion.

The logical fix for this is to allot permanent memory for the graphics
chip and have the rest available to the OS. This is done by editing
grub: "sudo gedit /etc/default/grub" and reducing the amount of ram
available to the system. I have 3 GB RAM and the x4500 is said to use up
to 384, so 3000-384 = 2616 therefore we place the following line in grub
using gedit: "GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="mem=2616

When we are done we type "sudo update-grub" in the terminal.

Restart and the problem does not occur anymore.

By limiting the OS to 2616mb ram we are ensuring that it does not tamper
with the RAM we have dedicated to the graphics chip. This not not only
fixes the graphics distortion issues but also appears to improve
performance of the OS overall. Before this implementation I would have
to log out once every half hour or less and sometimes restart. With this
implementation I have had this pc running for 3 days non stop with out
issues.

The original website regarding the GRUB fix is here:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupportComponentsVideoCardsPoulsbo

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop
Packages, which is subscribed to xserver-xorg-video-intel in Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1358936

Title:
  [gm45] L-shaped memory with invalid swizzling

Status in “xserver-xorg-video-intel” package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  I have been having an issue with garbled graphics on an ASUS K50IJ
  Laptop with Intel GMA X4500 integrated graphics.

  It is a difficult bug to recreate in a timely fashion as it requires
  you to be on the system for a decent amount of time (like an hour,
  sometimes less). Usage scenario to recreate this bug: would be to
  gradually build up to 10 Firefox or Google Chrome tabs. Minimize the
  applications, Open a 4000x3000 pixel photo in GIMP, do some editing.
  After using the computer for a while, go to the launcher and click
  Firefox or Chrome. Close Firefox or Chrome and then close GIMP.
  Firefox will take a while to close and while the hard drive is
  loading, the screen will suddenly become garbled.

  I've been a user of Ubuntu since version 6.06 (Dapper Drake) and have
  been using it exclusively on this laptop since version 12.04. I have
  not had this issue until 14.04.

  The temporary workaround is to log out and log back in, after which
  the graphics are back to normal. I also checked to see if it was a
  memory issue but System Monitor does not appear to display such an
  issue.

  ProblemType: Bug
  DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
  Package: xorg 1:7.7+1ubuntu8
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-34.60-generic 3.13.11.4
  Uname: Linux 3.13.0-34-generic x86_64
  .tmp.unity.support.test.0:
   
  ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.3
  Architecture: amd64
  CompizPlugins: No value set for `/apps/compiz-1/general/screen0/options/active_plugins'
  CompositorRunning: compiz
  CompositorUnredirectDriverBlacklist: '(nouveau|Intel).*Mesa 8.0'
  CompositorUnredirectFSW: true
  CurrentDesktop: Unity
  Date: Tue Aug 19 14:34:16 2014
  DistUpgraded: Fresh install
  DistroCodename: trusty
  DistroVariant: ubuntu
  ExtraDebuggingInterest: Yes
  GraphicsCard:
   Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:2a42] (rev 09) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
     Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device [1043:1862]
     Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device [1043:1862]
  InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-08-07 (12 days ago)
  InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS "Trusty Tahr" - Release amd64 (20140722.2)
  MachineType: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. K50IJ
  ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-3.13.0-34-generic root=/dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-root ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
  SourcePackage: xorg
  UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
  dmi.bios.date: 12/04/2009
  dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
  dmi.bios.version: 217
  dmi.board.asset.tag: ATN12345678901234567
  dmi.board.name: K50IJ
  dmi.board.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
  dmi.board.version: 1.0
  dmi.chassis.asset.tag: ATN12345678901234567
  dmi.chassis.type: 10
  dmi.chassis.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
  dmi.chassis.version: 1.0
  dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvr217:bd12/04/2009:svnASUSTeKComputerInc.:pnK50IJ:pvr1.0:rvnASUSTeKComputerInc.:rnK50IJ:rvr1.0:cvnASUSTeKComputerInc.:ct10:cvr1.0:
  dmi.product.name: K50IJ
  dmi.product.version: 1.0
  dmi.sys.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
  version.compiz: compiz 1:0.9.11.2+14.04.20140714-0ubuntu1
  version.ia32-libs: ia32-libs N/A
  version.libdrm2: libdrm2 2.4.52-1
  version.libgl1-mesa-dri: libgl1-mesa-dri 10.1.3-0ubuntu0.1
  version.libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental: libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental N/A
  version.libgl1-mesa-glx: libgl1-mesa-glx 10.1.3-0ubuntu0.1
  version.xserver-xorg-core: xserver-xorg-core 2:1.15.1-0ubuntu2
  version.xserver-xorg-input-evdev: xserver-xorg-input-evdev 1:2.8.2-1ubuntu2
  version.xserver-xorg-video-ati: xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:7.3.0-1ubuntu3.1
  version.xserver-xorg-video-intel: xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.99.910-0ubuntu1
  version.xserver-xorg-video-nouveau: xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 1:1.0.10-1ubuntu2
  xserver.bootTime: Tue Aug 19 09:31:11 2014
  xserver.configfile: default
  xserver.errors:
   
  xserver.logfile: /var/log/Xorg.0.log
  xserver.outputs:
   product id                                 488 
   vendor                                     LGD
  xserver.version: 2:1.15.1-0ubuntu2

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