Ubuntu package set for xfce on a vncserver session

ElderDelp · 2016-12-31 16:28:48

I am hoping that some kind soul can suggest a set of Ubuntu packages to re/install to get up and running:

I have Ubuntu/kubuntu 16.10 installed. I have display/keyboard and mouse on the machine - but only for debugging. My preferred use scenario is to ssh/PuTTY into the box with a tunnel set up for port for port 5902, start vncserver on server box with the xstartup below and connect with TightVNC Viewer for Windows (10) (version 2.8.5 Sept 23 2016).

#!/bin/bash
set -x
set -v
# Fix to make GNOME work
export XKL_XMODMAP_DISABLE=1
#/etc/X11/Xsession
unset SESSION_MANGER
unset DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS
startxfce4 &
[ -x /etc/vnc/xstartup ] && exec /etc/vnc/xstartup
[ -r $HOME/.Xresources ] && xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid darkblue
vncconfig -iconic &

On the screen when I connect, there is a box that says, "Sorry, the application gsv-plugin-scanner has stopped unexpectedly."
neither details nor continue cause any change.

Log Entries about xfsettingsd make me believe that I have something messed up.

more importantly, it may be either the vncserver or associated libraries are at fault.

(xfwm4:19937): xfwm4-WARNING **: The display does not support the XRender extension.
(xfwm4:19937): xfwm4-WARNING **: The display does not support the XComposite extension.
(xfwm4:19937): xfwm4-WARNING **: The display does not support the XDamage extension.
(xfwm4:19937): xfwm4-WARNING **: The display does not support the XFixes extension.
(xfwm4:19937): xfwm4-WARNING **: Compositing manager disabled.
(xfwm4:19937): xfwm4-WARNING **: Cannot find visual format on screen 0
QSystemTrayIcon::setVisible: No Icon set

Thank you for any help or pointers you may provide.

The vncserver log file contains

Xvnc Free Edition 4.1.1 - built Feb 25 2015 23:02:21
Copyright (C) 2002-2005 RealVNC Ltd.
See http://www.realvnc.com for information on VNC.
Underlying X server release 40300000, The XFree86 Project, Inc

Sat Dec 31 09:36:47 2016
vncext: VNC extension running!
vncext: Listening for VNC connections on port 5902
vncext: created VNC server for screen 0
error opening security policy file /etc/X11/xserver/SecurityPolicy
+ set -v
# Fix to make GNOME work
export XKL_XMODMAP_DISABLE=1
+ export XKL_XMODMAP_DISABLE=1
+ XKL_XMODMAP_DISABLE=1
#/etc/X11/Xsession
unset SESSION_MANGER
+ unset SESSION_MANGER
unset DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS
+ unset DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS
startxfce4 &
[ -x /etc/vnc/xstartup ] && exec /etc/vnc/xstartup
+ '[' -x /etc/vnc/xstartup ']'
[ -r $HOME/.Xresources ] && xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
+ '[' -r /home/gdelp/.Xresources ']'
+ xrdb /home/gdelp/.Xresources
+ startxfce4
/usr/bin/startxfce4: X server already running on display :2
xsetroot -solid darkblue
+ xsetroot -solid darkblue
vncconfig -iconic &
+ vncconfig -iconic
gpg-agent[19934]: WARNING: "--write-env-file" is an obsolete option - it has no effect
gpg-agent: a gpg-agent is already running - not starting a new one
(xfce4-session:19920): xfce4-session-WARNING **: gpg-agent returned no PID in the variables
(xfce4-session:19920): xfce4-session-WARNING **: xfsm_manager_load_session: Something wrong with (null), Does it exist? Permissions issue?
(xfce4-session:19920): xfce4-session-WARNING **: Unable to launch "/usr/lib/tracker/tracker-miner-apps" (specified by autostart/tracker-miner-apps.desktop): Failed to execute child process "/usr/lib/tracker/tracker-miner-apps" (No such file or directory)
** (process:19947): CRITICAL **: Error parsing manifest for package 'com.ubuntu.calendar': com.ubuntu.calendar does not exist in any database for user gdelp
** (process:19947): WARNING **: Unable to get snap information for 'com.ubuntu.calendar': Status code is: 404
(xfce4-session:19920): xfce4-session-WARNING **: Unable to launch "/usr/lib/tracker/tracker-miner-fs" (specified by autostart/tracker-miner-fs.desktop): Failed to execute child process "/usr/lib/tracker/tracker-miner-fs" (No such file or directory)
(xfce4-session:19920): xfce4-session-WARNING **: Unable to launch "/usr/lib/tracker/tracker-extract" (specified by autostart/tracker-extract.desktop): Failed to execute child process "/usr/lib/tracker/tracker-extract" (No such file or directory)
(polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1:19948): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_variant_new_string: assertion 'string != NULL' failed
(polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1:19948): polkit-gnome-1-WARNING **: Failed to register client: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name org.gnome.SessionManager was not provided by any .service files
QXcbConnection: Failed to initialize XRandr
(xfsettingsd:19944): xfsettingsd-CRITICAL **: RANDR extension is too old, version 1.1. Display settings won't be applied.
Xlib: extension "XInputExtension" missing on display ":2.0".
(xfsettingsd:19944): xfsettingsd-CRITICAL **: XI is not present.
(xfsettingsd:19944): xfsettingsd-CRITICAL **: Failed to initialize the Xkb extension.
(xfsettingsd:19944): xfsettingsd-CRITICAL **: Failed to initialize the Accessibility extension.
** (xfce4-volumed:20019): WARNING **: Binding 'XF86AudioRaiseVolume' failed!

{. . . many similar entries removed . . .}

** (xfce4-volumed:20019): WARNING **: Failed to map virtual modifiers
Qt: XKEYBOARD extension not present on the X server.
Failure: Module initialization failed
(xfsettingsd:19944): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_hash_table_destroy: assertion 'hash_table != NULL' failed
(xfsettingsd:19944): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: object XklEngine 0x55cdea69c660 finalized while still in-construction
(xfsettingsd:19944): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: Custom constructor for class XklEngine returned NULL (which is invalid). Please use GInitable instead.
(xfwm4:19937): xfwm4-WARNING **: The display does not support the XRender extension.
(xfwm4:19937): xfwm4-WARNING **: The display does not support the XComposite extension.
(xfwm4:19937): xfwm4-WARNING **: The display does not support the XDamage extension.
(xfwm4:19937): xfwm4-WARNING **: The display does not support the XFixes extension.
(xfwm4:19937): xfwm4-WARNING **: Compositing manager disabled.
(xfwm4:19937): xfwm4-WARNING **: Cannot find visual format on screen 0
QSystemTrayIcon::setVisible: No Icon set
(nm-applet:19949): Gtk-WARNING **: Theme parsing error: gtk.css:68:35: The style property GtkButton:child-displacement-x is deprecated and shouldn't be used anymore. It will be removed in a future version
(nm-applet:19949): Gtk-WARNING **: Theme parsing error: gtk.css:69:35: The style property GtkButton:child-displacement-y is deprecated and shouldn't be used anymore. It will be removed in a future version
(nm-applet:19949): Gtk-WARNING **: Theme parsing error: gtk.css:71:36: The style property GtkCheckMenuItem:indicator-size is deprecated and shouldn't be used anymore. It will be removed in a future version
(nm-applet:19949): Gdk-CRITICAL **: gdk_window_thaw_toplevel_updates: assertion 'window->update_and_descendants_freeze_count > 0' failed
QSystemTrayIcon::setVisible: No Icon set
QXcbWindow: Unhandled client message: "WM_S0"
QXcbWindow: Unhandled client message: "_NET_WM_CM_S0"
QXcbWindow: Unhandled client message: "COMPOSITING_MANAGER"
QDBusConnection: name 'org.kde.kglobalaccel' had owner '' but we thought it was ':1.57'
detected kglobalaccel restarting, re-registering all shortcut keys
(apport-gtk:20252): Gtk-WARNING **: Theme parsing error: gtk.css:68:35: The style property GtkButton:child-displacement-x is deprecated and shouldn't be used anymore. It will be removed in a future version
(apport-gtk:20252): Gtk-WARNING **: Theme parsing error: gtk.css:69:35: The style property GtkButton:child-displacement-y is deprecated and shouldn't be used anymore. It will be removed in a future version
(apport-gtk:20252): Gtk-WARNING **: Theme parsing error: gtk.css:73:46: The style property GtkScrolledWindow:scrollbars-within-bevel is deprecated and shouldn't be used anymore. It will be removed in a future version
(apport-gtk:20252): GdkPixbuf-CRITICAL **: gdk_pixbuf_composite: assertion 'dest_x >= 0 && dest_x + dest_width <= dest->width' failed
Xlib: extension "XInputExtension" missing on display ":2.0".
Xlib: extension "XInputExtension" missing on display ":2.0".
Xlib: extension "XInputExtension" missing on display ":2.0".
(apport-gtk:20439): Gtk-WARNING **: Theme parsing error: gtk.css:68:35: The style property GtkButton:child-displacement-x is deprecated and shouldn't be used anymore. It will be removed in a future version
(apport-gtk:20439): Gtk-WARNING **: Theme parsing error: gtk.css:69:35: The style property GtkButton:child-displacement-y is deprecated and shouldn't be used anymore. It will be removed in a future version
(apport-gtk:20439): Gtk-WARNING **: Theme parsing error: gtk.css:73:46: The style property GtkScrolledWindow:scrollbars-within-bevel is deprecated and shouldn't be used anymore. It will be removed in a future version
(apport-gtk:20439): GdkPixbuf-CRITICAL **: gdk_pixbuf_composite: assertion 'dest_x >= 0 && dest_x + dest_width <= dest->width' failed
Xlib: extension "XInputExtension" missing on display ":2.0".
Xlib: extension "XInputExtension" missing on display ":2.0".
Xlib: extension "XInputExtension" missing on display ":2.0".
Sat Dec 31 09:40:10 2016
Connections: accepted: 127.0.0.1::33858
SConnection: Client needs protocol version 3.8
SConnection: Client requests security type VncAuth(2)
Sat Dec 31 09:40:16 2016
VNCSConnST: Server default pixel format depth 24 (32bpp) little-endian bgr888
VNCSConnST: Client pixel format depth 24 (32bpp) little-endian rgb888
Xlib: extension "XInputExtension" missing on display ":2.0".
Xlib: extension "XInputExtension" missing on display ":2.0".
Sat Dec 31 10:06:49 2016
Connections: closed: 127.0.0.1::33858 (Clean disconnection)
SMsgWriter: framebuffer updates 373
SMsgWriter: ZRLE rects 769, bytes 745946
SMsgWriter: raw bytes equivalent 8136976, compression ratio 10.908264

ToZ · 2016-12-31 21:29:56

Hello and welcome.

What happens in you revert to the default xstartup file? There are a couple of ways to do this.

1. Rename your ~/.vnc directory (so you can reference it later if needed) and when you run "vncserver" it will prompt you for a password and recreate the directory using the default xstartup script

2. Use the following script (default from 16.04):

#!/bin/sh

xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
#x-terminal-emulator -geometry 80x24+10+10 -ls -title "$VNCDESKTOP Desktop" &
#x-window-manager &
# Fix to make GNOME work
export XKL_XMODMAP_DISABLE=1
/etc/X11/Xsession

Since you have xfce installed on a base ubuntu or kubuntu install, the xsession files might not work as anticipated. In which case, try an xstartup file like this:

#!/bin/sh
set -xv

xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
#x-terminal-emulator -geometry 80x24+10+10 -ls -title "$VNCDESKTOP Desktop" &
#x-window-manager &
# Fix to make GNOME work
export XKL_XMODMAP_DISABLE=1
/etc/X11/Xsession /usr/bin/startxfce4

...it has debugging set up so you can see info in the log file as well as passes "/usr/bin/startxfce4" to Xsession as a parameter to tell it which session startup script to use.

ElderDelp · 2017-01-01 00:07:29

Thank you for your reply, ToZ. I took your second recommendation; saving and replacing my .vnc/xstartup with:

#!/bin/sh
set -xv
xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
#x-terminal-emulator -geometry 80x24+10+10 -ls -title "$VNCDESKTOP Desktop" &
#x-window-manager &
# Fix to make GNOME work
export XKL_XMODMAP_DISABLE=1
/etc/X11/Xsession /usr/bin/startxfce4

with Log results looking *much* better

Xvnc Free Edition 4.1.1 - built Feb 25 2015 23:02:21
Copyright (C) 2002-2005 RealVNC Ltd.
See http://www.realvnc.com for information on VNC.
Underlying X server release 40300000, The XFree86 Project, Inc

Sat Dec 31 17:41:40 2016
vncext: VNC extension running!
vncext: Listening for VNC connections on port 5902
vncext: created VNC server for screen 0
error opening security policy file /etc/X11/xserver/SecurityPolicy
xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
+ xrdb /home/gdelp/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
+ xsetroot -solid grey
#x-terminal-emulator -geometry 80x24+10+10 -ls -title "$VNCDESKTOP Desktop" &
#x-window-manager &
# Fix to make GNOME work
export XKL_XMODMAP_DISABLE=1
+ export XKL_XMODMAP_DISABLE=1
/etc/X11/Xsession /usr/bin/startxfce4
+ /etc/X11/Xsession /usr/bin/startxfce4
Sat Dec 31 17:43:34 2016
Connections: accepted: 127.0.0.1::33898
SConnection: Client needs protocol version 3.8
SConnection: Client requests security type VncAuth(2)
Sat Dec 31 17:43:39 2016
VNCSConnST: Server default pixel format depth 24 (32bpp) little-endian bgr888
VNCSConnST: Client pixel format depth 24 (32bpp) little-endian rgb888

However, the tab and arrow keys do not work, and I cannot bring up xfce4-keyboard-settings without it hitting a Seg Fault (details reported by the application through another route, I hope). If if the crash did not get reported, then if someone can tell me how to capture the details and where to send them, that would be great.

Given the last success (replacing .vnc/xstartup, maybe I should move my other dot directories aside and let them be recreated. Where does xfce look and store info?

Again, thanks!

ToZ · 2017-01-01 00:59:26

I have better luck using xrdp and the Windows Remote Desktop client (mstsc.exe) to connect than vnc. Its not perfect, but it is better than the vnc connection. With vnc, I get similar errors and many annoyances related to the xfsettings daemon crashing. I'm not sure what the issues are with vnc and I've never spent any time to look into it. With xrdp, only the mouse and trackpad applet doesn't work.

The tab key not working is a known issue with Xfce over vnc/xrdp. To fix it, go to Settings Manager > Window Manager > Keyboard and clear the "Switch window for same application" keyboard shortcut. I've never seen the issue with the arrow keys not working.

To try xrdp, do the the following:

Install xrdp:
```
sudo apt-get install xrdp
```
Edit the /etc/xrdp/startwm.sh file and change the line that reads ". /etc/X11/Xsession" to read:
```
. /etc/X11/Xsession /usr/bin/startxfce4
```

enable and start the xrdp service:

sudo systemctl enable xrdp && sudo systemctl start xrdp

Connect using the windows Remote Desktop client (note: if you are using a firewall, make sure you allow the correct ports).

You mentioned in your original post that you ssh'd in to the system to start vnc. Not sure if this is a security pre-caution or just a method to start vnc, but with xrdp it is run as a service and you wouldn't need to pre-connect to start it up. If however, it is a security precaution, you can use the systemctl commands to enable and disable, and/or start and stop as required.

ElderDelp · 2017-01-01 03:18:45

Just a quick note to say thank you. I am still trying to get past the login screen of xrdp -- a small question: when you use this path, which session do you select? I am given the choices of: sesman-xorgxrdp sesman-Xvnc console vnc-any sesman-any rdp-any neutrinordp-any and "Session manager" - for me they all crash.

ToZ · 2017-01-01 04:53:27

I choose Sesman-Xvnc. Look at the /var/log/xrdp-sesman.log file to see whats happening.

markr-1961 · 2017-04-28 14:32:13

ToZ wrote:

With xrdp, only the mouse and trackpad applet doesn't work.

Short of attaching a kb/mouse/monitor, is there a solution for this? I'm left handed and need a way to swap the mouse buttons.

I'm running Jessie on a Pi3 and using xrdp.

ToZ · 2017-04-28 22:31:45

markr-1961 wrote:

I'm left handed and need a way to swap the mouse buttons.

Try:

xmodmap -e "pointer = 3 2 1"

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#1 2016-12-31 16:28:48

Ubuntu package set for xfce on a vncserver session

#2 2016-12-31 21:29:56

Re: Ubuntu package set for xfce on a vncserver session

#3 2017-01-01 00:07:29

Re: Ubuntu package set for xfce on a vncserver session

#4 2017-01-01 00:59:26

Re: Ubuntu package set for xfce on a vncserver session

#5 2017-01-01 03:18:45

Re: Ubuntu package set for xfce on a vncserver session

#6 2017-01-01 04:53:27

Re: Ubuntu package set for xfce on a vncserver session

#7 2017-04-28 14:32:13

Re: Ubuntu package set for xfce on a vncserver session

#8 2017-04-28 22:31:45

Re: Ubuntu package set for xfce on a vncserver session

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