Linux – Arch Linux and xfce4 working strange after system upgrade

arch linuxxfce

I'm having a hard time trying to figure this out. I've been running Arch Linux and Xfce4 smoothly for several months but suddenly after a full system upgrade in which the system asked me to replace some Python packages, things got weird.

For instance, I can't see see the mouse pointer after booting and when I actually see it, it's not the pointer you normally see. I can't see the top bar of any application on which you can minimize / maximize / close it. Some programs seem to open on the top left region of my screen and I can't move them. I can't use Alt+Tab to switch between applications, etc.

I took a couple of screenshots:

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Edit:

Looking at the Xorg log file I found this warnings and errors:

[    18.930] (II) LoadModule: "intel"
[    18.970] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/intel_drv.so
[    19.071] (II) Module intel: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[    19.071]    compiled for 1.13.0, module version = 2.20.12
[    19.071]    Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[    19.071]    ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 13.0
[    19.071] (II) LoadModule: "vesa"
[    19.084] (WW) Warning, couldn't open module vesa
[    19.084] (II) UnloadModule: "vesa"
[    19.084] (II) Unloading vesa
[    19.084] (EE) Failed to load module "vesa" (module does not exist, 0)
[    19.084] (II) LoadModule: "modesetting"
[    19.085] (WW) Warning, couldn't open module modesetting
[    19.085] (II) UnloadModule: "modesetting"
[    19.085] (II) Unloading modesetting
[    19.085] (EE) Failed to load module "modesetting" (module does not exist, 0)
[    19.085] (II) LoadModule: "fbdev"
[    19.085] (WW) Warning, couldn't open module fbdev
[    19.085] (II) UnloadModule: "fbdev"
[    19.085] (II) Unloading fbdev
[    19.085] (EE) Failed to load module "fbdev" (module does not exist, 0)
[    19.085] (II) intel: Driver for Intel Integrated Graphics Chipsets: i810,

Best Answer

About the xorg output

Disable any modesetting lines in /etc/X11/xorg.conf, if you have those. Try to remove the entire xorg.conf file if possible, and see if everything works without it. It's normally not needed anymore. Also make sure that you don't have legacy options enabled when booting with grub or grub2, like "vga=".

About the missing mouse pointer and window decorations

Try (re)installing the "xfce4" package (it's a group). Also try changing the look and feel of xfce in xfce4-settings-manager. Make sure you don't use a theme that has been uninstalled or upgraded.

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