Feb 26

I was running Ubuntu Linux 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) on my desktop which had an ATI graphics card. There were a lot of driver related issues (fglrx driver). I tried different versions of the driver, even upgraded to the alpha version of Hardy Heron, to gain access to the new kernel. The issues persisted. Succumbing to the driver blues, I replaced the ATI card with an Nvidia card. I am so much happier now.

However, I have this:

Glowy shadows

Notice the glow instead of shadow

What should be window shadows are somehow a glowy halo!

It is good to know I am not the only one. There’s a bug on CompizFusion (OpenCompositing) website that tracks this issue.

There seems to be a general consensus that this is indeed related to the Nvidia Linux drivers.

Here’s what is known so far. Folks dealing with glowy shadows have following in common:

  • Some flavor of Linux (Ubuntu, ArchLinux, …)
  • Nvidia graphics card (Mostly the 8-series)
  • Latest Nvidia driver (nvidia-glx-new version 169.09 in my case)
  • CompizFusion with Window Decoration plugin
  • Either Emerald or Gnome window decorator

If you are dealing with similar issue, and think can add useful bit of information to the discussion, drop a comment. Better yet, update the bug on CompizFusion (OpenCompositing).

While we are at it, is there a way of tracking bugs submitted to Nvidia (via Linux Display Driver - x86 Version: 169.09">nvidia-bug-report.sh)?