Bug#576617: libgconf2-4: gconfd-2 enters infinite loop, preventing other apps from starting forever

[Helge Hafting]

On Tue, Apr 06, 2010 at 09:43:36AM +0200, Josselin Mouette wrote:
> severity 576617 important
> thanks
> 
> Le mardi 06 avril 2010 à 00:35 +0200, Helge Hafting a écrit :
> > Programs that uses gconf, such as icedove and iceweasel, fail to start up.
> > When I start them, gconfd-2 uses 100% cpu forever, and so does the iceweasel/icedove
> > processes. No windows appear, ever.
> 
> Does it only happen with Mozilla programs, or with all programs using
> GConf? Try for example gcalctool.
> 
"gcalctool" is just as bad as icedove.
gconfd-2 and gcalctool both eats 100% cpu forever.
I get a blank unresponsive gcalctool window.

strace gcalctool
reveals that this sequence repeats over and over:
read(15, 0x25d5104, 4096)               = -1 EAGAIN (Resource temporarily unavailable)
poll([{fd=6, events=POLLIN}, {fd=8, events=POLLIN|POLLPRI}, {fd=11, events=POLLIN|POLLPRI}, {fd=12, events=POLLIN|POLLPRI}, {fd=13, events=POLLIN|POLLPRI}, {fd=14, events=POLLIN|POLLPRI}, {fd=15, events=POLLIN}, {fd=16, events=POLLIN}], 8, 0) = 1 ([{fd=12, revents=POLLHUP}])

> Is the session D-bus daemon correctly started? If not, does running
> "dbus-launch iceweasel" work better than just "iceweasel"?


dbus-launch iceweasel
gives me a blank iceweasel window, and two processes
(firefox-bin and gconfd-2) eating 100% cpu each.


Iceweasel sometimes start working normally - after some minutes. I don't wait that long, just
switch to opera. And then suddenly, iceweasel appear out of nowhere a while later. And then it works
as usual. Maybe it eventually gave up communicating with gconf?

Helge Hafting