Whole system dying after alt+tab in Proton games

Issues & Assistance Games & Emulators
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Hello there. Switched to gaming on Linux for one reason. My Windows kept crashing video drivers when I’m alt+tabbing which was annoying as hell.

Now, when playing any game using GE-Proton (not sure if it happens on any other Proton/Wine versions because the issue is kind of rare.) I can catch a full system freeze after alt+tab into the game (audio looping, picture fully froze, can’t switch to another tty) and that’s it.

I’m pretty sure there are no memory leaks or something like that because I’ve kept my eyes on RAM and it’s perfectly fine.

For now I’m using Crtl+F1 and Crtl+F2 to switch between desktops, keeping my game opened on the 2nd one. It seems like I don’t encounter any issues that way, but I still hope for a potential fix for alt+tab.

Please help :d

My garuda-inxi output:

System:
Kernel: 6.10.5-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 14.2.1
clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
root=UUID=35b99d73-ff94-4fc5-ac66-9171b68685f2 rw rootflags=subvol=@
quiet resume=UUID=6150be1b-f016-4fee-8f1d-e688372a1e74 loglevel=3 ibt=off
Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.1.4 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.5.0
wm: kwin_wayland vt: 1 dm: SDDM Distro: Garuda base: Arch Linux
Machine:
Type: Desktop System: ASUS product: N/A v: N/A serial: <superuser required>
Mobo: ASUSTeK model: PRIME B450M-K II v: Rev X.0x
serial: <superuser required> part-nu: SKU uuid: <superuser required>
UEFI: American Megatrends v: 3810 date: 11/21/2022
CPU:
Info: model: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen 3 gen: 4
level: v3 note: check built: 2021-22 process: TSMC n7 (7nm)
family: 0x19 (25) model-id: 0x50 (80) stepping: 0 microcode: 0xA50000D
Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 6 tpc: 2 threads: 12 smt: enabled cache:
L1: 384 KiB desc: d-6x32 KiB; i-6x32 KiB L2: 3 MiB desc: 6x512 KiB
L3: 16 MiB desc: 1x16 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 2992 high: 3160 min/max: 400/4359 scaling:
driver: amd-pstate-epp governor: powersave cores: 1: 2961 2: 2977 3: 2931
4: 3160 5: 2970 6: 2994 7: 2998 8: 2971 9: 2988 10: 2998 11: 2964 12: 2997
bogomips: 86395
Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm
Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
Device-1: AMD Navi 23 [Radeon RX 6650 XT / 6700S 6800S] vendor: Sapphire
driver: amdgpu v: kernel arch: RDNA-2 code: Navi-2x process: TSMC n7 (7nm)
built: 2020-22 pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16 ports:
active: HDMI-A-1 empty: DP-1, DP-2, DP-3, Writeback-1 bus-ID: 03:00.0
chip-ID: 1002:73ef class-ID: 0300
Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.13 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.2
compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: amdgpu
unloaded: modesetting,radeon alternate: fbdev,vesa dri: radeonsi
gpu: amdgpu display-ID: 0
Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 res: 1920x1080 size: N/A modes: N/A
API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: amd radeonsi platforms: device: 0 drv: radeonsi
device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: kms_swrast surfaceless: drv: radeonsi
wayland: drv: radeonsi x11: drv: radeonsi
API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: amd mesa v: 24.1.6-arch1.1
glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (radeonsi
navi23 LLVM 18.1.8 DRM 3.57 6.10.5-zen1-1-zen) device-ID: 1002:73ef
memory: 7.81 GiB unified: no display-ID: :1.0
API: Vulkan v: 1.3.279 layers: 15 device: 0 type: discrete-gpu name: AMD
Radeon RX 6650 XT (RADV NAVI23) driver: mesa radv v: 24.1.6-arch1.1
device-ID: 1002:73ef surfaces: xcb,xlib,wayland device: 1 type: cpu
name: llvmpipe (LLVM 18.1.8 256 bits) driver: mesa llvmpipe
v: 24.1.6-arch1.1 (LLVM 18.1.8) device-ID: 10005:0000
surfaces: xcb,xlib,wayland
Audio:
Device-1: AMD Navi 21/23 HDMI/DP Audio driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie:
gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 03:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:ab28
class-ID: 0403
Device-2: AMD Renoir Radeon High Definition Audio vendor: ASUSTeK
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16
link-max: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s bus-ID: 0c:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:1637
class-ID: 0403
Device-3: AMD Family 17h/19h HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16
link-max: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s bus-ID: 0c:00.6 chip-ID: 1022:15e3
class-ID: 0403
Device-4: Trust GXT 258 Microphone
driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s
lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-2:3 chip-ID: 145f:029d class-ID: 0300
API: ALSA v: k6.10.5-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api with: aoss
type: oss-emulator tools: N/A
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.2.2 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
4: pw-jack type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
vendor: ASUSTeK RTL8111H driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1
speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: e000 bus-ID: 0a:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8168
class-ID: 0200
IF: enp10s0 state: down mac: <filter>
IF-ID-1: enp4s0f0u3 state: unknown speed: -1 duplex: half mac: <filter>
Info: services: NetworkManager, sshd, systemd-timesyncd
Bluetooth:
Device-1: vivo V2111 driver: rndis_host v: kernel type: USB rev: 2.0
speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-3:5 chip-ID: 2d95:600b
class-ID: 0a00 serial: <filter>
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 2.09 TiB used: 749.03 GiB (35.0%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Western Digital
model: WD Blue SN570 1TB size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter>
fw-rev: 234110WD temp: 39.9 C scheme: GPT
ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Western Digital
model: WD10EZEX-60M2NA0 size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 4096 B
logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter>
fw-rev: 1A03 scheme: MBR
ID-3: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Intel model: SSDSA2CW300G3
size: 279.46 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s
tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 0362 scheme: GPT
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 262.22 GiB size: 262.22 GiB (100.00%)
used: 136.4 GiB (52.0%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sdb2 maj-min: 8:18
ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%)
used: 584 KiB (0.2%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sdb1 maj-min: 8:17
ID-3: /home raw-size: 262.22 GiB size: 262.22 GiB (100.00%)
used: 136.4 GiB (52.0%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sdb2 maj-min: 8:18
ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 262.22 GiB size: 262.22 GiB (100.00%)
used: 136.4 GiB (52.0%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sdb2 maj-min: 8:18
ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 262.22 GiB size: 262.22 GiB (100.00%)
used: 136.4 GiB (52.0%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sdb2 maj-min: 8:18
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 15.41 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100
comp: zstd avail: lzo,lzo-rle,lz4,lz4hc,842 max-streams: 12 dev: /dev/zram0
ID-2: swap-2 type: partition size: 16.95 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%)
priority: -2 dev: /dev/sdb3 maj-min: 8:19
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 42.9 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 52.0 C
mem: 52.0 C
Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A gpu: amdgpu fan: 0
Info:
Memory: total: 16 GiB note: est. available: 15.41 GiB used: 4.81 GiB (31.2%)
Processes: 358 Power: uptime: 5m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
avail: s2idle wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
suspend, test_resume image: 6.15 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 256 default: graphical
tool: systemctl
Packages: 4149 pm: pacman pkgs: 2072 libs: 588 tools: octopi,paru,yay
pm: rpm pkgs: N/A note: see --rpm tools: dnf pm: flatpak pkgs: 5 Compilers:
clang: 18.1.8 gcc: 14.2.1 Shell: garuda-inxi default: fish v: 3.7.1
running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.35
Garuda (2.6.26-1):
System install date:     2024-07-13
Last full system update: 2024-08-17
Is partially upgraded:   No
Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut
Windows dual boot:       Probably (Run as root to verify)
Failed units:
2

I’ve been getting this too!!! But I only get it so I can’t even switch TTY, and REISUB doesn’t work either. And in low-end games (like terraria for example!!)

2 Likes
3

If kde spits out a crash report do make sure to make a bug report here https://bugs.kde.org/

*One thing to try temporary is change the task switcher, cant say it will work but worth a try

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1 Like
4

(Not sure what exact game(s) you are having issues with, but I will be reporting my quite similar issues with Warframe as it is a free game with many ProtonDB reports to reference)

I have a very similar situation that is rather odd. I have experienced games crashing (at least with proton-GE) on alt+tab (or even just changing focus), but not a full system freeze until I was trying to pin down exact reproduction steps more today (as it seems to be so random). Tried just bouncing back between virtual desktops just today (multiple times) with Warframe using proton-GE and that was what could trigger a full system freeze where using REISUB didn’t work; unlike I’ve seen with changing focus (using alt tab or clicking something on the other monitor just crashing the game). I searched the journal and couldn’t seem to find any information that would be helpful leading up to system freeze.

I can only assume this kind of issue might start from any kind situation where the game loses focus (be it to different windows, virtual desktops, etc.) that there is a very slight chance of causing a system freeze instead of just a game crash. There are also a few reports that alt+tab crashes the Warframe, but they mention it only happens rarely to them (which is not the case for us it seems as it isn’t that rare) https://www.protondb.com/app/230410#ZUaj0W1sIx . As you can see by the report, they also use proton-GE .

I’ve thought of also tried turning off animations for the effects (alt+tab and switching virtual desktops) in my testing, just as @elite suggested, but it seemed to have no effect on stopping the crashing. Also using the Meta key (bring up the Application Launcher) could cause the game to crash.
I’ve never experienced a KDE crash handler for this issue I don’t think… although Warframe comes up with a crash handler for itself.

For now, I would recommend to try Proton Experimental or the latest stable release of Proton and see if that helps with the alt+tab issue for the game(s) you are having issues with. Some games can tend to be very picky to which kind of Proton they are the most stable with. Also be sure to check with protondb.com to see if anybody else has had the same kind of problems for the game(s) as there might be some kind of workaround for the issues.

If that doesn’t help, I would also suggest to update your BIOS and to do a memtest as you were experiencing video driver crashes in Windows, as that could be pointing to a more underlying issue.

2 Likes
5

I should add the one thing i have found is its mainly in games that only have full screen or window mode in my case window mode is fine while fullscreen will crash with the meta key. The “modern informative” 3rd party task switch for me at least has been working today.
But I know the meta key will still crash by locking up then dropping to tty for about 3 seconds. Then coming back to desktop with all apps crashed an the game still running in the background, “sometimes”.
After such crash yakuake will only open dead center on the screen leading me to just restarting you can log out but I normally run a garuda update an just reboot.

I’ve not tested this in a game with window full screen mode.

2 Likes
6

Update:
Will try to run games via Proton Experimental or GE-Proton on X11 session.

I think my hardware is fine.
In Windows the issue appears only when Alt+Tabbing and as I know it’s not that rare with AMD cards :frowning:
On Linux however I can run things like SDXL, load my VRAM and RAM almost to 100% and don’t experience any issues, which most likely leaves me with either Proton or Wayland problems.

Also tried to make a PROTON_LOG, but there was no useful info.

7

I heard about Alt+Tab issues with some games also on Windows previously. That is why people suggest using “borderless fullscreen” or “windowed” instead of classic “Fullscreen”. After testing the other suggestions, you could try to check this in the games you like.

2 Likes
8

I’ve tried this and while it can help some games a bit, it sadly doesn’t help them all. :slightly_frowning_face:

9

I’m using borderless fullscreen 100% of the time where it is possible, so… Yep.

For now I’m perfectly fine with game running fully on another virtual desktop with nothing else on it. Just leave all my stuff on Crtl+F1 and then go to Crtl+F2 to continue playing. Although I got this issue once in ~20 hours of gameplay when doing this (probably because of game being unfocused on second desktop when taking a screenshot and Spectacle opens), it’s WAY more stable than alt+tabbing. So I’ll stick with that.

Thank you all for the help :slight_smile:

10

So, I switched to using the linux-lts kernel and a few times where the system WOULD freeze, it only froze for a second then continued like normal. My issue isn’t exactly like yours but it’s quite similar so I recommend giving it a try.

2 Likes
11

I’ve been trying that recently and there seems to be two separate issues: the alt+tab issue with crashing Warframe, and the random whole system freeze. The system freeze seems to happen randomly even without any user input.
I’ve tested leaving the computer running with the Zen kernel for a prolonged time with little interaction (like overnight while I was asleep) and it would eventually cause this. I’ve been testing using the LTS kernel for a few days and I haven’t experienced a system freeze since. This has only happened recently and it is might be due to a version of the Zen kernel. The Zen kernel has just updated again so that might have fixed the issue. If I notice anything further with the Zen kernel, I will make a separate topic as not to derail this one more :sweat_smile:

1 Like
12

Cool! I’ll try out linux-lts kernel too then. I hope this will fix it for me too.

13

May or may not be related but I’ve been experiencing similar issues the past week or two now, but it’s not just Proton it’s Minecraft too. Also using B450M motherboard and an AMD GPU. Will try LTS kernel and report back :slight_smile:

edit:
Seems to be a known issue, offending patch was also backported to LTS kernel…:
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=298360

2 Likes
14

I’ve read about that, but I thought that might of been unrelated at first because it mentioned reboots… but after looking at it more I guess its just up to the system how it responds this kind of crashing (where the kernel is unresponsive to even REISUB).
It is rather intermittent issue that I haven’t run into recently with the freezing… I will still test Zen 6.10.6 just in case it was a separate issue with 6.10.5 before. If it still happens, then it most likely is related and I will end up waiting for the next stable kernel release to fix it (as stated in your link).

If this issue is indeed somehow related to what is causing issues for @anar1ston , hopefully they don’t make us wait too long for the next stable kernel release. Having these kernel crashes be so unpredictably intermittent I wouldn’t want to be be updating or doing something else serious when it happens. :fearful:

2 Likes
15

I was using LTS kernel for a while and I can say that it fixed all the freezes. Both the Alt+Tab ones and the random full freeze ones too.

Didn’t have any random system reboots, btw. Everything works now more than fine, finally a flawless experience :slight_smile:

Thanks everyone for participating in this topic! Seems like setting the kernel to LTS fixes the issue, but if something happens, I’ll write here right away. Hope you all have a good day.

2 Likes
16

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