Bug 32339

Created attachment 14016 [details]
What Firefox looks like when launched

Moving the mouse pointer around the screen, it appears that Firefox knows what's going on, but because of the bad rendering I don't know what's what on the screen.

This is strange. Your attached screenshot is extreme.
As with all updates, Firefox is tested before being pushed. This update was, if I remember correctly, slightly unusual in showing on first launch a couple of extra tabs about Mageia. 
Most users will have it, and would have shouted already.
BTAIM my own current firefox-115.2.1-1.mga9 (updated 25 Sep) works normally.

I think we need other comment before doing anything.

Unless you have heavily configured your Firefox, the easiest thing to try might be to UNinstall then re-install it, all with root privilege:
 urpme firefox
 urpme --auto-orphans       [Removes residual homeless packages]
 urpmi --clean              [Clears out the download cache]
 urpmi firefox

If that does not work, shout again. And post the output from
 $ inxi -MSG
which describes your system.

And to be able to carry on, the previous version was firefox-102.13.0-1 if you want to try downgrading to that:
 # urpmi --downgrade firefox-102.13.0-1

CC: (none) => lewyssmith

Try to delete or move/rename(if you need it) firefox cache, i.e. $HOME/.cache/mozilla. I've seen that kind of issues with chrome based browsers, not firefox though.

CC: (none) => arusanu

Created attachment 14023 [details]
Commands which you suggested

Created attachment 14024 [details]
inxi command on my system

(In reply to Lewis Smith from comment #2)
> This is strange. Your attached screenshot is extreme.
> As with all updates, Firefox is tested before being pushed. This update was,
> if I remember correctly, slightly unusual in showing on first launch a
> couple of extra tabs about Mageia. 
> Most users will have it, and would have shouted already.
> BTAIM my own current firefox-115.2.1-1.mga9 (updated 25 Sep) works normally.
> 
> I think we need other comment before doing anything.
> 
> Unless you have heavily configured your Firefox, the easiest thing to try
> might be to UNinstall then re-install it, all with root privilege:
>  urpme firefox
>  urpme --auto-orphans       [Removes residual homeless packages]
>  urpmi --clean              [Clears out the download cache]
>  urpmi firefox
> 
> If that does not work, shout again. And post the output from
>  $ inxi -MSG
> which describes your system.
> 
> And to be able to carry on, the previous version was firefox-102.13.0-1 if
> you want to try downgrading to that:
>  # urpmi --downgrade firefox-102.13.0-1

Thanks for your suggestions.  As you can see from the first new screenshot, I removed and re-installed Firefox as suggested.  Unfortunately the display is still bad.  The second screenshot is the inxi you requested of my system.  I'm running my Mageia 9 via Parallels Desktop 18 for Mac on a MacBook Air.  I can revert quite easily to the previous version of Firefox (which works just fine) by using the snapshot feature of Parallels.

Try renaming the $HOME/.mozilla directory and then starting Firefox. That is were all the configuration information, history, etc. is stored. It could be one of the files in there is corrupted.

CC: (none) => rihoward1

Mageia doesn't have the Parallels-tools package needed for running under
as a guest in a Parallels virtual system.

I have never tried it, but it might work using the procedure at
https://download.parallels.com/stm/docs/en/Parallels_Desktop_Users_Guide/22570.htm

though I have no idea what the xorg or xwayland settings should be.

CC: (none) => davidwhodgins

@John
Thank you for trying what you did comments 4,6. That all went fine.
I agree about trying both comment 3 & comment 7. Messed up configuration etc is often the source of problems. I hoped un/re-installing Firefox would see to that, though.

(In reply to John Hardie from comment #6)
> I'm running my Mageia 9 via Parallels Desktop 18 for Mac on a MacBook Air. 
https://download.parallels.com/stm/docs/en/Parallels_Desktop_Users_Guide
Well, this is something!
Supported Guest Operating Systems mention:
Linux ... Mandriva Linux 2009, 2008, 2007
We can guess that you have run Mageia successfully up to the Firefox update:  "the previous version of Firefox (which works just fine)".

Re comment 8 Parallel Tools, they come with Parallel itself for Linux generically, not a Linux package. Whether they are necessary, and John has them, does not seem the point here.

> I can revert quite easily to the previous version of Firefox (which works
> just fine) by using the snapshot feature of Parallels.
Better do that for the moment...
And please try another browser to see how that fares, say Falkon, which is excellent.

(In reply to Lewis Smith from comment #9)
> @John
> Thank you for trying what you did comments 4,6. That all went fine.
> I agree about trying both comment 3 & comment 7. Messed up configuration etc
> is often the source of problems. I hoped un/re-installing Firefox would see
> to that, though.
> 
> (In reply to John Hardie from comment #6)
> > I'm running my Mageia 9 via Parallels Desktop 18 for Mac on a MacBook Air. 
> https://download.parallels.com/stm/docs/en/Parallels_Desktop_Users_Guide
> Well, this is something!
> Supported Guest Operating Systems mention:
> Linux ... Mandriva Linux 2009, 2008, 2007
> We can guess that you have run Mageia successfully up to the Firefox update:
> "the previous version of Firefox (which works just fine)".
> 
> Re comment 8 Parallel Tools, they come with Parallel itself for Linux
> generically, not a Linux package. Whether they are necessary, and John has
> them, does not seem the point here.
> 
> > I can revert quite easily to the previous version of Firefox (which works
> > just fine) by using the snapshot feature of Parallels.
> Better do that for the moment...
> And please try another browser to see how that fares, say Falkon, which is
> excellent.

Thanks Lewis, I'll put all my relevant comments here in this single reply to minimise the number of messages going back and forth.  First, just to get it out of the way, Parallells is always a bit slow updating support for Linux distros, as opposed to support for Windows, where they're very quick off the mark.  My MacBook Air is a mid 2012 model, so I'm stuck with Catalina, which means I can't use Parallells 19, only Parallells 18.  Not really a problem anyway, as 18 is fairly recent.  More to the point though, is that Parallels 18 supported guest operating systems include Mageia 7 and 8.  Support for Mageia 9 will probably be at least 3 or 4 months down the track.  The major thing is updating their script for installing Parallells Tools, because it contains checks on the distro version number.  The only functionality I don't have without Parallels Tools is the ability to see my OS X files from Linux courtesy of a folder called pfs (for Parallels Shared Folders).  So in a nutshell my problem is not related to the fact that I don't have Parallels Tools installed (as I normally would once they update their install script).

I have tried renaming $HOME/.mozilla and $HOME/.cache/mozilla, however the problem display still remains.  I have also launched the two other browsers, namely Konqueror and Web, and they both display OK.  And of course Firefox 102.13.0 still works fine

It may work better under xorg instead of wayland.

Do new thunderbird have the same issue?
(Thinking they have a lot in common)

--

Is it possible to change graphics driver?

CC: (none) => fri

(In reply to Morgan Leijström from comment #12)
> Do new thunderbird have the same issue?
> (Thinking they have a lot in common)
> 
> --
> 
> Is it possible to change graphics driver?

The new Thunderbird is OK.  It was the first thing I checked when I noticed the problem with Firefox.

Are there any log files I could send you that might help?

When you start it from a terminal, is there some interesting output there?

Created attachment 14043 [details]
Launch Firefox from Console

Tiled windows.  Left window shows console output when Firefox is launched.  Right window shows Firefox output after launch displaying faulty rendering.

(In reply to Morgan Leijström from comment #15)
> When you start it from a terminal, is there some interesting output there?

See my latest attachment 14043 [details] and comment 16.  Maybe I have a missing or corrupted file somewhere.

(In reply to John Hardie from comment #16)
> Created attachment 14043 [details]
> Launch Firefox from Console
> 
> Tiled windows.  Left window shows console output when Firefox is launched. 
> Right window shows Firefox output after launch displaying faulty rendering.

While unrelated to the problem, do not pass %u as a parameter when starting
firefox in a terminal emulator.

As per https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/latest/ar01s07.html
when %u is used in a .desktop file it's replaced with a single url. If there
is no url, nothing is passed.

(In reply to John Hardie from comment #17)
> (In reply to Morgan Leijström from comment #15)
> > When you start it from a terminal, is there some interesting output there?
> 
> See my latest attachment 14043 [details] and comment 16.  Maybe I have a
> missing or corrupted file somewhere.

Try starting from the command line with:
firefox -purgecaches

That will purge the gecko javascript cache. The gecko javascript cache is not normally reset between startups and that will clear it. Gecko is the layout engine.

(In reply to r howard from comment #19)
> (In reply to John Hardie from comment #17)
> > (In reply to Morgan Leijström from comment #15)
> > > When you start it from a terminal, is there some interesting output there?
> > 
> > See my latest attachment 14043 [details] and comment 16.  Maybe I have a
> > missing or corrupted file somewhere.
> 
> Try starting from the command line with:
> firefox -purgecaches
> 
> That will purge the gecko javascript cache. The gecko javascript cache is
> not normally reset between startups and that will clear it. Gecko is the
> layout engine.

Tried it, still faulty.

The display problem is probably down to running under Parallels Desktop (18). You suggest comment 10 that although v19 is now current, they might explicitly accommodate Mageia 9 on v18 - sometime. 
Is there anything we can do about the problem now?
To start with, another Firefox update is just available: firefox-115.3.1-1.mga9 ; so please do try that.
And if it is still bad, for console output, just
 $ firefox
Copy/paste the O/P from the terminal to this bug comment.

CC'ing ns80 who nurses Firefox.

Summary: Latest firefox update display rendering is bad, unusable => firefox 115.2.1-1 display rendering is unusable; 102.13.0-1 worked OK, as do other browsers. [On Mac runnning Mageia under Parallels Desktop]
CC: (none) => nicolas.salguero

Created attachment 14050 [details]
Launch Newest Firefox from Console

Still same display problem.

(In reply to Lewis Smith from comment #21)
> The display problem is probably down to running under Parallels Desktop
> (18). You suggest comment 10 that although v19 is now current, they might
> explicitly accommodate Mageia 9 on v18 - sometime. 
> Is there anything we can do about the problem now?
> To start with, another Firefox update is just available:
> firefox-115.3.1-1.mga9 ; so please do try that.
> And if it is still bad, for console output, just
>  $ firefox
> Copy/paste the O/P from the terminal to this bug comment.
> 
> CC'ing ns80 who nurses Firefox.

Thanks for your help Lewis.  I have attached another screenshot for you where I have launched 115.3.1-1 from a console.  Result is still the same unfortunately.

Just so you know where I'm coming from, I'm a retired IT professional, used to do C++ programming and network support, so I'm still reasonably tech-savvy.  From your perspective the fact that I'm using Parallels is probably an added complication which makes it difficult for you to troubleshoot my problem from where you are, and I fully understand this.  As for my perspective, I have been using Parallels since Mageia 3, so I'm pretty au fait with Parallels and all its quirks.  Its main annoyance is its slowness in updating support for new versions of Linux distros.  A few years back they didn't update their online doco for several months after their already delayed updated support of a newer version of Mageia.  So they can be a bit frustrating.

Having said all that, it still looks like a Firefox problem, especially since 102.13.0-1 still works just fine, along with every other program I use in Mageia 9.  So as I suggested previously, Parallels lack of official support (yet) for Mageia 9 and my inability therefore to update Parallels Tools does not look like part of this problem I'm having.

I should probably give you guys a bit of a break over this.  I'm willing to simply stick with 102.13.0-1 until Parallels comes to the party in a few more months.  In the mean time are there some log files I could look at which might help me to troubleshoot the problem?  I'm quite willing to make it an educational exercise to make me more familiar with both Firefox and Linux.

Hi,

Maybe you need to disable GPU acceleration in Firefox to make it usable.

Best regards,

Nico.

(In reply to Nicolas Salguero from comment #24)
> Hi,
> 
> Maybe you need to disable GPU acceleration in Firefox to make it usable.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Nico.

Hi Nicolas
That was it!  I unchecked "Use hardware acceleration when available" and now it works just fine.  Thanks for your help Nic, and thanks everyone else for your input too.  Much appreciated.

Regards,
John H

Status: NEW => RESOLVED
Resolution: (none) => FIXED

Nice the workaround for Parallels was found.

We did not fix anything broken in Mageia.
So for Mageia this bug is to be marked invalid.

Resolution: FIXED => INVALID