GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed

same thing with Jaunty 32

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Hello,

I'd got the same problem.
Have a look here https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg/+bug/366232.
It solved my problem simply by removing a *.so in gstreamer library which causes a gnome-settings-daemon error.

AMD 64 (x86_64)
Ubuntu Studio 9.04
2.6.29.4-rt16

did you note the .so you moved and was that a local installated one?

The file i removed was /usr/lib/gstreamer-0.10/libgstladspa.so

I use LADSPA effects on Ubuntu Studio and removing the libgstladspa.so didn't affect them.

could you get a stacktrace a requested before or should we close the bug?

Removing that file doesn't change a thing here. Attaching a strace of g-s-d until the messages appear (no crash here, so no bt).

gnome-settings-daemon:
  Installed: 2.27.1-0ubuntu1
  Candidate: 2.27.1-0ubuntu1

Output of gnome-settings-daemon --no-daemon --debug attached.

there is no stacktrace there, opening a bug on bugzilla.gnome.org where the code writters will read it could be useful

Finally got a stacktrace (some debugging symbols seem to be missing, don't know which ones).

Franciscovega's bug seems unrelated and happens earlier than the error message in this bug. Also there is no segmentation fault. Xrandr plugin just causes above mentioned errors.

Looking at the strace output right before the messages...

[pid 4818] 01:06:07.208872 access("/home/test/.config/monitors.xml.desired", F_OK) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
[pid 4818] 01:06:07.208943 access("/home/test/.config/monitors.xml", F_OK) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
[pid 4818] 01:06:07.209003 access("/home/test/.config/monitors.xml.desired", F_OK) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
[pid 4818] 01:06:07.209073 write(2, "\n(gnome-settings-daemon:4818): G"..., 99
(gnome-settings-daemon:4818): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
) = 99

...this bug might be connected: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-desktop/+bug/314406 (also deals with those ~/.config/monitors.xml files).

The error is caused by the patch 100_load_desired_settings.patch by adding:

/* return NULL if the file doesn't exist */
if (!g_file_test (filename, G_FILE_TEST_EXISTS))
{
    result = NULL;

    return result;
}

to the function configurations_read_from_file() in libgnome-desktop/gnome-rr-config.c, because it leaves the error passed to the function uninitialized which later causes the error in gnome-settings-deamon's xrandr-plugin (gsd-xrandr-manager.c, function apply_configuration_from_filename()).

Removing that part makes the errors go away but for sure that's not a proper fix. No patch attached since I don't know how useful patching a patch is...

Still seeing this error regularly in Karmic beta. Any progress toward a fix yet?

Is any more debugging information needed from users?

(gnome-settings-daemon:4822): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
(gnome-settings-daemon:4822): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
aborting and using fallback: /usr/bin/metacity
Window manager warning: Failed to read saved session file /home/kristie/.config/metacity/sessions/10ef621a955cedd34125601806241223200000048080001.ms : Failed to open file '/home/kristie/.config/metacity/sessions/10ef621a955cedd34125601806241223200000048080001.ms ': No such file or directory
** (gnome-panel:4845): DEBUG: Adding applet 0.
** (gnome-panel:4845): DEBUG: Initialized Panel Applet Signaler.
** (nautilus:4846): WARNING **: No marshaller for signature of signal 'UploadFinished'
** (nautilus:4846): WARNING **: No marshaller for signature of signal 'DownloadFinished'
** (gnome-panel:4845): DEBUG: Adding applet 1.
** (gnome-panel:4845): DEBUG: Adding applet 2.
** (gnome-panel:4845): DEBUG: Adding applet 3.
** (gnome-panel:4845): DEBUG: Adding applet 4.
** (gnome-panel:4845): DEBUG: Adding applet 5.
** (gnome-panel:4845): DEBUG: Adding applet 6.
Initializing nautilus-gdu extension
** (gnome-panel:4845): DEBUG: Adding applet 7.
** (gnome-panel:4845): DEBUG: Adding applet 8.
** (gnome-panel:4845): DEBUG: Adding applet 9.
** (gnome-panel:4845): DEBUG: Adding applet 10.
Nautilus-Share-Message: Called "net usershare info" but it failed: 'net usershare' returned error 255: net usershare: cannot open usershare directory /var/lib/samba/usershares. Error No such file or directory
Please ask your system administrator to enable user sharing.

I am "suddenly" having problems with launching applications in 9.10 (perhaps an unrelated issue) but I see a fresh copy of .xsession-errors containing something very similar to this (latest attached) on session startup. May have something to do with gstreamer but I have not started any audio / video apps at this point.

I'm getting the same error in the same point of bug, just add an information (that's why I write). I debug output from the daemon with: 'gnome-settings-daemon --no-daemon --debug' and got:
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: Activating xrandr plugin
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: Starting xrandr manager

(gnome-settings-daemon:2146): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated xrandr
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: Plugin xrandr: active
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0x81538c8 initialising
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: Loading /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon-2.0/libxsettings.so
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: Registering GnomeXSettingsPlugin
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: Creating object of type GnomeXSettingsPlugin
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: GnomeXSettingsPlugin initializing
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: Activating xsettings plugin
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: Starting xsettings manager
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsManager: emitting plugin-activated xsettings
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: Plugin xsettings: active
** (gnome-settings-daemon:2146): DEBUG: GnomeSettingsModule 0x8153918 initialising

I'm using propietary nvidia drivers in package nvidia-glx-185 and if I don't start gnome-settings-daemon everything goes right, when I start the binary the screen resolution becomes to 800x600.

Regards,

Joan.

Still the same in lucid. Upstream closed the bugreport as 'notgnome', ie. because it's due to that ubuntu patch.

This is fixed in bzr now

This bug was fixed in the package gnome-desktop - 1:2.29.90-0ubuntu3

---------------
gnome-desktop (1:2.29.90-0ubuntu3) lucid; urgency=low

  [ Chris Coulson ]
  * debian/patches/100_load_desired_settings.patch:
    - Update to ensure that gnome_rr_config_apply_from_filename_with_time()
      always sets a GError when the call fails. Thanks to James Westby for
      contributing to this too (LP: #384439)

  [ Didier Roche ]
  * debian/patches/02_add_wallpaper_cache.patch:
    - keep maximum quality when saving the cached image in jpeg
    - support multimonitor: only clean wallpaper cache with same
      transformation and resolution
    - some refactoring, cleanage
 -- Didier Roche <email address hidden> Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:19:03 +0100

Hmmm, we've identified and fixed 2 code paths that cause this message, but I'm still seeing it on my laptop.

Seems fixed for me (no messages while not having any monitor configuration files in ~/.config). Are you sure it's coming from the xrandr-plugin (g-s-d --debug might help)?

I've fixed the remaining code path which causes this issue in bzr now

This bug was fixed in the package gnome-desktop - 1:2.29.92-0ubuntu3

---------------
gnome-desktop (1:2.29.92-0ubuntu3) lucid; urgency=low

  * debian/patches/100_load_desired_settings.patch:
    - Fix another case where gnome_rr_config_apply_from_filename_with_time
      can fail without setting a GError, and really fix LP: #384439
 -- Chris Coulson <email address hidden> Sat, 27 Mar 2010 23:54:00 +0000

SOLVED
I ran into this shortly after updating 9.10, got the black box in place of login screen, following log messages in /var/log/gdm/:0-greeter.log

(gnome-settings-daemon:3419): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed

(gnome-settings-daemon:3419): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
Window manager warning: Failed to read saved session file /var/lib/gdm/.config/metacity/sessions/10a9a99fd3e4ce7c9b128608721774271800000034130008.ms: Failed to open file '/var/lib/gdm/.config/metacity/sessions/10a9a99fd3e4ce7c9b128608721774271800000034130008.ms': No such file or directory

/etc/motd told me system load was over 5, saw 4-5 gdm processes each eating 15-27% cpu.

I figured it was a faulty update, possibly of my evil binary nvidia driver. Turns out /tmp was full! Clearing it solved the problem.

As of 2012 Wed, July 11, This bug is still happening in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty 64Bit

My themes are broken, and nothing appears to work in order to get the gnome-settings-daemon working properly again.

If I attempt to fix the incorrect desktop theme by right clicking on the desktop and selecting "Change Desktop Background" I get the following error message:
Unable to start the settings manager 'gnome-settings-daemon'.
Without the GNOME settings manager running, some preferences may not take effect. This could indicate a problem with DBus, or a non-GNOME (e.g. KDE) settings manager may already be active and conflicting with the GNOME settings manager.

Here is the command issued from the CLI:
sudo gnome-settings-daemon

Here is its output:
** (gnome-settings-daemon:6805): WARNING **: Failed to acquire org.gnome.SettingsDaemon

** (gnome-settings-daemon:6805): WARNING **: Could not acquire name

I've tried many suggested workarounds but nothing is fixing this problem.
Do Mint or Archlinux suffer from this problem? I need a distro that works.

@lpuser1138: stop commenting on every random bug you can find