Ubuntu/XBMC display issues over VNC & remote desktop

scudsucker

scudsucker

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I have an Ubuntu 12 machine, with XBMC set to autostart. I'm using Gnome (this could be the problem, but I prefer gnome)

I want to admin it headless, via RDP or MS terminal services. I have only one monitor, keyboard and mouse, all attached to my XP machine.

I plan to control XBMC via my cellphone ( using the pretty full-featured Music Pump XBMC remote ) which so far works.

So everything works fine, aside from the usual I-dont-know-enough-about-linux issues. Except this: XBMC is set to autostart. On shutdown/restart, the system breaks down.

If I start it up with the monitor plugged into the Ubuntu box, then unplug it later all is fine.

But, if I restart via a Windows TightVNC client or from a Windows terminal services window, I get a message saying my graphics card is insufficient to run XBMC, and it (XMBC) does not start. I'm pretty sure this is because Ubuntu detects that there is no monitor.

I see the normal desktop etc.

I cant see a way to tell XBMC to run as a server only - not as a GUI.

My ideal is to use my XP PC for an occasional RDP admin access, and the rest of the time use the pretty amazing Music Pump remote. But now.. each time the Ubuntu box gets turned off, I need to move the monitor & mouse and keyboard across, plug them in and restart, then unplug. Seems I must be doing a couple of things wrong?

Suggestions welcome, thanks.
 
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Does Ubuntu not start or does XBMC not start? Your comment isn't quite clear there.

If it's just XBMC try forcing it to run as a full screen windows instead of true full screen mode. It's in the options.

What would the point of a server be instead of a GUI? XBMC is after all an application that you would consume directly. For that matter why are you plugging out the monitor at all? What's the point of XBMC without a monitor?
 
Xbmc does not start (or at least the GUI does not)

I want to be able to control the music without a monitor, just the iPhone & Android apps. This is fine in every way, particularly Android with the Music Pump XBMC app. I also own only one monitor, so RDP or VNC seemed an obvious solution.

The problem is that occasionally I do need the GUI for maintenance/changing settings.

XBMC is already running in a window rather than full screen.
 
Hopefully I have interpreted your problem correctly. If so, then you are unlikely to get XBMC running in graphical mode while headless. When you start in headless mode the OS will not load up the full graphical environment in order to save resources. Since XBMC uses OpenGL this means that it does not have sufficient graphics resources.

Remote viewers (depending on how you configure them) may show a virtual desktop environment that they start up on the remote machine. Your best options are:

Leave a monitor plugged in (which you do not want to do)
Setup the OS so that it starts up the DE anyway. All the methods I tried for this in the past used loopholes in the software and were prone to breaking on updates. Maybe someone on this forum has more up to date info on this.
Use a dummy VGA plug (hardware that fools the OS into thinking that there is a monitor plugged in)

On one of my home servers I wanted a DE to monitor downloads etc. The dummy plug ended up being the best solution. There are plenty of how-to articles on the internet. To make one you just need to solder three resistors into a standard VGA plug (or you could use a KVM switch instead).
 
OK.

Sounds feasible, and I think you are correct. I certainly do not want to use a loophole; Ubuntu is already prone to breaking programs on update, I don't want to try to maintain a bug exploit.

I'll look into the VGA plug, thanks.
 
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