Why Am i getting an error when my computer idles or i lock it

General Help
21

it doesnt do it for the manuel but i might happon soon

22

It Works But I Prefer with the error wayland is more visualy more buggy

23

I switched back to X11 with the Zorin Menu enabled and have not experienced this error yet (both on a laptop and a desktop). Perhaps enabling Zorin Menu did the trick, but it could also be that switching temporarily to Wayland triggered 'something'. There have also been a couple of Zorin related updates since I reported this issue that might have resolved it.

24

Nope, error is back. ChatGPT's analysis of the 'journalctl --no-pager -b' error log:

I think you’re seeing a GNOME Shell crash caused (or at least triggered) by shell extensions, with the first interesting error being a bug in the Zorin AppIndicator/Taskbar extensions, and the later BadWindow being the actual crash.

Let’s split what’s going on.

1. The first error at 09:55:23

TypeError: SettingsManager.getDefault() is null
 Stack trace:
   getDefaultGSettings@...zorin-appindicator@zorinos.com/settingsManager.js:54:28
   _updateIconSize@...zorin-appindicator@zorinos.com/appIndicator.js:1558:42
   _updateWhenFullyReady@...appIndicator.js:1013:18
   async*_init/<@...appIndicator.js:966:22
   disable/<@...zorin-taskbar@zorinos.com/panelManager.js:344:20
   disable@...zorin-taskbar@zorinos.com/panelManager.js:319:20
   disable@...zorin-taskbar@zorinos.com/extension.js:132:26
   _callExtensionDisable@...extensionSystem.js:220:32
   ...
   activate@...screenShield.js:661:34
   lock@...screenShield.js:728:14

What this tells us:

  • The Zorin taskbar extension is being disabled, likely because the session mode changes (e.g. going to the lock screen).
  • During its disable path, it calls into the zorin-appindicator extension’s SettingsManager.getDefault().
  • That function returns null, and the code assumes it’s a valid object, so you get a TypeError.

So:

  • This is definitely a bug in the Zorin extensions’ JS code – they should handle the case where SettingsManager isn’t available.
  • It happens specifically when extensions are being disabled/enabled as the session mode changes (lock screen, login, etc.).
  • On its own, this kind of JS error doesn’t always crash GNOME Shell, but it can leave the extension in a broken state and increase the chance of the shell getting into trouble later.

2. x11gestures losing connection

Immediately after:

[x11gestures@joseexposito.github.io] Connection with Touchégg daemon lost: null
[x11gestures@joseexposito.github.io] Connection manually closed, not reconnecting to the daemon

That just says: the x11gestures extension lost its Touchégg connection and decided not to reconnect. Not ideal, but not fatal on its own. It does show that multiple extensions are actively doing things around the same time.

3. The actual GNOME Shell crash at 12:54:57

Later:

Received an X Window System error.
This probably reflects a bug in the program.
The error was 'BadWindow (invalid Window parameter)'.
  (Details: serial 3579807 error_code 3 request_code 7 (core protocol) minor_code 0)
...
kernel: traps: gnome-shell[67377] trap int3 ... in libglib-2.0.so.0...

This is GNOME Shell itself dying with an X11 BadWindow error.

Important bits around that time:

  • All these extensions are active again:

    [x11gestures@joseexposito.github.io] Extension enabled
[x11gestures@joseexposito.github.io] Connecting to Touchégg daemon
[tilingshell] [extension] extension is enabled
Launching DING process (Desktop Icons NG)

So at the moment of the crash you have several third-party extensions running:

  • zorin-appindicator
  • zorin-taskbar
  • x11gestures
  • tilingshell
  • DING (desktop icons)

GNOME Shell + lots of extensions is
 let’s say “adventurous.” Any one of them mis-handling an X11 window can lead to:

  • GNOME trying to operate on a window that’s already destroyed → BadWindow.

The MUTTER_SYNC hint in the log is standard: it’s telling you how to get a meaningful backtrace if you wanted to debug GNOME Shell itself, but in practice the usual cause in real life is an extension misbehaving.

4. So what do I think?

In short:

  • The TypeError (SettingsManager.getDefault() is null) is a bug in the Zorin AppIndicator / Taskbar extension code, triggered on session mode changes (e.g. locking/unlocking).
  • The BadWindow crash later is very likely caused by one of your extensions, possibly in combination: Zorin extensions, x11gestures, tilingshell, DING.
  • Your core system (systemd, cron, sysstat, fwupd, NetworkManager) is just happily doing its thing in the background; nothing there suggests a system-level fault.

If we were debugging like devs, the first suspects would be:

  1. zorin-appindicator + zorin-taskbar
  2. x11gestures / Touchégg
  3. tilingshell / DING

5. What I’d try next (practical steps)

Since you actually want your desktop not to explode :blush::

  1. Check extension compatibility

    • Make sure all those extensions are meant for GNOME 46 (Zorin 18 is on 46). Old versions against new GNOME often cause exactly this.

  2. Temporarily disable the Zorin extras

    • From the GNOME Extensions app (or gnome-extensions CLI):

      • Disable zorin-appindicator@zorinos.com
      • Disable zorin-taskbar@zorinos.com

    • Log out / log in, then see if:

      • the SettingsManager.getDefault() is null error disappears
      • and whether your random “session cannot recover” crashes stop.

  3. If crashes continue, test a “clean” shell

    • Disable all third-party extensions:

      • x11gestures
      • tilingshell
      • DING

    • Run for a while. If GNOME Shell is now stable:

      • Re-enable extensions one by one (or in small groups) until the crashes reappear.
      • The last one you turned on is the prime suspect.

  4. If you really want to dig deeper

    • Run GNOME Shell from a TTY with MUTTER_SYNC=1 and attach gdb to get a full backtrace, but honestly with this extension zoo you’ll probably find the culprit by just toggling them.

TL;DR

  • That TypeError is clearly a Zorin extension bug, not a hardware or kernel issue.
  • The BadWindow crash is almost certainly caused by one of your GNOME extensions, with the Zorin ones and x11gestures being top suspects.
  • Best next move: run without Zorin extensions (and possibly other third-party ones) for a bit and see if the crashes vanish.
1 Like
25

That's the most helpful response I've seen yet regarding this issue. Not only do you suggest possible solutions, you do a good job of explaining the probable causes in a way that can be easily understood.

Thank you gwiesenekker.

26

Thanks. I disabled the Zorin AppIndicator extension, but the error just occurred again. I think the culprit is the Zorin Taskbar extension: if I disable it I get the same 'desktop' (meaning just the little horizontal black bar at the top left) as I am getting after the error and logging out/logging back in again.

27

And when You try it with reinstall the Zorin Taksbar? You can do that with the Command:

sudo apt reinstall gnome-shell-extension-zorin-taskbar
28

I have reinstalled the taskbar and testing it now.

29

No, the error still occurs. I have now disabled the Zorin AppIndicator and enabled the Zorin Menu (again, no idea why it got disabled).

30

ok but im still trying to fix it thanks! that helped!

31

The error has not occurred any more since I disabled the Zorin AppIndicator and enabled the Zorin Menu.

32

how do i do that?

33

Open Extension Manager. Scroll down and toggle off "Zorin AppIndicators"