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The setup

  • T460 thinkpad (Intel HD Graphics) docked with lid closed connected to two external monitors one via DVI and the other via HDMI

The problem

  • During boot, up until the login screen both monitors work fine. But as soon as I sign in the monitor connected with the DVI will go blank about 80% of the time.

My workaround solutions to fix this problem

  • Going back to the login screen via CTRL + ALT + BACKSPACE and signing in again will almost always fix it.
  • Physically removing/reinserting the cable will almost always fix it.

Behavior

  • When logging in and experiencing the problem, the monitor seems to be recognized as I can move my mouse into its resolution, but the monitor claims cable not connected.

When did the problem occur?

  • After moving and going from three to two monitors as well as reinstalling Linux Mint for luks encryption

I'm pretty green when it comes to diagnosing graphical problem. I would be happy to paste logs, but I'm not sure which ones would be helpful. Please let me know which logs might be worth taking a look at, or any other suggestions you may have!

----- Edits/ Additional Info -----

The issue is isolated with Linux as this machine can dual boot into windows without the described problem

    $ lspci -k | grep -EA3 'VGA'
         00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Skylake GT2 [HD Graphics 520] (rev 07)
         Subsystem: Lenovo Skylake GT2 [HD Graphics 520]
         Kernel driver in use: i915
         Kernel modules: i915

|

$ cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep -i driver
   [   105.041]     X.Org Video Driver: 23.0
   [   105.041]     X.Org XInput driver : 24.1
   [   105.062] (==) Matched modesetting as autoconfigured driver 0
   [   105.062] (==) Matched fbdev as autoconfigured driver 1
   [   105.062] (==) Matched vesa as autoconfigured driver 2
   [   105.062] (==) Assigned the driver to the xf86ConfigLayout
   [   105.062] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/modesetting_drv.so
   [   105.063]     Module class: X.Org Video Driver
   [   105.063]     ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 23.0
   [   105.063] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/fbdev_drv.so
   [   105.063]     Module class: X.Org Video Driver
   [   105.063]     ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 23.0
   [   105.063] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/vesa_drv.so
   [   105.063]     Module class: X.Org Video Driver
   [   105.063]     ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 23.0
   [   105.063] (II) modesetting: Driver for Modesetting Kernel Drivers: kms
   [   105.063] (II) FBDEV: driver for framebuffer: fbdev
   [   105.063] (II) VESA: driver for VESA chipsets: vesa
   [   105.079]     ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 23.0
   [   105.087] (II) glamor: OpenGL accelerated X.org driver based.
   [   105.946] (II) modeset(0): [DRI2]   DRI driver: i965
   [   105.946] (II) modeset(0): [DRI2]   VDPAU driver: i965
   [   106.020]     Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
   [   106.020]     ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 24.1
notsoslimshady
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    Which intel video driver do you use? – mattia.b89 Aug 31 '19 at 07:49
  • I believe it is i915? I have updated my question with command and output. Let me know if there is a different command I can run for better information, Thanks! – notsoslimshady Aug 31 '19 at 16:58
  • Is this the [ThinkPad Ultra Dock 90 W](https://accessorysmartfind.lenovo.com/#/products/40A20090US)? – Freddy Aug 31 '19 at 17:23
  • No, you have to check X log; there are two Intel video driver: i915 and modesetting. – mattia.b89 Aug 31 '19 at 19:39
  • @Freddy This is the Dock you posted, in case you were wondering it is hooked up to a 90W powersupply. I do have a larger powersupply I will try and swap and it for just to be sure. – notsoslimshady Sep 01 '19 at 00:30
  • @mattia.b89 I hope I have included the information you were looking for, I added it to the bottom of the original post. My apologies if it is not what you requested, which command should I issue, or where exactly should I look if that's the case? – notsoslimshady Sep 01 '19 at 00:36
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    @notsoslimshady There's a firmware update I would try: [ThinkPad Pro Dock and ThinkPad Ultra Dock are causing display issues on external monitors](https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht081248) – Freddy Sep 01 '19 at 00:47
  • @Freddy, Great tip, but it mentions on the page that it only affects monitors connected via Displayport which I'm not using. Nevertheless, if all else fails I will give it a try with fingers crossed. Thanks! – notsoslimshady Sep 01 '19 at 01:27
  • Can you try a different display manager like GDM or LXDM? – 15 Volts Jul 25 '23 at 02:01

2 Answers2

0

It looks like you are using the modesetting video driver.
I had luck switch to intel driver [1],
when I had problems with suspend on external monitor.

You can give it a try!

[1] https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/driver/xf86-video-intel

mattia.b89
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  • Could you let me know if I'm going about this the right way? I installed autoconf for the driver. But I got `error: must install xorg-macros 1.8 or later before running autoconf/autogen` So I tried to install xutils-dev but I still have error. So i got source from git://anongit.freedesktop.org/xorg/util/macros and used autoconf there. But it threw error `error: possibly undefined macro: AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE`. So now I install libtool and run autoconf again and get no error, but also no output. I tried to run autoconf on the driver again and still have the first error – notsoslimshady Sep 01 '19 at 22:58
  • It is the worst way. I do not use Linux Mint but I bet there is pre-compiled package available with your package manager. Looks in Linux Mint wikis – mattia.b89 Sep 02 '19 at 05:30
0

I had a similar issue with my T590 and a Thinkpad Ultra Docking Station. Updating the firmware of the docking station & T590's BIOS helped (see https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/at/en ).

Now the bad news: I had to do this using Windows, as currently (Dez 2019) Lenovo does not offer a way to update using a non-windows OS. I did not dare to run this using wine.

Mohl
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