MX 21.3 and External Video on a Dell Precision M4800

rsmereka · 01-18-2023, 11:10 AM

Hi All,

I have have two MX installations. Both 64 bit. One is 19.x and the other is a brand new 21.3. Both of these installs are on Dell Precision M4800's. These laptops have dual video consisting of Intel integrated and Nvidia on a card. The issue is that with MX, for years now I cannot get external video working.

This combo works fine with Mint 21 Cinnamon OOTB (works without any changes in 4K right from the Live CD).

Here is the system info:

Code:

System:    Kernel: 5.10.0-20-amd64 [5.10.158-2] x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1 
           parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.10.0-20-amd64 
           root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash 
           Desktop: Xfce 4.18.0 tk: Gtk 3.24.24 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm 4.18.0 vt: 7 
           dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: MX-21.3_x64 Wildflower January 15  2023 
           base: Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye) 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: Dell product: Precision M4800 v: 00 serial: <filter> Chassis: 
           type: 9 serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Dell model: 0T3YTY v: A00 serial: <filter> BIOS: Dell v: A26 date: 06/13/2019 
CPU:       Info: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-4800MQ bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Haswell 
           family: 6 model-id: 3C (60) stepping: 3 microcode: 28 cache: L2: 6 MiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 43099 
           Speed: 866 MHz min/max: 800/3700 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 866 2: 853 3: 851 4: 890 
           5: 841 6: 851 7: 848 8: 849 
           Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled 
           Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT vulnerable 
           Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable 
           Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI 
           Type: mmio_stale_data status: Unknown: No mitigations 
           Type: retbleed status: Not affected 
           Type: spec_store_bypass 
           mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl and seccomp 
           Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization 
           Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Retpolines, IBPB: conditional, IBRS_FW, STIBP: 
           conditional, RSB filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected 
           Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode 
           Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel 4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics vendor: Dell driver: i915 
           v: kernel bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:0416 class-ID: 0300 
           Device-2: NVIDIA GK106GLM [Quadro K2100M] vendor: Dell driver: nvidia v: 470.161.03 
           bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:11fc class-ID: 0300 
           Device-3: Sunplus Innovation Laptop_Integrated_Webcam_HD type: USB driver: uvcvideo 
           bus-ID: 1-1.5:3 chip-ID: 1bcf:2984 class-ID: 0e02 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 driver: 
           loaded: modesetting,nvidia unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa alternate: nv display-ID: :0.0 
           screens: 1 
           Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x285mm (20.0x11.2") 
           s-diag: 582mm (22.9") 
           Monitor-1: eDP-1 res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 142 size: 344x194mm (13.5x7.6") 
           diag: 395mm (15.5") 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 4600 (HSW GT2) v: 4.5 Mesa 20.3.5 
           compat-v: 3.0 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio vendor: Dell 
           driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:03.0 chip-ID: 8086:0c0c class-ID: 0403 
           Device-2: Intel 8 Series/C220 Series High Definition Audio vendor: Dell 
           driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:8c20 class-ID: 0403 
           Device-3: NVIDIA GK106 HDMI Audio vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
           bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:0e0b class-ID: 0403 
           Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.10.0-20-amd64 running: yes 
           Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 14.2 running: yes 
Network:   Device-1: Intel Ethernet I217-LM vendor: Dell driver: e1000e v: kernel port: f080 
           bus-ID: 00:19.0 chip-ID: 8086:153a class-ID: 0200 
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Intel Wireless 7260 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel modules: wl port: e000 
           bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:08b1 class-ID: 0280 
           IF: wlan0 state: down mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 7.04 GiB (3.0%) 
           SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required. 
           ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: TeamGroup model: T253256GB size: 238.47 GiB 
           block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> 
           rev: 61.5 scheme: MBR 
Partition: ID-1: / raw-size: 230.47 GiB size: 225.79 GiB (97.97%) used: 7.04 GiB (3.1%) fs: ext4 
           dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1 
Swap:      Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) 
           ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 8 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 dev: /dev/sda2 
           maj-min: 8:2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 57.0 C mobo: 50.0 C sodimm: SODIMM C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 0 
Repos:     Packages: note: see --pkg apt: 2084 lib: 1073 flatpak: 0 
           No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list 
           1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-updates main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list 
           1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye main contrib non-free
           2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list 
           1: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bullseye main non-free
Info:      Processes: 245 Uptime: 24m wakeups: 2 Memory: 15.54 GiB used: 1.65 GiB (10.6%) 
           Init: SysVinit v: 2.96 runlevel: 5 default: 5 tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 10.2.1 
           alt: 10 Client: shell wrapper v: 5.1.4-release inxi: 3.3.06 
Boot Mode: BIOS (legacy, CSM, MBR)

lspci output:

Code:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor DRAM Controller (rev 06)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor PCI Express x16 Controller (rev 06)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 06)
00:03.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio Controller (rev 06)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family USB xHCI (rev 04)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:16.3 Serial controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family KT Controller (rev 04)
00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation Ethernet Connection I217-LM (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family USB EHCI #2 (rev 04)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #1 (rev d4)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #3 (rev d4)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #4 (rev d4)
00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #5 (rev d4)
00:1c.6 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #7 (rev d4)
00:1c.7 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #8 (rev d4)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family USB EHCI #1 (rev 04)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation QM87 Express LPC Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family 6-port SATA Controller 1 [AHCI mode] (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 04)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GK106GLM [Quadro K2100M] (rev a1)
01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation GK106 HDMI Audio Controller (rev a1)
03:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Wireless 7260 (rev 73)
11:00.0 SD Host controller: O2 Micro, Inc. SD/MMC Card Reader Controller (rev 01)

Video output should be up to 4K from the HDMI jack.
I have tried the MX Nvidia driver installer many times using different options without any success.

Ideas?
TIA

rokytnji · 01-18-2023, 03:19 PM

Nvidia driver installer is for video and your inxi graphics report shows it as loaded.

Code:

 Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 driver: 
           loaded: modesetting,nvidia unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa alternate: nv display-ID: :0.0 
           screens: 1

Since you have mixed intel and nvidia audio.

Code:

Audio:     Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio vendor: Dell 
           driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:03.0 chip-ID: 8086:0c0c class-ID: 0403 
           Device-2: Intel 8 Series/C220 Series High Definition Audio vendor: Dell 
           driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:8c20 class-ID: 0403 
           Device-3: NVIDIA GK106 HDMI Audio vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
           bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:0e0b class-ID: 0403 
           Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.10.0-20-amd64 running: yes 
           Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 14.2 running: yes

Code:

00:03.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio Controller (rev 06)
01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation GK106 HDMI Audio Controller (rev a1)

You should probably go with the AHS kernel instead of stock MX kernel or maybe even the Liqourix kernel.

https://mxlinux.org/blog/new-advance...ahs-for-short/

https://tutorialforlinux.com/2021/03...llation-guide/

rsmereka · 01-19-2023, 02:21 PM

Thanks @rokytnji,

I gave ahs a whirl. I tried a total of four combinations using a complete install each time. At no time did the external monitor (TV actually) display anything except blue screen. Actually, the ahs media caused the audio to stop working (it was working OOTB right from the live media).

The four combinations where:

1. Intel/Optimus=Y
a. stable repo driver
b. testing repo driver

2. Intel/Optimus=N
a. stable repo driver
b. testing repo driver

I contemplated the Liqourix kernel but in this very popular Linux, I don't want to stray too far off the main path. If this was, Gentoo or LFS, for example, I would be more inclined to try it.

This issue got me thinking what other popular distros would support this video combination. I already spoke of Mint 21 Cinnamon but that is not Xfce-based like MX. I also tried:

Xubuntu 22.04 LTS, Fedora 37 Xfce and Mint 21.1 Xfce

They all have external 4k video enabled right from the install media and after install
external video is easy to turn on from Xfce Display.