Hi guys - this might take a bit of reading,

Problem:

I am attaching an external monitor to the HDMI port on my laptop and I see artifacts on the screen and occasionally lose a working signal on my external monitor and if I switch the monitor off and back on - I am almost guaranteed (90% of the time) - the monitor will complain - "Input not Supported". The screen showing "Input Not Supported" occasionally shows up while I am working at random times as well. The external monitor is set to display at 1920x1080 - which is the default supported resolution for the monitor.


History of the Issue:

This started happening after I upgraded to fedora 25/26 onwards (don't remember which upgrade messed things up). It worked perfectly prior to fedora 25/26 and appeared super (no artifacts at all). I believe it was when Wayland was adopted. So, during my upgrade to fedora 26 I got the following message:

Downgraded:
xorg-x11-drv-nouveau.x86_64 1:1.0.15-1.fc26

I am using kde (as opposed to Gnome which uses Wayland - apparently)


Temporarily Used Fix:

I am forced to then try switching my monitor away from my laptop and then re-switching (I have an HDMI signal switcher to switch between multiple computers - this works fine with another Linux box of mine and a windows 10 laptop) it back to my laptop - when I wish to wake up the system.

This often works and I get a working display at 1920 x 1080 - but it seems to be getting worse over time.

So, often enough I end up pressing a function key combination on my laptop to switch out into a different mode (such as extend the display, duplicate display etc...), when it stops working.

However, with the upgrade to fedora 28 - the function key combination brings up a menu - as opposed to direct switching prior to the upgrade from fedora 26.

I cannot see the menu and hence am forced to try clicking randomly with my mouse to get a different combination.

I tried seeing what keyboard buttons would work in lieu of the random mouse clicks, when I was not connected to the external monitor - but I seem to have no luck - <TAB> key doesn't work and the arrow keys don't work - so now this option is not working well either.


What I Would Appreciate Help-wise:

First: I was wondering if anyone could tell me how I could use my function key combination with a keypress to switch to one of the other modes, so I could temporarily adjust the system on the fly when I have a "Input not supported" message on my external monitor.

Ideally:

Ideally I would like to find a means to fix the problem permanently and get my hardware to work super again.

Alternatively:

If I can't get my system to work nicely again - is there any way to find out what the current status is on a possible workaround in the system (ie a bugfix that I can find?) - maybe even a means to find some place to donate a small amount to open source development that might eventually help my cause?

If I do find a bug report - how can I keep up to date on the latest information surrounding the work being done?



Hardware I Use:

My laptop is as follows: (It is an older Gateway - 2011/12 laptop)
Model: NV79C51u
Video: Intel HD Graphics
Memory: 8GB DDR3
HD: 1TB

My Monitor:
Model: Acer K272HL
Inputs: HDMI (using this), VGA, DVI-D

Cont'd in next post....

Some Possibly Pertinent cmd-Line Outputs:

# lspci -kvvnn | grep -E 'VGA c|driver in use'
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:0046] (rev 18) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
Kernel driver in use: i915
Kernel driver in use: mei_me
Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci
Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
Kernel driver in use: pcieport
Kernel driver in use: pcieport
Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci
Kernel driver in use: lpc_ich
Kernel driver in use: ahci
Kernel driver in use: i801_smbus
Kernel driver in use: intel ips
Kernel driver in use: tg3
Kernel driver in use: ath9k

# uname -r
4.19.6-200.fc28.x86_64

# xrandr -q
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 8192 x 8192
LVDS-1 connected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
1600x900 60.08 + 59.99 59.94 59.95 59.82
1400x900 59.96 59.88
1440x810 60.00 59.97
1368x768 59.88 59.85
1280x800 59.99 59.97 59.81 59.91
1280x720 60.00 59.99 59.86 59.74
1024x768 60.04 60.00
960x720 60.00
928x696 60.05
896x672 60.01
1024x576 59.95 59.96 59.90 59.82
960x600 59.93 60.00
960x540 59.96 59.99 59.63 59.82
800x600 60.00 60.32 56.25
840x525 60.01 59.88
864x486 59.92 59.57
700x525 59.98
800x450 59.95 59.82
640x512 60.02
700x450 59.96 59.88
640x480 60.00 59.94
720x405 59.51 58.99
684x384 59.88 59.85
640x400 59.88 59.98
640x360 59.86 59.83 59.84 59.32
512x384 60.00
512x288 60.00 59.92
480x270 59.63 59.82
400x300 60.32 56.34
432x243 59.92 59.57
320x240 60.05
360x202 59.51 59.13
320x180 59.84 59.32
VGA-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-1 connected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 598mm x 336mm
1920x1080 60.00*+ 50.00 59.94
1920x1080i 60.00 50.00 59.94
1680x1050 59.88
1280x1024 75.02 60.02
1440x900 59.90
1280x960 60.00
1280x800 59.91
1152x864 75.00
1280x720 60.00 50.00 59.94
1024x768 75.03 70.07 60.00
832x624 74.55
800x600 72.19 75.00 60.32 56.25
720x576 50.00
720x576i 50.00
720x480 60.00 59.94
720x480i 60.00 59.94
640x480 75.00 72.81 66.67 60.00 59.94
720x400 70.08
DP-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

<<======== end xrandr -q output ===========>>

Hi guys,

Possible Fix?

Does anyone know if it is possible to re-upgrade X11 - (to reverse the apparent downgrade in fedora 26), or would it have changed to more recent versions during the upgrade to fc28?

- 6th_sense -

Hi Guys,

New development:

I was playing around with the screen resolution to see what would work and I entered a state where the screen output still has artifacts, but it isn't showing "Input Not Supported" and it isn't flickering.

I took the output of xrandr at this time, and I see a lot of differences (using diff), with the above output. Here is the output:

Stable State Output of Xrandr -q:

LVDS-1 connected 1600x900+1920+180 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 382mm x 215mm
1600x900 60.08*+ 59.99 59.94 59.95 59.82
1400x900 59.96 59.88
1440x810 60.00 59.97
1368x768 59.88 59.85
1280x800 59.99 59.97 59.81 59.91
1280x720 60.00 59.99 59.86 59.74
1024x768 60.04 60.00
960x720 60.00
928x696 60.05
896x672 60.01
1024x576 59.95 59.96 59.90 59.82
960x600 59.93 60.00
960x540 59.96 59.99 59.63 59.82
800x600 60.00 60.32 56.25
840x525 60.01 59.88
864x486 59.92 59.57
700x525 59.98
800x450 59.95 59.82
640x512 60.02
700x450 59.96 59.88
640x480 60.00 59.94
720x405 59.51 58.99
684x384 59.88 59.85
640x400 59.88 59.98
640x360 59.86 59.83 59.84 59.32
512x384 60.00
512x288 60.00 59.92
480x270 59.63 59.82
400x300 60.32 56.34
432x243 59.92 59.57
320x240 60.05
360x202 59.51 59.13
320x180 59.84 59.32
VGA-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-1 connected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 598mm x 336mm
1920x1080 60.00*+ 50.00 59.94
1920x1080i 60.00 50.00 59.94
1680x1050 59.88
1280x1024 75.02 60.02
1440x900 59.90
1280x960 60.00
1280x800 59.91
1152x864 75.00
1280x720 60.00 50.00 59.94
1024x768 75.03 70.07 60.00
832x624 74.55
800x600 72.19 75.00 60.32 56.25
720x576 50.00
720x576i 50.00
720x480 60.00 59.94
720x480i 60.00 59.94
640x480 75.00 72.81 66.67 60.00 59.94
720x400 70.08
DP-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

Questions that Arise:

Does anyone know what can be done to set the Xconfig file to permanently reflect this semi-acceptable stable state - now that I have the output of xrandr?

Hi guys,

Found Partial Solution:

I guess I've solved this issue somewhat - I am on Fedora 28, and my external video driver is working - however, I am only able to drive 1280x800, reliably and not my external screen's default resolution of 1920x1080.

The problem did get worse in between - hence the switch.

Link to a site about X server Issues with Intel Chipset:

I found a link that suggests that this may be a problem for the X-server on an Intel video chipset here:
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/How_t...Intel-specific

It doesn't say that the problem is an X-server issue, however, with the part written specifically addressing Intel video chipsets - I feel that that suggests that it is not an uncommon issue faced in Linux.

Filing a Bug Report Possibility:

Now, I am looking to possibly file a bug-report, but, I don't wish to spend forever - I can keep this as an ongoing project - so that over time, eventually I get a working bug-report.

Help Needed:

From the looks of it, there is a bit of rocket science involved in filing a bug report for the particular problem I am facing, and I was wondering if anyone is familiar with bug reports and how it works. Short of getting some help, I feel like I might get stuck permanently.

Additional Worry:

I am also worried that with the huge number of websites out there with linux suggestions - that I might have come across a dated site, and so, I again don't wish to spend inordinate amounts of time chasing down one method of a bug submission, if the website is out-of-date.

Another Problem Just Arose:

As of this morning, I ran everything as usual and I am finding that the login screen won't show on my external monitor - I am not sure why - I get an "Input not supported" - I believe that it is trying to display the login screen at a higher resolution and then it switches after I login - which is why I am able to use my external monitor once I log in.

Problem 2 that just arose:

I can also see my task bar on the external display, however, I cannot see the desktop or any of the icons on the desktop - Every time I navigate to an empty desktop, I see a blank black screen and I cannot right click the desktop to change the background. My laptop screen, however, works just fine still.

Hi guys,

Thought I should mention - the 2 issues at the bottom of the last post that I wrote as just having arisen seem to have gone away today - keeping my fingers crossed.

- 6th -

Apparently, others have had luck with recompiling the linux kernel to the drm-tip linux kernel. I don't wish to try - at one point in time, closer to the debut of linux (I was using Slackware then), I used to compile linux kernels and I found it extra-ordinarily complex - but something I managed to navigate successfully through.

Since the kernel regularly changes on a Fedora system - that would prove to be problematic for me - as that would require my investing extra time each time I was forced to upgrade my system - unless someone knows of another way around.