[SOLVED] Neither screensaver nor power management work on ASUS desktop

[mcriley]

I just started having this EXACT same problem. [as in this topic ]

It began earlier this week when I used the Update Manager to install the latest updates. All but one of the updates installed during that session involved "mesa" libraries and drivers. From 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2 to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3. (The one other updated package was qemu-block-extra--which I doubt had any influence.)

Actually here's the list:

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libegl-mesa0 (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
libegl1-mesa (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
libgbm1 (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
libgl1-mesa-dri (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
libgl1-mesa-dri:i386 (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
libgl1-mesa-glx (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
libgl1-mesa-glx:i386 (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
libglapi-mesa (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
libglapi-mesa:i386 (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
libgles2-mesa (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
libglx-mesa0 (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
libglx-mesa0:i386 (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
libwayland-egl1-mesa (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
libxatracker2 (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
mesa-va-drivers (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
mesa-vdpau-drivers (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3
mesa-vulkan-drivers (21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2) to 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.3

Another visual artifact that started at the same time affected the GNOME MPlayer display. There song/band display is now just blacked out.

I've rebooted, reset screensaver and power management settings, but none of them are being recognized.

I looked into reverting back to the previous versions of these mesa packages, but could find not find 21.0.3-0ubuntu0.3~20.04.2 versions available anywhere.

Here's the inxi dump of my system:

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System:    Kernel: 5.4.0-88-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 Desktop: MATE 1.24.0 Distro: Linux Mint 20.2 Uma 
           base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:   Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: Z8P(N)E-D12(X) v: Rev 1.0xG serial: <filter> BIOS: American Megatrends v: 1003 
           date: 10/22/2010 
Memory:    RAM: total: 23.52 GiB used: 6.01 GiB (25.5%) 
           RAM Report: permissions: Unable to run dmidecode. Root privileges required. 
CPU:       Topology: 2x 6-Core model: Intel Xeon E5645 bits: 64 type: MT MCP SMP arch: Nehalem rev: 2 L2 cache: 24.0 MiB 
           flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 115208 
           Speed: 1601 MHz min/max: 1600/2401 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1600 2: 1600 3: 1632 4: 1616 5: 1601 6: 1600 7: 1600 
           8: 1600 9: 1601 10: 1600 11: 1607 12: 1612 13: 1600 14: 1602 15: 1623 16: 1693 17: 1609 18: 1601 19: 1600 20: 1600 
           21: 1640 22: 1614 23: 1607 24: 1608 
Graphics:  Device-1: ASPEED Graphics Family driver: ast v: kernel bus ID: 01:01.0 
           Device-2: NVIDIA G98 [Quadro NVS 450] driver: nvidia v: 340.108 bus ID: 0a:00.0 
           Device-3: NVIDIA G98 [Quadro NVS 450] driver: nvidia v: 340.108 bus ID: 0b:00.0 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 driver: none unloaded: nvidia 
           resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Quadro NVS 450/PCIe/SSE2 v: 3.3.0 NVIDIA 340.108 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel 82801JI HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0 
           Device-2: C-Media CMI8788 [Oxygen HD Audio] vendor: ASUSTeK Virtuoso 100 driver: snd_virtuoso v: kernel 
           bus ID: 0e:04.0 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-88-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Intel 82574L Gigabit Network vendor: ASUSTeK driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k port: ac00 bus ID: 02:00.0 
           IF: enp2s0 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Intel 82574L Gigabit Network vendor: ASUSTeK driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k port: bc00 bus ID: 03:00.0 
           IF: enp3s0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 1.03 TiB used: 200.60 GiB (19.1%) 
           ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Hitachi model: HUA722010CLA330 size: 931.51 GiB 
           ID-2: /dev/sdc type: USB model: Dynex SDXDUSB Reader size: 119.08 GiB 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 28.04 GiB used: 20.40 GiB (72.7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda3 
           ID-2: /home size: 864.99 GiB used: 179.75 GiB (20.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1 
           ID-3: /media/wintermute/STEALTHCAM size: 119.07 GiB used: 464.9 MiB (0.4%) fs: exfat dev: /dev/sdc1 
           ID-4: swap-1 size: 23.99 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda5 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 38.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 52 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:     No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
           1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com uma main upstream import backport
           2: deb http://ftp.ussg.iu.edu/linux/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
           3: deb http://ftp.ussg.iu.edu/linux/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           4: deb http://ftp.ussg.iu.edu/linux/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
           5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
           6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
Info:      Processes: 429 Uptime: 1d 2h 55m Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 Shell: tcsh v: 6.21.00 
           inxi: 3.0.38 

Would appreciate any advice.

[SMG]

It began earlier this week when I used the Update Manager to install the latest updates.

Welcome to the forum, mcriley.

Do you have any Timeshift snapshots of your system when it was working? That is the usual way to "undo" package changes.

[mcriley]

By bringing the system to a full shutdown, then restarting it (versus just a reboot), the problem appears to have gone away.

I did have a Timeshift image from a few months back--though I was hesitant about doing a restore, since reupdating would reinstall the packages that I believe caused the problem.

Good for now, though

Marc A. Criley
www.kickin-the-darkness.com

[SMG]

By bringing the system to a full shutdown, then restarting it (versus just a reboot), the problem appears to have gone away.

Please go to your first post in this topic, click the pencil icon, and add [SOLVED] to the title so others know you are no longer seeking help on this issue.

[mcriley]

By bringing the system to a full shutdown, then restarting it (versus just a reboot), the problem appears to have gone away.

Ah, unfortunately that seems to have been a one-time experience.

While the screensaver did come on and the monitors shut down the first time after restarting the machine, that was the only time it happened. It's back to not invoking the screensaver.

[SMG]

I did not catch this earlier in your data, but there is no display driver showing as loaded. Nvidia is unloaded.

Graphics:
Device-1: ASPEED Graphics Family driver: ast v: kernel bus ID: 01:01.0
Device-2: NVIDIA G98 [Quadro NVS 450] driver: nvidia v: 340.108 bus ID: 0a:00.0
Device-3: NVIDIA G98 [Quadro NVS 450] driver: nvidia v: 340.108 bus ID: 0b:00.0
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 driver: none unloaded: nvidia
resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz
OpenGL: renderer: Quadro NVS 450/PCIe/SSE2 v: 3.3.0 NVIDIA 340.108 direct render: Yes

Please provide the current inxi -Gx output.

[mcriley]

Well, the displays are certainly functioning!

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[1] Marc say: inxi -Gx
Graphics:
  Device-1: ASPEED Graphics Family driver: ast v: kernel bus ID: 01:01.0 
  Device-2: NVIDIA G98 [Quadro NVS 450] driver: nvidia v: 340.108 
  bus ID: 0a:00.0 
  Device-3: NVIDIA G98 [Quadro NVS 450] driver: nvidia v: 340.108 
  bus ID: 0b:00.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 driver: none unloaded: nvidia 
  resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: Quadro NVS 450/PCIe/SSE2 v: 3.3.0 NVIDIA 340.108 
  direct render: Yes 

[SMG]

Graphics:
Device-1: ASPEED Graphics Family driver: ast v: kernel bus ID: 01:01.0
Device-2: NVIDIA G98 [Quadro NVS 450] driver: nvidia v: 340.108
bus ID: 0a:00.0
Device-3: NVIDIA G98 [Quadro NVS 450] driver: nvidia v: 340.108
bus ID: 0b:00.0
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 driver: none unloaded: nvidia
resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz
OpenGL: renderer: Quadro NVS 450/PCIe/SSE2 v: 3.3.0 NVIDIA 340.108
direct render: Yes

That is still showing the driver as unloaded, but it also may be an artefact of the two GPUs. Let's check the Xorg log just to make sure that part is okay.

Use this command in a terminal to upload the X Server log file to termbin:
cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | nc termbin.com 9999
It will return with a url address that you should post in your next reply

[mcriley]

Okay, I think the problem is actually solved now, though it's taken a strange twist. Since making this one change, the screensaver has been behaving properly.

The twist? Not running gnome-mplayer.

In the original post I mentioned that along with the screensaver issue that happened after I updated the mesa packages, gnome-mplayer's interface began glitching, with a black rectangle being displayed instead of the 'media info'. I figured they were both being affected by the mesa update. (Whenever I reboot my system I always start up mplayer to play my mp3s, so it's always running.)

A few days ago I tried the one thing I'd not done, shutting the machine all the way down and starting it up from scratch. Once it was up I checked the screensaver settings and then walked away. When I came back the screensaver had kicked in and the monitors subsequently powered down. I then resumed using it, including starting mplayer, and the next time I walked away and returned the monitors were all still active.

For totally unrelated reasons I was reorganizing my MP3s, and the glitches with mplayer were getting worse, it wouldn't hold the window size nor preferences. This finally drove me to switch to Rhythmbox this morning. As I was taking a break, I saw the screen dimming and activating the screen saver. I wakened the monitors then later went off to do some errands. Upon returns the monitors were off (as they should be). I repeated leaving and returning later and again the monitors were properly powered down.

I reinstalled gnome-mplayer and saw that the display glitch was still present, so I left it off.

Ever since, with Rhythmbox playing my mp3s, the screensaver and power management have worked as expected.

I know the root cause is still unknown, but I'm willing to leave it at that, since I've got a properly working system again.

Marc A. Criley
www.kickin-the-darkness.com