Desktop background glitch/flicker after wakeup from monitor energy save mode (DPMS)

[stoffl]

After my system wakes up from monitor power save mode (DPMS) randomly some parts of my desktop background start to slowly flicker.

You can see the effect in this video here: https://streamable.com/35y4jq

I can reproduce the problem like this:

• After login, open a terminal and move the window close to the border
• Trigger the energy save mode with xset dpms force off
• Press a key to wake up the screen again
• Move the window somewhere to the center of the screen
• Issue xset dpms force off again
• Press a key to wake up the screen

I may have to repeat the last 3 steps a couple of times but then the issue almost always appears.

More details:

• The issue is also reproducible on a newly created user account with default settings
• The issue goes away when I click on the desktop background
• The issue also goes away - or changes its appearance - when the topmost window is moved
• The issue started probably with 20.1
• The same hardware worked fine with earlier Mint versions
• There is no error in .xsession-errors, /var/log/syslog or journalctl -b

Code: Select all

$ inxi -Fxxxrz
System:    Kernel: 5.4.0-77-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 Desktop: Cinnamon 5.0.5 wm: muffin 5.0.1 
           dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 20.2 Uma base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:   Type: Desktop Mobo: ASRock model: B85M-ITX serial: <filter> UEFI [Legacy]: American Megatrends v: P2.50 
           date: 01/07/2016 
CPU:       Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-4790K bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Haswell rev: 3 L2 cache: 8192 KiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 63988 
           Speed: 900 MHz min/max: 800/4400 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 863 2: 847 3: 857 4: 847 5: 815 6: 857 7: 834 8: 845 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics vendor: ASRock driver: i915 v: kernel 
           bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:0412 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1920x1200~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 4600 (HSW GT2) v: 4.5 Mesa 20.2.6 compat-v: 3.0 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio vendor: ASRock driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
           bus ID: 00:03.0 chip ID: 8086:0c0c 
           Device-2: Intel 8 Series/C220 Series High Definition Audio vendor: ASRock driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
           bus ID: 00:1b.0 chip ID: 8086:8c20 
           Device-3: Sennheiser Headset [PC 8] type: USB driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid bus ID: 3-10:8 
           chip ID: 1395:0025 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-77-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA8171 Gigabit Ethernet vendor: ASRock driver: alx v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 02:00.0 
           chip ID: 1969:10a1 
           IF: enp2s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-1: br-0bee92ea8a84 state: down mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-2: br-1f1a0ba098d7 state: down mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-3: br-79d4f30be0c9 state: down mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-4: br-95de7a6a1085 state: down mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-5: br-bd52899c321b state: up speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-6: docker0 state: down mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-7: veth9bd00b6 state: up speed: 10000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 931.52 GiB used: 90.73 GiB (9.7%) 
           ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Samsung model: SSD 840 Series size: 232.89 GiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> rev: 6B0Q 
           scheme: MBR 
           ID-2: /dev/sdb type: USB vendor: Western Digital model: WD7500BPVT-80HXZT3 size: 698.64 GiB rotation: 5400 rpm 
           serial: <filter> rev: 01.0 scheme: MBR 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 212.10 GiB used: 90.52 GiB (42.7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/dm-1 
           ID-2: /boot size: 703.5 MiB used: 211.1 MiB (30.0%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1 
           ID-3: swap-1 size: 15.66 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/dm-2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 45.0 C mobo: N/A 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:     No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/additional-repositories.list 
           1: deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ focal main
           2: deb https://pkg.ltec.ch/public/ focal main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-earth-pro.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/earth/deb/ stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/josm.list 
           1: deb https://josm.openstreetmap.de/apt focal universe
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mozillateam-ppa-focal.list 
           1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/mozillateam/ppa/ubuntu focal main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
           1: deb http://ftp.fau.de/mint/packages uma main upstream import backport
           2: deb http://mirror.23media.com/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
           3: deb http://mirror.23media.com/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           4: deb http://mirror.23media.com/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
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/skype-stable.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.skype.com/deb stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/spotify.list 
           1: deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free
Info:      Processes: 361 Uptime: 1h 29m Memory: 15.30 GiB used: 2.13 GiB (13.9%) Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: 
           gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 7/9 Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38 

[CyrilFR]

same issue here

[stoffl]

@CyrilFR Could you please add the output of inxi -Fxxxrz so that we can compare the hardware components?

[CyrilFR]

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-74-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 5.0.4 wm: muffin 5.0.1 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 
  Distro: Linux Mint 20.2 Uma base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Notebook product: N8xEJEK v: N/A serial: <filter> 
  Chassis: No Enclosure type: 10 serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: Notebook model: N8xEJEK serial: <filter> UEFI: American Megatrends 
  v: 7.009 date: 08/21/2018 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 54.4 Wh condition: 54.4/59.9 Wh (91%) volts: 12.8/11.1 
  model: Notebook BAT type: Li-ion serial: <filter> status: Full 
  Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech Wireless Mouse serial: <filter> 
  charge: 55% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: Discharging 
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i5-8300H bits: 64 type: MT MCP 
  arch: Kaby Lake rev: A L2 cache: 8192 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx 
  bogomips: 36799 
  Speed: 900 MHz min/max: 800/4000 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 900 2: 900 
  3: 900 4: 900 5: 900 6: 900 7: 900 8: 902 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel UHD Graphics 630 vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK driver: i915 
  v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:3e9b 
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP107M [GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile] vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK 
  driver: nouveau v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1c8d 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa 
  resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 630 (CFL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 20.2.6 
  direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:a348 
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP107GL High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 chip ID: 10de:0fb9 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-74-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Wireless-AC 9260 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: 4000 
  bus ID: 03:00.0 chip ID: 8086:2526 
  IF: wlp3s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 3000 bus ID: 04:00.1 
  chip ID: 10ec:8168 
  IF: enp4s0f1 state: down mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 447.13 GiB used: 28.82 GiB (6.4%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: LDLC model: N/A size: 447.13 GiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s 
  serial: <filter> rev: 2A0 scheme: GPT 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 438.62 GiB used: 28.82 GiB (6.6%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 54.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nouveau temp: 50 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 #id:linuxmint_main
  2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/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: 252 Uptime: 23m Memory: 7.51 GiB used: 1.45 GiB (19.3%) 
  Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash 
  v: 5.0.17 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38 

[stoffl]

I've opened an issue with cinammon here: https://github.com/linuxmint/cinnamon/issues/10255

@CyrilFR I hope it's OK that I copied your hardware setup from here into the issue.

[starbright]

Do you see some kernel messages (dmesg | grep -i error)?

I do have flickering after returning my laptop from suspend. It shows an error:
[drm:intel_cpu_fifo_underrun_irq_handler [i915]] *ERROR* CPU pipe A FIFO underrun

And now I can trigger it (without goiing to supend with "xset dpms force off"

I am just curious wether this is same issue.
Strange is, that in Linux Mint 20.2 the flickering is far less intense as in Ubuntu Mate 20.4 - although I think they share same kernel.
If Mint does some tweaking (just guess, maybe increase some training time), maybe it is is just enough to tweak a little more.
While you can't ignore that in Ubuntu in Mint it flickers less and sometime it takes some minute until the first flicker happend.

The effect is a bit different here than in your video. It's not getting completely dark.

[stoffl]

I have no new messages in dmesg when it happens.

Your problem indeed sounds different as for me it's really only when i wakeup from sleep mode.

[starbright]

Suspend / sleep - what is the difference ?
It doesn't happen initially after boot from power-off. Only after suspend/sleep - or even without that with your command.
But I agree, if you don't see that kernel message it is likely something different.

Some more observations I want to share:
- changing the framerate or monitor modes in Settings doesn't let the flickering disappear
- I don't have any problems with any other resolution than 1920x1080 (which is the native one of my laptop - to bad).

In Ubuntu I created a custom resolution of 1912x1080 for that reason. That was best workaround I could find. Hopefully I remember how I did this.

I would be curious what effect a changed resolution it has for your system.

[stoffl]

Suspend / sleep - what is the difference ?

I mean the monitor sleep mode. In energy settings I have my monitor set to turn off after 5 min and the system suspend after 10 min. The problem happens randomly in both cases for me. The "xset dpms force off" command will only turn off the monitor which is enough to reproduce the issue after some attempts.

[starbright]

Ah, just the monitor sleeps ? Ok, but in fact it is the graphics on PC/Laptop which sleeps as well. And if I could see with your xset command, that happens to me too. So it is not sleep/suspend of the PC of itself but of its graphics.
Please give another resolution a try.

[stoffl]

I tried and could still reproduce the issue with another resolution.

[starbright]

Ok, I am sorry - so we do have indeed different issues.