hwinfo reports wrong resolution

[dclement]

Hello,

I was trying to understand what Plymouth stopped working, and I came across a possible explanation:

Code: Select all

daniel@m6400 ~ $ sudo hwinfo --framebuffer
[sudo] password for daniel: 
02: None 00.0: 11001 VESA Framebuffer                           
  [Created at bios.459]
  Unique ID: rdCR.YmR1lN7QHHA
  Hardware Class: framebuffer
  Model: "NVIDIA G94 Board - nike94"
  Vendor: "NVIDIA Corporation"
  Device: "G94 Board - nike94"
  SubVendor: "NVIDIA"
  SubDevice: 
  Revision: "Chip Rev"
  Memory Size: 14 MB
  Memory Range: 0xf3000000-0xf3dfffff (rw)
  Mode 0x0300: 640x400 (+640), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0301: 640x480 (+640), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0303: 800x600 (+800), 8 bits
  Mode 0x030e: 320x200 (+640), 16 bits
  Mode 0x030f: 320x200 (+1280), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0311: 640x480 (+1280), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0312: 640x480 (+2560), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0314: 800x600 (+1600), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0315: 800x600 (+3200), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0330: 320x200 (+320), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0331: 320x400 (+320), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0332: 320x400 (+640), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0333: 320x400 (+1280), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0334: 320x240 (+320), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0335: 320x240 (+640), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0336: 320x240 (+1280), 24 bits
  Mode 0x033d: 640x400 (+1280), 16 bits
  Mode 0x033e: 640x400 (+2560), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0362: 768x480 (+768), 8 bits
  Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown

That's not right! This PC has Nvidia Quadro FX2700M graphics! I want my 1920x1200 resolution!

Seriously, I'm pretty sure that before (the upgrade), hwinfo detected correctly my graphics hardware and the associated resolutions, which I had duly set up in the Plymouth-related config files. How could Plymouth work then, as it relies on uvesafb, which now seems to have "forgotten" my correct graphic card?

Edit: found that NVIDIA G94 Board is the GPU used in the Quadro FX2700M. It remains that the supported resolutions should be well higher than the ones in the list above.

What could I do about that?

[seeley]

Hi!
No help. I use

Code: Select all

inxi -F

It would be interesting to know if the same card is displayed.

[dclement]

Hi Seeley,

Code: Select all

daniel@m6400 ~ $ inxi -F
[...]
Graphics:  Card: NVIDIA G94GLM [Quadro FX 2700M]
           Display Server: X.Org 1.16.4 driver: nvidia
           Resolution: 1920x1200@60.34hz, 1920x1200@59.95hz
           GLX Renderer: Quadro FX 2700M/PCIe/SSE2
           GLX Version: 3.3.0 NVIDIA 340.76
[...]

This is correct!

But OTTH

Code: Select all

daniel@m6400 ~ $ dmesg
[...]
[    5.290630] uvesafb: NVIDIA Corporation, G94 Board - nike94  , Chip Rev   , OEM: NVIDIA, VBE v3.0
[    5.505428] uvesafb: VBIOS/hardware doesn't support DDC transfers
[    5.505430] uvesafb: no monitor limits have been set, default refresh rate will be used
[...]

and in the meantime I've found that my Quadro 2700 does indeed use the G94 GPU, so this is not so wrong I believed. The trouble is uvesafb has sort of become unaware of the supported resolutions.

However, I'm editing the 1st post to reflect this.

[GeneBenson]

Hi dclement,

Have you tried using vbeinfo from the Grub menu? If so, does in report the same info as hwinfo --framebuffer?
Just in case:

At the Grub menu press C to enter console mode.

Type vbeinfo

this will display various stuff how grub recognises your display.

Press ESC to return to grub and press Enter to boot.

[dclement]

Hi GeneBenson,

Have you tried using vbeinfo from the Grub menu? If so, does in report the same info as hwinfo --framebuffer?

No, I forgot that, I'm not familiar with the grub prompt.

Here's a transcript of (the useful part of) the output:

Code: Select all

grub> vbeinfo
[...]
Adapter "VESA BIOS Extended Video Driver"
vbe info: v. 3.0 OEM rev. 98.148
total memory: 14336ko
  0x100 640 x 400 x 8
  [34 other modes]
* 0x17d 1920 x 1200 x 32 direct color
[...]

with a star before the last mode, showing it's used. And indeed my grub menu is displayed at this resolution (native resolution of of my screen).

So, is it the wrong result of hwinfo just an artefact (I'm positive that it used to indicate the proper modes), or the sign of an underlying problem which prevents Plymouth from working?

[GeneBenson]

Hi dclement,

I'd put my money on Plymouth being the culprit. I wish I could help you further, but I hate Plymouth and it is one of the first things I uninstall after a new installation.
If you search for "linux plymouth resolution" with your favorite search engine you will find a lot of issues with a lot of advice on how to fix it, with varying degrees of success.
You will also find a lot of advice right here in the LMDE and LMDE2 sub-forums.

My advice: start at a lower resolution until you get Plymouth working again. Then try for a higher resolution.

[Monsta]

I'm not sure if this will be of any help... but just in case, check this article.

[dclement]

[...]I'd put my money on Plymouth being the culprit. I wish I could help you further, but I hate Plymouth and it is one of the first things I uninstall after a new installation.
If you search for "linux plymouth resolution" with your favorite search engine you will find a lot of issues with a lot of advice on how to fix it, with varying degrees of success.
You will also find a lot of advice right here in the LMDE and LMDE2 sub-forums.

I get your point about Plymouth, but I don't like when something that used to work, is not working anymore. I searched the web and the forums, it's not the first time I have to fix Plymouth for Nvidia drivers, but this time it won't work.

My advice: start at a lower resolution until you get Plymouth working again. Then try for a higher resolution.

I tried 800x600, but no luck. It only makes the scrolling boot text disappear. I also noticed that hwinfo reports correctly when undocked (why this difference? It's the same graphics card):

Code: Select all

daniel@m6400 ~ $ sudo hwinfo --framebuffer
[sudo] password for daniel: 
02: None 00.0: 11001 VESA Framebuffer                           
  [Created at bios.459]
  Unique ID: rdCR.YmR1lN7QHHA
  Hardware Class: framebuffer
  Model: "NVIDIA G94 Board - nike94"
  Vendor: "NVIDIA Corporation"
  Device: "G94 Board - nike94"
  SubVendor: "NVIDIA"
  SubDevice: 
  Revision: "Chip Rev"
  Memory Size: 14 MB
  Memory Range: 0xf3000000-0xf3dfffff (rw)
  Mode 0x0300: 640x400 (+640), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0301: 640x480 (+640), 8 bits
[... ~ 30 others ...]
  Mode 0x037c: 1920x1200 (+1920), 8 bits
  Mode 0x037d: 1920x1200 (+7680), 24 bits
  Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown

but the 1920x1200-32 bits, shown by vbeinfo, is not there.

I'm not sure if this will be of any help... but just in case, check this article.

Yes, I've found this post and I reviewed it carefully, but I concluded that I could not use what it recommends:

Code: Select all

    drm
    nouveau modeset=1

since I'm using the Nvidia proprietary driver. So my /etc/initramfs-tools/modules rather looks like

Code: Select all

uvesafb mode_option=800x600-24 mtrr=3 scroll=ywrap

But I'm beginning to blame this (340.76) Nvidia driver that smxi more or less forced me to install when I upgraded (as it could not find the old driver for the new kernel). Perhaps it's time that I give Nouveau another try, I've read that it worked well now.