LMDE5 screen displaced down by 3 or 4 pixels [SOLVED]

[ron_h]

I just used mintupgrade to go from LMDE4 to LMDE5. Seems to be running OK apart from a minor annoyance : the whole screen appears to be displaced down by 3 or 4 pixels, that is there is a black area at the top of the screen and at the bottom the panel has the bottom 3 or 4 pixels trimmed off.

Worked just fine in LMDE4.

Graphics card is Intel Corporation 4 Series Integrated Graphics Controller. Resolution is 1440x900 (highest res this monitor supports) at 59.89Hz (greyed so I can't change it).

Ron

[antikythera]

VGA connection? If so, you may need to use the 'Auto' scan function of the monitor to re-align the desktop. Open this web page and press F11 to go full screen. Hide the message at the top and scroll down a bit if necessary to fill the screen with the grey background with interlaced text on.

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/viewing_angle.php

Use your monitor's menu system to find and use the 'Auto' scan function to re-establish the centred timings properly. When finished, press F11 again to exit fullscreen mode.

Don't do that with the desktop panel showing as that is what can lead to the offset in the first place.

[ron_h]

Many thanks. Next problem : how to access the monitor's menu system. It is actually a 24" TV and I have no manual for it

ETA well, I accessed the screen settings using the TV remote. Nothing I tried changed the pixel offset.

Ron

[antikythera]

Then you won't have that facility unfortunately, does your PC have HDMI output? If you are out of HDMI ports on the TV, I have one of these and it works well:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/GANA-Switcher- ... 7883&psc=1

[ron_h]

As far as I can see, my PC does not have an HDMI output port. The TV does have an HDMI port.

Ron

ETA It's an old PC. I can live with the pixel offset, I'm sure. Thanks for the ideas, but I'm giving up on this one.

[AndyMH]

As far as I can see, my PC does not have an HDMI output port.

displayport?

[ron_h]

Yes, it does have a Displayport. I have no idea what it is, that is I have never used one. Does not appear to be the same shape as an HDMI port, and I don't have any Displayport cables/adapters in my stock of odds-and-ends. So I ignored it.

Ron

[AndyMH]

You can get a displayport to hdmi cable, comes in two flavours:

mini-displayport
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01 ... UTF8&psc=1
or standard size:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01 ... UTF8&psc=1

For a laptop likely to be mini-displayport. I use one to connect my laptop, 3rd gen intel (mini-displayport) to an external monitor (hdmi). DP will support a lot higher resolution than VGA. Also used it this week on holiday to connect to a TV so we could watch movies.

[ron_h]

Thanks for that. My old desktop PC has the full size Displayport. Amazon Australia has a DP-to-HDMI adapter available and if I get really p*ssed off with the pixel offset, I'll probably get one.

Ron

[antikythera]

Yes, it does have a Displayport. I have no idea what it is, that is I have never used one. Does not appear to be the same shape as an HDMI port, and I don't have any Displayport cables/adapters in my stock of odds-and-ends. So I ignored it.

Ron

Definitely displayport and not DVI on a machine with VGA and no HDMI? Displayport is newer than HDMI so that seems a little strange, either way you have options then because DVI to HDMI works great too. I was using HDMI output to DVI input on my old monitor with one of these cables which are of course bi-directional - https://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-A ... th=1&psc=1

To be honest it would be worth getting the necessary adapter cable and going digital instead of analog VGA anyway, you will notice an immediate improvement in the crispness of the image along with it being properly positioned and sized on the display. It's worth the small outlay

[ron_h]

Many thanks. Yes, definitely Displayport. I looked up the TechRef Manual for the PC, and it says that 'legacy' VGA and Displayport video interfaces are provided and that DP to VGI or DP to HDMI adapters are available.

Ron

[ron_h]

you will notice an immediate improvement in the crispness of the image along with it being properly positioned and sized on the display. It's worth the small outlay

I did get a Displayport to HDMI adapter for a very small outlay. Yes, nice crisp image. No, not properly sized and positioned. As best I can see, I lose about 10 pixels of each of the 4 edges. So I completely lose the panel at the bottom of the screen. I can find no way with LMDE5 System Settings, or using the TV settings, to 'shrink' the display so the missing pixels can be displayed. So, sadly, the new DP/HDMI adapter is useless. I have reverted to VGA.

Ron

[ron_h]

I used Timeshift to restore my last LMDE4 snapshot. I can confirm that with LMDE4 the screen is *not* displaced down by 4 pixels in VGA mode. However, DP/HDMI mode gave the same unusable result as with LMDE5. I tried to use Timeshift to restore my last Timeshift snapshot from LMDE5, but I ended up with a LMDE4 system. So I am running mintupgrade again to get to LMDE5. Once that completes, I will post what the displayed screen looks like.

ETA LMDE5 again, once again screen displaced down by 3 or 4 pixels

Ron

[ron_h]

For what it's worth

Code: Select all

xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1440 x 900, maximum 8192 x 8192
VGA-1 connected primary 1440x900+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 410mm x 256mm
   1440x900      59.89*+
   1280x1024     75.02    60.02  
   1360x768      59.95  
   1024x768      75.03    70.07    60.00  
   800x600       72.19    75.00    60.32    56.25  
   640x480       75.00    72.81    59.94  
   720x400       70.08  
HDMI-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

FWIW, when I tried DP/HDMI connection, 1920x1280 was another option but 1440x900 is all I can have with VGA

Ron

[ron_h]

I booted Windows 10. Screen not displaced.

How do I get LMDE5 to act like LMDE4 or Windows 10 ?

Ron

[Maxwell-J]

I have the same problem on the LMDE5 I've installed

but not a problem as I'm usually in LM20.3 ...

[AndyMH]

man xrandr
I'm sure there is an option in there to move the screen.

[ron_h]

Glad to see I'm not the only one to have this problem -er- symptom.

I looked at the man pages for xrandr. It was not obvious to me which option I could use to move the screen. Not saying it isn't there but it's a bit above my pay grade.

If there is such an option, would it need to be executed every time I boot up, which I do at least once a day ? Or do the changes made by xrandr stay in effect till specifically overridden ?

Ron

[AndyMH]

If you find the right xrandr command, then yes it will disappear next boot, but it is easy to make permanent - autostart applications, or adding to .profile or a lightdm startup script.

[shedyed]

The very last step is to get to the Onscreen menu (sometimes referred to as OSD) where you adjust the horizontal and vertical for fine or final calibration. One of the screen buttons should lead to that; a trip to the electronics store where the buttons get used and abused ought to show you which one it is. A knowledgeable staffer might even show you before he goes into his spiel about extended warranties