[RESOLVED]I lose display settings!

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pstrbrc
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[RESOLVED]I lose display settings!

Post by pstrbrc »

(EDIT) No, I haven't really solved my problem, but I have resolved it by backing up my entire home drive on an external HD, and am preparing a clean install. Then I'll just move back the folders I need, like .mozilla and .thunderbird, as well as documents, et. al. Thanks to FerryF, mikser, and mint4all for all your input.


18.3 on an old Dell Optiplex GX620.
Using a Dell 24" monitor with1920x1080 max resolution.
1st problem: Just today it started setting itself to 1080x768 resolution on boot-up. The first time it did it, I went to Settings Manager Displays and attempted to change the resolution. It didn't show any greater resolution than 1080x768. So I went to the Settings Editor, and edited the Displays/Resolution value to 1920x1080. I then could go to Settings Manager Displays and find that value, and selected it.
BUT-
The power saver setting puts the system to sleep after 45 minutes of inactivity. When I woke it back up, the display was back to 1080x768, and resetting the value in Settings Editor didn't "stick." I am now stuck with 1080x768, and can't find a way to get it to recognize any greater resolution. So, where is this value saved in the file system?

2nd problem: I have installed a "Large Mouse Cursor" in usr/share/icons. This then shows up in the Mouse And Touchpad menu. So I select it, and have a great mouse pointer. But it doesn't fully show up upon a reboot. I have to go back and reselect it each bootup, even though it shows it's selected. Where does this selection get filed, and how do I save it as a permanent choice?
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JerryF
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by JerryF »

Are you running Mint from a USB flash drive? If so, you are probably running a live version without any persistence, so your settings aren't being saved.
pstrbrc
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by pstrbrc »

No, this is a permanent install. The cursor issue has been a bug since I installed the cursor folder, but the display dimension issue didn't exist Sunday. I've used this monitor since I installed Mint 17.3, and the OS recognized it as a 1920x1080 every day since then. Until this morning. I last ran updates Friday night, and it had been awhile since I had done that, so there was more than a few updates. But it worked fine both Saturday and Sunday. Now, not so good.
And it's not just about changes from boot session to boot session.
I can edit the display settings in the Settings Editor, close Settings Editor, and the values seem to have been saved. That is, if I just re-open Settings Editor, the values I saved are still there. But if I close Settings Editor, then open Settings Manager/Display, the largest resolution has gone back to 1080x768, and when I close that and reopen Settings Editor, the display value has reverted back to 1080x768 as well. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
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JerryF
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by JerryF »

Hmm...

Is your current 18.3 an upgrade or a direct install?

Can you post the results of this command:

Code: Select all

inxi -Fxz
pstrbrc
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by pstrbrc »

I have found a workaround, but it's buggy. Here's what I used:
https://gist.github.com/debloper/2793261#file-xrandr-sh
It uses xrandr, which I'm completely unfamiliar with, but it works for a session, but it's not persistent. Each time I boot up I have to run the following two lines:

Code: Select all

bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $ xrandr --addmode VGA1 "1920x1080_60.00"
bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $ xrandr --output VGA1 --mode "1920x1080_60.00"
So, here's the readout of the command you gave:

Code: Select all

bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 Kernel: 4.10.0-42-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0)
           Desktop: Xfce 4.12.3 (Gtk 2.24.28) Distro: Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia
Machine:   System: Dell product: OptiPlex GX620
           Mobo: Dell model: 0PY423 Bios: Dell v: A07 date: 03/31/2006
CPU:       Single core Intel Pentium 4 (-HT-) cache: 1024 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3) bmips: 5985
           clock speeds: max: 2992 MHz 1: 2992 MHz 2: 2992 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Intel 82945G/GZ Integrated Graphics Controller
           bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1920x1080@60.00hz
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel 945G
           GLX Version: 1.4 Mesa 17.0.7 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel 82801G (ICH7 Family) AC'97 Audio Controller
           driver: snd_intel8x0 ports: ec00 e8c0 bus-ID: 00:1e.2
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.10.0-42-generic
Network:   Card: Broadcom NetXtreme BCM5751 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express
           driver: tg3 v: 3.137 bus-ID: 02:00.0
           IF: enp2s0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 1320.3GB (17.0% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: SAMSUNG_HD322GJ size: 320.1GB
           ID-2: USB /dev/sdb model: Transcend size: 1000.2GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 290G used: 85G (31%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
           ID-2: swap-1 size: 3.75GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda5
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   None detected - is lm-sensors installed and configured?
Info:      Processes: 174 Uptime: 5:27 Memory: 1663.9/3500.7MB
           Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.3.481) inxi: 2.2.35 
bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $
I would say that this is all Greek to me, but I understand Greek (at least ancient Greek) slightly better than all of this.
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JerryF
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by JerryF »

pstrbrc wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 3:35 pm So, here's the readout of the command you gave:

Code: Select all

bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $ inxi -Fxz
...
Graphics:  Card: Intel 82945G/GZ Integrated Graphics Controller
           bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1920x1080@60.00hz
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel 945G
           GLX Version: 1.4 Mesa 17.0.7 Direct Rendering: Yes
...
I would say that this is all Greek to me, but I understand Greek (at least ancient Greek) slightly better than all of this.
According to the inxi output, the intel driver is being loaded and the resolution is being recognized as 1920x1080@60.00hz.

I thought maybe the intel driver wasn't being loaded and that might have been the problem, but it's not.

How long have you had this installation of 18.3? If it's a new installation, did you verify the ISO before burning it to a DVD/USB flash drive to use as an install?
pstrbrc
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by pstrbrc »

It's been a couple of months since I upgraded to 18.3. When I went from 17.3 to 18 I did a clean install of 18.2, so this is the first upgrade from there. But it's been stable, with the only glitch being the large mouse pointer problem of the first post, which I just work around at each boot.
The [inxi -Fxz] utility I ran for you was during an ongoing session, where I had already run the xrandr fix. I just rebooted, and it reverted to the 1080x768 resolution. I then ran the [inxi -Fxz] utility, and the following lines were different:

Code: Select all

Graphics:  Card: Intel 82945G/GZ Integrated Graphics Controller
           bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1024x768@60.00hz
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel 945G
           GLX Version: 1.4 Mesa 17.0.7 Direct Rendering: Yes
I run the xrandr fix, and the resolution goes to 1920x1080, and the [inxi -Fxz] readout reflects that. But if I reboot, it goes back to the 1024x768 value. So, where are these values stored, and how do I make them persistent?
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JerryF
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by JerryF »

I think my well of ideas has gone dry, I'm afraid. :(
mikser
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by mikser »

Check what your "~/.config/monitors.xml" file says. Actually, you can post it here.

Also tell what the "xrandr" command gives when you load up and after you make changes.
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mint4all
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by mint4all »

Greetings!

My everyday desktop, a 10yo Dell Precision, was fresh built to LM18.0-xfce, then successively updated from .1 to .2 and is now at 18.3 ... I do not observe this problem on this nor on another 4 systems (@ 18.3), nor on a 12yo Toshiba laptop running LM19.0-xfce. None of the systems have that ~/.config/monitors.xml file, but they ALL have a ~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/displays.xml config file. On my system, it looks like this ...

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<channel name="displays" version="1.0">
  <property name="Default" type="empty">
    <property name="DVI-I-1" type="string" value="1. Dell Inc. 20&quot;">
      <property name="Active" type="bool" value="true"/>
      <property name="Resolution" type="string" value="1600x1200"/>
      <property name="RefreshRate" type="double" value="60.000000"/>
      <property name="Rotation" type="int" value="0"/>
      <property name="Reflection" type="string" value="0"/>
      <property name="Primary" type="bool" value="false"/>
      <property name="Position" type="empty">
        <property name="X" type="int" value="0"/>
        <property name="Y" type="int" value="0"/>
      </property>
    </property>
  </property>
</channel>
I'd be curious to see what your "Resolution"-key shows as its value after a fresh boot, and after you run your xrandr command. Afaict, that key gets its wrong (default?) value set either during shutdown or upon booting -- likely a display driver/kernel regression introduced with 18.3 -- and, as a temp workaround, could be locked with its proper value (1920x1080) by write-protecting that particular .xml file AFTER running xrandr.

Cheers, m4a
pstrbrc
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by pstrbrc »

mikser wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:48 am Check what your "~/.config/monitors.xml" file says. Actually, you can post it here.
/home/bruce/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/displays.xml

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<channel name="displays" version="1.0">
  <property name="Default" type="empty">
    <property name="VGA1" type="string" value="Monitor">
      <property name="Active" type="bool" value="true"/>
      <property name="RefreshRate" type="double" value="60.003840"/>
      <property name="Rotation" type="int" value="0"/>
      <property name="Reflection" type="string" value="0"/>
      <property name="Primary" type="bool" value="false"/>
      <property name="Position" type="empty">
        <property name="X" type="int" value="0"/>
        <property name="Y" type="int" value="0"/>
      </property>
[b]      <property name="Resolution" type="string" value="1024x768"/>[/b]
    </property>
  </property>
  <property name="Notify" type="bool" value="false"/>
</channel>
Can't help but notice line 15 (my bold)! Do I change this?
mikser wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:48 am Also tell what the "xrandr" command gives when you load up and after you make changes.

Code: Select all

bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 32767 x 32767
VGA1 connected 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
   1920x1080     60.00 +
   1024x768      60.00  
   800x600       60.32    56.25  
   848x480       60.00  
   640x480       59.94  
   1920x1080_60.00  60.00* 
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $ 
mikser
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by mikser »

pstrbrc wrote: Fri Oct 19, 2018 9:24 am Can't help but notice line 15 (my bold)! Do I change this?
Yes. :D Reboot after and tell if there is any difference (in resolution, in the file, in output of xrandr command). Good luck!

You may also want to change
<property name="Primary" type="bool" value="false"/>
value to "true". Try first to change the resolution line first, do the false->true change only after.

I also cannot not notice the fact that you have two 1080p resolutions and one of them ("1920x1080") has "+", and another ("1920x1080_60.00") has "*".
- The mode marked with a star (*) is the current mode.
- The one marked with a plus (+) is the preferred one. Most monitors report a preferred mode to the driver. And the server/driver will generally choose it by default.
https://xorg-team.pages.debian.net/xorg ... randr.html
So your problem might relate to this issue.
pstrbrc
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by pstrbrc »

OK, here's what I've got.
I changed the display value in the displays.xml file. Rebooted. Came up 1024x768. Changed the value from false to true. Rebooted. Came up 1024x768. Opened a terminal window, ran xrand, then went through the steps of the xrand fix, running xrand between each step. Here's the result:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<channel name="displays" version="1.0">
<property name="Default" type="empty">
<property name="VGA1" type="string" value="Monitor">
<property name="Active" type="bool" value="true"/>
<property name="RefreshRate" type="double" value="60.003840"/>
<property name="Rotation" type="int" value="0"/>
<property name="Reflection" type="string" value="0"/>
<property name="Primary" type="bool" value="true"/>
<property name="Position" type="empty">
<property name="X" type="int" value="0"/>
<property name="Y" type="int" value="0"/>
</property>
<property name="Resolution" type="string" value="1920x1080"/>
</property>
</property>
<property name="Notify" type="bool" value="false"/>




bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1024 x 768, maximum 32767 x 32767
VGA1 connected primary 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
1024x768 60.00*
800x600 60.32 56.25
848x480 60.00
640x480 59.94
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $ xrandr --newmode "1920x1080_60.00" 172.80 1920 2040 2248 2576 1080 1081 1084 1118 -HSync +Vsync

bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1024 x 768, maximum 32767 x 32767
VGA1 connected primary 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
1024x768 60.00*
800x600 60.32 56.25
848x480 60.00
640x480 59.94
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
1920x1080_60.00 (0xad) 172.800MHz -HSync +VSync
h: width 1920 start 2040 end 2248 total 2576 skew 0 clock 67.08KHz
v: height 1080 start 1081 end 1084 total 1118 clock 60.00Hz

bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $ xrandr --addmode VGA1 "1920x1080_60.00"

bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1024 x 768, maximum 32767 x 32767
VGA1 connected primary 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
1024x768 60.00*
800x600 60.32 56.25
848x480 60.00
640x480 59.94
1920x1080_60.00 60.00
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $ xrandr --output VGA1 --mode "1920x1080_60.00"

bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 32767 x 32767
VGA1 connected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
1920x1080 60.00 +
1024x768 60.00
800x600 60.32 56.25
848x480 60.00
640x480 59.94
1920x1080_60.00 60.00*
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
bruce@bruce-OptiPlex-GX620 ~ $
Hope this helps.
mikser
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by mikser »

I don't have any ideas anymore. I hope there is someone smarter than me.

Obviously, you already know how to use the xrandr program, so you can simply make an appropriate startup run command to fix your issue. Ugly, but works.

Now that you are aware of monitors.xml file and xrandr command, I am sure you can google why the correct settings are not saved.

Good luck!
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mint4all
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by mint4all »

@ pstrbrc...

I've checked out your proposed xml-tweak @ https://codebeautify.org/xmlviewer# ... It looks like you have an extra </property> statement at the bottom, and the "Notify" key has no such </property> statement (may not be needed as it is at the end of your xml file). Anyhow, even though xml-syntax is very forgiving, this points out that your file's "Resolution" property is missing, or out of place -- idk. I checked with all my systems, and every file i checked has that requisite statement in just THAT place & sequence.

So my suggestion is: try inserting the "Resolution" property line exactly where it is in my xml file, and set the resolution to the one you want to use (ie 1920x1080). If that setting survives a reboot, you got part of the problem fixed. If that setting disappears, or gets changed from YOUR chosen values, some other process is messing with it, and we need to find it.

Cheers, m4a
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Re: I lose display settings!

Post by JerryF »

It rained here and my well of knowledge isn't so dry. Hopefully, this can work.

I had a similar problem with having settings stick with a Windows program a couple of decades ago.

What I did was made the changes to the file, then changed the read/write permissions to read only so that when I rebooted, the file wouldn't get written to with any new changes.

Make your changes to displays.xml, then change the read/write permissions to read only on the file displays.xml in your /home/bruce/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/ directory.
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