Black screen with cursor on login

[sidmint]

When I activate to lock screen on sleep, on logging back in, I get a black screen with a movable cursor. And right click gives no context menu. Doesn't happen if I login immediately, but after some time. Suspending again and login in back immediately doesn't help, even via tty. I then give up and logout and lose my ongoing operations. This is happening since long and not recently.

How can I see the background processes while login, perhaps in tty? I think that should give a clue.

19.3 xfce
Intel i5-4310U
Latitude E5440
5.4.0-91-generic

[SMG]

19.3 xfce
Intel i5-4310U
Latitude E5440
5.4.0-91-generic

Sometimes screen issues after returning from sleep are related to graphics drivers. Please give us information about your install by entering this command in a terminal: inxi -Fxxxrz
Click </> from the mini toolbar above the textbox where you type your reply and then place your cursor between the code markers and paste the results of the command between the code markers [code]Results[/code]. This will let us know how Mint sees your hardware.

[sidmint]

Code: Select all

System:
  Host: mint-Latitude-E5440 Kernel: 5.4.0-91-generic x86_64 bits: 64 
  compiler: gcc v: 7.5.0 Desktop: Gnome 3.28.4 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm4 
  dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia 
  base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Dell product: Latitude E5440 v: 01 serial: <filter> 
  Chassis: type: 9 serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: Dell model: 0P9X5M serial: <filter> UEFI: Dell v: A11 
  date: 02/02/2015 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 36.1 Wh condition: 42.2/66.6 Wh (63%) volts: 11.8/11.1 
  model: LGC-LGC3.0 DELL NVWGM72 type: Li-ion serial: <filter> 
  status: Discharging 
CPU:
  Topology: Dual Core model: Intel Core i5-4310U bits: 64 type: MT MCP 
  arch: Haswell rev: 1 L2 cache: 3072 KiB 
  flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 20752 
  Speed: 799 MHz min/max: 800/3000 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 798 2: 798 
  3: 798 4: 798 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Haswell-ULT Integrated Graphics vendor: Dell driver: i915 
  v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:0a16 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: intel resolution: 1366x768~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 4400 (HSW GT2) 
  v: 4.5 Mesa 20.0.8 compat-v: 3.0 direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Haswell-ULT HD Audio vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 00:03.0 chip ID: 8086:0a0c 
  Device-2: Intel 8 Series HD Audio vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0 chip ID: 8086:9c20 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-91-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Ethernet I218-LM vendor: Dell driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k 
  port: f080 bus ID: 00:19.0 chip ID: 8086:155a 
  IF: eno1 state: down mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Intel Wireless 7260 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: f040 
  bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 8086:08b1 
  IF: wlp2s0 state: down mac: <filter> 
  IF-ID-1: bnep0 state: unknown speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 465.76 GiB used: 300.90 GiB (64.6%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST500LM021-1KJ152 size: 465.76 GiB 
  speed: 6.0 Gb/s rotation: 7200 rpm serial: <filter> rev: SDM1 scheme: GPT 
RAID:
  Hardware-1: Intel 82801 Mobile SATA Controller [RAID mode] driver: ahci 
  v: 3.0 port: f060 bus ID: 00:1f.2 chip ID: 8086.282a rev: 04 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 14.15 GiB used: 8.49 GiB (60.0%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2 
  ID-2: swap-1 size: 3.91 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda3 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 45.0 C mobo: 32.0 C sodimm: 31.0 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 0 
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/maarten-baert-simplescreenrecorder-bionic.list 
  1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/maarten-baert/simplescreenrecorder/ubuntu bionic main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
  1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com tricia main upstream import backport
  2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ bionic partner
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-source-repositories.list 
  1: deb-src http://packages.linuxmint.com tricia main upstream import backport
  2: deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ bionic partner
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/stebbins-handbrake-releases-bionic.list 
  1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/stebbins/handbrake-releases/ubuntu bionic main
  2: deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/stebbins/handbrake-releases/ubuntu bionic main
Info:
  Processes: 207 Uptime: 2m Memory: 3.75 GiB used: 546.6 MiB (14.2%) 
  Init: systemd v: 237 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 7.5.0 alt: 7 Shell: bash 
  v: 4.4.20 running in: xfce4-terminal inxi: 3.0.32

[ThaCrip]

This may not help at all, but it's worth trying since it's easy enough to do, when your issue occurs try the following...

press CTRL+ALT+F2 (i.e. hold CTRL+ALT then press F2), wait some odd seconds, then press CTRL+ALT+F7 and see if things work again or not.

p.s. because I noticed when I had my primary screen (DisplayPort) going black after sitting overnight, almost like it's not active, and the secondary screen (TV(HDMI)) shows up I can do that and it gets things back to a usable state with all programs still running like usual and I can resume use like normal.

[SMG]

When I activate to lock screen on sleep, on logging back in, I get a black screen with a movable cursor. And right click gives no context menu. Doesn't happen if I login immediately, but after some time. Suspending again and login in back immediately doesn't help, even via tty. I then give up and logout and lose my ongoing operations. This is happening since long and not recently.

Do you have more than one desktop installed? Your inxi output indicates you have the Gnome desktop (which is not a supported desktop for Linux Mint), but you are showing the Xfce panel and windows manager.

System:
Host: mint-Latitude-E5440 Kernel: 5.4.0-91-generic x86_64 bits: 64
compiler: gcc v: 7.5.0 Desktop: Gnome 3.28.4 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm4
dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia
base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic

Some people, including the two in this topic [Workaround] Desktop is not visible, have been running into an issue with the desktop disappearing. They found a workaround, but I'm not sure if it will work for you.

[sidmint]

That was indeed helpful. Thank you. I found that "gnome-shell, gdm and gnomedesktop" related named packages were extra compared to a fresh install. Might have come during some tinkering, I don't remember. I unistalled them and now it shows xfce4 as desktop in inxi.

[sidmint]

BUT the problem still persists! I found that now as it happens after suspending for some longer time. Here is the updated inxi output-

Code: Select all

System:
  Host: mint-Latitude-E5440 Kernel: 5.4.0-91-generic x86_64 bits: 64 
  compiler: gcc v: 7.5.0 Desktop: Xfce 4.14.1 tk: Gtk 3.22.30 
  info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm4 dm: LightDM 1.26.0 
  Distro: Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Dell product: Latitude E5440 v: 01 serial: <filter> 
  Chassis: type: 9 serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: Dell model: 0P9X5M serial: <filter> UEFI: Dell v: A11 
  date: 02/02/2015 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 19.1 Wh condition: 42.2/66.6 Wh (63%) volts: 11.4/11.1 
  model: LGC-LGC3.0 DELL NVWGM72 type: Li-ion serial: <filter> 
  status: Discharging 
CPU:
  Topology: Dual Core model: Intel Core i5-4310U bits: 64 type: MT MCP 
  arch: Haswell rev: 1 L2 cache: 3072 KiB 
  flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 20751 
  Speed: 1097 MHz min/max: 800/3000 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 845 2: 808 
  3: 814 4: 812 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Haswell-ULT Integrated Graphics vendor: Dell driver: i915 
  v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:0a16 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: intel resolution: 1366x768~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 4400 (HSW GT2) 
  v: 4.5 Mesa 20.0.8 compat-v: 3.0 direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Haswell-ULT HD Audio vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 00:03.0 chip ID: 8086:0a0c 
  Device-2: Intel 8 Series HD Audio vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0 chip ID: 8086:9c20 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-91-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Ethernet I218-LM vendor: Dell driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k 
  port: f080 bus ID: 00:19.0 chip ID: 8086:155a 
  IF: eno1 state: down mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Intel Wireless 7260 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: f040 
  bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 8086:08b1 
  IF: wlp2s0 state: down mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 465.76 GiB used: 300.98 GiB (64.6%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST500LM021-1KJ152 size: 465.76 GiB 
  speed: 6.0 Gb/s rotation: 7200 rpm serial: <filter> rev: SDM1 scheme: GPT 
RAID:
  Hardware-1: Intel 82801 Mobile SATA Controller [RAID mode] driver: ahci 
  v: 3.0 port: f060 bus ID: 00:1f.2 chip ID: 8086.282a rev: 04 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 14.15 GiB used: 8.39 GiB (59.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2 
  ID-2: swap-1 size: 3.91 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda3 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 34.0 C mobo: 23.0 C sodimm: 23.0 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 0 
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/maarten-baert-simplescreenrecorder-bionic.list 
  1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/maarten-baert/simplescreenrecorder/ubuntu bionic main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
  1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com tricia main upstream import backport
  2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ bionic partner
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-source-repositories.list 
  1: deb-src http://packages.linuxmint.com tricia main upstream import backport
  2: deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ bionic partner
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/stebbins-handbrake-releases-bionic.list 
  1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/stebbins/handbrake-releases/ubuntu bionic main
  2: deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/stebbins/handbrake-releases/ubuntu bionic main
Info:
  Processes: 257 Uptime: 3d 9h 33m Memory: 3.75 GiB used: 1.23 GiB (32.8%) 
  Init: systemd v: 237 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 7.5.0 alt: 7 Shell: bash 
  v: 4.4.20 running in: xfce4-terminal inxi: 3.0.32

[SMG]

BUT the problem still persists! I found that now as it happens after suspending for some longer time.

Did you try the workaround in the link?

[sidmint]

But one thing I have say, earlier the problem used to occur in few hours of suspending. But that has not happened at all till now after removing the gnome related packages. The problem only occured once until now and it was after about one day of suspending. So I'm not sure whether problem even exists as one occurence isn't enough. So I'm waiting for it to happen again and then it'll be appropriate to proceed further with mentioned workaround.

[sidmint]

Did you try the workaround in the link?

The problem occured three times recently. And within few hours of suspending. I'll try the mentioned workaround [rm -R ~/.cache/sessions/*] next time it happens via tty.

[sidmint]

I don't think this workaround works for me. I had cleared the directory beforehand and problem occurred while the directory was empty. When I ran the command during the issue via tty, no such file/directory was reported as expected.

[SMG]

I don't think this workaround works for me. I had cleared the directory beforehand and problem occurred while the directory was empty. When I ran the command during the issue via tty, no such file/directory was reported as expected.

Which directory are you referencing?

I was thinking of the xfdesktop --reload command referenced in that topic, but I see two other options listed.

[sidmint]

Code: Select all

xfdesktop --reload

in tty gave:
unable to init server: could not connect: connection refused
Failed to parse arguments: cannot open display:

[SMG]

Code: Select all

xfdesktop --reload

in tty gave:
unable to init server: could not connect: connection refused
Failed to parse arguments: cannot open display:

I do not know enough about how Xfce works to have any guesses as why that might have happened. I did search on that phrase, but what I was finding did not relate to your situation.

Hopefully, someone more familiar with Xfce might have some ideas which could help you.

[cretsiah]

after moving mouse around, how long are you waiting to see a desktop environment?

i am running xfce but my system is a little bit more powerful than yours and have black screen for between 5-20 seconds after signing in from the lock screen.

[sidmint]

Desktop normally appears along with cursor in less than 5 seconds post signin when issue doesn't occur, but when issue occurs I've waited far enough in several minutes.