[SOLVED] Linux Mint 19.3 randomly booting to a blank screen or maximum brightness

[dpitch40]

I was having multiple driver issues recently, most of which were fixed by reinstalling Linux Mint 19.3 for a fresh start. The only exception is the display issue I'm having. When booting into Mint (with the 5.4.0-77-generic kernel), I sometimes get a blank screen shortly after the GRUB selection screen. Other times, my display will be stuck at maximum brightness. The strangest thing about this is that it seems completely random whether I get either of these issues or the correct behavior. I simply keep rebooting my computer (hard resetting on a blank screen, soft resetting if the brightness is stuck at maximum) until my display is correct, which is annoying. I have no idea how this can be happening.

My Mint installation is still relatively new. I've installed a few app updates, but no system updates yet. This issue has been happening since I did the fresh installation a few weeks ago. Any help figuring it out is most welcome.

[deepakdeshp]

Post output of terminal command

Code: Select all

 inxi -Fxz

in code tags.

[dpitch40]

Code: Select all

System:
  Host: BABBAGE Kernel: 5.4.0-77-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc 
  v: 7.5.0 Desktop: MATE 1.22.2 Distro: Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia 
  base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: HP product: OMEN by HP Laptop 15-dc1xxx v: N/A 
  serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: HP model: 8574 v: 21.12 serial: <filter> UEFI: AMI v: F.12 
  date: 06/10/2019 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 65.0 Wh condition: 65.0/65.0 Wh (100%) 
  model: HP Primary status: Full 
CPU:
  Topology: 6-Core model: Intel Core i7-9750H bits: 64 type: MT MCP 
  arch: Kaby Lake rev: A L2 cache: 12.0 MiB 
  flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 62399 
  Speed: 4105 MHz min/max: 800/4500 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 4154 2: 4108 
  3: 4163 4: 4120 5: 4117 6: 4167 7: 4123 8: 4182 9: 4143 10: 4189 11: 4111 
  12: 4161 
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: nvidia v: 460.80 
  bus ID: 01:00.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: nvidia 
  unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: GeForce GTX 1660 Ti/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 460.80 
  direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: Hewlett-Packard 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 
  Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
  bus ID: 01:00.1 
  Device-3: GYROCOM C&C type: USB driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid 
  bus ID: 1-1:2 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-77-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 3000 bus ID: 3c:00.0 
  IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Intel driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: 3000 bus ID: 3d:00.0 
  IF: wlo1 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.14 TiB used: 338.76 GiB (29.0%) 
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Toshiba model: KXG50ZNV256G size: 238.47 GiB 
  ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: HGST (Hitachi) model: HTS721010A9E630 
  size: 931.51 GiB 
RAID:
  Hardware-1: Intel 82801 Mobile SATA Controller [RAID mode] driver: ahci 
  v: 3.0 bus ID: 00:17.0 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 96.55 GiB used: 13.23 GiB (13.7%) fs: ext4 
  dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5 
  ID-2: swap-1 size: 17.00 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda3 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 65.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 49 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Info:
  Processes: 310 Uptime: 4h 13m Memory: 15.51 GiB used: 5.52 GiB (35.6%) 
  Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 7.5.0 Shell: bash v: 4.4.20 
  inxi: 3.0.32

[SMG]

Is this output when the system is working? or not working? What you describe sounds like it could be an issue of the Nvidia driver not loading properly some of the time. That is a common issue, especially with the 460 drivers. The below info looks like the driver is loaded properly.

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Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: nvidia v: 460.80 
  bus ID: 01:00.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: nvidia 
  unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: GeForce GTX 1660 Ti/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 460.80 
  direct render: Yes 

The next time you run into an issue, try restarting the X Server with Ctl-Alt-Backspace. If that fixes the problem, a more permanent solution is in this post [SOLVED] NVIDIA driver failing sometimes on boot ("no hardware acceleration").

For how new your computer is, I would recommend using a version of Mint 20 and using the 5.8 or newer kernel. This ISO Linux Mint 20.2 "Uma" - Cinnamon (Edge, 64-bit) installs Mint with the 5.11 kernel if you want to test running with the 5.11 kernel. You may still run into the issue with the Nvidia driver (and the same solution works in LM20 if that fixes the problem in LM19), but the newer kernel is a better match for your computer's cpu.

You would have to install the standard LM20 MATE version and upgrade because there is no MATE Edge ISO.

To upgrade the kernel, open Update Manager. Select View > Linux Kernels and click Continue. Select either 5.8 or 5.11 on the left panel and then click the top-most option on the right panel. An "Install" button will appear. Install the kernel and then reboot for it to become active. (The 5.8 kernel goes end of life in August.)

Edited to correct statement that LM20.2 Edge ISO has the 5.11 kernel and not the 5.8 kernel.

[dpitch40]

Here is the output from when the brightness is stuck at maximum. (I was booted into the 4.15.0-147-generic kernel, but it happens sometimes on the latest one as well)

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$ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: BABBAGE Kernel: 4.15.0-147-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 7.5.0 Desktop: MATE 1.22.2 
           Distro: Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: HP product: OMEN by HP Laptop 15-dc1xxx v: N/A serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: HP model: 8574 v: 21.12 serial: <filter> UEFI: AMI v: F.12 date: 06/10/2019 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 65.0 Wh condition: 65.0/65.0 Wh (100%) model: HP Primary status: Full 
CPU:       Topology: 6-Core model: Intel Core i7-9750H bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Kaby Lake rev: A L2 cache: 12.0 MiB 
           flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 62399 
           Speed: 800 MHz min/max: 800/4500 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 5: 800 6: 800 7: 800 8: 800 
           9: 800 10: 802 11: 800 12: 800 
Graphics:  Device-1: NVIDIA vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: nvidia v: 460.80 bus ID: 01:00.0 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: nvidia unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa 
           resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: GeForce GTX 1660 Ti/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 460.80 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 
           Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 
           Device-3: GYROCOM C&C type: USB driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid bus ID: 1-1:2 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k4.15.0-147-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: r8169 
           v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: 3000 bus ID: 3c:00.0 
           IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Intel driver: N/A port: 3000 bus ID: 3d:00.0 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 1.14 TiB used: 338.81 GiB (29.0%) 
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Toshiba model: KXG50ZNV256G size: 238.47 GiB 
           ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: HGST (Hitachi) model: HTS721010A9E630 size: 931.51 GiB 
RAID:      Hardware-1: Intel 82801 Mobile SATA Controller [RAID mode] driver: ahci v: 3.0 bus ID: 00:17.0 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 96.55 GiB used: 13.30 GiB (13.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5 
           ID-2: swap-1 size: 17.00 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda3 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 42.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 35 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Info:      Processes: 277 Uptime: 1m Memory: 15.54 GiB used: 1.68 GiB (10.8%) Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 7.5.0 
           Shell: bash v: 4.4.20 inxi: 3.0.32

Restarting the X server actually fixed it, but I don't think it will work when I get the blank screen since I can't log in in that case.

Unfortunately, Linux Mint 20 seems to be less of an option. Whenever I try booting it from a USB stick, I get a glitchy screen like this. This has happened with 20.1 and 20.2.

[SMG]

Restarting the X server actually fixed it, but I don't think it will work when I get the blank screen since I can't log in in that case.

I would guess the reason you are getting a blank screen is because X Server started before the Nvidia modules were ready to go. Therefore X could not display the login screen. Did you try the more permanent fix mentioned in the link I supplied? That makes sure the Nvidia files load sooner in the boot cycle so when X Server is ready to launch, the Nvidia files are ready to go. I do not recall anyone mentioning the more permanent fix did not fix the problem when restarting X Server did fix it, but it is possible your computer has a different root cause than all the others.

Unfortunately, Linux Mint 20 seems to be less of an option. Whenever I try booting it from a USB stick, I get a glitchy screen like this. This has happened with 20.1 and 20.2.

Is that in regular mode or compatibility mode? Or does that come up even before you get to the screen which lets you select which mode?

Make sure you have the most recent BIOS installed.

[dpitch40]

Sorry, I guess I forgot to keep checking this. The more permanent fix you suggested seems to work, though since the issue is semi-random it's hard to be sure. I tried shutting down and restarting and my backlight brightness was correct every time.

I will try updating my BIOS and then Linux Mint 20 again.

[dpitch40]

I updated my BIOS to version F.23 (released 07/06/2021). I do seem to be able to boot Linux Mint 20.2 from a flash drive in compatibility mode, but I still get the same issue as before when I try booting it to 20.2 normally.

[SMG]

I updated my BIOS to version F.23 (released 07/06/2021). I do seem to be able to boot Linux Mint 20.2 from a flash drive in compatibility mode, but I still get the same issue as before when I try booting it to 20.2 normally.

I do not know what version of the nouveau driver is on the LM20.2 ISO, although others have not had issues with it.

Does your computer only have Nvidia graphics? Or is it a dual-graphics Intel-Nvidia computer?

[dpitch40]

Does your computer only have Nvidia graphics? Or is it a dual-graphics Intel-Nvidia computer?

How do I check that? I know I have a GTX 1660 Ti card.

[SMG]

How do I check that? I know I have a GTX 1660 Ti card.

I presumed you could check the specs of your specific model on the HP website. The inxi information shows part of the model number as xxx and HP tends to make a lot of different variations of computers which all basically have the same name (which makes it hard for me to know).

[dpitch40]

This appears to be the exact model. This page says "Intel® UHD Graphics 630" and doesn't mention the GTX 1660 Ti for some reason.

[SMG]

This appears to be the exact model. This page says "Intel® UHD Graphics 630" and doesn't mention the GTX 1660 Ti for some reason.

The processor on your computer does have onboard graphics as indicated in the link, but the computer obviously also has Nvidia graphics.

Please post the output of lspci -nnk | grep -EA3 "3D|VGA"

Please also check in the BIOS/UEFI to see if there is any graphics setting which might indicate if there is hybrid/switchable graphics or a discrete (Nvidia only) graphics option. If there is and it is set to Discrete, I would like you to switch it to the other setting and then try booting the LM20 ISO.

Depending upon the specifics of your LM19.3, you may need to switch back to the other setting to boot from your hard drive.

[dpitch40]

Please post the output of lspci -nnk | grep -EA3 "3D|VGA"

Please also check in the BIOS/UEFI to see if there is any graphics setting which might indicate if there is hybrid/switchable graphics or a discrete (Nvidia only) graphics option. If there is and it is set to Discrete, I would like you to switch it to the other setting and then try booting the LM20 ISO.

Depending upon the specifics of your LM19.3, you may need to switch back to the other setting to boot from your hard drive.

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$ lspci -nnk | grep -EA3 "3D|VGA" 
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: NVIDIA Corporation Device [10de:2191] (rev a1)
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device [103c:8574]
	Kernel driver in use: nvidia
	Kernel modules: nvidiafb, nouveau, nvidia_drm, nvidia

I do not see any graphics-related settings in my BIOS.

[SMG]

Sorry, I guess I forgot to keep checking this. The more permanent fix you suggested seems to work, though since the issue is semi-random it's hard to be sure. I tried shutting down and restarting and my backlight brightness was correct every time.

This sounds like the main problem is solved. LM19.3 is supported for another year and a half.

It is possible HP disabled the onboard graphics so only the Nvidia GPU is used. Manufacturers have been known to do that.

Are you using the Linux Mint 20.2 "Uma" - Cinnamon (Edge, 64-bit) ISO which has the 5.11 kernel? Each of the LM20 ISOs load the nouveau driver when booting normally, so I'm not sure what might be different about your hardware that you are getting the glitchy screen. It is possible that you would need to install in compatibility mode and then install the Nvidia driver to get it working properly.

That should probably be a separate topic and you can mark this one [SOLVED] (presuming you feel your original question is solved).