Milky Screen BIOS/UEFI graphics settings

[MilkyScreen]

Dear Linux Community,

I have been running Linux Mint on several Computers for about a year and I'm super happy with it.

So yesterday I bought a new ASUS notebook for my mother which is supposed to be quite a new model. I didn't start Windows at all but just installed Linux right away from the USB stick. I updated to kernel 5.11. and everything's fine.

BUT (and I've had this issue with another computer before but don't know how to adapt the solution of the problem to this ASUS notebook now):

So everything works fine BUT the screen is milky. Colours are not bright, weak contrast. When I had this issue before the problem was that I did not have the right BIOS/UEFI version and according graphics/monitor settings in the BIOS/UEFI. We then uploaded the right BIOS/UEFI again and put the graphics/monitor settings right and the screen was strong und bright and normal again.

But when I now enter the BIOS/UEFI of this new ASUS notebook I can't find a way to update the BIOS/UEFI and edit monitor settings. The look of the BIOS/UEFI differs a lot from how it looked on older computers. It looks much more modern and userfriendly but I can't edit BIOS/UEFI or monitor settings.

I can upload screenshots if necessary.

I'm curious to know if this problem can be solved again.

Kind regards
Milky Screen

[Grayfox]

Please open the terminal when at the desktop by pressing CTRL+ALT+T and then entering the following.and posting the output here.

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inxi -Fxxxrz

[MilkyScreen]

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System:
  Kernel: 5.11.0-34-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 5.0.5 wm: muffin 5.0.1 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 
  Distro: Linux Mint 20.2 Uma base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: VivoBook_ASUSLaptop X712EA_X712EA 
  v: 1.0 serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: ASUSTeK model: X712EA v: 1.0 serial: <filter> 
  UEFI: American Megatrends LLC. v: X712EA.300 date: 04/02/2021 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 32.0 Wh condition: 32.0/32.1 Wh (100%) volts: 7.8/7.8 
  model: ASUSTeK ASUS Battery type: Li-ion serial: <filter> 
  status: Not charging cycles: 1 
CPU:
  Topology: Dual Core model: 11th Gen Intel Core i3-1115G4 bits: 64 
  type: MT MCP arch: Tiger Lake rev: 1 L2 cache: 6144 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx 
  bogomips: 23961 
  Speed: 1104 MHz min/max: 400/4100 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1104 2: 1094 
  3: 981 4: 1110 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915 v: kernel 
  bus ID: 0000:00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:9a78 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 driver: modesetting 
  unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1600x900~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics (TGL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 21.0.3 
  direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
  bus ID: 0000:00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:a0c8 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.11.0-34-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Intel driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: 3000 bus ID: 0000:00:14.3 
  chip ID: 8086:a0f0 
  IF: wlo1 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 10.38 GiB (4.4%) 
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Western Digital 
  model: PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-256G-1002 size: 238.47 GiB speed: 31.6 Gb/s 
  lanes: 4 serial: <filter> rev: 21106000 scheme: GPT 
RAID:
  Hardware-1: Intel Volume Management Device NVMe RAID Controller 
  driver: vmd v: 0.6 port: 3000 bus ID: 0000:00:0e.0 chip ID: 8086.9a0b 
  rev: N/A 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 233.24 GiB used: 10.37 GiB (4.4%) fs: ext4 
  dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 36.0 C mobo: N/A 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 2200 
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
  1: deb http://ftp-stud.hs-esslingen.de/pub/Mirrors/packages.linuxmint.com uma main upstream import backport
  2: deb http://ftp-stud.hs-esslingen.de/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb http://ftp-stud.hs-esslingen.de/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb http://ftp-stud.hs-esslingen.de/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
Info:
  Processes: 211 Uptime: 5h 06m Memory: 7.46 GiB used: 2.13 GiB (28.5%) 
  Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash 
  v: 5.0.17 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38

[Grayfox]

Click on Start and type in "Driver"
Select "Driver Manager" and see if their are any drivers for the laptop and see if this fixes the issue.

But as for your UEFI update fixing a similar issue last time.
If I am reading that output right.
You're running UEFI/BIOS version 300 which was published on the 4/2/21

According to ASUSs webpage for this laptop, the current version for the UEFI is 304 what was published on the 30/8/21
https://www.asus.com/AU/supportonly/X71 ... _Download/

PLEASE NOTE UEFI UPDATES CAN BE RISKY, PROCEED AT OWN RISK
You could try and update the UEFI and see if that fixes the issue, but I think this is more of a driver issue.
Use the "BIOS" download as this is the BIOS file itself, this update is applied in the UEFI.
Extract the UEFI file and put the .304 UEFI file on a flashdrive that is formatted in the FAT32/vFAT file system.
Shut down the laptop

Make sure the battery is 100% fully charged, the laptop is not hot/overheating when you're applying the update.
Power on the laptop and start tapping "ESC" when you see the ASUS splash screen
Select "Enter Setup" then "Press F7" to enter "Advanced Mode"
Navigate to the "Advanced" tab here you will see "Asus EZ Flash 3 Utility"
When in the EZ Flash Utility select your flashdrive out of the list(You will see the EFI partition here)
Select the UEFI 304 file.
Wait for it to apply.
When applied the system will turn off or want you to turn it off.
When you power the machine back up start tapping "ESC" when you see the ASUS splash screen and select "Enter Setup"
Here press F9 to load defaults, then save by pressing F10.

[MilkyScreen]

Thanks a lot so far for your great input, Grayfox. That sounds very promising.

When I open the Driver Manager it says "Your computer needs some additional drivers" but that's all. No drivers are recommended or offered then. Just that message in an otherwise empty info field.

Maybe it would be strategically better to get those drivers first before I give the BIOS/UEFI attempt a go although it sounds tempting to do. Maybe the drivers will fix it anyway.

So how can I install the proper drivers if the Driver Manager doesn't even give me options?

[SMG]

When I open the Driver Manager it says "Your computer needs some additional drivers" but that's all. No drivers are recommended or offered then. Just that message in an otherwise empty info field.

Maybe it would be strategically better to get those drivers first before I give the BIOS/UEFI attempt a go although it sounds tempting to do. Maybe the drivers will fix it anyway.

There are no specialized drivers for Intel graphics. The Intel graphics drivers are in the kernel and install automatically when you boot your computer.
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915 v: kernel
bus ID: 0000:00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:9a78
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 driver: modesetting
unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1600x900~60Hz
OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics (TGL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 21.0.3
direct render: Yes

The only way to get newer drivers is to install a newer kernel, but you are already using the newer 5.11 kernel. This is the first I've heard of anyone with this type of graphics having a "milky" appearance, so I would not guess it is not a driver problem.

Regarding Driver Manager and the lack of options: Driver Manager works by connecting to a remote database to do comparisons and return results. From time to time it is blank which I have in the past assumed to be an issue on the other end. Usually, waiting a day or two resolves the issue and one can connect.

Edited to remove extra word in sentence.

[MilkyScreen]

My Driver Manager info box is still blank although the message "You need additional drivers" keeps showing up.

I now changed the hosts again to default in my Update Manager. I was asked to change the update host to some local servers in order to get more update speed which I did. But now I returned to default. Maybe these local servers don't have sufficient driver supply. I changed it to default now (http://packages.linuxmint.com + http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu) but still now drivers are listed in the Driver Manager.

Let's assume it's not a drivers issue as I installed kernel 5.11 anyway and it still doesn't work. So I will follow Grayfox's UEFI/BIOS upgrade guide now and see if I get it done. The big red letters scared me a bit but brave pirates don't mind putting out to the Red Sea either.

[MilkyScreen]

I applied the BIOS/UEFI upgrade as mentioned by Grayfox. Everything went fine thanks to the perfect and precise guide from Grayfox. Thanks a lot. If you have a good guide you will master the rapids easily.

Now my system is the following:

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System:
  Kernel: 5.11.0-34-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 5.0.5 wm: muffin 5.0.1 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 
  Distro: Linux Mint 20.2 Uma base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: VivoBook_ASUSLaptop X712EA_X712EA 
  v: 1.0 serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: ASUSTeK model: X712EA v: 1.0 serial: <filter> 
  UEFI: American Megatrends LLC. v: X712EA.304 date: 07/28/2021 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 32.0 Wh condition: 32.0/32.1 Wh (100%) volts: 7.8/7.8 
  model: ASUSTeK ASUS Battery type: Li-ion serial: <filter> 
  status: Not charging cycles: 1 
CPU:
  Topology: Dual Core model: 11th Gen Intel Core i3-1115G4 bits: 64 
  type: MT MCP arch: Tiger Lake rev: 1 L2 cache: 6144 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx 
  bogomips: 23961 
  Speed: 1025 MHz min/max: 400/4100 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 879 2: 945 
  3: 1144 4: 1163 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915 v: kernel 
  bus ID: 0000:00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:9a78 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 driver: modesetting 
  unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1600x900~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics (TGL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 21.0.3 
  direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
  bus ID: 0000:00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:a0c8 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.11.0-34-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Intel driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: 3000 bus ID: 0000:00:14.3 
  chip ID: 8086:a0f0 
  IF: wlo1 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 10.27 GiB (4.3%) 
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Western Digital 
  model: PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-256G-1002 size: 238.47 GiB speed: 31.6 Gb/s 
  lanes: 4 serial: <filter> rev: 21106000 scheme: GPT 
RAID:
  Hardware-1: Intel Volume Management Device NVMe RAID Controller 
  driver: vmd v: 0.6 port: 3000 bus ID: 0000:00:0e.0 chip ID: 8086.9a0b 
  rev: N/A 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 233.24 GiB used: 10.27 GiB (4.4%) fs: ext4 
  dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 38.0 C mobo: N/A 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 2100 
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
  1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com uma main upstream import backport
  2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
Info:
  Processes: 212 Uptime: 7m Memory: 7.47 GiB used: 1.39 GiB (18.6%) 
  Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash 
  v: 5.0.17 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38

Still no drivers offered in the Driver Manager. Still the message "You need some additional drivers". Still the milky screen.

I can tell right when linux is about to start and the green linux mint logo shows up if it's still milky or full colour. Milky means as if it was overlayed with some white transparent layer. The logo still was milky and so is the display when running the notebook. Hm...

[MilkyScreen]

I noticed something else: When I start linux mint at home on my desktop or at the desktop in the office (both times it runs perfectly), the ASUS (or whatever) splash screen shortly pops up, then the mint logo, then linux is there. On the problematic ASUS notebook however there are very quick info messages on the black screen whilst linux is starting between ASUS splash screen and mint logo. The messages disappear again so quickly that I have no chance reading them but I caught some lines like "not found" etc. I think I can't make a screenshot as the screenshot function (pressing "print") is supposed to only work once linux has fully loaded.
Would these messages help? Should I try taking photographs?

[SMG]

When I had this issue before the problem was that I did not have the right BIOS/UEFI version and according graphics/monitor settings in the BIOS/UEFI. We then uploaded the right BIOS/UEFI again and put the graphics/monitor settings right and the screen was strong und bright and normal again.

The description of this solution indicates the problem was not something related to the operating system (Mint). The solution was related to the hardware and firmware (BIOS/UEFI software) that comes with the computer.

Still no drivers offered in the Driver Manager. Still the message "You need some additional drivers".

Based on the data you posted, I have no guesses what might be causing the message. The Linux Mint 20.2 "Uma" - Cinnamon (Edge, 64-bit) ISO has the 5.11 kernel. Maybe if you boot to a live session there will be something in Driver Manager that might give a clue as to the reason for the message.

Still the milky screen.

I can tell right when linux is about to start and the green linux mint logo shows up if it's still milky or full colour. Milky means as if it was overlayed with some white transparent layer. The logo still was milky and so is the display when running the notebook. Hm...

Do you have an external monitor you can attach to the laptop? This sounds more like a hardware issue rather than a software issue.

On the problematic ASUS notebook however there are very quick info messages on the black screen whilst linux is starting between ASUS splash screen and mint logo. The messages disappear again so quickly that I have no chance reading them but I caught some lines like "not found" etc. I think I can't make a screenshot as the screenshot function (pressing "print") is supposed to only work once linux has fully loaded.
Would these messages help? Should I try taking photographs?

Photographs can help, but those messages should be in the logs as well. You can check /var/log/syslog or we can use a command to get the information from the journal. However, often with very new computers, there are error messages related to not finding things in BIOS/UEFI and they do not affect how Mint runs.

[MilkyScreen]

The description of this solution indicates the problem was not something related to the operating system (Mint). The solution was related to the hardware and firmware (BIOS/UEFI software) that comes with the computer.

Yes, this is absolutely true. The first time I had this problem one year ago was on a Computer delivered on Windows 10. The colours were perfect until I amateurishly changed the bios version because I thought this might fix some problem. Windows suddenly was milky. Then I turned to linux mint and the screen was still milky, of course. I called my vendor. She told me to bring the computer. She went inside the bios, put the right BIOS version up again + chose the right graphics/monitor settings. There was a list in the bios of pixel settings and colour depth or something like this, if I remember correctly. There were ten or so options. Various resolutions and colour somethings. We chose the right one and Linux was bright and colourful again. The problem now is there is no graphics setting menue to choose from in that BIOS.

So yes, it's absolutely not a Linux problem. It's only now that I myself am getting fully aware of this. Hm.

But still I thought I had to find answers inside the linux community as I am running on Linux now. But that was an amateurish thought, too, I guess. I thought the BIOS looks and works different maybe on linux than on Windows which it probably doesn't.
I hope I can still find the solution here or am I disqualified now as the problem isn't a linux problem at all?
Maybe I just should go to the vendor of this notebook and he can fix it easily? Hm. I just thought he might be a Windows guy who doesn't know Linux anyway.

Based on the data you posted, I have no guesses what might be causing the message. The Linux Mint 20.2 "Uma" - Cinnamon (Edge, 64-bit) ISO has the 5.11 kernel. Maybe if you boot to a live session there will be something in Driver Manager that might give a clue as to the reason for the message.

Ok, I will try this.

Do you have an external monitor you can attach to the laptop? This sounds more like a hardware issue rather than a software issue.

I can arrange for that trial. Will do it tomorrow.

Photographs can help, but those messages should be in the logs as well. You can check /var/log/syslog or we can use a command to get the information from the journal. However, often with very new computers, there are error messages related to not finding things in BIOS/UEFI and they do not affect how Mint runs.

I looked at the syslog file but it's too long to post here. It seemed like at least 30 feet of scrolling.

[MilkyScreen]

But this time, let it be understood, with this newly purchased notebook, I never touched the BIOS at all. I just installed Linux Mint right away before ever running it on Windows. I am wondering now if the screen would have been milky either if I had undergone the usual Windows First Time Start Up. I will never know because Windows is gone for good as I chose "Fully delete hard drive and install Linux Mint". Would be interesting though. If it would have been milky on Windows, too, it would be a task for the vendor, of course. I doubt it would have been milky on Windows as I never ever had the milky issue on a Windows computer without messing around in the BIOS.

[SMG]

The problem now is there is no graphics setting menue to choose from in that BIOS.

I have not seen a BIOS with that type of setting, so I can offer no advice about it.

I thought the BIOS looks and works different maybe on linux than on Windows which it probably doesn't.

BIOS is exactly the same regardless of what operating system you use.

If the problem is the BIOS or hardware, then the same problem will happen no matter operating system you use. We often have people switch to their Windows install (if they have one) to see if the problem also happens there. If it does, that pretty much confirms it is hardware-related issue.

I looked at the syslog file but it's too long to post here. It seemed like at least 30 feet of scrolling.

Run the following command in a terminal and let us know what url it returns.

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journalctl -b | grep -i 'error\|warn\|fail' | nc termbin.com 9999

This command will write the current system log problems and send them to termbin. We can then check if there are any messages about the graphics.

[MilkyScreen]

Maybe if you boot to a live session there will be something in Driver Manager that might give a clue as to the reason for the message.

I downloaded the ISO version you linked to. I made a bootable USB stick from it. I ran the Linux Mint Version from the stick (live session) and started the Driver Manager. It said: "You don't need additional drivers".

I installed my 20.2 Kernel 5.11 Linux version on the notebook in the language German. So when I open the Driver Manager there ("Treiberverwaltung") it shows exactly the same info box and big check tick as in the original english version and it says "Sie brauchen einige zusätzliche Treiber" which is very surely a translation error. This translates to "You need SOME additional drivers" though it probably should read "You don't need". That would solve the problem that I actually do not need some other driver. It's no drivers issue just a translation error.

[MilkyScreen]

Run the following command in a terminal and let us know what url it returns.

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https://termbin.com/cgmux

[SMG]

This translates to "You need SOME additional drivers" though it probably should read "You don't need". That would solve the problem that I actually do not need some other driver. It's no drivers issue just a translation error.

It appears someone else already requested this correction Mintdrivers: Mistake in german translation #67 and a correction is working its way through the system.

[SMG]

I checked the message output and do not see anything related to graphics. These look like messages I commonly see in the many logs I've checked. This is the first time I've helped investigate a "milky graphics" issue, so I would not correlate any of those messages to the issue you are seeing.

I seem to recall a few people mentioning they made a usb with Windows on it and ran it from the usb to do some tests. That might be a possible option to check and see if Windows has the same issue on this particular computer.

[Grayfox]

The problem now is there is no graphics setting menue to choose from in that BIOS.

I have never seen a UEFI offer monitor/LCD configuration options, and lets not forget OEM computers have nurtured UEFI/BIOSs so even if such an option existed, it would be removed from OEM firmware.
Display adjustments for laptops is normally done on the OS driver level where you can adjust things like contrast and brightness.

When I think of a "Milky" Screen I think of a screen with its brightness set way too high

.
But without seeing what you're seeing it is hard to say, but if the screen is still "Milky" in the UEFI, I would say it is a hardware issue as the issue exists outside of any OS and also exists in Windows too.

But still I thought I had to find answers inside the linux community as I am running on Linux now. But that was an amateurish thought, too, I guess. I thought the BIOS looks and works different maybe on linux than on Windows which it probably doesn't.

I looked at the syslog file but it's too long to post here. It seemed like at least 30 feet of scrolling.

Start from the bottom and go up till you started the laptop, there will be a large time difference between events
This was last lot of logs from last night to first boot this morning, Copy till you booted to the desktop(look at system time in taskbar to get an idea when to copy to)

Code: Select all

Sep 20 20:53:58 Grayfox-ZenBook bluetoothd[792]: Exit
Sep 20 20:53:58 Grayfox-ZenBook systemd[1]: Stopping LSB: disk temperature monitoring daemon...
Sep 20 20:53:58 Grayfox-ZenBook systemd[1]: Stopping irqbalance daemon...
Sep 20 20:53:58 Grayfox-ZenBook systemd[1]: Stopping Tool to automatically collect and submit kernel crash signatures...
Sep 21 09:11:58 Grayfox-ZenBook systemd-modules-load[479]: Inserted module 'lp'
Sep 21 09:11:58 Grayfox-ZenBook systemd-modules-load[479]: Inserted module 'ppdev'
Sep 21 09:11:58 Grayfox-ZenBook systemd-modules-load[479]: Inserted module 'parport_pc'
Sep 21 09:11:58 Grayfox-ZenBook systemd-modules-load[479]: Module 'i2c_dev' is built in

[SMG]

Copy till you booted to the desktop(look at system time in taskbar to get an idea when to copy to)

That is going to be a lot of information and there is a limit to how much information can be put in a post. Is there something specific you want to see?

Syslog is a subset of journalctl and the errors and warnings from the current boot cycle journal have already been provided.

[Grayfox]

Copy till you booted to the desktop(look at system time in taskbar to get an idea when to copy to)

That is going to be a lot of information and there is a limit to how much information can be put in a post. Is there something specific you want to see?

Syslog is a subset of journalctl and the errors and warnings from the current boot cycle journal have already been provided.

Just informing the OP that you can filter down logs to a more specific point such as boot time rather than having to look through the 30,000+ lines.