Issue with connecting monitors to Linux Mint 20.2

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tomko
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Issue with connecting monitors to Linux Mint 20.2

Post by tomko »

Hi all,

I've recently installed Linux Mint on my Asus Vivobook.
I have an Nvidia MX 350 card that I've had some issues installing. I've been able to make it work by installing the Nvidia 450 drivers as described here: https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=350438

However, I'm unable to connect external monitors via HDMI or usb-c ports I have.

Sharing my inxi -Fxxxrz with you:

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-74-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 5.0.4 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 X421EQ_S433EQ 
  v: 1.0 serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: ASUSTeK model: X421EQ v: 1.0 serial: <filter> 
  UEFI: American Megatrends LLC. v: X421EQ.301 date: 11/26/2020 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 47.2 Wh condition: 47.2/50.0 Wh (94%) volts: 11.9/11.9 
  model: ASUSTeK ASUS Battery type: Li-ion serial: <filter> 
  status: Not charging cycles: 27 
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 bits: 64 
  type: MT MCP arch: Tiger Lake rev: 1 L2 cache: 12.0 MiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx 
  bogomips: 44851 
  Speed: 1260 MHz min/max: 400/4700 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1261 2: 1215 
  3: 1195 4: 1250 5: 1222 6: 1203 7: 1228 8: 1217 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel vendor: ASUSTeK driver: N/A bus ID: 0000:00:02.0 
  chip ID: 8086:9a49 
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP107M [GeForce MX350] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: nvidia 
  v: 450.119.03 bus ID: 0000:2d:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1c94 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: fbdev,nvidia 
  unloaded: modesetting,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~77Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 12.0.0 256 bits) v: 4.5 Mesa 21.0.3 
  compat-v: 3.1 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: k5.4.0-74-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Intel driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: 4000 bus ID: 0000:00:14.3 
  chip ID: 8086:a0f0 
  IF: wlo1 state: up mac: <filter> 
  IF-ID-1: br-42d0602f339a state: down mac: <filter> 
  IF-ID-2: br-a7433815eb58 state: down mac: <filter> 
  IF-ID-3: docker0 state: down mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 953.87 GiB used: 91.40 GiB (9.6%) 
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Western Digital 
  model: PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-1T00-1002 size: 953.87 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: 4000 bus ID: 0000:00:0e.0 chip ID: 8086.9a0b 
  rev: N/A 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 937.40 GiB used: 91.40 GiB (9.8%) fs: ext4 
  dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 42.0 C mobo: N/A 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 3100 
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/additional-repositories.list 
  1: deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu focal stable
  2: deb [arch=amd64] https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com uma main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list 
  1: deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-cloud-sdk.list 
  1: deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/cloud.google.gpg] https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt cloud-sdk main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.list 
  1: deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nodesource.gpg] https://deb.nodesource.com/node_14.x focal main
  2: deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nodesource.gpg] https://deb.nodesource.com/node_14.x focal main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
  1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com uma main upstream import backport #id:linuxmint_main
  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
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list 
  1: deb [arch=amd64,arm64,armhf] http://packages.microsoft.com/repos/code stable main
Info:
  Processes: 305 Uptime: 16m Memory: 15.33 GiB used: 1.81 GiB (11.8%) 
  Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 8/9 
  Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38 
Any thoughts on what might be the issue?
Thanks,
Tom.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
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SMG
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Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2020 6:15 pm
Location: USA

Re: Issue with connecting monitors to Linux Mint 20.2

Post by SMG »

tomko wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 9:15 amAny thoughts on what might be the issue?
Welcome to the forum, Tom.

Your computer is too new to be using the 5.4 kernel with "regular" Mint. Your system is missing graphics drivers which is the source of your issue.
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel vendor: ASUSTeK driver: N/A bus ID: 0000:00:02.0
chip ID: 8086:9a49
Device-2: NVIDIA GP107M [GeForce MX350] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: nvidia
v: 450.119.03 bus ID: 0000:2d:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1c94
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: fbdev,nvidia
unloaded: modesetting,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~77Hz
OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 12.0.0 256 bits) v: 4.5 Mesa 21.0.3
compat-v: 3.1 direct render: Yes

Had you installed the Linux Mint 20.2 "Uma" - Cinnamon (Edge, 64-bit) ISO with the 5.11 kernel you probably would not only have had the correct Intel driver installed, but also been able to use Driver Manager to install the Nvidia driver. You may actually run into a problem now because you installed the Nvidia driver from the website which most likely did not take into account your laptop has dual graphics.

Please upgrade your kernel to either the 5.11 or 5.13 kernel available in Update Manager.
Instructions for upgrading to the kernel:
  • Open Update Manager.
  • Select View > Linux Kernels and click Continue.
  • Select 5.11 or 5.13 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.
Please give an updated inxi -SMGCx after you have upgraded the kernel. There may be some other issues which will need fixed because you installed the Nvidia website driver.
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tomko
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Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2021 9:02 am

Re: Issue with connecting monitors to Linux Mint 20.2

Post by tomko »

Hi,

Thank you for replying!

Following your advice I upgraded to the 5.13 kernel. This solved the issue and I can now connect the screen.
However, after updating the kernel the system became very slow and unresponsive.
I then went into the device manager and updated to the new 470 Nvidia drivers, and also made all recommended updates to packages.

Everything seems to be working OK now, pasting my inxi -SMGCx:

Code: Select all

System:
  Host: tom-VivoBook-ASUSLaptop-X421EQ-S433EQ 
  Kernel: 5.13.0-22-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 5.0.7 Distro: Linux Mint 20.2 Uma 
  base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: VivoBook_ASUSLaptop X421EQ_S433EQ 
  v: 1.0 serial: <superuser/root required> 
  Mobo: ASUSTeK model: X421EQ v: 1.0 serial: <superuser/root required> 
  UEFI: American Megatrends LLC. v: X421EQ.301 date: 11/26/2020 
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 bits: 64 
  type: MT MCP arch: Tiger Lake rev: 1 L2 cache: 12.0 MiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx 
  bogomips: 44851 
  Speed: 1400 MHz min/max: 400/4700 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1401 2: 1178 
  3: 1400 4: 1294 5: 1302 6: 1207 7: 1328 8: 1361 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915 v: kernel 
  bus ID: 0000:00:02.0 
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP107M [GeForce MX350] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: nvidia 
  v: 470.86 bus ID: 0000:2d:00.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 driver: modesetting,nvidia 
  unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel Xe Graphics (TGL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 21.0.3 
  direct render: Yes
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SMG
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Re: Issue with connecting monitors to Linux Mint 20.2

Post by SMG »

tomko wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 10:50 amFollowing your advice I upgraded to the 5.13 kernel. This solved the issue and I can now connect the screen.
However, after updating the kernel the system became very slow and unresponsive.
I then went into the device manager and updated to the new 470 Nvidia drivers, and also made all recommended updates to packages.
Usually, we recommend removing drivers installed using the nvidia installer (from the website) before installing packages from the package management system. Those are two separate ways of installing Nvidia files and the files used in each method are not exactly the same. I'm not sure if there might be any residual interference because you did both ways, but hopefully not. (Driver Manager will not show the Nvidia driver as installed if one installed it using the files from the Nvidia website.)

Do you have the nvidia-prime-applet in the lower right of your screen? Given the output you posted, I would expect it to be an Intel icon in your panel and is most likely showing your system is in On-Demand mode. You can use that applet to switch modes, but you must reboot for the mode change to take effect.

If it seems like your issue is resolved, please go to your first post in this topic, click the pencil icon, and add [SOLVED] to the title so others know you are no longer seeking help on this issue.

If you want to wait a bit to make sure everything is working properly before doing that, it is okay to wait before marking it SOLVED.
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A woman typing on a laptop with LM20.3 Cinnamon.
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