[Solved???] Black screen on startup - seems to be a GPU driver issue

[ProtonNumber]

Hey all,

I recently switched from Win 10 to Linux Mint and have been running it for about a month now without many issues. Yesterday I left my computer running while I went out. When I tried to log in again, the system froze and when I rebooted, I got a black screen. This is pretty similar to an issue that I had when I first installed Mint, which was fixed by updating my kernel to 5.13.

I've seen a few people suggesting disabling modeset, either by using nomodeset or radeon.modeset = 0. These both allow my computer to boot, but this locks my resolution to 1024x768 and inxi reports that I dont have any GPU drivers active (see below). I've been digging around for a while attempting to debug or reinstall my GPU drivers, without much luck. I even updated my kernel again to 5.15, which didn't help at all.

Unfortunately, because I'm a complete noob, I didn't have timeshift set up, so I can't just restore a snapshot :/

System specs are in my inxi output below, but the TLDR is:

• AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
• 16GB RAM
• Radeon RX Vega 64
• Linux Mint 20.3 Una on kernel 5.15.13

(I don't remember updating my Mint install, how did I manage that?)

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System:
  Kernel: 5.15.13-051513-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 5.2.7 wm: muffin 5.2.0 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 
  Distro: Linux Mint 20.3 Una base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: ROG STRIX B350-I GAMING v: Rev X.0x 
  serial: <filter> UEFI: American Megatrends v: 5601 date: 07/11/2020 
CPU:
  Topology: 8-Core model: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen+ 
  rev: 2 L2 cache: 4096 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm 
  bogomips: 118165 
  Speed: 2194 MHz min/max: 2200/3700 MHz boost: enabled Core speeds (MHz): 
  1: 3025 2: 2623 3: 2480 4: 2193 5: 2179 6: 2191 7: 2195 8: 2187 9: 2189 
  10: 2195 11: 2194 12: 2191 13: 2194 14: 2172 15: 2194 16: 2095 
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Vega 10 XL/XT [Radeon RX Vega 56/64] vendor: Gigabyte 
  driver: N/A bus ID: 09:00.0 chip ID: 1002:687f 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: fbdev 
  unloaded: modesetting,vesa alternate: ati resolution: 1024x768~76Hz 
  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: AMD Vega 10 HDMI Audio [Radeon Vega 56/64] driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 09:00.1 chip ID: 1002:aaf8 
  Device-2: AMD Family 17h HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 0b:00.3 chip ID: 1022:1457 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.15.13-051513-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Intel I211 Gigabit Network vendor: ASUSTeK driver: igb v: kernel 
  port: d000 bus ID: 04:00.0 chip ID: 8086:1539 
  IF: enp4s0 state: down mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8822BE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi adapter vendor: ASUSTeK 
  driver: rtw_8822be v: N/A port: c000 bus ID: 05:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:b822 
  IF: wlp5s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 953.87 GiB used: 240.25 GiB (25.2%) 
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Sabrent model: Rocket Q size: 931.51 GiB 
  speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 serial: <filter> rev: RKT30Q.2 scheme: GPT 
  ID-2: /dev/nvme1n1 vendor: Intel model: SSDPEKNW010T8 size: 953.87 GiB 
  speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 serial: <filter> rev: 002C scheme: GPT 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 549.02 GiB used: 240.25 GiB (43.8%) fs: ext4 
  dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 73.9 C mobo: N/A 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/additional-repositories.list 
  1: deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ groovy main
  2: deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ focal main
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/amdgpu-proprietary.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/amdgpu.list 
  1: deb https://repo.radeon.com/amdgpu/21.40.1/ubuntu focal main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list 
  1: deb [arch=amd64] https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/inkscape_dev-stable-focal.list 
  1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/inkscape.dev/stable/ubuntu focal main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nordvpn.list 
  1: deb https://repo.nordvpn.com/deb/nordvpn/debian stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
  1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com una 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/papirus-papirus-focal.list 
  1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/papirus/papirus/ubuntu focal main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/rocm.list 
  1: deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.radeon.com/rocm/apt/4.5.1 ubuntu main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/steam.list 
  1: deb [arch=amd64,i386] https://repo.steampowered.com/steam/ stable steam
  2: deb-src [arch=amd64,i386] https://repo.steampowered.com/steam/ stable steam
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teams.list 
  1: deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/ms-teams stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/tuxinvader-lts-mainline-focal.list 
  1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/tuxinvader/lts-mainline/ubuntu focal main
Info:
  Processes: 388 Uptime: N/A Memory: 15.62 GiB used: 970.8 MiB (6.1%) 
  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 

EDIT: I should add that with nomodeset, I get an error saying "VGACON disables amdgpu kernel modesetting".

EDIT 2: I managed to get a boot log, which seems to show AMDGPU starting properly: https://termbin.com/l8ri

EDIT 3: Issue persists after reinstalling Mint and updating kernel to 5.13.

EDIT 4: Issue persists after updating firmware as advised here: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=363655
I have another boot log but its fairly similar: https://termbin.com/f8wh

EDIT 5: I'm throwing in the towel and changing distro. I need to get this machine working.

[SMG]

Hey all,

I recently switched from Win 10 to Linux Mint and have been running it for about a month now without many issues. Yesterday I left my computer running while I went out. When I tried to log in again, the system froze and when I rebooted, I got a black screen. This is pretty similar to an issue that I had when I first installed Mint, which was fixed by updating my kernel to 5.13.

Welcome to the forum, ProtonNumber.

I see you have abandoned this, but wanted to let you know for future reference that the most recent 5.13 kernel has caused problems like you described and all you had to do to fix the issue was boot into your previous kernel and then delete the 5.13.0-23 or just upgrade to the 5.14-oem. There is a bug with amdgpu driver in the 5.13.0-23 kernel.

I've seen a few people suggesting disabling modeset, either by using nomodeset or radeon.modeset = 0. These both allow my computer to boot, but this locks my resolution to 1024x768 and inxi reports that I dont have any GPU drivers active (see below).

That is exactly what that kernel parameter is supposed to do. It prevents the graphics drivers from loading regardless of whether you are using the drivers from the kernel or from the AMD website.

I've been digging around for a while attempting to debug or reinstall my GPU drivers, without much luck. I even updated my kernel again to 5.15, which didn't help at all.

I do see the amdgpu-proprietary PPA listed, but last I checked those did not work with kernels newer than 5.11.

(I don't remember updating my Mint install, how did I manage that?)

That can only be done manually, so you or a computer helper in your household upgraded.

EDIT: I should add that with nomodeset, I get an error saying "VGACON disables amdgpu kernel modesetting".

Amdgpu kernel modesetting is needed to get the amdgpu driver installed, so that was a big clue you would not have the proper drivers installed.

EDIT 2: I managed to get a boot log, which seems to show AMDGPU starting properly: https://termbin.com/l8ri

But it shows it could not make a connection to a monitor which means you get a black screen.

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Jan 08 16:15:50 Will-PC kernel: amdgpu 0000:09:00.0: [drm] Cannot find any crtc or sizes

EDIT 3: Issue persists after reinstalling Mint and updating kernel to 5.13.

Because of the 5.13.0-23 kernel.

EDIT 4: Issue persists after updating firmware as advised here: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=363655
I have another boot log but its fairly similar: https://termbin.com/f8wh

You do not have the GPU listed in that topic, but updating to that firmware would not have caused issues. Firmware was not the problem. You had the same message as before.

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Jan 08 21:54:00 Will-PC kernel: amdgpu 0000:09:00.0: [drm] Cannot find any crtc or sizes

EDIT 5: I'm throwing in the towel and changing distro. I need to get this machine working.

Since you were game to re-install Mint, you could have re-installed and then upgraded to the 5.14-oem kernel which is what some people decided to do.

You can install the latest 5.14-oem kernel with sudo apt install linux-oem-20.04d and reboot. That would get you past the issue with the 5.13 kernel.

[ProtonNumber]

The issue followed me between distros, and I ended up just having to deal with no gpu drivers for a week while I was doing exams, but I finally got it working on Gentoo of all things!

Setting amdgpu.dc=1 seems to have solved the issues I was having. I'm now on kernel 5.15 on Gentoo, so I don't know if this is applicable to Mint, but it might be worth trying if you're having similar issues.

[SMG]

The issue followed me between distros,

The AMD graphics driver is in the kernel, so if you were using similar kernels, that would have happened.

The 5.14-oem kernel I mentioned is one specific to Ubuntu/Mint, so you would have had to try it with either of those distros to know if it helped. The other distros you tried were probably all using mainline kernels.

Setting amdgpu.dc=1 seems to have solved the issues I was having.

That is...interesting.

amdgpu.dc=1 enables dc (display core), but it is my understanding the kernel default is to enable dc. That means, in theory, adding that kernel parameter should not have done anything.

The 5.15 kernel is slated to be the LTS for the next Ubuntu release in April, so I expect we will get more experience with it here on the forum at that time.

Thanks for coming back and giving feedback on what worked for you.

[ProtonNumber]

amdgpu.dc=1 enables dc (display core), but it is my understanding the kernel default is to enable dc. That means, in theory, adding that kernel parameter should not have done anything.

That's what I would've thought too... Perhaps I did something strange while installing Gentoo. I might try reinstalling Mint when 5.15 becomes officially supported.

[jamess]

amdgpu.dc=1 enables dc (display core), but it is my understanding the kernel default is to enable dc. That means, in theory, adding that kernel parameter should not have done anything.

That's what I would've thought too... Perhaps I did something strange while installing Gentoo. I might try reinstalling Mint when 5.15 becomes officially supported.

While I'm not a Linux Mint user, I was having the same issue myself (black screen on startup with the amdgpu driver) and I also added the

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amdgpu.dc=1

kernel parameter and it also solved my problem as well.

As the problem didn't crop up before powering my system down for the night, I even powered down the system completely after adding the above kernel parameter and testing it, and then powered it back up to confirm the above kernel parameter seemed to have solved the problem. So, so far, so good.

FWIW, and while I seriously doubt it makes any difference, I built the latest kernel (5.18.12) myself and I'm booting it directly from UEFI (no bootloader).

Thank you ProtonNumber for the tip!