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Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 1:00 am**

@zcot I am presently stck using the HMDI connection becaus that is the cable that came with my new monitor and I stuck my old monitor on the old Lenovo. I I doubt I "the Nvidia card is irrelevant in this setup, -you can take it out and put it in a drawer" It does appear from the specs linked below that it's in use by the system. (Or so I am guessing)

@SMG What does all of this mean to me regarding the need for updated drivers or no? I am sticking with the HMDI connection for the monitor.
My PC Specs:
https://www.cnet.com/products/dell-insp ... -1-128-tb/

Release Notes for Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon:
"One of the first things to do after installing Linux Mint is to check for available hardware drivers."
"If your graphics card is from NVIDIA, once in Linux Mint, perform the following steps to install the NVIDIA drivers:
Run the Driver Manager
Choose the NVIDIA drivers and wait for them to be installed
Reboot the computer
With these drivers the system should now be stable and you no longer need to use "nomodeset".
(This makes it appear that if I do not download drivers my system will not be stable.)

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 1:45 am**

Please, post a picture of the back of your computer with all the cables connected.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 1:48 am**

JTemple wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 1:00 am
@zcot I am presently stck using the HMDI connection becaus that is the cable that came with my new monitor

I I doubt I "the Nvidia card is irrelevant in this setup, -you can take it out and put it in a drawer" It does appear from the specs linked below that it's in use by the system. (Or so I am guessing)

Absolutely, use the HDMI, not the HMDI btw.

What I'm going on is the system report. But we can't find what the back of the pc looks like. It's only a paradox because of the fact that Dell could very well build the Nvidia 1050 chip into their motherboard, -it's how it's done on laptops. Usually it's not like this for a desktop pc, but this is what leaves the question mark in this case.

SMG did find one example where it did clearly show an "expansion card" that would be the equivalent of where an Nvidia 1050 would typically be, but it wasn't a great view that they had so we still don't know what it looks like.

I did find another pic from the net, this one is labeled as a 3650 although I'm seeing on a lot of references where the 3650 and 3668 are very similar enough with at least some parts interchangeable, and mainly possibly the motherboard, which would be a very important thing if that was the case. Here's the pic:

The #4 line is touching a graphics expansion card as an example, and that one does show on the back, there's a DVI and HDMI connector. It's additional to the connections in the black section at the left side of the picture, which those are strictly motherboard components.

Your pc definitely has an intel graphics chip, and that's definitely on the motherboard, and that's definitely what is driving your monitor. I'm basing that on the system report info. So the idea is that if you plug into that blue VGA connector, or the HDMI connector beside it, this is all in that black section with all the other connectors, then that should be using the Intel graphics chip.

If yours looks like this picture:

-and you have that section 2 and there are those 4 strips with plus signs in the middle, then it's a clear sign that the Nvidia graphics chip is built into the motherboard, and this also suggests that using the HDMI connector is where you would be able to get the benefit of that Nvidia gpu.

So, if there is not a card, with obvious connectors there, in one of the 4 expansion slots, as in that "section 2" area, then it means the Nvidia gpu is on the motherboard, and you would have to go forward from there and deal with configuring the proper setup and driver for that.

But if there's a card there, it's highly likely that there's also an HDMI connection on it. And that would be the Nvidia 1050 card.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 2:00 am**

Ha! I think I found one. from an online pc store. This has 3.5GHz cpu instead of the 4.2GHz but I think that's it.

"Dell Inspiron 3668 Desktop Computer; Intel Core i7-7700 Processor 3.6GHz; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 2GB GDDR5; 8GB DDR4 RAM; - Micro Center"

That card shows DVI then HDMI then DisplayPort connections.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 3:18 pm**

MartyMint wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 1:45 am
Please, post a picture of the back of your computer with all the cables connected.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 3:35 pm**

STOP

USE THE GRAPHICS OUTPUT ON THE ADDED GPU, NOT THE MOTHERBOARD OUTPUT.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 3:40 pm**

JTemple wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 1:00 am
@SMG What does all of this mean to me regarding the need for updated drivers or no? I am sticking with the HMDI connection for the monitor.
My PC Specs:
https://www.cnet.com/products/dell-insp ... -1-128-tb/

Release Notes for Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon:
"One of the first things to do after installing Linux Mint is to check for available hardware drivers."
"If your graphics card is from NVIDIA, once in Linux Mint, perform the following steps to install the NVIDIA drivers:
Run the Driver Manager
Choose the NVIDIA drivers and wait for them to be installed
Reboot the computer
With these drivers the system should now be stable and you no longer need to use "nomodeset".
(This makes it appear that if I do not download drivers my system will not be stable.)

Those directions make the assumption one only has an Nvidia card. Your computer has two cards, one for onboard graphics (Intel) and one for Nvidia.

The photo of the back of your machine indicates you have the monitor plugged into the motherboard (Intel). Nothing appears to be plugged into the Nvidia card.

The outstanding issue is how the BIOS/UEFI thinks the system is set up. Is it looking for the graphics to come from Intel, or Nvidia, or both.

Edited to add: The Dell instructions I referenced in an earlier post did indicate to plug the monitor into the Nvidia card, if one was available.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 3:44 pm**

MartyMint wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 3:35 pm
STOP

USE THE GRAPHICS OUTPUT ON THE ADDED GPU, NOT THE MOTHERBOARD OUTPUT.

PLEASE EXPLAIN! I am not technically advanced to say the very least! I don't understand what you're telling me or how to make said change.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 4:04 pm**

JTemple wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 3:44 pm

MartyMint wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 3:35 pm
STOP

USE THE GRAPHICS OUTPUT ON THE ADDED GPU, NOT THE MOTHERBOARD OUTPUT.
PLEASE EXPLAIN! I am not technically advanced to say the very least! I don't understand what you're telling me or how to make said change.

Instead of plugging the monitor into the HDMI port in the upper left (section 1) like you have it now, you want to plug the monitor into the HDMI port in the section 2 portion. Here's the graphic from zcot's post with the sections marked.

Your section 2 (the Nvidia graphic card) looks like this (from zcot's post above):

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 4:11 pm**

This is what SMG means:

The cord at #1 can be plugged into connector #2. And without even changing anything, that would offer better performance.

Shut it down. Move that cable. Reboot.

You can go further than that. But at the least, that alone would be better.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 5:06 pm**

zcot wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 4:11 pm
This is what SMG means:

The cord at #1 can be plugged into connector #2. And without even changing anything, that would offer better performance.

Shut it down. Move that cable. Reboot.
Promo-EmailAndBlog-Email Header2.jpeg
You can go further than that. But at the least, that alone would be better.

OK, moved the HDMI connection.

I hadn't even noticed there was a 2nd HDMI port.

Now what about this: "You can go further than that." Might as well have the "whole hog" while I'm in learning mode!

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 6:55 pm**

Show us your info: inxi -Gx

A pretty simple next step would be to get in BIOS and turn off the Onboard (Intel) Graphics.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 7:05 pm**

zcot wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 6:55 pm
Show us your info: inxi -Gx

A pretty simple next step would be to get in BIOS and turn off the Onboard (Intel) Graphics.

I'm not sure there is that option. An earlier inxi indicated both modesetting and nvidia as display drivers tends to indicate a "hybrid" mode. This thread [SOLVED] Can Not Do Clean Install had the below graphics info:

Code: Select all

Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel HD Graphics 630 vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel 
  bus ID: 00:02.0 
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP107 [GeForce GTX 1050] vendor: Dell driver: nvidia 
  v: 450.80.02 bus ID: 01:00.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: modesetting,nvidia 
  unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: GeForce GTX 1050/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 450.80.02 
  direct render: Yes

I've tried to find something which describes the BIOS/UEFI in this computer and have come up empty. I do not know if there is an Intel or Discrete (Nvidia) option or there is a Hybrid or Discrete (Nvidia) option.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:05 pm**

UEFI: Dell v: 1.14.0 date: 06/18/2020

https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en ... lang=en-us

I'm looking there for the bios info page: https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en ... lang=en-us

System setup options—System Configuration menu
System Configuration:
Miscellaneous Devices Enable or disable various onboard devices.
System setup options—Video menu
Video:
Multi-Display Enable or disable the Multi-Display.
Primary Display Select the primary video controller.

I'm not sure if that's the exact BIOS layout or not. I saw another page that showed a lot more of a typical UEFI design where you can even use the mouse if you want to.

But, between those 3 settings there should be a sure way to configure that.

SMG that's interesting output. The only thing I can think is that the system was using an Optimus type of implementation for that, although the fbdev driver is unloaded so that's weird. But none-the-less, obviously the gpu output wasn't coming out of the Nvidia card directly even though that previous output lists it exactly like that.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:14 pm**

zcot wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:05 pm
The only thing I can think is that...

...JTemple was using the wrong graphics output to take advantage of the Nvidia GPU card.

It's not rocket surgery.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:57 pm**

zcot wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:05 pm
SMG that's interesting output. The only thing I can think is that the system was using an Optimus type of implementation for that, although the fbdev driver is unloaded so that's weird.

The inxi outputs I recall with Optimus switching technology usually do just have nvidia and modesetting loaded. fbdev and the rest are unloaded.

zcot wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:05 pm
But none-the-less, obviously the gpu output wasn't coming out of the Nvidia card directly even though that previous output lists it exactly like that.

There are a number of Optimus laptops which can have either the Intel or Nvidia driving the laptop screen, but only the Nvidia card can drive the external monitors. Other laptops are set up to have either card drive an external monitor.

Most desktops have a BIOS/UEFI that can only have one card or the other driving the monitors, but often those inxi outputs only show the one card that is set by the BIOS/UEFI to be used. In this case both cards are showing. That is why I think the BIOS/UEFI options are going to be key in this case because there are multiple possibilities.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 10:00 pm**

SMG wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:57 pm
That is why I think the BIOS/UEFI options are going to be key in this case because there are multiple possibilities.

Wanna bet that secure boot is enabled?

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 10:04 pm**

MartyMint wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 10:00 pm

SMG wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:57 pm
That is why I think the BIOS/UEFI options are going to be key in this case because there are multiple possibilities.
Wanna bet that secure boot is enabled?

JTemple disabled Secure Boot in the last thread. It was how LM20 was finally reinstalled to get to the start of this thread.

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 10:11 pm**

SMG wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 17, 2020 10:04 pm
JTemple disabled Secure Boot in the last thread. It was how LM20 was finally reinstalled to get to the start of this thread.

I guess it wasn't Lenovo/Dell/HP/etc...being horrible uncooperative manufacturers....

Posted: **Tue Nov 17, 2020 11:09 pm**

The situation in my setup is now as clear as mud, to me.

So, would things be made more clear if I went in and photographed relevant areas of my BIOS tree. It is set up in a tree format and I can use the mouse in there. It appears there is some slight confusion as to what is going on inside the current setup.

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