[solved] blinking monitor

[oxygenfarm]

The past few weeks my Lenovo monitor would occasionally blink off (black) for a second, then return to a good picture. This happens sporadically, whether the monitor has just turned on or is warm.
The monitor is 6 months old; the display is onboard in my aged Gateway SX2380, operating under Mate 19.3, constantly updated. I wanted to call the seller (MicroCenter) to ask about their warrantee but they no longer list a phone#, demanding that the customer came in person, however distant and inconvenient. My last purchase there.
Does this sound like a failing monitor? Might it be time to add a display board?

[Termy]

Find a way to test this monitor on another machine, whether laptop of otherwise; that is the ultimate diagnostic step to take here, IMO.

A loose or broken (physical) connection can cause this, however.

[SMG]

It might be a cable issue.

However, let's check your install to make sure all looks as expected. Please give us information about your install by entering this command in a terminal:

Code: Select all

inxi -Fxxxrz

Click </> from the mini toolbar above the textbox where you type your reply and then place your cursor between the code markers and paste the results of the command between the code markers [code]Results[/code]. This will let us know how Mint sees your hardware.

[oxygenfarm]

System:
Host: cgs-SX2380 Kernel: 4.15.0-130-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc
v: 7.5.0 Desktop: MATE 1.22.2 info: mate-panel wm: marco 1.22.3
dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia
base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic
Machine:
Type: Desktop Mobo: Gateway model: SX2380 serial: <filter>
BIOS: American Megatrends v: P11-A3 date: 11/01/2012
CPU:
Topology: Dual Core model: AMD A4-5300 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Piledriver rev: 1 L2 cache: 1024 KiB
flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm
bogomips: 13574
Speed: 1393 MHz min/max: 1400/3400 MHz boost: enabled Core speeds (MHz):
1: 1409 2: 1399
Graphics:
Device-1: AMD Trinity [Radeon HD 7480D] vendor: Acer Incorporated ALI
driver: radeon v: kernel bus ID: 00:01.0 chip ID: 1002:9993
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.19.6 driver: ati,radeon
unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,vesa compositor: marco v: 1.22.3
resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1280x1024~60Hz
OpenGL: renderer: AMD ARUBA (DRM 2.50.0 / 4.15.0-130-generic LLVM 10.0.0)
v: 4.3 Mesa 20.0.8 compat-v: 3.1 direct render: Yes
Audio:
Device-1: AMD Trinity HDMI Audio vendor: Acer Incorporated ALI
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:01.1 chip ID: 1002:9902
Device-2: AMD FCH Azalia vendor: Acer Incorporated ALI
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:14.2 chip ID: 1022:780d
Sound Server: ALSA v: k4.15.0-130-generic
Network:
Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
vendor: Acer Incorporated ALI driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: e000
bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:8168
IF: enp1s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 2.04 TiB used: 490.74 GiB (23.5%)
ID-1: /dev/sda type: USB vendor: Seagate model: BUP Slim size: 1.82 TiB
serial: <filter> rev: 0004 scheme: MBR
ID-2: /dev/sdb model: SATA SSD size: 111.79 GiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s
serial: <filter> rev: 01.1 scheme: MBR
ID-3: /dev/sdc model: SATA SSD size: 111.79 GiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s
serial: <filter> rev: B1.1 scheme: MBR
Partition:
ID-1: / size: 95.62 GiB used: 76.78 GiB (80.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb1
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 10.4 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/bit-team-stable-bionic.list
1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/bit-team/stable/ubuntu bionic main
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/freecad-maintainers-freecad-stable-bionic.list
1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/freecad-mainta ... ble/ubuntu bionic main
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com tricia main upstream import backport #id:linuxmint_main
2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic main restricted universe multiverse
3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates main restricted universe multiverse
4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-backports main restricted universe multiverse
5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-security main restricted universe multiverse
6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ bionic partner
Info:
Processes: 166 Uptime: 7h 39m Memory: 7.24 GiB used: 2.43 GiB (33.6%)
Init: systemd v: 237 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 7.5.0 alt: 7 Shell: bash
v: 4.4.20 running in: mate-terminal inxi: 3.0.32

[SMG]

It is not unusual to have people posting about having graphic related issues when their computer's root partition is this full. Because of the way SSD's are designed, they can start running into performance issues when they are more than 75% full. The manufacturer of mine (Samsung) recommends keeping them less than 2/3's (66%) full which is the recommendation I pass along to others. Older, unused kernels can take up more space that people realize. Here are some other tips How to Clean Linux Mint Safely.

Partition:
ID-1: / size: 95.62 GiB used: 76.78 GiB (80.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb1

Perhaps clearing some space will help clear this issue.

Edited to fix typo - should be unusual in the first sentence.

[Termy]

It is not usual to have people posting about having graphic related issues when their computer's root partition is this full.

I'm wondering if I should tank my root partition just so I can experience all the weirdness I keep hearing about, because I keep forgetting this is a thing.

I guess OP could run df -h / in a terminal, so we can see whether space is the issue.

[SMG]

I'm wondering if I should tank my root partition just so I can experience all the weirdness I keep hearing about, because I keep forgetting this is a thing.

I guess OP could run df -h / in a terminal, so we can see whether space is the issue.

It's not so much physical space available as it is the percentage of space available. This article, Why Solid-State Drives Slow Down As You Fill Them Up, explains at 75% full there is a documented slowdown on consumer drives.

[Termy]

I'm familiar with the performance drop of SSDs, but I've never heard nor read of all this other stuff happening; sounds a little iffy, to me. I'll keep an eye out, though -- thanks for the info.

[oxygenfarm]

I did the recommended procedures for 'cleaning' the SSD, now down to 44% usage, but the monitor still blinks.

[SMG]

Do you have a different cable you can try? Termy suggested that earlier and I would second that recommendation.

[oxygenfarm]

After cleaning the SSD down to 44%, I switched cables and utilized the VGA connections on the monitor and computer. The problem has not recurred now for the past two days.
Thanks to all who advised.

[SMG]

After cleaning the SSD down to 44%, I switched cables and utilized the VGA connections on the monitor and computer. The problem has not recurred now for the past two days.
Thanks to all who advised.

I see you edited the title of this post so I presume you consider this solved. The way the forum works is that only changes the title of that individual post. I realize that can be a little confusing. To mark the thread solved, you need to edit the title of the very first post in this thread because the title of the first post is what shows when people pull up the thread in searches.