HDMI to external monitor stopped working

[Philb1664]

Until today, the above link as worked without problems with various external monitors. I think I may have updated something this morning - not sure what as it was a regular update - but this afternoon no connection to the monitor.

This is the System report:

Code: Select all

System:    Kernel: 5.4.0-144-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.4.0 
           Desktop: Cinnamon 4.6.7 wm: muffin dm: LightDM Distro: Linux Mint 20 Ulyana 
           base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: Notebook product: NHxxRZQ v: N/A serial: <filter> Chassis: 
           type: 10 serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Notebook model: NHxxRZQ serial: <filter> UEFI: INSYDE v: 1.07.05LWL 
           date: 03/02/2020 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 41.9 Wh condition: 45.3/48.0 Wh (94%) volts: 16.1/14.4 
           model: Notebook BAT serial: <filter> status: Discharging 
CPU:       Topology: 6-Core model: Intel Core i7-9750H bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Kaby Lake 
           rev: A L2 cache: 12.0 MiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 62399 
           Speed: 3400 MHz min/max: 800/4500 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 3400 2: 3400 3: 3400 
           4: 3400 5: 3400 6: 3400 7: 3400 8: 3400 9: 3400 10: 3400 11: 3400 12: 3400 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel CoffeeLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics 630] vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK driver: i915 
           v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:3e9b 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa 
           resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 630 (CFL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 21.2.6 
           direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK driver: snd_hda_intel 
           v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:a348 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-144-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: 4040 bus ID: 02:00.0 
           chip ID: 8086:2723 
           IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK 
           driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 3000 bus ID: 03:00.1 chip ID: 10ec:8168 
           IF: enp3s0f1 state: down mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 931.52 GiB used: 404.69 GiB (43.4%) 
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 970 EVO 500GB size: 465.76 GiB 
           speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 serial: <filter> 
           ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Samsung model: SSD 860 EVO 500GB size: 465.76 GiB 
           speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 456.89 GiB used: 404.69 GiB (88.6%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
USB:       Hub: 1-0:1 info: Full speed (or root) Hub ports: 16 rev: 2.0 chip ID: 1d6b:0002 
           Device-1: 1-6:5 info: Pixart Imaging Optical Mouse type: Mouse 
           driver: hid-generic,usbhid rev: 2.0 chip ID: 093a:2510 
           Device-2: 1-8:3 info: Acer BisonCam NB Pro type: Video driver: N/A rev: 2.0 
           chip ID: 5986:9102 
           Device-3: 1-14:4 info: Intel type: Bluetooth driver: btusb rev: 2.0 chip ID: 8087:0029 
           Hub: 2-0:1 info: Full speed (or root) Hub ports: 8 rev: 3.1 chip ID: 1d6b:0003 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 56.0 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/ focal main
           2: deb [arch=amd64] https: //packagecloud.io/AtomEditor/atom/any/ any main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https: //brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deadsnakes-ppa-focal.list 
           1: deb http: //ppa.launchpad.net/deadsnakes/ppa/ubuntu focal main
           2: deb-src http: //ppa.launchpad.net/deadsnakes/ppa/ubuntu focal main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/git-core-ppa-focal.list 
           1: deb http: //ppa.launchpad.net/git-core/ppa/ubuntu focal main
           2: deb-src http: //ppa.launchpad.net/git-core/ppa/ubuntu focal 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/home:hpcoder1.list 
           1: deb http: //download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/hpcoder1/xUbuntu_20.04/ /
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mysql.list 
           1: deb http: //repo.mysql.com/apt/ubuntu/ xenial mysql-apt-config
           2: deb http: //repo.mysql.com/apt/ubuntu/ xenial mysql-cluster-8.0
           3: deb http: //repo.mysql.com/apt/ubuntu/ xenial mysql-tools
           4: deb-src http: //repo.mysql.com/apt/ubuntu/ xenial mysql-cluster-8.0
           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 ulyana 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
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-source-repositories.list 
           1: deb-src http: //packages.linuxmint.com ulyana main upstream import backport
           2: deb-src http: //archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
           3: deb-src http: //archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           4: deb-src http: //archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
           5: deb-src http: //security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
           6: deb-src http: //archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ondrej-php-focal.list 
           1: deb http: //ppa.launchpad.net/ondrej/php/ubuntu focal main
           2: deb-src http: //ppa.launchpad.net/ondrej/php/ubuntu focal main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/opera-stable.list 
           1: deb https: //deb.opera.com/opera-stable/ stable non-free #Opera Browser (final releases)
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pgadmin4.list 
           1: deb https: //ftp.postgresql.org/pub/pgadmin/pgadmin4/apt/focal pgadmin4 main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pgdg.list 
           1: deb http: //apt.postgresql.org/pub/repos/apt/ focal-pgdg main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/sublime-text.list 
           1: deb https: //download.sublimetext.com/ apt/stable/
           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/virtualbox.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] http: //download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian focal contrib
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vivaldi.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https: //repo.vivaldi.com/stable/deb/ stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/packages.microsoft.gpg] https: //packages.microsoft.com/repos/vscode stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yarn.list 
           1: deb https: //dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/ stable main
Info:      Processes: 368 Uptime: 36m Memory: 15.35 GiB used: 1.95 GiB (12.7%) Init: systemd 
           v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.4.0 alt: 9 Client: Unknown python3.8 client 
           inxi: 3.0.38 

Can anyone spot what might be going wrong?

Many thanks,

PB

[richardm317]

Try xrandr in a terminal prompt -- might tell us what's going on.

[Philb1664]

Thanks richardm3i7,

I did that and got the following:

Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 16384 x 16384
eDP-1 connected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 382mm x 215mm
1920x1080 60.02*+ 60.01 59.97 59.96 59.93
1680x1050 59.95 59.88
1600x1024 60.17
1400x1050 59.98
1600x900 59.99 59.94 59.95 59.82
1280x1024 60.02
1440x900 59.89
1400x900 59.96 59.88
1280x960 60.00
1440x810 60.00 59.97
1368x768 59.88 59.85
1360x768 59.80 59.96
1280x800 59.99 59.97 59.81 59.91
1152x864 60.00
1280x720 60.00 59.99 59.86 59.74
1024x768 60.04 60.00
960x720 60.00
928x696 60.05
896x672 60.01
1024x576 59.95 59.96 59.90 59.82
960x600 59.93 60.00
960x540 59.96 59.99 59.63 59.82
800x600 60.00 60.32 56.25
840x525 60.01 59.88
864x486 59.92 59.57
800x512 60.17
700x525 59.98
800x450 59.95 59.82
640x512 60.02
720x450 59.89
700x450 59.96 59.88
640x480 60.00 59.94
720x405 59.51 58.99
684x384 59.88 59.85
680x384 59.80 59.96
640x400 59.88 59.98
576x432 60.06
640x360 59.86 59.83 59.84 59.32
512x384 60.00
512x288 60.00 59.92
480x270 59.63 59.82
400x300 60.32 56.34
432x243 59.92 59.57
320x240 60.05
360x202 59.51 59.13
320x180 59.84 59.32
DP-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-I-4-4 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-I-3-3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-I-2-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-I-1-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

I guess that tells its own story. Now to find out why this has happened and what to do about it. Any ideas? In the meantime, I'll search some more and many thanks.

PB

[richardm317]

With the laptop running and logged-on, does unplugging and replugging the monitor make anything happen? Any flickers, momentary blanks, anything at all?

Also, is there a Fn (function) key combination on the laptop keyboard that is used to switch between displays? Does it do anything?

[Philb1664]

This is bizarre - I tried the unplugging and re-plugging as suggested, and the external monitor appeared in the Display app which I have had open. Previous to that, it didn't show. I chose Reset to Defaults and then the external came back to life and cycled through the Analogue, HDMI and finally showed what was on my laptop screen.

Not sure what to make of it, or if it will persist when turned off, but now I know where to look.

Many thanks, again.

PB

[richardm317]

I've seen this before with my desktop system. A monitor that's powered-on and plugged-in to the video card refuses to detect. Rebooting or power-cycling the system doesn't help. But unplugging and re-plugging the monitor with the system booted somehow triggers the detection process. I've seen this in Windows in addition to Linux so I suspect it's a hardware bug and not specific to the OS.