[SOLVED] 2nd monitor not working

[Curious Cat]

Hi LinuxMint Community, I installed Mint Cinnamon 20.3 on a Dell Optiplex 3010. I can't get the 2nd monitor to work. Tried VGA, DVI, and HDMI connections. It doesn't look like it is recognizing the second monitor at all when I look at inxi output, BUT when I reboot, the Dell logo flashes on the second monitor. After that, the monitor says it doesn't have a signal and the login appears on the first monitor (VGA connection). I've tried different cables. I've searched for solutions. The last possible solution I tried was disabling the SERR messaging in BIOS. Still no signal on the second monitor, the Dell logo still flashes on it at boot up. However, now whenever I go back into BIOS, the BIOS menu appears on the second monitor, so I don't understand how this is possible if it's not being recognized...Can anyone help? I don't know a lot about computers, really hardly anything...I just recently started learning about Linux and am trying to figure things out. Thank you.

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System:    Kernel: 5.4.0-144-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.4.0 
           Desktop: Cinnamon 5.2.7 wm: muffin dm: LightDM Distro: Linux Mint 20.3 Una 
           base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:   Type: Desktop System: Dell product: OptiPlex 3010 v: 01 serial: <filter> Chassis: 
           type: 15 serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Dell model: 0T10XW v: A02 serial: <filter> UEFI: Dell v: A22 date: 11/29/2018 
CPU:       Topology: Dual Core model: Intel Core i3-3220 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Ivy Bridge 
           rev: 9 L2 cache: 3072 KiB 
           flags: avx lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 26340 
           Speed: 3293 MHz min/max: 1600/3300 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 3293 2: 3293 3: 3293 
           4: 3292 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor Graphics vendor: Dell 
           driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:0152 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa 
           resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 2500 (IVB GT1) v: 4.2 Mesa 21.2.6 
           compat-v: 3.0 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel 6 Series/C200 Series Family High Definition Audio vendor: Dell 
           driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0 chip ID: 8086:1c20 
           Device-2: N/A type: USB driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid bus ID: 2-1.5:3 
           chip ID: 4c4a:4155 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-144-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Dell 
           driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:8168 
           IF: enp2s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-1: vmnet1 state: unknown speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-2: vmnet8 state: unknown speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 931.51 GiB used: 168.35 GiB (18.1%) 
           ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Western Digital model: WDBNCE0010PNC size: 931.51 GiB 
           speed: 3.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 915.32 GiB used: 168.35 GiB (18.4%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2 
USB:       Hub: 1-0:1 info: Full speed (or root) Hub ports: 2 rev: 2.0 chip ID: 1d6b:0002 
           Hub: 1-1:2 info: Intel Integrated Rate Matching Hub ports: 4 rev: 2.0 
           chip ID: 8087:0024 
           Device-1: 1-1.1:3 info: Pixart Imaging Optical Mouse type: Mouse 
           driver: hid-generic,usbhid rev: 1.1 chip ID: 093a:2510 
           Device-2: 1-1.2:4 info: Dell type: Keyboard driver: hid-generic,usbhid rev: 2.0 
           chip ID: 413c:2107 
           Hub: 2-0:1 info: Full speed (or root) Hub ports: 2 rev: 2.0 chip ID: 1d6b:0002 
           Hub: 2-1:2 info: Intel Integrated Rate Matching Hub ports: 6 rev: 2.0 
           chip ID: 8087:0024 
           Device-3: 2-1.5:3 info: N/A type: Audio,HID driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid 
           rev: 1.1 chip ID: 4c4a:4155 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 36.0 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/deadsnakes-ppa-focal.list 
           1: deb http: //ppa.launchpad.net/deadsnakes/ppa/ubuntu focal main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/libreoffice-ppa-focal.list 
           1: deb http: //ppa.launchpad.net/libreoffice/ppa/ubuntu focal 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/openvpn3.list 
           1: deb https: //swupdate.openvpn.net/community/openvpn3/repos focal main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/protonvpn-stable.list 
           1: deb [arch="all", signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/protonvpn-stable-archive-keyring.gpg] https: //repo.protonvpn.com/debian stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/spotify.list 
           1: deb http: //repository.spotify.com stable non-free
           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: 220 Uptime: 19m Memory: 15.54 GiB used: 1.70 GiB (10.9%) Init: systemd 
           v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.4.0 alt: 9 Client: Unknown python3.8 client 
           inxi: 3.0.38

[roblm]

Can you confirm the monitor and cable work correctly, by connecting it to another PC, or is Windows installed as a dual-boot?

What is the monitor's brand and model number?

Post the output of these commands: ls /sys/class/drm/ and xrandr --verbose

[Curious Cat]

Yes, the cable and monitor work when hooked up to a Windows computer. On this computer, I have Linux Mint as OS. I have Windows installed in a Virtual Machine, not as dual-boot. The monitor is a Dell 2417Hb. I also tried a different model monitor with same result.
Here is the output you requested:

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ls /sys/class/drm/
card0  card0-VGA-1  renderD128  version

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xrandr –verbose
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 16384 x 16384
VGA-1 connected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (0x44) normal (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 527mm x 296mm
	Identifier: 0x42
	Timestamp:  24192
	Subpixel:   unknown
	Gamma:      1.0:1.0:1.0
	Brightness: 1.0
	Clones:    
	CRTC:       0
	CRTCs:      0 1 2
	Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
	           filter: 
	EDID: 
		00ffffffffffff0010acdaa04c383735
		1f1a010300351e78ea0565a756529c27
		0f5054a54b00714f8180a9c0d1c00101
		010101010101023a801871382d40582c
		45000f282100001e000000ff004b4830
		4e473637533537384c0a000000fc0044
		454c4c205032343137480a20000000fd
		00384c1e5311000a2020202020200038
	link-status: Good 
		supported: Good, Bad
	CONNECTOR_ID: 67 
		supported: 67
	non-desktop: 0 
		range: (0, 1)
  1920x1080 (0x44) 148.500MHz +HSync +VSync *current +preferred
        h: width  1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew    0 clock  67.50KHz
        v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125           clock  60.00Hz
  1600x900 (0x45) 108.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1600 start 1624 end 1704 total 1800 skew    0 clock  60.00KHz
        v: height  900 start  901 end  904 total 1000           clock  60.00Hz
  1280x1024 (0x46) 135.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1296 end 1440 total 1688 skew    0 clock  79.98KHz
        v: height 1024 start 1025 end 1028 total 1066           clock  75.02Hz
  1280x1024 (0x47) 108.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1328 end 1440 total 1688 skew    0 clock  63.98KHz
        v: height 1024 start 1025 end 1028 total 1066           clock  60.02Hz
  1152x864 (0x48) 108.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1152 start 1216 end 1344 total 1600 skew    0 clock  67.50KHz
        v: height  864 start  865 end  868 total  900           clock  75.00Hz
  1024x768 (0x49) 78.750MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1040 end 1136 total 1312 skew    0 clock  60.02KHz
        v: height  768 start  769 end  772 total  800           clock  75.03Hz
  1024x768 (0x4a) 65.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1048 end 1184 total 1344 skew    0 clock  48.36KHz
        v: height  768 start  771 end  777 total  806           clock  60.00Hz
  800x600 (0x4b) 49.500MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  816 end  896 total 1056 skew    0 clock  46.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  604 total  625           clock  75.00Hz
  800x600 (0x4c) 40.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  840 end  968 total 1056 skew    0 clock  37.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  605 total  628           clock  60.32Hz
  640x480 (0x4d) 31.500MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  720 total  840 skew    0 clock  37.50KHz
        v: height  480 start  481 end  484 total  500           clock  75.00Hz
  640x480 (0x4e) 25.175MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  752 total  800 skew    0 clock  31.47KHz
        v: height  480 start  490 end  492 total  525           clock  59.94Hz
  720x400 (0x4f) 28.320MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width   720 start  738 end  846 total  900 skew    0 clock  31.47KHz
        v: height  400 start  412 end  414 total  449           clock  70.08Hz

[roblm]

The kernel driver is not detecting the HDMI port during the boot process.

Is this correct:
You tried connecting the 2nd monitor to the VGA port, which the 1st monitor is connected to, and it's also not detected on that port?
You tried connecting a different monitor to the HDMI port and it also isn't detected? Was this the 1st monitor?

Try turning the 2nd monitor off while booting and on again at the desktop.
Try turning on the PC and wait about 3 seconds before turning on the 2nd monitor.
Try gently wiggling the cable near the HDMI port during boot.
Check in the BIOS/UEFI for a Boot Extension setting and if present, increase the time.
Try changing boot mode in the BIOS/UEFI from UEFI to Legacy, if applicable.
Turn off Secure Boot, if applicable.
Try updating the BIOS.

[Curious Cat]

You tried connecting the 2nd monitor to the VGA port, which the 1st monitor is connected to, and it's also not detected on that port? --Yes, monitor works when connected to the VGA port, but not to the HDMI port.
You tried connecting a different monitor to the HDMI port and it also isn't detected? Was this the 1st monitor?--Correct, a different monitor does not work with the HDMI port (I disconnected the VGA ported monitor).

Try turning the 2nd monitor off while booting and on again at the desktop.--No difference.
Try turning on the PC and wait about 3 seconds before turning on the 2nd monitor.--No difference.
Try gently wiggling the cable near the HDMI port during boot.--No difference.
Check in the BIOS/UEFI for a Boot Extension setting and if present, increase the time.--I could not find a boot extension setting.
Try changing boot mode in the BIOS/UEFI from UEFI to Legacy, if applicable.--Before I could change to Legacy mode, I had to Enable Legacy ROMs option. After doing this, I was able to change to Legacy mode. However, then at boot, I got an error message that machine could not boot. Changed settings back to UEFI.
Turn off Secure Boot, if applicable.--Secure Boot had previously been turned off.
Try updating the BIOS.--I don't know how to do this.

Since it seems there may be an issue with the HDMI port, I have ordered an adapter that would allow me to plug the monitor (via VGA, or DVI) into a USB port. Once it arrives and I am able to try it, I will report if I have success. The thing that is blowing my mind is how the BIOS menu is showing up on the second monitor connected to the HDMI port!

[Curious Cat]

I received the VGA to USB adapter, and the second monitor still doesn't work. Not sure what else to try...
Does anyone think that upgrading to Mint 21 would make a difference?

[roblm]

Try running a live session with the Mint 21 installation USB/DVD to check if the HDMI port is detected using the command xrandr.

Also, run a live session using the Mint 20.3 installation USB/DVD.

Try installing a newer kernel series (5.15). However, this probably won't help because you have older hardware that was released in 2011.

The next two options are:
1. Install Windows on a spare hard drive or SSD to verify a hardware problem.

If this can't be done on your PC, then Windows can be run from an external USB or SSD Drive that is created by installing Rufus in the Windows Virtual Machine and using it's Windows To Go option:
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-run ... -usb-drive

2. According to this article, you can update the Dell BIOS/UEFI using a bootable USB stick, which can be created in the Windows Virtual Machine by using Rufus:
https://appuals.com/best-guide-how-to-update-dell-bios/

From the inxi output, your UEFI firmware is: UEFI: Dell v: A22 date: 11/29/2018

[Curious Cat]

Thank you for your suggestions. As I am relatively new to the tech world, I will look at each one and educate myself accordingly so I can try each one. Do you know why the BIOS menu would show up on the second monitor, but nothing else will?

[roblm]

Do you know why the BIOS menu would show up on the second monitor, but nothing else will?

That's the real mystery here, because if that would not happen, then you could come to the conclusion that the HDMI port was broken. That's why it would be helpful to see if a Windows installation can detect that port.

[Curious Cat]

I booted from a USB stick that had Ubuntu 22.04 on it and both monitors worked fine. This leads me to conclude that there's something within Mint that isn't allowing me to use both monitors.

[roblm]

Did you try running a live session with both the Mint 20.3 & 21.1 installation USB?

Did you try a newer kernel?

Would you run the live session with Ubuntu and post the output of ls /sys/class/drm/ and xrandr --verbose

[Curious Cat]

When you say a "live session" do you mean booting from a USB stick?

[roblm]

When you say a "live session" do you mean booting from a USB stick?

yes

[Curious Cat]

I did not upgrade the kernel because it looked like the newest kernel was installed. Most of the other choices outside of the existing 5.4 versions said "End of Life".
So I booted from the USB stick of Ubuntu again to get the output that you requested. However, then when I rebooted back to Mint, both monitors were working!!?? I don't understand what happened. I had booted to Mint after the previous Ubuntu live session and did not have that result.
I suppose I should mark this solved, even though I don't have any idea what solved it. Do you? And thank you very much for your help!

[roblm]

I don't have any idea what solved it. Do you?

This is just my guess. I suspect the motherboard's HDMI port may already be a little defective and perhaps is failing, and the signal from Ubuntu 22's newer kernel video driver was able to trigger the port to work better.

I infrequently have seen similar events happen in other topics.

[Curious Cat]

That is interesting...but it wouldn't surprise me, given the age of the computer.