Bug 312634 - Screen won't wake up after blanking
Summary: Screen won't wake up after blanking
Status: RESOLVED UPSTREAM
Alias: None
Product: kscreensaver
Classification: Unmaintained
Component: general (show other bugs)
Version: 4.9.2
Platform: Other Linux
: NOR major
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: kscreensaver bugs tracking
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2013-01-04 20:24 UTC by Alpheus
Modified: 2015-01-23 12:02 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

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Description Alpheus 2013-01-04 20:24:24 UTC
I am using Kubuntu Linux 12.10.  I installed the system on a Dell Latitude E6530 Laptop three days ago (Wed, 2 Jan 2012), and updated the system this morning.  When the system monitors blank out after a period of time, whether it be because I lock the screen using Ctrl-Alt-L, or whether the screen just times out, when I try to wake up the screen, the laptop monitor remains blank.  I do notice a "brightening" of the black screen, but nothing else happens.

At first, I thought it was strictly a "wakeup" problem, but now that I have a second (VGA) monitor plugged in, the bug remains, but *only* affects the laptop monitor.  Since at one point I was using ssh to transfer files from an older laptop to this one, I also know that the computer doesn't just "lock up" during this  time, but the screen just isn't working.  (Oh, heck, this is obvious:  I'm using the computer right now with a blank laptop screen.)  I can move program windows to the other screen,

At one point, I thought that I couldn't launch RandR, but what probably happens is that it opens on the laptop screen rather than the main screen--I like to have my Task Manager show only files on current screen and desktop--and I find if I clone my screen, the windows are pushed onto the monitor that works; thus, it seems that KDE still recognises the existence of the screen, even when the screen isn't displaying anything.

If I restart the computer, the laptop monitor will work normally again; and will usually go through several locks or "naps" before the problem comes back.  So far, it's happened at least two or three times a day.

Apparently, the Dell Latitude E6430 has been known to have problems with USB 3.0 ports (see http://brianmorristech.com/?p=953), so perhaps this might be the problem; I do not know how to disable USB 3.0, though, and plugging a mouse in the 2.x port (and later, a wireless mouse and keyboard dongle) doesn't seem to prevent the problem.  On the other hand, I also plug in the mouse's charger in one of the other 3.0 ports...  Having said that, keep in mind that the problem described in the link is a Windows issue as well, so it might not be applicable to Linux.

I also do not know how "sleep" and "hibernate" affect this bug.  I haven't been putting my laptop to sleep; I have only put the laptop in hibernation once, via "pm-hibernate", to test that it works.  (My swap is 33G, since I wanted to make sure there was plenty of room for the 16G of RAM I had, and I wasn't sure exactly how big the swap needed to be; perhaps that's another issue that ought to be addressed, but that's an installer thing...)

Reproducible: Sometimes

Steps to Reproduce:
1.  Install Kubuntu Linux with swap on a Dell Latitude E6530
2.  Lock the screen, and/or let the screen go blank on its own without locking it.
3.  Repeat #2 several times.  Eventually the monitor won't display anything, I think.
Actual Results:  
At some point, the laptop monitor will be black--maybe brighten a tiny bit--and won't display anything.

Expected Results:  
The unlock dialog should have popped up, or in the case of just blanking the screen, the original screen should have come up instead.

I chose "Major" because while under certain conditions the laptop is useful without the problem (I can use an external monitor, for example, and if I get a second, I probably won't notice it), it would be a pretty horrendous problem if I had to travel, and in the process of using my computer, I had to reset my computer on a regular basis, I'd be able to do some stuff, but it would be highly annoying.

I would add that this is almost a "Grave" problem.

Also.  I apologise for any horrendousness in my bug description.  I am a native English speaker, after all...
Comment 1 Alpheus 2013-01-04 20:28:16 UTC
I should also add that I have attempted to change the resolution of the laptop screen from 1920x1080 (auto) to 1680x1050, and to a couple of other lower resolutions, but this doesn't seem to affect the problem.
Comment 2 Alpheus 2013-01-07 23:13:22 UTC
I'd like to add another update:  Today I have received my docking station, and I was finally able to plug in my second monitor!  But it took a while to figure out how to get my computer to recognise it.  In order for me to do so, I had to go into BIOS or rather UEFI, and turn off "Optimus" (which, if I understand correctly, makes it possible to turn Nvidia support on or off, so that you could save in battery power).  By turning off "Optimus", I am strictly using nVidia hardware.

I finally have both monitors working, although I'm not sure at this point whether I'm using the Open Source nVidia driver, or if I'm using an nVidia binary.  (It seemed that every time I tried to use the binary, it would mess up my xorg.conf file, and I'd be stuck with VGA resolution until I deleted it).  At this point, I don't care:  it works, and I'm going to leave it alone.  (I *do* wish I could get the laptop screen to work along with the other two monitors, but I think that's a hardware issue, not a software one...)

Thus, this bug might be in the Intel chipset code, rather than the nVidia code.  Since I don't expect to be taking my laptop home, or to take it travelling any time soon, I don't expect to run into this bug in the near future; all this means, however, is that when the bug hits me, it will hit unexpectedly (assuming I forget about it! ;-).

Also:  I haven't tested it, but perhaps turning off "Optimus" in UEFI will be a decent temporary fix...
Comment 3 Martin Flöser 2015-01-23 12:02:12 UTC
Sounds like a driver and/or hardware issue. Initially optimus support on Linux was really bad, so I rather blame the hardware ;-)