LinuxQuestions.org
Latest LQ Deal: Latest LQ Deals
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Desktop
User Name
Password
Linux - Desktop This forum is for the discussion of all Linux Software used in a desktop context.

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 05-16-2014, 12:02 PM   #1
Tyro65
Member
 
Registered: Jul 2009
Location: Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Distribution: MX-21
Posts: 48

Rep: Reputation: 0
Monitor Works with Older Distros


I had been having some problems with my Acer LCD monitor. It would brighten and then go dark. If I turned it off, waited a bit, then turned it back on, it would work for a minute or so. I suspect that it is a failing cap or two. But I managed to turn the brightness down and it worked fine until I upgraded my PCLinuxOS Kde from a 2013 version to a 2014 version.

It will work with PCLinuxOS LXDE 2013.10. But when I upgrade this distro using Synaptic, the problem returns.

Any suggestions?
 
Old 05-16-2014, 04:10 PM   #2
ondoho
LQ Addict
 
Registered: Dec 2013
Posts: 19,872
Blog Entries: 12

Rep: Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053
must be hardware, and failing caps is the most common issue.
and quite easy to repair, if you have used a soldering iron before (i did it, and i don't even have one of those small irons, just a cheap pistol)
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 05-16-2014, 04:44 PM   #3
jefro
Moderator
 
Registered: Mar 2008
Posts: 21,939

Rep: Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619
I guess it could be some driver issue. Guess it could be in the kernel. Just update one thing at a time and maybe you can find out what is doing it. I'd think kernel or video support is changed. Could be some x org setting or power management or maybe video size or ....


The Be Operating System.
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 05-16-2014, 06:54 PM   #4
Tyro65
Member
 
Registered: Jul 2009
Location: Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Distribution: MX-21
Posts: 48

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
Thanks, Ondoho. I used to do a lot of soldering on computers back in the 80s. I was still looking for the easy way out, since the monitor was working fine until I did an upgrade.

And thank you, Jefro. I will try your suggestions, try various video settings. Check the X settings.

Last edited by Tyro65; 05-16-2014 at 07:01 PM.
 
Old 05-23-2014, 03:21 PM   #5
jefro
Moderator
 
Registered: Mar 2008
Posts: 21,939

Rep: Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619
Check if they added in KMS to this new kernel.
 
Old 05-24-2014, 06:32 AM   #6
ondoho
LQ Addict
 
Registered: Dec 2013
Posts: 19,872
Blog Entries: 12

Rep: Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053Reputation: 6053
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyro65 View Post
the monitor was working fine until I did an upgrade.
i did not get that impression from your first post - it's abit contradictory.
you decribe all these problems, then you say that they got worse after an upgrade, but you don't describe how they got worse. that's what i understood.
 
Old 05-24-2014, 09:27 AM   #7
Tyro65
Member
 
Registered: Jul 2009
Location: Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Distribution: MX-21
Posts: 48

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
KMS? I'll check that out.

Ondoho. After I turned the brightness down about six months ago, I had no more problems until I installed the newest version of PCLinuxOS kde 32bit. I recently reinstalled an older version and the screen is working again. Quite puzzling.
 
Old 05-24-2014, 09:52 AM   #8
cwizardone
LQ Veteran
 
Registered: Feb 2007
Distribution: Slackware64-current with "True Multilib" and KDE4Town.
Posts: 9,041

Rep: Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219
Well, it is not your monitor.

What video card do you use? Did you re-installed the video drivers after "upgrading" the operating system?

Last edited by cwizardone; 05-24-2014 at 09:54 AM.
 
Old 05-24-2014, 11:05 PM   #9
Tyro65
Member
 
Registered: Jul 2009
Location: Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Distribution: MX-21
Posts: 48

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
The video card is NVIDIA GeForce 6100.

I did not install the drivers. I was relying on the kernel to provide. I've tried the PCLinuxOS kde 2014.05 with another monitor and it worked okay.
 
Old 05-24-2014, 11:30 PM   #10
Tyro65
Member
 
Registered: Jul 2009
Location: Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Distribution: MX-21
Posts: 48

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
I am currently using kernel-2.6.38.8-pclos3.bfs, with which the bad monitor works.
 
Old 05-25-2014, 11:02 AM   #11
cwizardone
LQ Veteran
 
Registered: Feb 2007
Distribution: Slackware64-current with "True Multilib" and KDE4Town.
Posts: 9,041

Rep: Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219Reputation: 7219
Two things.

First, your kernel is ancient. If it works for you, fine, but you might consider upgrading to a newer version of you favorite Linux distribution with a "modern" kernel. The current stable kernel is in the 3.xx series.... 3.14.4, I think, but probably has changed since last time I looked.

Second, while some people only want to use open source, which is fine, they are entitled to their opinions, but the Nvidia drivers are, IMO, worth installing for the best possible performance.
BTW, moving from ATi to Nvidia is one of the best things I've ever done with Linux. It was by accident. My ATi card died, unexpectedly, and the only thing I could find at any of the stores in the area were Nvidia GPU based cards. They just work. You do have to re-install the drivers after each kernel upgrade or upgrade of xorg, but it is a snap as compared to the ATi drivers. As I said, one of the best things I've done.

Their drivers can be found at,

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Good luck.

Last edited by cwizardone; 05-27-2014 at 12:32 PM. Reason: Typo.
 
Old 05-26-2014, 04:01 PM   #12
jefro
Moderator
 
Registered: Mar 2008
Posts: 21,939

Rep: Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619Reputation: 3619
It may be possible to update video driver. Also may have to disable KMS. I suspect the newer kernel has Kernel Mode Settings. It was supposed to be a way to set video at boot basically so that screen can follow loaders and splash screens up to desktop.
 
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Question about x/xorg versions, hardware works in older distros, not new ones, why? woms14 Linux - General 1 08-24-2008 06:33 AM
Dual Monitor Display works until xinerama is turned on for most new distros woms14 Linux - Hardware 0 08-21-2008 10:09 AM
Lokking for older distros anutosho Linux - Distributions 2 11-09-2007 02:56 PM
OpenOffice 2.0.2 on older Slackware distros tomdkat Slackware 4 04-21-2006 10:09 AM
older distros jasonrice Linux - General 5 10-03-2004 12:44 PM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Desktop

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:56 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration