Video issue kubuntu 14.04 on a HP Pavillion ZV5000 laptop

[URDRWHO]

I first installed version 12.10 and then updated to 13.10 then updated to 14.04. It is a dual boot system - Kubuntu and Win XP.

Before a weekly update in mid-Nov 2014 everything was running fine. It was running fine for a long time.

First thing I noticed was the computer would not fully reboot or shut down.

Then I noticed that upon reboot or startup I was starting to get a black 2 inch banner on the right side of the screen that went from top to bottom.

Then I noticed that at times I lost the screen resolution, so bad that the desktop was not manageable.

I learned that if I added another user account, I could switch to the other user and re-set the screen resolution. Switching back to my account would find a screen that was back to the correct resolution of 1280 X 800.

Win XP never exhibits any problems.

Video is Nvidia Geforce 440

I have noticed that when it is going through the boot sequence that the screen will start flickering.

I have noticed that when I am on the Kubuntu desktop the flickering is not apparent until -- until I go to the system settings and display. I click on the display --

If there is no flicker I will see the full menu of options for resolution with my 1280 X 800 included
If there is a bunch of flicker the 1280 X 800 will not be there and the highest resolution available will be 1024 X 768.

Then if I go to the other user account the 1280 X 800 will be available (95% of the time) --- I set the resolution, I go back to my account and everything is fine.

I noticed in package manager that Libg1-mesa-dri is set for reinstall, if you try to reinstall it --- the reinstall fails. Should I uninstall it? Maybe it isn't meant for 14.04? The same is true for Libgl1-mesa-glx and Libgl-mesa and Libgl2-mesa.

Mark for removal and see what happens or just be happy that the system is up and running?

Actually I attempted to remove one of the files in question and it and it won't allow it. Maybe those Libgl files need a PPA activated for removal?

 

[JasKinasis]

Not sure what to suggest. The problems with the resolution sound like they are driver related problems.
The problems with reboot/shut down sound a bit odd too. Hmmmm....

I assume you performed your update via the GUI tools rather than the via command line, so I guess the system probably doesn't give too many clues as to why libg1-mesa-dri is not reinstalling properly.

That said, if some of the mesa packages aren't installed correctly, that might be the cause of your woes. So it might not be a driver issue after all, that would indicate that perhaps this is a problem with a misconfigured package.

So the first thing you could try is open a terminal and use the following commands:

sudo dpkg --configure -a
sudo apt-get install -f

These commands will not harm your system. The dpkg command will check if there are any downloaded packages that were not installed/configured correctly and will attempt to re-install/re-configure them.
The apt-get command will check for any broken dependencies and will attempt to fix them by downloading/installing any missing pre-requisites.

Try those commands, reboot your machine and see what happens. If that fixes it... Great, job done! Otherwise read on....


If that does not fix the issue, I have one other idea:
If you open a terminal and update your package lists using:

sudo apt-get update

and then simulate an upgrade using:

sudo apt-get -s upgrade

what output do you get?

If you haven't updated in a while, you'll probably have a huge amount of output, but does it mention anything about any packages that were held back or not upgraded? Are any of the held back packages any of the mesa related ones that you are having trouble with? Are any of the mesa packages mentioned in the list of files to update?

If there are any packages that are held back; especially if one of the problematic packages is listed, or if any of the mesa packages are listed in the files to update, it's almost certainly worth running the update for real:
NOTE: The following commands will update every single out of date package on your machine. If your problem is a packaging-related issue, it should fix the problem. But I leave it entirely up to you whether you want to run the commands. I think having a fully up to date machine will help, but I take no responsibility if things do go wrong after upgrading! Your call!

Anyway, if you want to update all out of date packages, use the command:

sudo apt-get upgrade

Once that has completed, use the command:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

which should intelligently update/install the held-back packages and resolve any new/changed dependencies they might have (adding/removing any packages as required).

NOTE: If there is one available, dist-upgrade will also install the latest available version of the kernel.... Probably not a bad thing!

Finally, after a dist-upgrade it is usually a good idea to use:

sudo apt-get autoremove

to remove any unneeded/orphaned/outdated packages.

If this was a packaging issue, it should now be fixed. But if the problem persists after reboot, then it must be a driver related issue. It might be worth looking into trying the proprietary Nvidia driver if you aren't already using it!

I have seen some old posts online from people using the 440 series who had problems getting the drivers, but I assume that it was because the cards were still relatively new back then. The proprietary driver might support the card (assuming that NVidia haven't stopped supporting it), otherwise you are going to be stuck with the either the Nouveau drivers or a generic VGA driver (so you'll have no hardware accellerated GFX).


Rather than updating single packages, I always update the entire system using the following commands:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade && sudo apt-get autoremove

That tactic has never steered me wrong in all the years I have been using Debian based Linux distros.
My machines are always up to date and completely stable.

 

[URDRWHO]

Thank ya and I'll be giving them a try.

I'm waiting for the problem to re-appear so I can try this command from the terminal to see if it re-sets the video

xrandr --output LVDS-0 --mode 1280x800 --rate 60

When I boot the grub shows this drm.debug=0xe plymouth:debug and I get to watch all the stuff during boot. There is never screen flicker during the time all the lines are showing, it is after the lines, when the screen goes blank waiting for the Kubuntu logo that something gets messed up, the log in screen will also (at times) be messed up.

Now - out to the kitchen for some coffee and start trying your terminal commands.

Not sure what to suggest. The problems with the resolution sound like they are driver related problems.
The problems with reboot/shut down sound a bit odd too. Hmmmm....

I assume you performed your update via the GUI tools rather than the via command line, so I guess the system probably doesn't give too many clues as to why libg1-mesa-dri is not reinstalling properly.

That said, if some of the mesa packages aren't installed correctly, that might be the cause of your woes. So it might not be a driver issue after all, that would indicate that perhaps this is a problem with a misconfigured package.

So the first thing you could try is open a terminal and use the following commands:

sudo dpkg --configure -a
sudo apt-get install -f

These commands will not harm your system. The dpkg command will check if there are any downloaded packages that were not installed/configured correctly and will attempt to re-install/re-configure them.
The apt-get command will check for any broken dependencies and will attempt to fix them by downloading/installing any missing pre-requisites.

Try those commands, reboot your machine and see what happens. If that fixes it... Great, job done! Otherwise read on....


If that does not fix the issue, I have one other idea:
If you open a terminal and update your package lists using:

sudo apt-get update

and then simulate an upgrade using:

sudo apt-get -s upgrade

what output do you get?

If you haven't updated in a while, you'll probably have a huge amount of output, but does it mention anything about any packages that were held back or not upgraded? Are any of the held back packages any of the mesa related ones that you are having trouble with? Are any of the mesa packages mentioned in the list of files to update?

If there are any packages that are held back; especially if one of the problematic packages is listed, or if any of the mesa packages are listed in the files to update, it's almost certainly worth running the update for real:
NOTE: The following commands will update every single out of date package on your machine. If your problem is a packaging-related issue, it should fix the problem. But I leave it entirely up to you whether you want to run the commands. I think having a fully up to date machine will help, but I take no responsibility if things do go wrong after upgrading! Your call!

Anyway, if you want to update all out of date packages, use the command:

sudo apt-get upgrade

Once that has completed, use the command:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

which should intelligently update/install the held-back packages and resolve any new/changed dependencies they might have (adding/removing any packages as required).

NOTE: If there is one available, dist-upgrade will also install the latest available version of the kernel.... Probably not a bad thing!

Finally, after a dist-upgrade it is usually a good idea to use:

sudo apt-get autoremove

to remove any unneeded/orphaned/outdated packages.

If this was a packaging issue, it should now be fixed. But if the problem persists after reboot, then it must be a driver related issue. It might be worth looking into trying the proprietary Nvidia driver if you aren't already using it!

I have seen some old posts online from people using the 440 series who had problems getting the drivers, but I assume that it was because the cards were still relatively new back then. The proprietary driver might support the card (assuming that NVidia haven't stopped supporting it), otherwise you are going to be stuck with the either the Nouveau drivers or a generic VGA driver (so you'll have no hardware accellerated GFX).


Rather than updating single packages, I always update the entire system using the following commands:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade && sudo apt-get autoremove

That tactic has never steered me wrong in all the years I have been using Debian based Linux distros.
My machines are always up to date and completely stable.

 

[URDRWHO]

Thanks for your help and ideas.

sudo dpkg --configure -a

jsudo apt-get install -f
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done

rebooted and no changes seen

I do updates, I used to do them daily but stopped that one.

sudo apt-get update
Fetched 2,081 kB in 38s (53.7 kB/s)
Reading package lists... Done

apt-get -s upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.


Going back about a year I was having a hard time getting the Nvidia drivers to work and finally went with Nouveau. It was working fine on Nouveau until last November. After one of those daily updates that I used to do...something went haywire.

http://www.linux.org/threads/installed-kubuntu-13-10-but-like-my-12-10-look-better-how-do-i.5642/

I think that it was an 11/27/2014 update that created a problem. Oddly there is a folder named root, located in the root folder and the date of it is 11/27/2014. It says size unknown.

I think (unproven) that if I do this command once in a while, I can access the display settings and 1280X800 stays on the menu of choices.
xrandr --output LVDS-0 --mode 1280x800 --rate 60

If I could write a command in grub or elsewhere that would set the mode, I think things would work better. I have this in grub but if GFX isn't working then it is a waste of space.

GRUB_GFXMODE="1280X800"
GRUB_GFXMODE="saved"

 

[URDRWHO]

I took a screen shot of the display resolution window. The one shows that there is no 1280X800 choice. I logged off of my account onto the other account, logged off that account and back onto my account and like magic, the screen is correct and the print screen shows that there is a 1280 X 800 choice.

Odd stuff.

 

[JasKinasis]

That's bizarre!
So it looks like it wasn't a package that failed to install fully, or failed configure properly. It seems like some kind of driver weirdness. Almost as if it is switching between the Nouveau drivers, which shows you the 1280x800 resolution; and a generic VGA driver which does not.

I don't know if it is possible that perhaps the card has developed a fault in its old age. Perhaps from time to time the system is failing to identify the GFX card and is falling back to a generic VGA driver. Or perhaps it is just a setting in a config file somewhere in your home directory that is causing the problem.

After switching to another user and changing the resolution, are you able to continue using the computer - as the other user - without seeing this problem occur??

In other words, does this problem only occur when you are logged in as yourself? Or does it also affect other users?
If it only affects your user, that would make me lean towards the idea that it's a setting in one of the config files in your home directory. But if it affects other users too, then I don't know..... It's very strange!

I'll have to go away and have a think about this..... I've never seen this kind of behaviour before! :/

 

[URDRWHO]

When it happens it is 99% in my account, then I log off, go to the dummy account and change the display in that account. Log back to my account and it is usually fixed but not always.

Late yesterday afternoon I went back and found an old grub and copied something from that and installed in my current boot grub. The display in my account has held all night. It is early, cobwebs in the head and I can't remember at the moment what I changed in the Grub. Crossing my fingers that it worked but it wouldn't be the first time I thought it was fix but was fooled.

Dying card? Doubt it because I can work all day in XP and it never happens.

It isn't that I can't use the Kubuntu install, I have tricks to get the display working but it bugs me that it isn't perfect. Sooooo I end up spending time trying to fix it.

Went to grub and checked out what I changed. I added the Linux="" and nubere signed out the other line.

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""
#GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="acpi_backlight=vendor"

I probably shouldn't even talk about it because I'll jinx the fix.

Yep---shouldn't have said anything about it because I just went to the 1024 X 768 mode.
It wasn't coming back even with terminal commands and then I remembered that for it to work I must have the display configuration screen up and the go to the terminal

I knew the problem appeared because I went to the display configuration and opened the Display configuration - System Settings and the screen quickly flickered about 7 times. It is opening up that setting screen that will create problems.

john@john-Pavilion-zv5200-PR465UA-ABA:~$ xrandr --fb 1280x800
john@john-Pavilion-zv5200-PR465UA-ABA:~$ xrandr --output LVDS-0 --mode 1280x800 --rate 60

Now I am back to the correct resolution.

That's bizarre!
So it looks like it wasn't a package that failed to install fully, or failed configure properly. It seems like some kind of driver weirdness. Almost as if it is switching between the Nouveau drivers, which shows you the 1280x800 resolution; and a generic VGA driver which does not.

I don't know if it is possible that perhaps the card has developed a fault in its old age. Perhaps from time to time the system is failing to identify the GFX card and is falling back to a generic VGA driver. Or perhaps it is just a setting in a config file somewhere in your home directory that is causing the problem.

After switching to another user and changing the resolution, are you able to continue using the computer - as the other user - without seeing this problem occur??

In other words, does this problem only occur when you are logged in as yourself? Or does it also affect other users?
If it only affects your user, that would make me lean towards the idea that it's a setting in one of the config files in your home directory. But if it affects other users too, then I don't know..... It's very strange!

I'll have to go away and have a think about this..... I've never seen this kind of behaviour before! :/