[SOLVED] nVidia display output failure.

[MaximeG]

Hi,

For a couple days I'm facing some issues with my video card display.
I first thought it was a software issue, due to my installation on KDE4. But it appeared as well on my other gentoo(no KDE4 installation) (completely different installation) box, as well as on a old windows config (on which I have obviously not installed KDE :p )

I've started a post in the Desktop Environment sessions, but with these new clues in hand, I felt like opening a thread in the hardware section.
The initial post (with the whole story) is https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-690320-highlight-.html.

As a summary : My screen remains blank if using an X Server with the nvidia module. No error messages. And it works fine with my nv module. This on my 2 gentoo installations. (And it appeared recently, it had work great for a whole year before this)




Well, looks like I have a really strange issue down here.

I've tried some things... Starting with smart ones (trying to look after any error messages ... )

But then I was very fed up with looking into the deep void. So I said to myself : "*¨^pe this ¨*¨*, I want some fun now.
So I plugged in my other crappy hard drive with Windows on in order to play a game I can't run on Gentoo. Well, fair enough.

(The story is : I had Windows installed on an IDE disk. Then I bought a SATA disk, I've installed Gentoo on my new drive, and kept Windows on the old disk, on a shelf. I use it sometimes to play games that are not working on Gentoo)

But, and now it is what gave me the hint, after Windows has been launched, the first thing that appeared on screen was the nvidia dual view wizard asking me for configuring dual screen. (My card is capable of dualview, so it has 2 DVI output)

"What the hell", was my actual reaction : "Why is windows asking me to setup dual screen as it has never asked for it before". But I've checked this a bit, and found out that the nvidia wizard recognizes 2 screen : a digital one (my actual screen) and an analogic one (which I don't have). So, according to my video card I have 2 screens. I've tried to unactivate this stupid dual view configuration, but even if my video card is using my real screen (digital output), it "thinks" that I have a second screen.

My wild guess was : "What if I restart my gentoo boxes then ?" (I have 2 gentoo boxes : 32 and 64 : completely separated)

So did I. Well, as usual, the booting is correct, no problem at all until kdm launches, then ... nothing but a blank screen (kdm doesn't show, as it needs an X server to run). And this with the nvidia module.
I tried with the nv module : great, it works fine (1280x1024)

So, I tried a thing : before launching an X Server with the nvidia module. I switched the plug of my screen into the second output of my video card.
Then, I hit enter, and X launched, working fine with hardware acceleration (I've tried an OpenGL Application). Yeah !

So, as a summary I have working on


I) my first video card output :

- Bios booting screen
- Boot Loader
- Linux Console
- X Server with "nv" module
- MS Windows fully hardware accelerated (nvidia drivers)

II) my second video card output :

- X Server with "nvidia" module (OpenGL working, I tried a game)
- (And nothing else ! )

So the question is ... why the hell is this happening ?
And why the hell have I a "ghost" screen, analogic one, recognized by my video card ?

Is it possible that I have screwed up my hardware configuration (yeah, hardware, because It's happening on 2 different Linux boxes and on a old Windows one without any software link to each others) with some program ? I've never tried to do some dual view so it's nothing I've done in purpose, but still it has happened.

Is it possible that KDE4 tried to, for a reason or another ?, and left some crappy configuration on my card ?

I don't think either my video card or monitor is burned down, or it will be really strange a hardware failure, really. But now, I think everything is possible :p

Thanks for your answers guys.
I hope this will help to find a solution. Because it's really annoying an issue.

Maxime
_________________
Future is wide open.

[NeddySeagoon]

MaximeG,

Please post your /etc/X11/xorg.conf, which will show what you asked Xorg to do and your /var/log/Xorg.0.log file taken with the nvidia driver in use. This will tell what Xorg actually did, which may not be what you asked.

We can take it from there.

I don't think anything is damaged.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

[MaximeG]

Well,

Sure,

Here is my xorg.conf (stripped off the comments.)

[MaximeG]

... [continued]

And my Xorg.0.log when I plug my monitor on the first outlet with the nvidia driver ( everything else works here though : nv, bios , console, windows)
Result is blank screen, but KDE is launched (I hear the welcome jingle )

[NeddySeagoon]

MaximeG,

[MaximeG]

Well, this is the question, really.

My actual screen is Maxdata (RogenTech) B101920 (DFP-1).
And the "ghost" screen is the CRT-0.

What is REALLY strange is that Windows XP has started to see it as well (so, it sees the two screens, as my nvidia linux module does).


Is there a mean to force my nvidia module to use the Maxdata instead of the CRT ? (which is actually not existing).

Maxime
_________________
Future is wide open.

[NeddySeagoon]

MaximeG,

I have a much older nVidia card than you but there was in older drivers. I expect its still there.
Read

[MaximeG]

Ok,

Solved, thanks to this post : https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-627212.html

Thanks and Regards for your help !
Maxime
_________________
Future is wide open.