Black screen after wake up (Intel 540 graphics)

PALADIN

Hello guys,

This is my first post and I have just turned my back on Windows - so please forgive me having no idea about Linux at all and needing idiot-proof instructions... ;-)

I run the current version of Solus (Budgie) on a Intel NUC6i5SYH (with Intel Graphics 540) and managed to install more or less everything I need (even a virtual machine for Windows and Ms Office).

There is just one thing that really, really annoys me and I could not find a way to solve this problem yet: I always get a black screen when my computer is not used for a while! I guess it does not matter which standby/hibernate/whatever mode it is using at that moment. Whenever the screen switches off (HMDI power off), it remains black and cannot be restored. It seems to make no difference whether the OS is awake and running (with just the screen switched off) or if the system has woken up after a real standby (after moving the mouse or pressing a key) - whatever I do, the screen always remains black. My current workaround is disabling any kind of standby or energy saving, but that is not a long-termin solution, of course...

Searching the internet I found out that there seems to be a generel problem with many Linux distributions and built-in graphic cards, but I could not find instructions how to solve this problem under Solus.

Could one of you please give me instructions how to get rid of this problem?
And, please keep in mind: I have not really an idea of using the terminal, updating drivers or whatever, so I would be thankful to get very, very easy instructions like "open the terminal, type xxxxx and press enter". ;-)

Thank you very much in advance!

Staudey

PALADIN Is your system fully up-to-date? I'm asking because a fix was implemented in the latest kernel package, for just this sort of thing (no guarantee that it's your exact problem though).

tflovik

Did you do a full upgrade after installing Solus?
If not, open a terminal and write: sudo eopkg up

PALADIN

Yes, everything is up to date. It is the newest download and I also checked for updates using the software center as well as using the terminal. Nevertheless, the screen does not wake up.

PALADIN

I found an official thread about installing proprietary drivers (https://getsol.us/articles/hardware/proprietary-drivers/en/). But there seem to be drivers for the Intel Iris Graphics 540 available. At least, no drivers are shown in this little window at all.
Does anyone know how to check the graphic card drivers that are installed at the moment and how to change them (if a better drivers can be found)?

Harvey

PALADIN
Intel do not have proprietary drivers, they're open-source. No further action is required they're already installed.

PALADIN

Thank you! Although it is bad news - I hoped to get rid of my "black screen problem" by just using different drivers... ;-)

Harvey

PALADIN
Nah unfortunately if its a suspend / hibernate problem your kinda screwed and may need to just disable that feature. (having just the monitor turn off after x minutes of inactivity should be fine tho) It might improve with future kernel updates but I would not hold your breath. I've expressed my displeasure with ACPI before in this thread: https://discuss.getsol.us/d/5908-display-does-not-turn-back-on-after-wake/6

PALADIN

Yes, I just switched off all kind of hibernation / power saving / whatever feature, but this is not the royal road, but just the lesser of the two evils. I wished the developers would solve this problem soon, since it is a real pain in the ... when switching from a (at least initially) working and very simple Windows to a clean new Solus (knowing nothing about any advanced settings or so). I really prefer Solus after getting into this topic a little, but I guess that many people will just be disappointed and go back to god damn Windows after such an experience.

Harvey

PALADIN
Yeah its a pain but as I said in my post in the other thread, its a per device thing, no simple fix. Just 1 device in your system could have issues and it will have flow on affects. Sometimes not a full breakage but still important such as no internet access due to the NIC not waking up properly requiring a restart.

There is no magic bullet I'm a afraid 🙁 It's the first thing I disable on a fresh install, I haven't even bothered to check if my new AMD 3900X based system has issues, I just assume it will an don't want to deal with its nonsense.

Edit. 5.10.9 is the newest kernel currently available on Solus. 5.10.10 was released but I would bet my house on it changing nothing in this regard.

PALADIN

PS: I just checked my kernel. It is 5.10.9-169.current.

PALADIN

I just don't understand how evil MS is able make their OS work flawlessly (after a fresh install) with almost any usual hardware - while Solus and other Linux distributions seem to struggle hard with this issue.
What has MS done better (except grabbing money, foreign ideas and data)?!

Fun fact: After using MS Windows 10 for a few months, my Intel NUC does not want to fall asleep any more but always wakes up by itself after a random time. So I always got just the opposite problem (and another issue concerning bluetooth in addition, which they haven't solved for years now).
Thus, even MS seems to disimprove things for the worse with one of their updates. ;-)

DataDrake

PALADIN What has MS done better

Microsoft have significantly higher marketshare, for starters, so there's a greater incentive for vendors to make sure that drivers are available and working properly. This is further reinforced by WHQL where vendors have to pass certain tests in order for systems to use the "Certified for Windows" badges. Windows also has an entirely different driver framework. Driver fixes get pushed out through Microsoft by the vendors, which happens quite quickly.

On Linux, we have the KMS drivers in the kernel which have to play nice with the OpenGL/Vulkan drivers in Mesalib. Vendors do contribute to both projects to varying degrees. Bugfixes need to be submitted to either the Kernel or the Mesa projects, which have different release cycles and delays. Some fixes may need both to be updated. It can take months for those fixes to get put out to where the distros can actually make use of them.