[SOLVED]Nvidia 3050 sends no signal to my monitors

[banjo]

I have just built a new computer that uses an Nvidia 3050 card. I set up the computer at a station in my basement so I could get everything ready before I do a swap upstairs and minimize downtime. Down in the basement the graphics card is connected to an Acer R221Q monitor, which works fine. It is connected using HDMI. I have also connected it using a Display Port through a converter to DVI, and that works fine as well. The graphics card automatically selects the output that is connected to the monitor. It all works as expected.

I took the computer upstairs and plugged it into my two monitors there and booted. Both monitors show "No Signal" and a blank screen. The graphics card is not sending any signal to the monitors at all. There is no Grub menu posted, No graphics at all. Even the very basic text outputs to the monitors are not there. I rebooted the monitors, and they cycle through all of their inputs and say "No Signal". I tried connecting to only one of the monitors, and that one said "No Signal". One monitor is connected using HDMI and the other is connected using DisplayPort through a converter to a DVI.

I am at a loss. How can I trouble shoot this when there is no output from the graphics card at all? The graphics card itself has a decorative LED on it, and that is on, so the card is running.

I brought the computer back down to the basement, and set it up down here again and it works fine. So the graphics hardware is working fine.

I put the old computer back in upstairs and connected it to the two monitors and it boots and runs fine. So there is nothing wrong with the monitors or the connections.

The two monitors that show "No Signal" are an Acer S230HL and Acer H236HL.

Is there a setting that I have missed for "Plug n play"? Is the system now somehow locked onto the R221Q monitor?

Inxi info

Code: Select all

System:    Host: localhost Kernel: 5.15.35-desktop-2.mga8 x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.20.4
           Distro: Mageia 8 mga8
Machine:   Type: Desktop Mobo: Micro-Star model: MPG Z590 GAMING PLUS (MS-7D07) v: 2.0
           serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American Megatrends LLC. v: A.10 date: 04/09/2021
CPU:       Info: 8-Core 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11700K [MT MCP] speed: 801 MHz min/max: 800/4900 MHz
Graphics:  Device-1: NVIDIA GA106 [Geforce RTX 3050] driver: nvidia v: 510.60.02
           Display: x11 server: Mageia X.org 1.20.14 driver: nvidia resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz
           OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 510.60.02
Network:   Device-1: Intel Ethernet I225-V driver: igc
           Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR9271 802.11n type: USB driver: ath9k_htc
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 1.82 TiB used: 18.59 GiB (1.0%)
Info:      Processes: 328 Uptime: 35m Memory: 31.26 GiB used: 1.96 GiB (6.3%) Shell: Bash inxi: 3.2.01


Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks

Banjo
(_)=='=~

[banjo]

Grasping at straws. I ran xrandr on both systems to see if anything jumps out.

Here is the output on the Mageia8 system running with one monitor in the basement.

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[poobah@localhost ~]$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 32767 x 32767
HDMI-0 connected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 476mm x 268mm
   1920x1080     60.00*+  59.94    50.00 
   1680x1050     59.95 
   1440x900      59.89 
   1280x1024     60.02 
   1280x800      59.81 
   1280x720      60.00    59.94    50.00 
   1152x864      75.00 
   1024x768      70.07    60.00 
   800x600       60.32    56.25 
   720x576       50.00 
   720x480       59.94 
   640x480       59.94    59.93 
   624x464       59.95 
DP-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-4 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-5 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
[poobah@localhost ~]$


Here is the output from my Mageia7 system that is using the two monitors that show "No Signal" on the Mageia8 system.

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[brian@localhost ~]$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 3840 x 1080, maximum 16384 x 16384
DVI-I-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-I-1 connected 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 509mm x 286mm
   1920x1080     60.00*+
   1440x900      59.89 
   1280x1024     60.02 
   1280x800      59.81 
   1152x864      75.00 
   1024x768      70.07    60.00 
   800x600       60.32    56.25 
   640x480       59.94 
DP-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-0 connected primary 1920x1080+1920+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 509mm x 286mm
   1920x1080     60.00*+  59.94    50.00 
   1680x1050     59.95 
   1440x900      59.89 
   1280x1024     60.02 
   1280x800      59.81 
   1280x720      60.00    59.94    50.00 
   1152x864      75.00 
   1024x768      70.07    60.00 
   800x600       60.32    56.25 
   720x576       50.00 
   720x480       59.94 
   640x480       59.94    59.93 
DP-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
[brian@localhost ~]$


I don't see any obvious differences in the monitors re. resolutions or update rates.

I just noticed something odd. Both computers are now named "localhost", and I know that I have changed the names on both of them. The new system name was "linux8core" last I looked.

Strange.

Not sure how that would cause no signal at the monitors.

[sturmvogel]

For your hostname problem see Errata (third point):
https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Mageia_8_Errata#Desktops

[banjo]

Thank you for your reply. I am aware of the name issue, so I did change the name of the computer to a personal name early on. What is odd is that something has changed the name back to "localhost". I have not logged into the router for a while to see what is going on in there. I plug the computer directly into the router switch, and the lease on 192.168.1.2 continues to be valid. I don't know what it did when I plugged the new MOBO (with a new MAC) into the same switch, but it looks like it went bonkers.

I don't think that the name change is causing this problem because I do not have a blank screen with a cursor. Nothing is going to the monitors at all. Both of them say "No Signal". Nothing at all shows up on the monitors, not even the Grub menu, which is set to text instead of graphic.

I have confirmed that all the pieces are working. The new computer with the GeForce RTX 3050 card works with the other monitor. So that card works. The dual monitors work with the old computer, which has a GeForce GTX 750 Ti in it, so the monitors and the connections are working. The same monitors, same cables, same everything show "No Signal" when connected to the 3050 card.

I am very confused.

[jiml8]

What about the cables? You might have some incompatibility there.

Do you know the system is not booting when you connect it upstairs? Or is it booting and you just don't see anything because the display does not work? If the latter, set up ssh and try to ssh into the box when the video is dead in order to do diagnostics.

If the box does not even post when you have it plugged in upstairs, then you almost certainly have a cabling problem which possibly is shorting your power supply so it never comes up, or you have a pretty serious ground loop problem. Either is possible. Try isolating the ground on either the computer or the monitors and see if the thing comes to life.

If you take the monitors that you use downstairs upstairs and use them, does everything work properly?

Are there any switches or jumpers governing polarity on any of the monitors or the video cards?

I would bet a bunch you have a cable incompatibility, and/or a problem in the electrical system of your house. From here, I can't tell you anything more.

edit: after re-reading your original post, I understand you to be saying the box does indeed boot, just shows nothing. So ssh into it to diagnose. Your problem might be some kind of cable incompatibility, but it is also very possible your graphics card is coming up with a refresh rate that the monitors can't handle, so they ignore it.

[banjo]

Thanks for the ideas. I have not looked into the problem again because it requires down time on our regular computer, and that is a busy system. I am trying to set aside some time next week to trouble shoot.

From the sequence of flashes of the disk light it looks like the computer is actually booting. I might hook up my old, old computer in the basement and see if I can ssh into the new one up here. Good idea.

I doubt that there is an electrical problem in the wall current since this is a relatively new house with modern wiring. Built in 2010. We have no problems with the electric system.

Some people said online that an inadequate power supply can do this, but I put in a Rosewill 1050 Watt supply. That should be adequate.

I do not know of any switches or jumpers on the monitors. They are relatively new and all plug n play.

I have the new computer running fine in the basement, so I might take the cable from up here down there to see if it causes a problem on the working system.

Thanks again for the ideas.

[sturmvogel]

On one of my Tumbleweed machines i have a similar problem. I need to switch on the monitor 1 second before the PC or the monitor also stays black. BUT when this happened (that i missed the time window and the monitor is black) i wait some time (10 seconds for Grub automatic choising a boot entry) and start of the machine,i type my user password blindly and the desktop shows up fine. Im used to it and it doesn‘t bother me anymore. You could try that too.

Switching the monitor off/on doesn‘t help in my case. I believe it‘s a problem with the graphic card not permanently telling the monitor „hey, i‘m alive“.

[banjo]

Thanks for the tip. I do not have a Grub password specified, so there is no boot password to enter. On a normal boot, I don't have to enter anything until I log in with SDDM. I could try entering a user password blindly, but this is a multi-user machine and I have no way of knowing which user the SDDM defaults to on boot. So I would have to guess. I may try it anyway.

This morning I took the HDMI cable that does not work with the 3050 card up here and used it to hook up the 3050 card to the monitor downstairs. Everything works just fine, so it isn't the cable. I have re-installed that cable up here hooking it into the GTX 750 Ti and it all works fine up here again.

I am beginning to think that it is, indeed a problem with negotiations between the 3050 card and the monitors.

[sturmvogel]

I do not have a Grub password specified,

Me neither. Only the user password in SDDM.

I have no way of knowing which user the SDDM defaults to on boot. So I would have to guess.

When you login at this machine with a working monitor (either carry your computer downstairs or one of the working monitors upstairs...), and shutdown the machine, SDDM should point to the last logged in user. So you should be able to type this users password blindly...

And it seems to be a quite common issue (but hard to pin down) not only for Nvidia combinations. It happens also under windows and AMD cards. Have a look here for a quite extensive collection of solutions: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/forums/geforce-graphics-cards/5/212834/for-all-people-with-black-screensno-signal-issues/. As example this guy uses the same procedure as i described in my previous comment (switch on monitor 1 second before the computer): https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/forums/geforce-graphics-cards/5/212834/for-all-people-with-black-screensno-signal-issues/1565001/

For some it is the hot plug pin of the cable, for some a crappy monitor, for some freesync setting in driver, for some the refresh rate of the monitor, resolution,......

[banjo]

When you login at this machine with a working monitor (either carry your computer downstairs or one of the working monitors upstairs...), and shutdown the machine, SDDM should point to the last logged in user. So you should be able to type this users password blindly...

Yes, that would work for a test, but if this turns into an ongoing problem it would not work so well.

I have not had time to set this up again to try things, but I did find a delightful description about how all this magic happens.

https://www.extron.com/article/uedid

I also found nvidia-settings, which is a GUI tool that will show me what the card settings are and what it knows about the monitor it is using. I was not aware of that tool before. I am comparing the two systems to see if I can see any blatant differences that might make it fail. Stay tuned.

[sturmvogel]

There will be differences between the settings as the GTX 750 Ti uses the Nvidia 390 driver series and the RTX 3050 uses the Nvidia 470 driver series. Newer drivers have more capabilities as example speed control of the fans and so on...

Yes, that would work for a test, but if this turns into an ongoing problem it would not work so well.

Yes, it was only meant as test if you can get the combination of RTX 3050 and these two specific monitors working together at all. If you know that your desktop comes up after you have typed your password blindly you can be sure that this combination works (in a special) way and you can take counter measures as described (switch on monitor at the same time or one sec before the computer). If they don't work at all you can switch the monitors from basement to the upper floor or you really dive into the hardware/setting stuff.

[banjo]

There will be differences between the settings as the GTX 750 Ti uses the Nvidia 390 driver series and the RTX 3050 uses the Nvidia 470 driver series. Newer drivers have more capabilities as example speed control of the fans and so on...

Actually my 750 Ti is running on 460.80, and the RTX 3050 was left out of the 470 series drivers. I had to manually install the latest 510 driver to get the card to work at all. You might remember that thread from helping me get that resolved.

https://forums.mageia.org/en/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=14555

When I get a chance to hook up the 3050 again I will try your workaround. If that doesn't work, I will try ssh into the computer to see if it has booted blind.

Out of curiosity, I used nvidia-settings to save the EDID data from all three monitors to see if I can spot any oddball differences. The two monitors here are somewhat old, but not ancient. I installed edid-decode from the repository to translate the binary block into human a readable format.

Non-working monitors manufacture date:
S230HL Manufacturer: ACR Model 280 Made in week 49 of 2016
H236HL Manufacturer: ACR Model 318 Made in week 28 of 2015

The monitor that works manufacture date:
R221Q - Manufacturer: ACR Model 503 Made in week 31 of 2019

It could be that my monitors have simply aged out, but that would be disappointing. I would hope that a monitor that is 6 or 7 years old hasn't become an antique already,

I compared the EDID data from the old monitors to the new monitor and in fact, the lists of supported timings are mostly identical. I am connected at 1920 x 1080 60 Hz in all three cases.

Screenshot_20220515_105040.png (267.87 KiB) Viewed 15821 times

I am suspecting that there is a glitch in the signal that initiates the reading of the EDID data and not with the data itself. Just a guess.

BTW, if anybody asks.... I am suffering through a bit of buyer's remorse about choosing the RTX 3050 graphics card.

[sturmvogel]

I had to manually install the latest 510 driver to get the card to work at all. You might remember that thread from helping me get that resolved.

Yep, you are right i forgot

BTW, if anybody asks.... I am suffering through a bit of buyer's remorse about choosing the RTX 3050 graphics card.

I made the opposite experience. I have a GTX 550 Ti, GTX 1060 and a RTX 3080 Ti and use the proprietary drivers. I never had problems with these cards and i'm really happy about their performance. In my personal opinion, even if Nvidia cards may be a little bit more expensive, they outperform all the AMD stuff.
On the other hand i'm not a fan of Acer, as they sell inferior stuff at not reasonable prices. I have one Acer monitor left, where one input after each other died. Only one input is left. I will throw out this monitor and replace it against an other make and model.

But everybody has other experiences or prefers other manufacturers or whatever. So only my personal opinion here. This doesn't relly help you with your problem...

[banjo]

Well OK. I have had good experiences with the Nvidia cards up 'till now. So maybe this really is caused by sucky monitors. I don't know yet. So far I have had decent service from the Acer monitors. I do have an Acer monitor from 2008 that fried its back light, but then nothing lasts forever.

Accepting suggestions for better equipment.

[banjo]

I finally got some time to try this new computer on my twin monitors again, and I got it working. The incantation that fixed it was found on one of the Acer help forums,

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/548019/h236hl-monitor-no-signal

I basically did a hard power reset on both monitors. My monitors always see A/C power because they are powered through a UPS. They have not been unplugged for a very long time. I am guessing that some incompatible setup or communications setting was stuck until I rebooted the monitors from the power up, resetting the defaults. That is just a guess.

I have rebooted several times, turned the monitors on and off, waited until the computer turned the monitors off and so far it has not failed to reconnect to the monitors.

To summarize the workaround that I used:

Turn off the monitors.
Disconnect all A/C power from the monitors.
Hold the power button in for 20 seconds on both monitors.
Wait a few minutes for the caps to drain.
Plug the monitors back into the UPS.
Turn on the monitors.
Boot the computer.

I also did a nervous little dance and said "Doitdoitdoitdoit..." several times, but I don't think that had much to do with the outcome.

Anyway, the computer is hooked up and running.

Thanks to everyone for all the ideas and the help. I would not be able to do this without the Mageia forum.

Banjo
(_)=='=~