Why does my external monitor look like this?

HeyCanIBorrowThat · 2022-08-18 05:50:50

Hey all,

I'm getting a completely distorted display when I plug in any external monitor to my laptop, whether it's via HDMI or thunderbolt/USB-C. I'm running Arch on a 2019 Razer Blade 15, which has a dedicated Nvidia GPU. I suspect that the (proprietary) drivers aren't working properly, although I figured I wouldn't get any picture at all. I've tried uninstalling the proprietary drivers and using nouveau, but I still get the same result. Could anyone please help me diagnose/solve this? Thanks!

https://i.imgur.com/bz5oHsJ.jpeg

moderator edit -- replaced oversized image with link.
Pasting pictures and code

Last edited by 2ManyDogs (2022-08-18 12:49:58)

TadaenSylvermane · 2022-08-18 12:48:06

Sorry I get it. I was thinking the wallpaper was the error. Depending on your DE you may need to set the resolution properly and set the background to scale properly. In KDE my Positioning options are

Scaled and Cropped
Scaled
Scaled, Keep Proportions
Centered
Tiled

Whatever your DE is it looks like it's tiled. This is likely because the screens are different resolutions. If you are mirroring then you need to set it to stretch or such. I know XFCE you can change these settings per screen. I'm assuming the others can as well, I haven't a 2nd screen on my KDE here.

Last edited by TadaenSylvermane (2022-08-18 12:52:57)

HeyCanIBorrowThat · 2022-08-18 16:38:48

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I was talking about the colors. I think the resolution is fine because the mouse is the same size when I move it to that monitor. But if I open a terminal or browser window, the text is unreadable because of the color distortions.

Last edited by HeyCanIBorrowThat (2022-08-19 07:53:13)

Trilby · 2022-08-18 16:58:42

So you showed a random picture that does not show the issue at all?

Please describe the actual symptoms you are seeing, and if you are going to show screen shots 1) link to them and 2) only share ones that are relevant or illustrate the issue. I gather what is in that image may not represent the colors that your selected wallpaper is supposed to have, but we have no way of knowing that. It looks like a perfectly reasonable choice for a wallpaper image other than the fact that it is tiled to fit the resolution.

What does "text is unreadable" mean? How is it unreadable? What color issues are you seeing?

HeyCanIBorrowThat · 2022-08-19 06:33:40

I don't know how you didn't see my description of the issue and a picture of the description. They are both in the original post. Yes, a screenshot would have also been helpful to show that it's a driver issue and not an X server issue. To be clear: this is a screenshot with both displays present; the laptop's built-in display on the right, and the external display on the left. The original picture has crazy colors with no windows on it, but you can see the background through the terminal in the screenshot, and you can see that it looks, even if subjectively, normal.

Here is the link to the screenshot:
https://i.imgur.com/tVlzvrt.png

Trilby · 2022-08-19 12:38:12

Your description in the first post was limited to "completely distorted" with no mention of colors. Now with this new screenshot I can see the difference in colors of the wallpaper as intended and the wallpaper in the first post - but contrast wasn't highlighted previously.

So it looks like the colors may be inverted or or transposed across the RGB values, right? What colors does this result in in a terminal? Your normal terminal appears to be light text on dark background, what does it look like in the problematic condition?

Last edited by Trilby (2022-08-19 12:39:02)

HeyCanIBorrowThat · 2022-08-27 09:02:57

So I figured out how to solve the issue, but I'm not sure why it works. I was using an AUR version of f.lux, and although it worked fine for my built in display, it didn't play nicely with the external one. I don't know why that would happen specifically with that program, but at least it works.

Arch Linux

#1 2022-08-18 05:50:50

Why does my external monitor look like this?

#2 2022-08-18 12:48:06

Re: Why does my external monitor look like this?

#3 2022-08-18 16:38:48

Re: Why does my external monitor look like this?

#4 2022-08-18 16:58:42

Re: Why does my external monitor look like this?

#5 2022-08-19 06:33:40

Re: Why does my external monitor look like this?

#6 2022-08-19 12:38:12

Re: Why does my external monitor look like this?

#7 2022-08-27 09:02:57

Re: Why does my external monitor look like this?

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