Arch Linux

lmn

Member

Registered: 2021-05-09

Posts: 88

Website

[SOLVED] Laptop screen freezes when typing

I have a Dell XPS 13 (7930) laptop and I'm experiencing a problem after a kernel update from 6.16.1-arch1-1 to 6.16.3-arch1-1 (the current kernel 6.16.4-arch1-1 is also affected).
When typing the screen displays random noise i.e. strange blocky rendering artifacts with some occasional shifts of the whole screen to the right.
After a while this causes the screen to freeze and keep displaying the current frame buffer content. The underlying system works fine and input is still handled correctly. You can e.g. start a X Session and open programs just fine, but the display keeps being frozen.

When the screen displays renders these artifacts or freezes neither the journal nor dmesg show any signs of errors.
I have captured them in the process of being frozen:

• journal good boot

• journal bad boot

• dmesg good boot

• dmsg bad boot

• lsmod good boot

• lsmod bad boot

I noticed some new behavior with regards to psmouse but blacklisting the module does not resolve the issue.

Downgrading to kernel 6.16.1-arch1-1 fixes the problem.

Another quirk seems to be that when the screen freezes the displayed artifacts are persistent after a reboot (and power cycling).
They disappear after some more reboots.

Is there a way to better debug this or is this an already known issue?

I have not found a matching bug in the bug tracker.
I have not installed xf86-video-intel.

Last edited by lmn (2025-09-22 10:53:28)

Head_on_a_Stick

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From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 8,999

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Laptop screen freezes when typing

Which desktop is this? Can we see the X.Org log?

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

lmn

Member

Registered: 2021-05-09

Posts: 88

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Laptop screen freezes when typing

Which desktop is this? Can we see the X.Org log?

This happens when logging into the system on the console. I do not use a display manager and use dwm.
This problem is not related to X as the graphical glitches occur on the regular console before even starting X.
I just mentioned X as an example (as it also writes to the frame buffer).

Edit: Here is a xorg log with the problematic kernel.

The latest firmware version 1.29 is installed.

Bug reported https://gitlab.archlinux.org/archlinux/ … issues/157

Last edited by lmn (2025-09-22 10:50:19)