[solved] xrandr "Screen resolution reverts back after a blink"

xtian · 2018-07-04 19:37:24

I'm troubleshooting my monitor resolution in a multihead confg on Lenovo W541. I'm using X.Org with the Intel graphics card. The external monitor is a Lenovo ThinkVision 17" monitor connected via VGA. I'm using i3. The second monitor's resolution is not correct.

From the page Configuration using xorg.conf, I'm using the option Example: dualhead configuration using relative coordinates. In /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/15-intel.conf:

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "eDP1"
    # 2880x1620 59.96 Hz (CVT 4.67M9) hsync: 100.67 kHz; pclk: 396.25 MHz
    Modeline                     "2880x1620_60.00"  396.25  2880 3096 3408 3936  1620 1623 1628 1679 -hsync +vsync
    Option                         "Primary" "true"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier              "VGA1"
    Option                          "LeftOf" "eDP1"
    # 1280x1024 @ 60.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 63.60 kHz; pclk: 108.88 MHz
    Modeline "1280x1024_60.00"  108.88  1280 1360 1496 1712  1024 1025 1028 1060  -HSync +Vsync

EndSectionSection "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "intel"
    VendorName     "Intel Corporation"
    BusID          "PCI:0:2:0"
    Option         "AllowEmptyInitialConfiguration"
    Option         "DPI" "150x150"
    Option         "Backlight" "intel_backlight"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "eDP1"
    DefaultDepth   24
    Subsection     "Display"
        Viewport   0 0 
        Depth      24
        Modes      "2880x1620_60.00"
    EndSubsection
EndSection

What I tried was to follow the instructions on the xrandr page to change the resolution on the fly. See if I can get the correct resolution to display. I was able to enter the commands in the troubleshooting section, Adding undetected resolutions, but this results in an error noted on the page as, Screen resolution reverts back after a blink. Further following this thread, I find my install doesn't have the file that is noted to recall previous resolutions: ~/.config/monitors.xml.

I also followed the Note, about Intel video driver `xf86-video-intel`. However, inspecting /var/log/Xorg.0.log did not show output resembling "intel(0): clock: 241.5 MHz Image Size: 597 x 336 mm" to suggest another video resolution should be used for this hardware.

the command xrandr -q shows the monitor and the resolution I'm trying to setup:

VGA1 connected 1280x1024+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 360mm x 300mm
   1280x1024     60.02 +  76.00    75.02    72.05    70.00    60.00  
   1280x1024_60.00  59.89

I'm a total noobie/idiot when it comes to hardware-level configs. I can follow instructions, but more than two hops in a hyper-linked thread and my whole mental model breaks down. :-( One original setting I have for the primary laptop monitor is an addition to ~.xinitrc. I added the, xrandr --dpi 150, to fix gigantic fonts.

It's possible the monitor resolution is actually correct and it's the DPI that I'm having trouble with. This external monitor is older 96dpi. Maybe the fix is to try and set the dpi? I'm still looking in on this.

Last edited by xtian (2018-07-07 16:38:27)

loqs · 2018-07-04 19:54:17

Please post the contents of Xorg.log and the output of dmesg.

seth · 2018-07-04 21:03:20

This is most likely an xy problem.
Your xrandr output suggests that the monitor EDID announces 1280x1024 at various frequencies (60.02) next to the mode you added (albeit w/ an unsupported frequency)

Please undo all changes you made to the xorg config, activate the monitor w/ the "wrong" resolution and post the output of "xrandr -q".
Also elaborate on your issue at hand.

The bad news is that X11 does not support DPIs per output, ie. if you have a HiDPI output and a "low" DPI output one, fonts will be either too big on the low one or to small on the high one.
You can either go for a middle ground resolution (bit to big on one and bit to small on the other) or scale the low-DPI output (but it will get blurry)

xtian · 2018-07-07 01:41:15

I've regenerated the modeline using the reported frequency 59.96.

The issue at hand
The second monitor is working, but clearly the settings are not ideal.
I have a 65 character line in the console on a 17-inch monitor. By comparison, Python's PEP 8 suggests 79 characters!

I was trying to troubleshoot the VGA monitor settings using xrandr, but then I ran into the problem that is the title of this post.

Here is xrandr -q

Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 4160 x 1620, maximum 32767 x 32767
eDP1 connected primary 2880x1620+1280+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 340mm x 190mm
   2880x1620_60.00  59.96*+
   2880x1620     59.96 +  59.97    50.00  
   2560x1600     59.97  
   2560x1440     59.95  
   2048x1536     60.00  
   1920x1440     60.00  
   1856x1392     60.01  
   1792x1344     60.01  
   2048x1152     60.00    59.90    59.91  
   1920x1200     59.88    59.95  
   1920x1080     59.96    60.00    59.93  
   1600x1200     60.00  
   1680x1050     59.95    59.88  
   1400x1050     59.98  
   1600x900      60.00    59.95    59.82  
   1280x1024     60.02  
   1400x900      59.96    59.88  
   1280x960      60.00  
   1440x810      60.00  
   1368x768      60.00    59.88    59.85  
   1280x800      59.81    59.91  
   1280x720      59.86    60.00    59.74  
   1024x768      60.00  
   1024x576      60.00    59.90    59.82  
   960x540       60.00    59.63    59.82  
   800x600       60.32    56.25  
   864x486       60.00    59.92    59.57  
   640x480       59.94  
   720x405       59.51    60.00    58.99  
   640x360       59.84    59.32    60.00  
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
VGA1 connected 1280x1024+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 360mm x 300mm
   1280x1024     60.02*+  76.00    75.02    72.05    70.00  
   1280x1024_59.89  59.89  
   1024x768      75.03    70.07    60.00  
   800x600       72.19    75.00    60.32  
   640x480       75.00    72.81    66.67    59.94  
   720x400       70.08  
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

Here is the Xorg.0.log

[    49.787] (WW) Failed to open protocol names file lib/xorg/protocol.txt
[    49.789] 
X.Org X Server 1.20.0
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
[    49.789] Build Operating System: Linux Arch Linux
[    49.789] Current Operating System: Linux spaceghost 4.14.52-1-lts #1 SMP Tue Jun 26 19:36:05 CEST 2018 x86_64
...
[    49.790] Build Date: 18 June 2018  03:12:37PM
[    49.791]  
[    49.791] Current version of pixman: 0.34.0
...
[    49.792] (==) Log file: "/home/spaceghost/xtian/.local/share/xorg/Xorg.0.log", Time: Fri Jul  6 20:22:04 2018
[    49.880] (==) Using config directory: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d"
[    49.880] (==) Using system config directory "/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d"
[    49.926] (==) No Layout section.  Using the first Screen section.
[    49.926] (**) |-->Screen "Screen0" (0)
[    49.926] (**) |   |-->Monitor "eDP1"
[    49.926] (**) |   |-->Device "Device0"
[    49.926] (==) Automatically adding devices
[    49.926] (==) Automatically enabling devices
[    49.926] (==) Automatically adding GPU devices
[    49.926] (==) Automatically binding GPU devices
[    49.926] (==) Max clients allowed: 256, resource mask: 0x1fffff
...
[    49.986] (==) ModulePath set to "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
[    49.986] (II) The server relies on udev to provide the list of input devices.
	If no devices become available, reconfigure udev or disable AutoAddDevices.
[    49.986] (II) Module ABI versions:
[    49.986] 	X.Org ANSI C Emulation: 0.4
[    49.986] 	X.Org Video Driver: 24.0
[    49.986] 	X.Org XInput driver : 24.1
[    49.986] 	X.Org Server Extension : 10.0
[    49.987] (++) using VT number 1

[    49.989] (II) systemd-logind: took control of session /org/freedesktop/login1/session/c1
[    49.991] (II) xfree86: Adding drm device (/dev/dri/card0)
[    49.992] (II) systemd-logind: got fd for /dev/dri/card0 226:0 fd 10 paused 0
[    49.996] (--) PCI:*(0@0:2:0) 8086:0416:17aa:221e rev 6, Mem @ 0xb1400000/4194304, 0xa0000000/268435456, I/O @ 0x00005000/64, BIOS @ 0x????????/131072
[    49.996] (--) PCI: (1@0:0:0) 10de:0ff6:17aa:221e rev 161, Mem @ 0xb0000000/16777216, 0x80000000/268435456, 0x90000000/33554432, I/O @ 0x00004000/128, BIOS @ 0x????????/524288
[    49.996] (II) Open ACPI successful (/var/run/acpid.socket)
[    49.996] (II) LoadModule: "glx"
[    50.112] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so
[    50.231] (II) Module glx: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[    50.231] 	compiled for 1.20.0, module version = 1.0.0
[    50.250] 	ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 10.0
[    50.250] (II) LoadModule: "intel"
[    50.266] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/intel_drv.so
[    50.308] (II) Module intel: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[    50.308] 	compiled for 1.20.0, module version = 2.99.917
[    50.308] 	Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[    50.308] 	ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 24.0
[    50.308] (II) intel: Driver for Intel(R) Integrated Graphics Chipsets:
	i810, i810-dc100, i810e, i815, i830M, 845G, 854, 852GM/855GM, 865G,
	915G, E7221 (i915), 915GM, 945G, 945GM, 945GME, Pineview GM,
	Pineview G, 965G, G35, 965Q, 946GZ, 965GM, 965GME/GLE, G33, Q35, Q33,
	GM45, 4 Series, G45/G43, Q45/Q43, G41, B43
[    50.309] (II) intel: Driver for Intel(R) HD Graphics
[    50.309] (II) intel: Driver for Intel(R) Iris(TM) Graphics
[    50.309] (II) intel: Driver for Intel(R) Iris(TM) Pro Graphics
[    50.309] xf86EnableIOPorts: failed to set IOPL for I/O (Operation not permitted)
[    50.322] (II) intel(0): Using Kernel Mode Setting driver: i915, version 1.6.0 20170818
[    50.322] (II) intel(0): SNA compiled from 2.99.917-831-ge7bfc906
[    50.350] (WW) VGA arbiter: cannot open kernel arbiter, no multi-card support
[    50.352] (--) intel(0): Integrated Graphics Chipset: Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
[    50.352] (--) intel(0): CPU: x86-64, sse2, sse3, ssse3, sse4.1, sse4.2, avx, avx2; using a maximum of 4 threads
[    50.352] (**) intel(0): Depth 24, (--) framebuffer bpp 32
[    50.352] (==) intel(0): RGB weight 888
[    50.352] (==) intel(0): Default visual is TrueColor
[    50.352] (**) intel(0): Option "Backlight" "intel_backlight"
[    50.353] (II) intel(0): Output eDP1 using monitor section eDP1
[    50.353] (**) intel(0): Option "Primary" "true"
[    50.354] (**) intel(0): Found backlight control interface intel_backlight (type 'raw') for output eDP1
[    50.354] (II) intel(0): Enabled output eDP1
[    50.354] (II) intel(0): Output VGA1 using monitor section VGA1
[    50.354] (**) intel(0): Option "LeftOf" "eDP1"
[    50.354] (II) intel(0): Enabled output VGA1
[    50.354] (II) intel(0): Output DP1 has no monitor section
[    50.354] (II) intel(0): Enabled output DP1
[    50.354] (II) intel(0): Output HDMI1 has no monitor section
[    50.354] (II) intel(0): Enabled output HDMI1
[    50.354] (II) intel(0): Output DP2 has no monitor section
[    50.355] (II) intel(0): Enabled output DP2
[    50.355] (II) intel(0): Output HDMI2 has no monitor section
[    50.355] (II) intel(0): Enabled output HDMI2
[    50.355] (--) intel(0): Using a maximum size of 256x256 for hardware cursors
[    50.355] (II) intel(0): Output VIRTUAL1 has no monitor section
[    50.355] (II) intel(0): Enabled output VIRTUAL1
[    50.356] (II) intel(0): EDID for output eDP1
[    50.356] (II) intel(0): Manufacturer: MEI  Model: 96a2  Serial#: 0
[    50.356] (II) intel(0): Year: 2013  Week: 255
[    50.356] (II) intel(0): EDID Version: 1.4
[    50.356] (II) intel(0): Digital Display Input
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): 8 bits per channel
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Digital interface is DisplayPort
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Max Image Size [cm]: horiz.: 34  vert.: 19
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Gamma: 2.20
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): No DPMS capabilities specified
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Supported color encodings: RGB 4:4:4 
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): First detailed timing is preferred mode
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Preferred mode is native pixel format and refresh rate
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): redX: 0.652 redY: 0.329   greenX: 0.324 greenY: 0.600
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): blueX: 0.150 blueY: 0.045   whiteX: 0.312 whiteY: 0.329
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Manufacturer's mask: 0
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Supported detailed timing:
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): clock: 302.5 MHz   Image Size:  340 x 190 mm
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): h_active: 2880  h_sync: 2924  h_sync_end 2928 h_blank_end 3076 h_border: 0
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): v_active: 1620  v_sync: 1629  v_sync_end 1630 v_blanking: 1640 v_border: 0
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Supported detailed timing:
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): clock: 302.5 MHz   Image Size:  340 x 190 mm
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): h_active: 2880  h_sync: 2924  h_sync_end 2928 h_blank_end 3076 h_border: 0
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): v_active: 1620  v_sync: 1629  v_sync_end 1630 v_blanking: 1967 v_border: 0
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Ranges: V min: 49 V max: 61 Hz, H min: 96 H max: 100 kHz, PixClock max 305 MHz
[    50.357] (II) intel(0):  VVX16T028J00
....
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): EDID vendor "MEI", prod id 38562
[    50.357] (II) intel(0):     EDID quirk: Use maximum size instead of detailed timing sizes.
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Using EDID range info for horizontal sync
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Using EDID range info for vertical refresh
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Printing DDC gathered Modelines:
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Modeline "2880x1620"x0.0  302.50  2880 2924 2928 3076  1620 1629 1630 1640 +hsync +vsync (98.3 kHz eP)
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Modeline "2880x1620"x0.0  302.50  2880 2924 2928 3076  1620 1629 1630 1967 +hsync +vsync (98.3 kHz e)
[    50.357] (II) intel(0): Not using default mode "320x240" (doublescan mode not supported)
... 90 rows of these
[    50.358] (II) intel(0): Not using default mode "1280x800" (doublescan mode not supported)
[    50.358] (II) intel(0): Printing probed modes for output eDP1
[    50.358] (II) intel(0): Modeline "2880x1620_60.00"x60.0  396.25  2880 3096 3408 3936  1620 1623 1628 1679 -hsync +vsync (100.7 kHz UP)
... 54 rows of these
[    50.359] (II) intel(0): Modeline "640x360"x60.0   17.19  640 640 704 768  360 361 364 373 -hsync +vsync (22.4 kHz)
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): EDID for output VGA1
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Manufacturer: LEN  Model: 24c9  Serial#: 16843009
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Year: 2007  Week: 39
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): EDID Version: 1.3
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Analog Display Input,  Input Voltage Level: 0.700/0.700 V
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Sync:  Separate  Composite  SyncOnGreen
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Max Image Size [cm]: horiz.: 36  vert.: 30
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Gamma: 2.20
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): DPMS capabilities: StandBy Suspend Off; RGB/Color Display
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Default color space is primary color space
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): First detailed timing is preferred mode
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): redX: 0.648 redY: 0.339   greenX: 0.292 greenY: 0.603
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): blueX: 0.143 blueY: 0.070   whiteX: 0.313 whiteY: 0.329
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Supported established timings:
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): 720x400@70Hz
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): 640x480@60Hz
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): 640x480@67Hz
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): 640x480@72Hz
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): 640x480@75Hz
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): 800x600@60Hz
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): 800x600@72Hz
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): 800x600@75Hz
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): 1024x768@60Hz
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): 1024x768@70Hz
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): 1024x768@75Hz
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): 1280x1024@75Hz
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Manufacturer's mask: 0
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Supported standard timings:
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): #0: hsize: 1280  vsize 1024  refresh: 60  vid: 32897
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): #1: hsize: 1280  vsize 1024  refresh: 70  vid: 35457
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): #2: hsize: 1280  vsize 1024  refresh: 72  vid: 35969
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): #3: hsize: 1280  vsize 1024  refresh: 76  vid: 36993
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Supported detailed timing:
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): clock: 108.0 MHz   Image Size:  338 x 270 mm
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): h_active: 1280  h_sync: 1328  h_sync_end 1440 h_blank_end 1688 h_border: 0
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): v_active: 1024  v_sync: 1025  v_sync_end 1028 v_blanking: 1066 v_border: 0
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Ranges: V min: 56 V max: 76 Hz, H min: 30 H max: 81 kHz, PixClock max 145 MHz
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Monitor name: LEN L171p
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Serial No: VL-CTG88
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): EDID (in hex):
...
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Printing probed modes for output VGA1
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1280x1024"x60.0  108.00  1280 1328 1440 1688  1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync (64.0 kHz eP)
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1280x1024"x76.0  141.81  1280 1376 1512 1744  1024 1025 1028 1070 -hsync +vsync (81.3 kHz)
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1280x1024"x75.0  135.00  1280 1296 1440 1688  1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync (80.0 kHz e)
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1280x1024"x72.0  132.84  1280 1368 1504 1728  1024 1025 1028 1067 -hsync +vsync (76.9 kHz)
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1280x1024"x70.0  128.95  1280 1368 1504 1728  1024 1025 1028 1066 -hsync +vsync (74.6 kHz)
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1280x1024_59.89"x59.9  108.68  1280 1360 1496 1712  1024 1025 1028 1060 -hsync +vsync (63.5 kHz)
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1024x768"x75.0   78.75  1024 1040 1136 1312  768 769 772 800 +hsync +vsync (60.0 kHz e)
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1024x768"x70.0   75.00  1024 1048 1184 1328  768 771 777 806 -hsync -vsync (56.5 kHz e)
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1024x768"x60.0   65.00  1024 1048 1184 1344  768 771 777 806 -hsync -vsync (48.4 kHz e)
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Modeline "800x600"x72.0   50.00  800 856 976 1040  600 637 643 666 +hsync +vsync (48.1 kHz e)
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Modeline "800x600"x75.0   49.50  800 816 896 1056  600 601 604 625 +hsync +vsync (46.9 kHz e)
[    50.399] (II) intel(0): Modeline "800x600"x60.0   40.00  800 840 968 1056  600 601 605 628 +hsync +vsync (37.9 kHz e)
[    50.400] (II) intel(0): Modeline "640x480"x75.0   31.50  640 656 720 840  480 481 484 500 -hsync -vsync (37.5 kHz e)
[    50.400] (II) intel(0): Modeline "640x480"x73.0   31.50  640 664 704 832  480 489 492 520 -hsync -vsync (37.9 kHz e)
[    50.400] (II) intel(0): Modeline "640x480"x67.0   30.24  640 704 768 864  480 483 486 525 -hsync -vsync (35.0 kHz e)
[    50.400] (II) intel(0): Modeline "640x480"x60.0   25.18  640 656 752 800  480 490 492 525 -hsync -vsync (31.5 kHz e)
[    50.400] (II) intel(0): Modeline "720x400"x70.0   28.32  720 738 846 900  400 412 414 449 -hsync +vsync (31.5 kHz e)
[    50.400] (II) intel(0): EDID for output DP1
[    50.780] (II) intel(0): EDID for output HDMI1
[    50.780] (II) intel(0): EDID for output DP2
[    50.789] (II) intel(0): EDID for output HDMI2
[    50.789] (II) intel(0): EDID for output VIRTUAL1
[    50.789] (II) intel(0): Output eDP1 connected
[    50.789] (II) intel(0): Output VGA1 connected
[    50.789] (II) intel(0): Output DP1 disconnected
[    50.789] (II) intel(0): Output HDMI1 disconnected
[    50.789] (II) intel(0): Output DP2 disconnected
[    50.789] (II) intel(0): Output HDMI2 disconnected
[    50.789] (II) intel(0): Output VIRTUAL1 disconnected
[    50.789] (II) intel(0): Using user preference for initial modes
[    50.789] (II) intel(0): Output eDP1 using initial mode 2880x1620_60.00 +0+0
[    50.789] (II) intel(0): Output VGA1 using initial mode 1280x1024 +0+0
[    50.789] (==) intel(0): TearFree disabled
[    50.789] (==) intel(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
[    50.789] (**) intel(0): Display dimensions: (340, 190) mm
[    50.789] (**) intel(0): DPI set to (310, 216)
[    50.789] (II) Loading sub module "dri3"
...
[    50.892] (II) intel(0): hardware support for Present enabled
[    50.892] (WW) intel(0): Option "AllowEmptyInitialConfiguration" is not used
[    50.892] (WW) intel(0): Option "DPI" is not used
[    50.892] (WW) intel(0): Option "Primary" is not used
[    50.892] (II) Initializing extension Generic Event Extension
...
[    50.893] (II) Initializing extension XVideo-MotionCompensation
[    50.893] (II) Initializing extension GLX
[    51.267] (II) AIGLX: Loaded and initialized i965
[    51.267] (II) GLX: Initialized DRI2 GL provider for screen 0
[    51.267] (II) Initializing extension XFree86-VidModeExtension
[    51.267] (II) Initializing extension XFree86-DGA
[    51.267] (II) Initializing extension XFree86-DRI
[    51.267] (II) Initializing extension DRI2
[    51.309] (II) intel(0): switch to mode 2880x1620@60.0 on eDP1 using pipe 0, position (1280, 0), rotation normal, reflection none
[    51.325] (II) intel(0): switch to mode 1280x1024@60.0 on VGA1 using pipe 1, position (0, 0), rotation normal, reflection none
[    51.330] (II) intel(0): Setting screen physical size to 1100 x 428
... some libinput and keyboard stuff
[    51.862] (II) config/udev: Adding input device HDA Intel HDMI HDMI/DP,pcm=3 (/dev/input/event16)
[    51.862] (II) No input driver specified, ignoring this device.
[    51.862] (II) This device may have been added with another device file.
[    51.863] (II) config/udev: Adding input device HDA Intel HDMI HDMI/DP,pcm=7 (/dev/input/event17)
[    51.863] (II) No input driver specified, ignoring this device.
[    51.863] (II) This device may have been added with another device file.
[    51.863] (II) config/udev: Adding input device HDA Intel HDMI HDMI/DP,pcm=8 (/dev/input/event18)
[    51.863] (II) No input driver specified, ignoring this device.
[    51.863] (II) This device may have been added with another device file.
[    51.864] (II) config/udev: Adding input device HDA Intel HDMI HDMI/DP,pcm=9 (/dev/input/event19)
[    51.864] (II) No input driver specified, ignoring this device.
[    51.864] (II) This device may have been added with another device file.
[    51.864] (II) config/udev: Adding input device HDA Intel HDMI HDMI/DP,pcm=10 (/dev/input/event20)
[    51.864] (II) No input driver specified, ignoring this device.
[    51.864] (II) This device may have been added with another device file.
[    51.865] (II) config/udev: Adding input device Integrated Camera: Integrated C (/dev/input/event11)
[    51.865] (**) Integrated Camera: Integrated C: Applying InputClass "evdev keyboard catchall"
[    51.865] (**) Integrated Camera: Integrated C: Applying InputClass "libinput keyboard catchall"
[    51.865] (II) Using input driver 'libinput' for 'Integrated Camera: Integrated C'
[    51.865] (II) systemd-logind: got fd for /dev/input/event11 13:75 fd 23 paused 0
...trackpoint, mouse, etc.

Here is dmesg and anything that points to intel, vga, etc.

[    0.000000] Linux version 4.14.52-1-lts (builduser@andyrtr) (gcc version 8.1.1 20180531 (GCC)) #1 SMP Tue Jun 26 19:36:05 CEST 2018
...
[    0.251034] pci 0000:00:02.0: vgaarb: setting as boot VGA device
[    0.251034] pci 0000:00:02.0: vgaarb: VGA device added: decodes=io+mem,owns=io+mem,locks=none
[    0.251034] pci 0000:01:00.0: vgaarb: VGA device added: decodes=io+mem,owns=none,locks=none
[    0.251034] pci 0000:01:00.0: vgaarb: bridge control possible
[    0.251034] pci 0000:00:02.0: vgaarb: no bridge control possible
[    0.251034] vgaarb: loaded
...
[    0.510883] Key type blacklist registered
...
[    0.513610] vesafb: mode is 2880x1620x32, linelength=11520, pages=0
[    0.513611] vesafb: scrolling: redraw
[    0.513612] vesafb: Truecolor: size=8:8:8:8, shift=24:16:8:0
[    0.513623] vesafb: framebuffer at 0xa0000000, mapped to 0xffffaf280a000000, using 18240k, total 18240k
[    0.850789] Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 360x101
[    1.187458] fb0: VESA VGA frame buffer device
[    1.187471] intel_idle: MWAIT substates: 0x42120
[    1.187472] intel_idle: v0.4.1 model 0x3C
[    1.187783] intel_idle: lapic_timer_reliable_states 0xffffffff
...
[   21.294827] [drm] Memory usable by graphics device = 2048M
[   21.294829] checking generic (a0000000 11d0000) vs hw (a0000000 10000000)
[   21.294829] fb: switching to inteldrmfb from VESA VGA
[   21.354530] Console: switching to colour dummy device 80x25
[   21.354590] [drm] Replacing VGA console driver
[   21.360042] [drm] Supports vblank timestamp caching Rev 2 (21.10.2013).
[   21.360043] [drm] Driver supports precise vblank timestamp query.
[   21.360161] i915 0000:00:02.0: vgaarb: changed VGA decodes: olddecodes=io+mem,decodes=none:owns=io+mem
[   21.367625] [drm] Initialized i915 1.6.0 20170818 for 0000:00:02.0 on minor 0
[   21.368107] ACPI: Video Device [VID] (multi-head: yes  rom: no  post: no)
[   21.368404] input: Video Bus as /devices/LNXSYSTM:00/LNXSYBUS:00/PNP0A08:00/LNXVIDEO:00/input/input26
[   21.368513] ACPI: Video Device [VID1] (multi-head: yes  rom: yes  post: no)
[   21.368635] input: Video Bus as /devices/LNXSYSTM:00/LNXSYBUS:00/PNP0A08:00/device:09/LNXVIDEO:01/input/input27
...
[   21.759429] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:03.0: bound 0000:00:02.0 (ops i915_audio_component_bind_ops [i915])
[   22.192024] fbcon: inteldrmfb (fb0) is primary device
[   23.459245] Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 160x64
[   23.478593] i915 0000:00:02.0: fb0: inteldrmfb frame buffer device
[   23.600911] input: HDA Intel HDMI HDMI/DP,pcm=3 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:03.0/sound/card0/input28
[   23.600942] input: HDA Intel HDMI HDMI/DP,pcm=7 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:03.0/sound/card0/input29
[   23.600994] input: HDA Intel HDMI HDMI/DP,pcm=8 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:03.0/sound/card0/input30
[   23.601055] input: HDA Intel HDMI HDMI/DP,pcm=9 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:03.0/sound/card0/input31
[   23.601113] input: HDA Intel HDMI HDMI/DP,pcm=10 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:03.0/sound/card0/input32

seth · 2018-07-07 07:07:12

I have a 65 character line in the console on a 17-inch monitor. By comparison, Python's PEP 8 suggests 79 characters!

**** Will you please stop messing around with modelines? ****

For the records: the amount of characters in a virtual terminal largely depends on the configured font, the DPI and on a window system - obviously - the window size.
Now, you've two outputs. One at ~90dpi, the other at ~215dpi

xdpyinfo | grep resolution

will tell you the actual logic DPI - singular, because X11 only supports one value.

I'm gonna assume it's 90, what would make the fonts more than twice as big as they should be on the 2880x1620 monitor.
1st: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/HiDPI
2nd: there's no "good" way to deal with this setup on X11 - things will always be too big on one or to small on the other monitor.

You can
- drive the HiDPI output at a lower resolution (pick the one of the 1280x or 1368x ones)
- scale up the output w/ the low resolution ("xrandr --output VGA1 --scale 2x2", this will make things blurry, though, because the monitor does not have that physical resolution. The server renders the huge output and then scales it down to 1280x1024)
- enforce a compromise DPI ("xrandr --dpi 160")
- any combination of the above (choose a slightly lower resolution on the HiDPI, scale up the low resolution output and pick a DPI that fits in the middle)
- use wayland (where compositors and input redirection deal with this and allow you to keep things at the same visual size, regardless of the physical resolution. It's a bit like scaling up the lowres monitor, though)

xtian · 2018-07-07 12:52:12

What exactly is the problem with modelines? I don't understand your frustration.

Your earlier post said: "activate the monitor w/ the "wrong" resolution"

What should I do to set the resolution for this second VGA monitor?

Last edited by xtian (2018-07-07 12:53:57)

seth · 2018-07-07 15:09:42

The EDID already correctly provides all supported resolutions.
Now, apparently because you're unhappy w/ the hybrid DPI, you add some modelines for resolutions that are already there - just even w/ the wrong (unsupported) frequencies (to what the monitor responded w/ refusing the modeline) and now again. Just stop this. The system already knows all supported modelines.

I tried to explain what problem you (likely) face and told you several ways to deal with it.
Try

xrandr --output VGA1 --auto --scale 2x2 --output eDP1 --pos 2560x0
xrandr --dpi 200

This will blow up the VGA1 output to twice it's size and select a DPI of 200, which is between the now actual DPIs of 180 (VGA) and 215 (eDP1)

Also my frustration was about "Python's PEP 8 suggests 79 characters" as any kind of sane measure itr. - again: how many characters you can put into a line much depends on the geometry of the terminal and the font configuration (next to the probably present DPI issue - this is still just informed guessing based on your completely vague problem description)
If I select a 200px font, I cannot put that many chars into a line even on a HiDPI 28" screen.

xtian · 2018-07-07 16:36:51

The PEP 8 comment was partially a joke. People frequently ignore the 79 character limit in Python, because its too short for modern monitors--which this monitor clearly isn't. haha. Second, 79 is also a comparison to the 65 characters I'm seeing. While its true an insane font size will have a laughably short line length, the current font is very sane and suitable on my primary monitor. The character limit is simply an observation and offered to help the reader of the post visualize just how grossly enlarged this is.

Seth, You're much more knowledgeable on this topic than I am, and I really appreciate you patience.

Your last post was instrumental in helping me test different screen output sizes quickly.
Several options between scale 1.3 and 1.5 are possible solutions.

Funny note. I didn't realize what the second --output eDPI argument was doing, until I changed the scale several times and discovered the invisible gap between when the cursor scrolled off right to when it entered left. What could be in there????

https://media.tenor.com/images/4427966a … /tenor.gif

seth · 2018-07-07 20:19:15

What could be in there????

Part of your desktop. Just that a section of the root window isn't covered by any output doesn't mean it's not there. You could have a headless X11 server w/ no monitor at all (for remote access only)

The issue about the terminal column count isn't so much to assume you're trying ridiculous font sizes, but in order to understand your problem, it's paramount for you to provide a description of it as exact as possible.

In this case "I have a normal and a retina monitor - now all my fonts and some icons are far too big on the normal monitor" would have lead to an immediate solution. Instead you somewhere picked the idea that this was somehow related to the modelines and kept that track though from your actions it's very clear that you didn't understand at all what you were doing. The ultimately helpful problem description then was a casual joke.

Please read
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XY_problem
* http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-que … #beprecise
for why that is bad (actually reading the second link completely is no waste of time)

xtian · 2018-07-08 16:37:31

UPDATE
I added the xrandr to the bottom of my ~/.xinitrc to make the change permanent.

Arch Linux

#1 2018-07-04 19:37:24

[solved] xrandr "Screen resolution reverts back after a blink"

#2 2018-07-04 19:54:17

Re: [solved] xrandr "Screen resolution reverts back after a blink"

#3 2018-07-04 21:03:20

Re: [solved] xrandr "Screen resolution reverts back after a blink"

#4 2018-07-07 01:41:15

Re: [solved] xrandr "Screen resolution reverts back after a blink"

#5 2018-07-07 07:07:12

Re: [solved] xrandr "Screen resolution reverts back after a blink"

#6 2018-07-07 12:52:12

Re: [solved] xrandr "Screen resolution reverts back after a blink"

#7 2018-07-07 15:09:42

Re: [solved] xrandr "Screen resolution reverts back after a blink"

#8 2018-07-07 16:36:51

Re: [solved] xrandr "Screen resolution reverts back after a blink"

#9 2018-07-07 20:19:15

Re: [solved] xrandr "Screen resolution reverts back after a blink"

#10 2018-07-08 16:37:31

Re: [solved] xrandr "Screen resolution reverts back after a blink"

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