Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

Nilas · 2020-11-13 11:10:06

Hi, I have a laptop that I connect to an external monitor when at home. I use tty to login. Is it possible to show the tty login screen on the external monitor or would I have to install a display manger in order to show the login screen on the external monitor?

Last edited by Nilas (2020-11-16 09:53:54)

teckk · 2020-11-13 11:32:25

I use tty to login. Is it possible to show the tty login screen on the external monitor

Sure, if you have it plugged in while booting. Or if you switch to it with xrandr. What problem are you having?

Trilby · 2020-11-13 13:53:06

xrandr? No, that definitely doesn't impact tty output at boot up.

seth · 2020-11-13 14:16:54

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/torva … modedb.rst

Nilas · 2020-11-13 15:12:26

teckk wrote:

I use tty to login. Is it possible to show the tty login screen on the external monitor
Sure, if you have it plugged in while booting. Or if you switch to it with xrandr. What problem are you having?

I cannot use xrandr. I would like to show the tty login screen on my external monitor after booting up my computer (before running startx).

Last edited by Nilas (2020-11-13 15:26:55)

seth · 2020-11-13 15:13:25

Please replace the oversized image w/ a link and/or thumbnail.

Trilby · 2020-11-13 15:19:35

Or just ditch the image all together - we know what a tty login looks like.

As Teckk suggested in the first part of their post - your intended goal will often be the default simply by having the monitor connected when you boot. There are kernel command line options that can be used to get more control of specifically where/how the console output goes - I was not able to find links when I previously posted, but Seth's link should cover it.

Do you have the external monitor plugged in (and turned on) when the machine boots? If so, does anything show up on it?

Nilas · 2020-11-13 15:39:32

Trilby wrote:

Do you have the external monitor plugged in (and turned on) when the machine boots? If so, does anything show up on it?

Yes the external monitor is plugged in and turned on when the machine boots. After logging in with tty on the laptops monitor startx automatically runs and I get into my window manager which is shown on the external monitor using xrandr and autorandr.

Trilby · 2020-11-13 17:01:43

In that case follow Seth's link. You will likely want to add the kernel parameter video= with a setting of something like video=VGA-1:1280x1024 setting the appropriate resolution for the monitor and checking that VGA-1 is the right output name.

Nilas · 2020-11-13 20:05:07

Trillby wrote:

In that case follow Seth's link

Hmm it does not seem to work for some reason. I have used the command xrandr -q to get the name of the laptops monitor (eDP-1) as well as the external monitor (DP-1-2):

Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 2560 x 1440, maximum 16384 x 16384
eDP-1 connected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 344mm x 193mm
   1920x1080    144.00*+  60.01    59.97    59.96    59.93  
   1680x1050     59.95    59.88  
   1400x1050     74.76    59.98  
   1600x900      59.99    59.94    59.95    59.82  
   1280x1024     85.02    75.02    60.02  
   1400x900      59.96    59.88  
   1280x960      85.00    60.00  
   1440x810      60.00    59.97  
   1368x768      59.88    59.85  
   1280x800      59.99    59.97    59.81    59.91  
   1152x864      75.00  
   1280x720      60.00    59.99    59.86    59.74  
   1024x768      85.00    75.05    60.04    85.00    75.03    70.07    60.00  
   1024x768i     86.96  
   960x720       85.00    75.00    60.00  
   928x696       75.00    60.05  
   896x672       75.05    60.01  
   1024x576      59.95    59.96    59.90    59.82  
   960x600       59.93    60.00  
   832x624       74.55  
   960x540       59.96    59.99    59.63    59.82  
   800x600       85.00    75.00    70.00    65.00    60.00    85.14    72.19    75.00    60.32    56.25  
   840x525       60.01    59.88  
   864x486       59.92    59.57  
   700x525       74.76    59.98  
   800x450       59.95    59.82  
   640x512       85.02    75.02    60.02  
   700x450       59.96    59.88  
   640x480       85.09    60.00    85.01    72.81    75.00    59.94  
   720x405       59.51    58.99  
   720x400       85.04  
   684x384       59.88    59.85  
   640x400       59.88    59.98    85.08  
   576x432       75.00  
   640x360       59.86    59.83    59.84    59.32  
   640x350       85.08  
   512x384       85.00    75.03    70.07    60.00  
   512x384i      87.06  
   512x288       60.00    59.92  
   416x312       74.66  
   480x270       59.63    59.82  
   400x300       85.27    72.19    75.12    60.32    56.34  
   432x243       59.92    59.57  
   320x240       85.18    72.81    75.00    60.05  
   360x202       59.51    59.13  
   360x200       85.04  
   320x200       85.27  
   320x180       59.84    59.32  
   320x175       85.27  
DP-1-0 disconnected
DP-1-1 disconnected
HDMI-1-0 disconnected
DP-1-2 connected 2560x1440+0+0 597mm x 336mm
   2560x1440     59.95*+
   1920x1200     59.88  
   1920x1080     60.00    59.94    50.00    23.98  
   1680x1050     59.95  
   1600x1200     60.00  
   1280x1024     75.02    60.02  
   1280x800      59.81  
   1280x720      60.00    59.94    50.00  
   1152x864      75.00  
   1024x768      75.03    60.00  
   800x600       75.00    60.32  
   720x576       50.00  
   720x480       59.94  
   640x480       75.00    59.93    59.94  
DP-1-3 disconnected
  1680x1050 (0x49) 146.250MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width  1680 start 1784 end 1960 total 2240 skew    0 clock  65.29KHz
        v: height 1050 start 1053 end 1059 total 1089           clock  59.95Hz
  1280x1024 (0x52) 135.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1296 end 1440 total 1688 skew    0 clock  79.98KHz
        v: height 1024 start 1025 end 1028 total 1066           clock  75.02Hz
  1280x1024 (0x53) 108.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1328 end 1440 total 1688 skew    0 clock  63.98KHz
        v: height 1024 start 1025 end 1028 total 1066           clock  60.02Hz
  1280x800 (0x5e) 83.500MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1352 end 1480 total 1680 skew    0 clock  49.70KHz
        v: height  800 start  803 end  809 total  831           clock  59.81Hz
  1152x864 (0x60) 108.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1152 start 1216 end 1344 total 1600 skew    0 clock  67.50KHz
        v: height  864 start  865 end  868 total  900           clock  75.00Hz
  1024x768 (0x69) 78.750MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1040 end 1136 total 1312 skew    0 clock  60.02KHz
        v: height  768 start  769 end  772 total  800           clock  75.03Hz
  1024x768 (0x6b) 65.000MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width  1024 start 1048 end 1184 total 1344 skew    0 clock  48.36KHz
        v: height  768 start  771 end  777 total  806           clock  60.00Hz
  800x600 (0x86) 49.500MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  816 end  896 total 1056 skew    0 clock  46.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  604 total  625           clock  75.00Hz
  800x600 (0x87) 40.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width   800 start  840 end  968 total 1056 skew    0 clock  37.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  605 total  628           clock  60.32Hz
  640x480 (0x9a) 31.500MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  720 total  840 skew    0 clock  37.50KHz
        v: height  480 start  481 end  484 total  500           clock  75.00Hz
  640x480 (0x9b) 25.175MHz -HSync -VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  752 total  800 skew    0 clock  31.47KHz
        v: height  480 start  490 end  492 total  525           clock  59.94Hz

Then i have appended video=DP-1-2:2560x1440@59.95e video=eDP-1:d to the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT line in the file etc/default/grub. Finally I have run sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg, turned off the PC and booted again. The monitor of the laptop is now disabled when entering tty but no signal is received on the external monitor.

seth · 2020-11-13 20:59:50

What if you just use "video=DP-1-2:e video=eDP-1:d"?
nb. you don't have to reconfigure grub while testing this, transitional changes are less complicated ;-)
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ke … eters#GRUB

Nilas · 2020-11-13 21:20:07

seth wrote:

What if you just use "video=DP-1-2:e video=eDP-1:d"?

I still get the same result.

seth wrote:

nb. you don't have to reconfigure grub while testing this, transitional changes are less complicated ;-)
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ke … eters#GRUB

Thanks for the tip

seth · 2020-11-13 22:01:07

video=DP-1:e video=eDP-1:d

?

Nilas · 2020-11-13 22:47:21

seth wrote:

video=DP-1:e video=eDP-1:d

?

That does not solve it either

seth · 2020-11-14 07:22:41

Is the external display wired via display port or is that an HDMI plug?

Nilas · 2020-11-14 13:11:01

It is wired via displayport

Nilas · 2020-11-14 13:48:22

I have now tried connecting the external monitor via HDMI and I still get the same result. I have tried the following:

video=HDMI-1-0:D video=eDP-1:d
video=HDMI-1-0:e video=eDP-1:d
video=HDMI-1:D video=eDP-1:d
video=HDMI-1:e video=eDP-1:d

As with the displayport cable i can connect to the external monitor with xrandr

When using the command xrandr --output HDMI-1-0 --auto --output eDP-1 --off or the command xrandr --output DP-1-2 --auto --output eDP-1 --off to connect to the external monitor, whenever I type on the keyboard it takes a long time for the monitor to show what I have typed and whenever I click on something it also takes a long time to update. However movement of the cursor seems to be instant. At first I thought it was related to this issue but since I am experincing the same problem via HDMI I am not so sure.

I do not experience the slowness when I use the command xrandr --output HDMI-1-0 --auto or the command xrandr --output DP-1-2 --auto

I have also tried to connect to another monitor via HDMI and I still experience the same issues.

Last edited by Nilas (2020-11-14 13:50:18)

Nilas · 2020-11-14 17:29:47

Okay I have now tried to change the "Graphic Device" from "Switchable Graphics" to "Discrete Graphics" in the firmware setup menu which means that my computer is now only using the discrete NVIDIA GPU of my computer and not the Intel integrated GPU. After changing this the tty menu is shown on the external monitor! I do not even have to set the video kernel parameter. The tty menu is however still shown on the laptop monitor even though I specify video=DP-2:d video=DP-3:e. Notice that the names of the monitors have changed after I changed to "Discrete Graphics" - output from xrandr -q:

Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 2560 x 1440, maximum 32767 x 32767
DP-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-2 connected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
   1920x1080    144.00 +
DP-3 connected primary 2560x1440+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 597mm x 336mm
   2560x1440     59.95*+
   1920x1200     59.88  
   1920x1080     60.00    59.94    50.00    23.98  
   1680x1050     59.95  
   1600x1200     60.00  
   1280x1024     75.02    60.02  
   1280x800      59.81  
   1280x720      60.00    59.94    50.00  
   1152x864      75.00  
   1024x768      75.03    60.00  
   800x600       75.00    60.32  
   720x576       50.00  
   720x480       59.94  
   640x480       75.00    59.93    59.94  
DP-4 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

I do not experience slow updates on the external monitor anymore either when using the command xrandr --output DP-3 --auto --output DP-2 --off. One thing I noticed though is that the login text on the tty console is looking glitchy on the external monitor (it looks fine on the laptop monitor). When I use HDMI instead of DisplayPort the text looks normal on the external monitor. This might be due to that the external monitor is using the same resolution as the laptop (1920x1080) over HDMI while it has a resolution of 2560x1440 over DisplayPort. When switching to the tty console after having booted into startx the login text looks normal on the external monitor over DisplayPort.

It is nice that my external monitor mostly works correctly now, I would still however like to use "Switchable Graphics" (Optimus) if possible. I do not know if that is possible without all those issues? Also is there a way to solve the glitchy looking text of tty and to disable the laptop monitor when inside tty with the laptop connected to an external monitor? I have also noticed screen tearing now that I am using "Discrete Graphics". How do I solve that?

I should probably also mention that my laptop is an 81SX Legion Y540-15IRH.

seth · 2020-11-14 17:39:11

Ah, it's an optimus device and the external output is most likely wired to the nvidia chip.
Try https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NV … de_setting and esp. early the KMS/mkinitcpio part.

Nilas · 2020-11-14 17:43:36

NIlas wrote:

I have also noticed screen tearing now that I am using "Discrete Graphics". How do I solve that?

I can read at https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NVIDIA_Optimus under "Tearing/Broken VSync" that you need xorg-server 1.19 or higher, linux kernel 4.5 or higher, and nvidia 370.23 or higher as well as having enabled the "DRM kernel mode setting". I do meet all these requirements though and I am still experiencing screen tearing . I have enabled the "DRM kernel mode setting" by adding the nvidia-drm.modeset=1 kernel parameter. Maybe I should try to add the nvidia, nvidia_modeset, nvidia_uvm and nvidia_drm to the initramfs instead?

Nilas · 2020-11-14 18:49:28

seth wrote:

Ah, it's an optimus device and the external output is most likely wired to the nvidia chip.
Try https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NV … de_setting and esp. early the KMS/mkinitcpio part.

Okay, using early "DRM kernel mode setting" seems to fix the issue with screen tearing. However, now the tty console is not shown on the external monitor under boot up. It is shown on the external monitor when switching to it after entering the Xorg display server. I can still not use "Switchable Graphics" without having issues with slow keyboard updates (when using xrandr --output DP-3 --auto --output DP-2 --off). Do you think it is possible to use "Switchable Graphics" without the issues?

Edit
One thing I am noticing is that the laptop monitor is still listed as connected when running xrandr -q even though I have run the command xrandr --output DP-2 --off --output DP-3 --auto --primary

Last edited by Nilas (2020-11-14 18:54:50)

seth · 2020-11-14 23:05:27

It's connected but not used (look for the asterisk "*")

You cannot (fully) deactivate the nvidia chip if you want to use the external display (since you need its crtc)

As for the output lag (slow keyboard update), this is probably because you're rendering on the intel chip (check "glxinfo"), but the (only) output is on the nvidia chip, what can throw vsync off (notably since your internal display runs at 144Hz?)
Do you use a compositor? (What's your desktop environment?)

Nilas · 2020-11-15 08:58:01

seth wrote:

notably since your internal display runs at 144Hz?)

Yes my laptops display is 144Hz

seth wrote:

Do you use a compositor? (What's your desktop environment?)

I use picom as compositor and wmderland as window manager.

seth · 2020-11-15 09:03:49

Try whether it's lagging w/o picom.
If not, disable vsync.

Nilas · 2020-11-15 10:04:53

Uninstalling picom seems to remove the lag when typing, but there is still lag when I e.g. open a menu i Google Chrome.
How do I disable vsync?

Arch Linux

#1 2020-11-13 11:10:06

Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#2 2020-11-13 11:32:25

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#3 2020-11-13 13:53:06

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#4 2020-11-13 14:16:54

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#5 2020-11-13 15:12:26

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#6 2020-11-13 15:13:25

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#7 2020-11-13 15:19:35

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#8 2020-11-13 15:39:32

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#9 2020-11-13 17:01:43

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#10 2020-11-13 20:05:07

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#11 2020-11-13 20:59:50

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#12 2020-11-13 21:20:07

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#13 2020-11-13 22:01:07

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#14 2020-11-13 22:47:21

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#15 2020-11-14 07:22:41

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#16 2020-11-14 13:11:01

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#17 2020-11-14 13:48:22

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#18 2020-11-14 17:29:47

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#19 2020-11-14 17:39:11

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#20 2020-11-14 17:43:36

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#21 2020-11-14 18:49:28

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#22 2020-11-14 23:05:27

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#23 2020-11-15 08:58:01

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#24 2020-11-15 09:03:49

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

#25 2020-11-15 10:04:53

Re: Is it possible to show tty login screen on external monitor?

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