[SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

bean_lumpkin · 2025-09-21 00:02:17

After a recent system upgrade, Xorg is starting up with only a black screen. The system had been configured to boot to the `default.target` mode, so I changed that to `multi-user.target`. Now I run Xorg manually with `startx`, and very briefly a mouse cursor shows against an actively outputting black screen, then it shifts to a fully black screen (as if the screen itself shuts off). I can still switch to the console.

Here is a recent Xorg log: https://n0t.io/?f10552be410688f3#9KVgaP … RPZvuDiUsM

Here is the output of `journalctl -b`: https://n0t.io/?f74af7a841f9a07e#SGAjdJ … 2saJ54mp3B

Last edited by bean_lumpkin (2025-09-24 20:34:12)

bean_lumpkin · 2025-09-21 12:22:40

Okay, got some sleep, and now I'm poking at it again. My `$HOME/.xinitrc` was `exec startxfce4`. For testing, I replaced that with `exec xterm`, and now Xorg starts with no problems (just running the xterm as the root process). I wonder what Xfce4 might be doing that would turn the screen off...

Last edited by bean_lumpkin (2025-09-21 12:25:16)

seth · 2025-09-21 12:59:23

Sep 20 18:45:15 jubilee wireplumber[880]: m-portal-permissionstore: <WpPortalPermissionStorePlugin:0x55c090628a70> Lookup: The name is not activatable (org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown)
Sep 20 18:45:15 jubilee wireplumber[880]: m-portal-permissionstore: <WpPortalPermissionStorePlugin:0x55c090628a70> Lookup: The name is not activatable (org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown)
Sep 20 18:45:22 jubilee at-spi2-registryd[774]: X connection to :0 broken (explicit kill or server shutdown).
Sep 20 18:45:22 jubilee systemd[632]: dbus-:1.9-org.a11y.atspi.Registry@0.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Sep 20 18:45:22 jubilee systemd[632]: dbus-:1.9-org.a11y.atspi.Registry@0.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Sep 20 18:45:22 jubilee systemd[632]: xfce4-notifyd.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Sep 20 18:45:22 jubilee systemd[632]: xfce4-notifyd.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.

My `$HOME/.xinitrc` was `exec startxfce4`

Last link below, 2nd blue note about what to include at least. In doubt post the resulting xinitrc.

bean_lumpkin · 2025-09-21 13:24:39

seth wrote:

Last link below, 2nd blue note about what to include at least. In doubt post the resulting xinitrc.

Thanks so much for pointing out that `$HOME/.xinitrc` configuration suggestion! I've updated my `.xinitrc` to the following: https://n0t.io/?86d078ebe69d791c#7zXH96 … nEHxmAsu9E

With `exec startxfce4` as the final command, the behavior returns to what I first described: the screen turns off very shortly after starting Xorg. When I then disable my `.xinitrc` (by moving it to a different name), the default xinit runs `twm` and three copies of `xterm`, and that works as you would expect. So at least I can use `twm` to get work done, although that's not my preference. But it's progress!

seth · 2025-09-21 14:22:53

Return to "exec xterm" and from the xterm try to run "startxfce4" and see what errors you get there.

bean_lumpkin · 2025-09-21 18:59:49

Ah, I didn't realize you could run a window manager like that! (For some reason I thought it needed to be the root Xorg process.) Anyway, I did that, running it with `startxfce4 2> ~/errors` (as I wouldn't be able to see the error output if it turned the monitor off.) Here's the contents of that file after killing the resulting process remotely:

** Message: 14:52:35.645: Failed to fetch _NET_NUMBER_OF_DESKTOPS; assuming 1
** Message: 14:52:35.645: Failed to get _NET_WORKAREA; using full screen dimensions
** Message: 14:52:35.645: Failed to fetch _NET_CURRENT_DESKTOP; assuming 0
** Message: 14:52:35.645: Failed to fetch _NET_CURRENT_DESKTOP; assuming 0
gpg-agent: a gpg-agent is already running - not starting a new one
** Message: 14:52:35.926: Failed to fetch _NET_CURRENT_DESKTOP; assuming 0

(xfsettingsd:5666): xfsettingsd-WARNING **: 14:52:36.341: Failed to configure CRTC 62.
blueman-applet 14.52.38 WARNING  PluginManager:153 __load_plugin: Not loading DhcpClient because its conflict has higher priority
blueman-applet 14.52.38 WARNING  PluginManager:153 __load_plugin: Not loading PPPSupport because its conflict has higher priority
blueman-applet 14.52.38 WARNING  TransferService:212 _make_share_path: Failed to get Download dir from XDG
blueman-applet 14.52.38 WARNING  DiscvManager:122 update_menuitems: warning: Adapter is None

(xfce4-power-manager:5739): libxfce4ui-WARNING **: 14:52:59.089: ICE I/O Error

(xfce4-power-manager:5739): libxfce4ui-WARNING **: 14:52:59.089: Disconnected from session manager.

seth · 2025-09-21 19:15:45

startxfce4 > ~/errors 2>&1

after killing the resulting process remotely

Does that get you the X11 session back??

DISPLAY=:0 xrandr -q

Does the monitor really turn off or are you still seeing a mouse cursor?
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Xfwm#Composite_manager

bean_lumpkin · 2025-09-21 19:19:44

seth wrote:

Does that get you the X11 session back??

No, it terminates the whole X11 session.

seth wrote:

Does the monitor really turn off or are you still seeing a mouse cursor?

I don't see the mouse cursor; it looks like the screen fully turns off.

bean_lumpkin · 2025-09-21 19:43:23

seth wrote:

DISPLAY=:0 xrandr -q

Running this while the Xorg session that turns the monitor off is also running gives:

Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1280 x 720, maximum 16384 x 16384
eDP-1 connected primary (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
   1366x768      60.00 +  40.00  
   1280x720      60.00    59.99    60.00    59.86    59.74  
   1024x768      60.04    60.00    60.00  
   960x720       60.00  
   928x696       60.05  
   896x672       60.01  
   1024x576      59.95    59.96    59.90    59.82  
   960x600       59.93    60.00  
   960x540       59.96    59.99    59.63    59.82  
   800x600       60.00    60.00    60.32    56.25  
   840x525       60.01    59.88  
   864x486       59.92    59.57  
   700x525       59.98  
   800x450       59.95    59.82  
   640x512       60.02  
   700x450       59.96    59.88  
   640x480       60.00    60.00    59.94  
   720x405       59.51    58.99  
   684x384       59.88    59.85  
   640x400       59.88    59.98  
   640x360       59.86    59.83    59.84    59.32  
   512x384       60.00  
   512x288       60.00    59.92  
   480x270       59.63    59.82  
   400x300       60.32    56.34  
   432x243       59.92    59.57  
   320x240       60.05  
   360x202       59.51    59.13  
   320x180       59.84    59.32  
HDMI-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

seth · 2025-09-21 19:45:51

DISPLAY=:0 xrandr --output eDP-1 --auto

Watch your monitor come back.

This might be misconfigured and try to use the HDMI output?
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Xfce#Multiple_monitors

bean_lumpkin · 2025-09-21 20:44:00

seth wrote:

DISPLAY=:0 xrandr --output eDP-1 --auto
Watch your monitor come back.

This is the output:

xrandr: Configure crtc 0 failed

seth wrote:

This might be misconfigured and try to use the HDMI output?

This screen is a laptop screen, and I don't have another monitor to attach to the HDMI output.

seth · 2025-09-21 20:57:10

This screen is a laptop screen

I know and according to your xrandr output it's connected but turned off. The idea is that some xfce4 configuration disables it (possibly enabling the not-present HDMI output, but that's pure speculation on my part as to why this is happening)

sleep 10; DISPLAY=:0 xrandr --output eDP-1 --auto

then quickly change back to the X11 TTY (ctrl+alt+f1 or so)

bean_lumpkin · 2025-09-21 21:07:16

seth wrote:

This screen is a laptop screen
I know and according to your xrandr output it's connected but turned off. The idea is that some xfce4 configuration disables it (possibly enabling the not-present HDMI output, but that's pure speculation on my part as to why this is happening)

Ah, now I understand your previous statement better! You were suggesting that xfce4 might be misconfigured and trying to send output to the HDMI interface.

seth wrote:

sleep 10; DISPLAY=:0 xrandr --output eDP-1 --auto
then quickly change back to the X11 TTY (ctrl+alt+f1 or so)

And like magic, my desktop re-appears! Your knowledge of Xorg debugging is deep and broad, seth; I am astonished and grateful. I'd like to figure out what is actually going on, though (in order to have an easier time of accessing my desktop).

seth · 2025-09-21 22:04:21

See https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Xfce#Multiple_monitors again, xfce seems to have some gui for the monitor configuration and apparently

xfconf-query -c displays -p /ActiveProfile

posts it.
https://askubuntu.com/questions/1369391 … mmand-line

bean_lumpkin · 2025-09-22 21:14:33

seth wrote:

See https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Xfce#Multiple_monitors again, xfce seems to have some gui for the monitor configuration and apparently
xfconf-query -c displays -p /ActiveProfile
posts it.

The Settings > Display GUI currently only shows settings for the laptop screen (with no saved profiles in the Advanced tab). The displays channel of xfconf-query is interesting. Here is the full list of properties and values in that channel: https://n0t.io/?31b08a6256bc5136#BfXMyw … tj4t3KXH3T

You can see there that the /ActiveProfile property is set to Default; in this configuration /Default/HDMI-1/Active is set to false, but when you first pointed me in this direction it was set to true, so I thought maybe Xfce was activating the laptop screen and then "activating" the HDMI screen, so I set the value to false, but the problem is still continuing, so it seems the problem is elsewhere. I don't think there's another value that it makes sense to set /ActiveProfile to.

seth · 2025-09-23 07:49:26

Create a new user and incrementally poison it w/ your ~/.config/xfce4, probably starting w/ the contents of ~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/
Otherwise, you you use anything like autorandr on top of xfce4?

bean_lumpkin · 2025-09-24 20:32:56

At the suggestion of a user over on the Xfce forum, I renamed the `$HOME/.config/.xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/display.xml` file and then started the session, and that generated a new display.xml file that doesn't cause the problem! Thanks for all your help in guiding me in this direction, seth!

Arch Linux

#1 2025-09-21 00:02:17

[SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#2 2025-09-21 12:22:40

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#3 2025-09-21 12:59:23

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#4 2025-09-21 13:24:39

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#5 2025-09-21 14:22:53

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#6 2025-09-21 18:59:49

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#7 2025-09-21 19:15:45

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#8 2025-09-21 19:19:44

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#9 2025-09-21 19:43:23

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#10 2025-09-21 19:45:51

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#11 2025-09-21 20:44:00

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#12 2025-09-21 20:57:10

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#13 2025-09-21 21:07:16

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#14 2025-09-21 22:04:21

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#15 2025-09-22 21:14:33

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#16 2025-09-23 07:49:26

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

#17 2025-09-24 20:32:56

Re: [SOLVED] Screen turned off in Xfce after upgrade

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