After system update black screen with cursor

[samoed]

Yesterday I’ve updated my system and now when I loading majaro I got black screen with cursor.

System:
  Kernel: 5.15.188-1-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.1.1 clocksource: tsc
    avail: acpi_pm parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.15-x86_64
    root=UUID=9359aa8c-6ab5-47b5-8278-32c0e2105b1e rw quiet apparmor=1 security=apparmor
    udev.log_priority=3
  Console: tty 3 DM: SDDM Distro: Manjaro base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: Vivobook_ASUSLaptop X7400PC_N7400PC v: 1.0
    serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: ASUSTeK model: X7400PC v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required> uuid: <superuser required>
    UEFI: American Megatrends LLC. v: X7400PC.300 date: 02/25/2022
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 38.8 Wh (100.0%) condition: 38.8/63.0 Wh (61.6%) volts: 12.0 min: 12.0
    model: ASUSTeK ASUS Battery type: Li-ion serial: N/A status: not charging cycles: 339
CPU:
  Info: model: 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11370H bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Tiger Lake gen: core 11
    level: v4 note: check built: 2020 process: Intel 10nm family: 6 model-id: 0x8C (140) stepping: 1
    microcode: 0xBC
  Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 cores: 4 threads: 8 tpc: 2 smt: enabled cache: L1: 320 KiB
    desc: d-4x48 KiB; i-4x32 KiB L2: 5 MiB desc: 4x1.2 MiB L3: 12 MiB desc: 1x12 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 864 min/max: 400/4800 scaling: driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave
    cores: 1: 864 2: 864 3: 864 4: 864 5: 864 6: 864 7: 864 8: 864 bogomips: 52856
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling mitigation: Microcode
  Type: indirect_target_selection mitigation: Aligned branch/return thunks
  Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected
  Type: l1tf status: Not affected
  Type: mds status: Not affected
  Type: meltdown status: Not affected
  Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected
  Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed status: Not affected
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl and seccomp
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 status: Vulnerable: eIBRS with unprivileged eBPF
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsa status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel TigerLake-LP GT2 [Iris Xe Graphics] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915 v: kernel
    arch: Xe process: Intel 10nm built: 2020-21 ports: active: eDP-1 empty: DP-1,DP-2,HDMI-A-1
    bus-ID: 0000:00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:9a49 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: NVIDIA GA107M [GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: nvidia v: 575.64.03
    alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm non-free: 550-570.xx+ status: current (as of 2025-04;
    EOL~2026-12-xx) arch: Ampere code: GAxxx process: TSMC n7 (7nm) built: 2020-2023
    bus-ID: 0000:01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:25a2 class-ID: 0302
  Device-3: IMC Networks USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 3-6:2 chip-ID: 13d3:5458 class-ID: fe01
    serial: <filter>
  Display: unspecified server: X.org v: 1.21.1.18 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.8 driver: X:
    loaded: modesetting,nvidia unloaded: nouveau alternate: fbdev,nv,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915
    tty: 180x56
  Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: Samsung 0x4154 built: 2020 res: 2880x1800 dpi: 242 gamma: 1.2
    size: 302x189mm (11.89x7.44") diag: 356mm (14") ratio: 16:10 modes: 2880x1800
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris drv: nvidia platforms: device: 0 drv: nvidia device: 2
    drv: iris device: 3 drv: swrast gbm: drv: nvidia surfaceless: drv: nvidia
    inactive: wayland,x11,device-1
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: mesa v: 25.1.5-arch1.1 note: console (EGL sourced)
    renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU/PCIe/SSE2, Mesa Intel Iris Xe Graphics (TGL GT2),
    llvmpipe (LLVM 20.1.7 256 bits)
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.313 layers: 7 device: 0 type: discrete-gpu name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
    Laptop GPU driver: nvidia v: 575.64.03 device-ID: 10de:25a2 surfaces: N/A device: 1
    type: integrated-gpu name: Intel Iris Xe Graphics (TGL GT2) driver: mesa intel
    v: 25.1.5-arch1.1 device-ID: 8086:9a49 surfaces: N/A
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor
    gpu: nvidia-smi wl: wayland-info x11: xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Tiger Lake-LP Smart Sound Audio vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    alternate: snd_sof_pci_intel_tgl bus-ID: 0000:00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:a0c8 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k5.15.188-1-MANJARO status: kernel-api with: aoss type: oss-emulator
    tools: alsactl,alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.4.6 status: off with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: off
    2: pipewire-media-session status: off 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel bus-ID: 0000:00:14.3 chip-ID: 8086:a0f0
    class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlo1 state: up mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-1: br-2fabad6af8c1 state: up speed: 10000 Mbps duplex: unknown mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-2: br-5a2751939670 state: down mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-3: br-66479179b3dc state: down mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-4: br-d444f8f228c2 state: down mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-5: br-fb87eeabdc87 state: down mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-6: docker0 state: down mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-7: outline-tun0 state: down mac: N/A
  IF-ID-8: tailscale0 state: unknown speed: -1 duplex: full mac: N/A
  IF-ID-9: vetheaaebf7 state: up speed: 10000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  Info: services: mld, NetworkManager, wpa_supplicant
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel AX201 Bluetooth driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1
    mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 3-10:5 chip-ID: 8087:0026 class-ID: e001
  Report: rfkill ID: hci0 rfk-id: 0 state: up address: see --recommends
RAID:
  Hardware-1: Intel Volume Management Device NVMe RAID Controller driver: vmd v: 0.6 port: N/A
    bus-ID: 0000:00:0e.0 chip-ID: 8086:9a0b rev: class-ID: 0104
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 953.87 GiB used: 514.47 GiB (53.9%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: SK Hynix model: HFM001TD3JX013N size: 953.87 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter>
    fw-rev: 41000C20 temp: 36.9 C scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 733.84 GiB size: 721.25 GiB (98.29%) used: 514.42 GiB (71.3%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%) used: 46.4 MiB (15.5%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 maj-min: 259:1
Swap:
  Alert: No swap data was found.
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 51.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Repos:
  Packages: 2677 pm: pacman pkgs: 2626 libs: 540 tools: pamac pm: flatpak pkgs: 37 pm: snap
    pkgs: 14
  Active pacman repo servers in: /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
    1: http://ftp.snt.utwente.nl/pub/linux/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    2: https://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/repo.manjaro.org/repos/stable/$repo/$arch
    3: https://ask4.mm.fcix.net/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    4: https://coresite.mm.fcix.net/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    5: https://mirror.alpix.eu/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    6: https://nnenix.mm.fcix.net/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    7: https://mnvoip.mm.fcix.net/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    8: https://edgeuno-bog2.mm.fcix.net/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
Info:
  Memory: total: 16 GiB note: est. available: 15.33 GiB used: 1.65 GiB (10.8%)
  Processes: 227 Power: uptime: 0m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: s2idle avail: deep
    wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot, suspend, test_resume image: 6.12 GiB
    Init: systemd v: 257 default: graphical tool: systemctl
  Compilers: clang: 20.1.7 gcc: 15.1.1 alt: 13/14 Shell: fish (login) v: 4.0.2 running-in: tty 3
    inxi: 3.3.38

Log of sddm

● sddm.service - Simple Desktop Display Manager
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/sddm.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
     Active: active (running) since Sat 2025-07-19 11:02:40 MSK; 3min 24s ago
 Invocation: add8c2a3d3f54088b3773a0dd09a2dc0
       Docs: man:sddm(1)
             man:sddm.conf(5)
   Main PID: 965 (sddm)
      Tasks: 8 (limit: 18621)
     Memory: 189.8M (peak: 191.6M)
        CPU: 302ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/sddm.service
             ├─ 965 /usr/bin/sddm
             └─1033 /usr/lib/Xorg -nolisten tcp -background none -seat seat0 vt2 -auth /run/sddm/xauth_tqWmGi -noreset -displayfd 16

июл 19 11:02:40 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc systemd[1]: Started Simple Desktop Display Manager.
июл 19 11:02:40 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Initializing...
июл 19 11:02:40 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Starting...
июл 19 11:02:40 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Logind interface found
июл 19 11:02:40 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Adding new display...
июл 19 11:02:40 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Loaded empty theme configuration
июл 19 11:02:40 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Xauthority path: "/run/sddm/xauth_tqWmGi"
июл 19 11:02:40 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Using VT 2
июл 19 11:02:40 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Display server starting...
июл 19 11:02:40 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Writing cookie to "/run/sddm/xauth_tqWmGi"
июл 19 11:02:40 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Running: /usr/bin/X -nolisten tcp -background none -seat seat0 vt2 -auth /run/sddm/xauth_tqWmGi -noreset -displayfd 16
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Setting default cursor
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Running display setup script  "/usr/share/sddm/scripts/Xsetup"
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Display server started.
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Reading from "/usr/share/xsessions/plasma.desktop"
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Session "/usr/share/xsessions/plasma.desktop" selected, command: "/usr/bin/startplasma-x11" for VT 2
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: [PAM] Starting...
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: [PAM] Authenticating...
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: gkr-pam: no password is available for user
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: pam_kwallet5(sddm-autologin:auth): pam_kwallet5: pam_sm_authenticate
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: [PAM] Preparing to converse...
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: pam_kwallet5(sddm-autologin:auth): pam_kwallet5: Couldn't get password (it is empty)
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: [PAM] Conversation with 1 messages
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: pam_kwallet5(sddm-autologin:auth): pam_kwallet5: Empty or missing password, doing nothing
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: [PAM] returning.
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Authentication for user  "samoed"  successful
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: pam_kwallet5(sddm-autologin:setcred): pam_kwallet5: pam_sm_setcred
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: pam_unix(sddm-autologin:session): session opened for user samoed(uid=1000) by samoed(uid=0)
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: Writing cookie to "/tmp/xauth_cZAWHF"
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: Starting X11 session: "" "/usr/share/sddm/scripts/Xsession \"/usr/bin/startplasma-x11\""
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Session started true
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: [PAM] Closing session
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: pam_unix(sddm-autologin:session): session closed for user samoed
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: pam_kwallet5(sddm-autologin:setcred): pam_kwallet5: pam_sm_setcred
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm-helper[1106]: [PAM] Ended.
июл 19 11:02:41 samoed-vivobookasuslaptopx7400pcn7400pc sddm[965]: Auth: sddm-helper exited with 1

Similar problem after update KDE flashes up 2 times them the screen just has the mouse pointer & the app that autostarts?

[Hipster]

A couple of others have had the same issue or very similar. Boot into the system. When it is loaded go to the tyy Update with
sudo pacman -Syu linux615-nvidia-open nvidia-settings
I have 615 kernel so change that to yours,
That should get you going again.

Have a look here

[Stable Update] 2025-07-12 - Kernels, Systemd, GNOME, NVIDIA, Plasma, Firefox, VLC splits

Don’t know what’s going on here. Did the update. All went OK no error. Upon rebooting it now takes a bit longer. The taskbar shows up then disappears. I’m left with a system with no taskbar , has a mouse but does not work well & conky has lost its background. Not sure if this was an issues before the update but the terminal screenfetch under resolution says I have no x server & no WM. I’ve used timeshift to get back in. Where to from here? I switched kernels but no change. I have a nvidia card…

& here

Black screen with mouse cursor after update

Hi - I got a notification (in gui) that packages needed updating. I accepted the defaults and let the update complete. When I rebooted, instead of the Plasma login screen I got a black screen with the gui mouse cursor and nothing else. I bounced out to a terminal and tried running “startx” , this just opened another full black screen with a gui mouse cursor. Let me know what you think I should try. Here are some outputs from inxi and dmesg inxi: System: Kernel: 6.15.6-1-MANJARO arch: x8…

[samoed]

Thanks for suggestion! I tried to install linux515-nvidia-open, but this didn’t solve my problem.

[philm]

Solution: update mesa to at least 25.1.6.

[samoed]

I upgraded packages (including mesa to 25.1.6) with pacman -Syu , but this didn’t help

[philm]

Then I dont know. Can be widgets or other things as well.

[Hipster]

Did you do nvidia-settings as well?

[samoed]

Yes

Name                  : linux515-nvidia-open
Version               : 575.64.03-4
Description           : NVIDIA open kernel modules for linux515
URL                   : https://www.nvidia.com/
Licenses              : MIT AND GPL-2.0-only
Repository            : extra
Installed Size        : 7,8 MB
Groups                : linux515-extramodules
Depends On            : linux515 nvidia-utils=575.64.03 libglvnd
Optional Dependencies : --
Required By           : --
Optional For          : --
Provides              : nvidia=575.64.03 NVIDIA-MODULE
Replaces              : --
Conflicts With        : linux515-nvidia
Packager              : Manjaro Build Server <build@manjaro.org>
Build Date            : Пт 18 июл 2025 01:30:59
Install Date          : Вс 20 июл 2025 20:52:47
Install Reason        : Explicitly installed
Validated By          : Signature
Backup files          : --

Name                  : nvidia-settings
Version               : 575.64.03-1
Description           : Tool for configuring the NVIDIA graphics driver
URL                   : http://www.nvidia.com/
Licenses              : LicenseRef-custom
Repository            : extra
Installed Size        : 1,8 MB
Groups                : --
Depends On            : nvidia-utils gtk3
Optional Dependencies : --
Required By           : --
Optional For          : nvidia-utils
Provides              : --
Replaces              : --
Conflicts With        : --
Packager              : Mark Wagie <mark@manjaro.org>
Build Date            : Вт 01 июл 2025 18:49:47
Install Date          : Вс 20 июл 2025 12:03:17
Install Reason        : Explicitly installed
Validated By          : Signature
Backup files          : --

Name                  : mesa
Version               : 1:25.1.6-1
Description           : Open-source OpenGL drivers
URL                   : https://www.mesa3d.org/
Licenses              : MIT AND BSD-3-Clause AND SGI-B-2.0
Repository            : extra
Installed Size        : 42,8 MB
Groups                : --
Depends On            : expat gcc-libs glibc libdrm libelf libglvnd libx11
                        libxcb libxext libxshmfence libxxf86vm llvm-libs
                        lm_sensors spirv-tools wayland zlib zstd
Optional Dependencies : opengl-man-pages: for the OpenGL API man pages
Required By           : cogl egl-gbm egl-x11 gst-plugins-bad-libs
                        gst-plugins-base-libs kpipewire kwin lib32-mesa
                        libglvnd mhwd microsoft-edge-stable-bin mpv mutter
                        qt5-base qt6-base qt6-webengine slop webkit2gtk
                        webkit2gtk-4.1 webkitgtk-6.0 xf86-video-amdgpu
                        xf86-video-ati xf86-video-intel xf86-video-nouveau
                        xorg-xwayland zoom
Optional For          : jellyfin-ffmpeg libva libvdpau obs-studio tigervnc
                        vlc-plugins-video-output
Provides              : libva-mesa-driver=1:25.1.6-1 mesa-libgl=1:25.1.6-1
                        mesa-vdpau=1:25.1.6-1 libva-driver opengl-driver
                        vdpau-driver
Replaces              : libva-mesa-driver<1:24.2.7-1 mesa-libgl<17.0.1-2
                        mesa-vdpau<1:24.2.7-1
Conflicts With        : libva-mesa-driver<1:24.2.7-1 mesa-libgl<17.0.1-2
                        mesa-vdpau<1:24.2.7-1
Packager              : Jan Alexander Steffens (heftig) <heftig@archlinux.org>
Build Date            : Ср 16 июл 2025 20:59:09
Install Date          : Вс 20 июл 2025 20:52:38
Install Reason        : Installed as a dependency for another package
Validated By          : Signature
Backup files          : --

[Edward78]

Happened to me too, KDE flashed up, maybe a sec (didn’t count), then off & on againm then black screenwith mouse. The curser was up, psensors was up. I could drag the window around that is it. No error or log sorry. Had to reinstall. Kernel 6.12.39-1
I need another update, but not wanting this to happen again.

[robbie-hatley]

I had the same problem, so I tried your solution, and it worked! Thanks!

More specifically, on reaching the black screen with the “_” mark in the upper-left, I typed Ctrl-Alt-F3 to get into TTY3, then I logged in as root, then I typed the following:

pacman -Syu linux66-nvidia-open linux612-nvidia-open linux615-nvidia-open nvidia-settings

After that completed, I used “systemctl poweroff” to power-down, then on starting the machine, the GUI Linux login screen appeared, and on logging in, the desktop came up normally.

Oddly, of the 3 computers I ran this upgrade on, only one of them had this issue. Maybe it’s because the problem computer uses nvidia graphics? Of the other two computers, one uses ATE graphics and the other use intel graphics.

[Aragorn]

@robbie-hatley

Oddly, of the 3 computers I ran this upgrade on, only one of them had this issue. Maybe it’s because the problem computer uses nvidia graphics?

Nvidia is and will always be the problem child. They refuse to fully open up their drivers — the so-called -open drivers only use Open Source components for interfacing with the kernel, but the driver code itself is still a proprietary binary blob.

[Edward78]

I am wondering if it is ok to update, I am using open source since reintsll? The Package Manager is not red, even though it says Updates are there. Wonder why? It sucks Intel is having triymble I was waiting for the Battlemage 7xxs.