Gnome doesn't load when HDMI Monitor is connected

Hello,
I have a laptop with a builtin screen. When I boot, everything works fine. When I boot and afterwards plug in a second monitor with an HDMI-cable, everything still works fine and as expected. However, when the monitor is already connected before Gnome starts running, then Gnome fails to load.
I have an Nvidia graphics card and an Intel CPU. I already installed optimus-manager and gdm-prime. I set it up to use the nvidia profile by default. I also made sure to run X11 instead of Wayland sessions.
I did all that in the past, when my secondary monitor wouldn’t work at all.
What I find especially strange about this problem is that it occurs, even when the second monitor isn’t connected to an electricity outlet.

Increase your chances of solving your issue:

Provide Information:

Thank you for just linking those two things. I don’t know if you meant it condescending, but it certainly comes across like it.
Anyways, about providing additional information: no, sadly I cannot do that. I don’t know which information about my system might be helpful in this situation, nor how to acquire it. I don’t know if there are log files or anything and if there are, I don’t know where they are located. I agree though that I could have written that in my first post.

These are links to tutorials on how to provide the needed information.

Please follow the links in my post, and you will get info about:

  • What info is desired
  • How to get this info
  • How to post it

This way anyone who might be able to help you can have a look at the infos, and decide what might help in your case :wink:

There are different DEs, graphic cards … Good to know before trying to help. There are about 10 different kernels arround …

I am sorry, but I couldn’t find which information is desired for this particular problem. I found the post about using inxi, so I can post the output of that, but I couldn’t find an “in case of problems with HDMI, please also provide…”.
So, the inxi output:

  Kernel: 5.10.89-1-MANJARO x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 11.1.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.10-x86_64
    root=UUID=c79f2610-2055-4434-9096-ead1b6a1a453 rw quiet splash apparmor=1
    security=apparmor resume=UUID=aba05aa6-0b44-4171-a6a0-0e0c651abe18
    udev.log_priority=3
  Desktop: GNOME 41.2 tk: GTK 3.24.31 wm: gnome-shell dm: GDM 41.0
    Distro: Manjaro Linux base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: TUXEDO product: TUXEDO v: N/A
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: Notebook type: 10
    serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: TUXEDO model: NH5x_7xEDx,RCx,RDx serial: <superuser required>
    UEFI: INSYDE v: 1.07.14RTR1 date: 10/08/2019
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 45.0 Wh (100.0%) condition: 45.0/48.0 Wh (93.6%)
    volts: 16.3 min: 14.4 model: Notebook BAT type: Li-ion serial: <filter>
    status: Full
Memory:
  RAM: total: 15.35 GiB used: 5.33 GiB (34.7%)
  RAM Report:
    permissions: Unable to run dmidecode. Root privileges required.
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i7-8750H bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Coffee Lake
    family: 6 model-id: 0x9E (158) stepping: 0xA (10) microcode: 0xEA
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 6 tpc: 2 threads: 12 smt: enabled cache:
    L1: 384 KiB desc: d-6x32 KiB; i-6x32 KiB L2: 1.5 MiB desc: 6x256 KiB
    L3: 9 MiB desc: 1x9 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 3908 high: 3998 min/max: 800/4100 scaling:
    driver: intel_pstate governor: performance cores: 1: 3983 2: 3989 3: 3997
    4: 3989 5: 3989 6: 3892 7: 3266 8: 3996 9: 3980 10: 3998 11: 3982 12: 3843
    bogomips: 52815
  Flags: 3dnowprefetch abm acpi adx aes aperfmperf apic arat arch_perfmon
    art avx avx2 bmi1 bmi2 bts clflush clflushopt cmov constant_tsc cpuid
    cpuid_fault cx16 cx8 de ds_cpl dtes64 dtherm dts epb ept ept_ad erms est
    f16c flexpriority flush_l1d fma fpu fsgsbase fxsr ht hwp hwp_act_window
    hwp_epp hwp_notify ibpb ibrs ida intel_pt invpcid invpcid_single lahf_lm
    lm mca mce md_clear mmx monitor movbe mpx msr mtrr nonstop_tsc nopl nx pae
    pat pbe pcid pclmulqdq pdcm pdpe1gb pebs pge pln pni popcnt pse pse36 pti
    pts rdrand rdseed rdtscp rep_good sdbg sep smap smep ss ssbd sse sse2
    sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 stibp syscall tm tm2 tpr_shadow tsc tsc_adjust
    tsc_deadline_timer vme vmx vnmi vpid x2apic xgetbv1 xsave xsavec xsaveopt
    xsaves xtopology xtpr
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
  Type: l1tf
    mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT vulnerable
  Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  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 mitigation: Full generic retpoline, IBPB: conditional,
    IBRS_FW, STIBP: conditional, RSB filling
  Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel CoffeeLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics 630] vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK
    driver: i915 v: kernel bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:3e9b class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: NVIDIA TU106M [GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile] vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK
    driver: nvidia v: 495.44 alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm bus-ID: 01:00.0
    chip-ID: 10de:1f11 class-ID: 0300
  Device-3: Acer BisonCam NB Pro type: USB driver: uvcvideo bus-ID: 1-8:6
    chip-ID: 5986:9102 class-ID: 0e02
  Display: x11 server: X.org 1.21.1.2 compositor: gnome-shell driver:
    loaded: modesetting,nvidia resolution: <missing: xdpyinfo>
  OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 495.44
    direct render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_skl,snd_sof_pci
    bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:a348 class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: NVIDIA TU106 High Definition Audio vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:10f9
    class-ID: 0403
  Device-3: Logitech G430 Surround Sound Gaming Headset type: USB
    driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid bus-ID: 1-2.3:7 chip-ID: 046d:0a4d
    class-ID: 0300
  Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.10.89-1-MANJARO running: yes
  Sound Server-2: JACK v: 1.9.19 running: no
  Sound Server-3: PulseAudio v: 15.0 running: yes
  Sound Server-4: PipeWire v: 0.3.42 running: no
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Wireless-AC 9260 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel bus-ID: 08:00.0
    chip-ID: 8086:2526 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlp8s0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
    vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 3000 bus-ID: 09:00.1
    chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp9s0f1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  IP v4: <filter> type: dynamic noprefixroute scope: global
    broadcast: <filter>
  IP v6: <filter> type: noprefixroute scope: link
  WAN IP: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel Wireless-AC 9260 Bluetooth Adapter type: USB driver: btusb
    v: 0.8 bus-ID: 1-14:8 chip-ID: 8087:0025 class-ID: e001
  Report: rfkill ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: see --recommends
Logical:
  Message: No logical block device data found.
RAID:
  Message: No RAID data found.
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 2.27 TiB used: 956.9 GiB (41.1%)
  SMART Message: Required tool smartctl not installed. Check --recommends
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: SanDisk model: Ultra 3D NVMe
    size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s
    lanes: 4 type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 211070WD temp: 36.9 C scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 860 EVO M.2 500GB
    size: 465.76 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
    type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 3B6Q scheme: GPT
  ID-3: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 850 EVO 1TB
    size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
    type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 2B6Q scheme: GPT
  Message: No optical or floppy data found.
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 166.02 GiB size: 162.41 GiB (97.83%)
    used: 80.6 GiB (49.6%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2
    label: N/A uuid: c79f2610-2055-4434-9096-ead1b6a1a453
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%)
    used: 292 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 maj-min: 259:1
    label: NO_LABEL uuid: E7E1-F0A6
  ID-3: /home/<filter>/Games raw-size: 748.32 GiB size: 735.51 GiB (98.29%)
    used: 620.76 GiB (84.4%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p4 maj-min: 259:4
    label: N/A uuid: 6c2d9636-97e6-4d9b-8e8b-85bfe27992d1
  ID-4: /home/<filter>/Lagerhaus raw-size: 667.79 GiB
    size: 667.79 GiB (100.00%) used: 167.74 GiB (25.1%) fs: ntfs dev: /dev/sdb5
    maj-min: 8:21 label: N/A uuid: 2ACB4A19349C1530
  ID-5: /run/timeshift/backup raw-size: 224.61 GiB size: 220.08 GiB (97.99%)
    used: 87.8 GiB (39.9%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb4 maj-min: 8:20 label: N/A
    uuid: 1bb9218c-3b73-4b4d-a8d4-25bde9862590
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 16.88 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%)
    priority: -2 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p3 maj-min: 259:3 label: swap
    uuid: aba05aa6-0b44-4171-a6a0-0e0c651abe18
Unmounted:
  ID-1: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1 size: 579 MiB fs: ntfs label: System-reserviert
    uuid: 084EAC684EAC4FEC
  ID-2: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2 size: 465.1 GiB fs: ntfs label: N/A
    uuid: 527EB0F97EB0D6C7
  ID-3: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3 size: 100 MiB fs: vfat label: N/A
    uuid: E489-3185
  ID-4: /dev/sdb1 maj-min: 8:17 size: 50 MiB fs: vfat label: N/A
    uuid: 55FB-ABE5
  ID-5: /dev/sdb2 maj-min: 8:18 size: 19.53 GiB fs: ext4 label: N/A
    uuid: 783c8b14-d941-43d5-a2b0-e35779587d88
  ID-6: /dev/sdb3 maj-min: 8:19 size: 19.53 GiB fs: vfat label: N/A
    uuid: CC2D-9A2C
USB:
  Hub-1: 1-0:1 info: Hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 16 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s chip-ID: 1d6b:0002 class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 1-1:2 info: Logitech F310 Gamepad [XInput Mode]
    type: <vendor specific> driver: xpad interfaces: 1 rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s
    power: 500mA chip-ID: 046d:c21d class-ID: ff00 serial: <filter>
  Hub-2: 1-2:3 info: Genesys Logic Hub ports: 4 rev: 2.1 speed: 480 Mb/s
    power: 100mA chip-ID: 05e3:0610 class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 1-2.1:5 info: SINOWEALTH Speedlink Sovos Gaming Mouse
    type: Mouse,Keyboard driver: hid-generic,usbhid interfaces: 2 rev: 1.1
    speed: 12 Mb/s power: 480mA chip-ID: 258a:0024 class-ID: 0301
  Device-2: 1-2.3:7 info: Logitech G430 Surround Sound Gaming Headset
    type: Audio,HID driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid interfaces: 4
    rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s power: 100mA chip-ID: 046d:0a4d class-ID: 0300
  Device-3: 1-2.4:15 info: Razer USA BlackWidow Tournament Edition Stealth
    type: Keyboard,Mouse driver: hid-generic,usbhid interfaces: 3 rev: 2.0
    speed: 12 Mb/s power: 100mA chip-ID: 1532:011c class-ID: 0300
  Device-4: 1-3:4 info: Chrontel Billboard type: Billboard driver: N/A
    interfaces: 1 rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s power: 200mA chip-ID: 0639:7213
    class-ID: 1100 serial: <filter>
  Device-5: 1-8:6 info: Acer BisonCam NB Pro type: Video driver: uvcvideo
    interfaces: 2 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s power: 500mA chip-ID: 5986:9102
    class-ID: 0e02
  Device-6: 1-14:8 info: Intel Wireless-AC 9260 Bluetooth Adapter
    type: Bluetooth driver: btusb interfaces: 2 rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s
    power: 100mA chip-ID: 8087:0025 class-ID: e001
  Hub-3: 2-0:1 info: Super-speed hub ports: 8 rev: 3.1 speed: 10 Gb/s
    chip-ID: 1d6b:0003 class-ID: 0900
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 61.0 C pch: 65.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia
    temp: 53 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Info:
  Processes: 347 Uptime: 10h 40m wakeups: 1 Init: systemd v: 250
  tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 11.1.0 Packages: 1551 pacman: 1538 lib: 466
  flatpak: 13 Shell: Zsh v: 5.8 running-in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.3.11

As for other additional information, as said I had other problem with Gnome, Nvidia and Optimus-Manager once, so I am currently suspecting that one. I followed the instructions for Gnome from this link. GitHub - Askannz/optimus-manager: A Linux program to handle GPU switching on Optimus laptops. So because I did that, I am not sure if that is actually the issue.