KDE Multi-Monitor Setup Resets Every Startup

Title says all. No matter the settings I change or keep, KDE constantly changes my multi-monitor setup.

I normally have them in this configuration:

  • Artist15.6Pro (left)
  • ASUSTek COMPUTER INC MG248 (middle)
  • ASUSTek COMPUTER INC VG245 (right)

This is the setup when I reboot or boot:

  • Artist15.6Pro (right)
  • ASUSTek COMPUTER INC MG248 (left)
  • ASUSTek COMPUTER INC VG245 (middle)

Outside of changing the display configuration, the only other way to revert to my original setup is by unplugging and plugging the Artist15.6Pro in.

Here’s my system info:

System:
  Kernel: 5.15.65-1-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.15-x86_64
    root=UUID=df133989-f97d-4f2d-9c57-94c7e99fe388 rw quiet
    udev.log_priority=3 threadirqs amdgpu.ppfeaturemask=0xffffffff
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.25.5 tk: Qt v: 5.15.5 info: latte-dock
    wm: kwin_x11 vt: 1 dm: SDDM Distro: Manjaro Linux base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: Micro-Star model: B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC (MS-7B85)
    v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American Megatrends v: 1.C0
    date: 06/11/2020
Battery:
  Message: No system battery data found. Is one present?
Memory:
  RAM: total: 15.57 GiB used: 5.2 GiB (33.4%)
  RAM Report: permissions: Unable to run dmidecode. Root privileges
    required.
CPU:
  Info: model: AMD Ryzen 7 1700X bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen level: v3
    built: 2017-19 process: GF 14nm family: 0x17 (23) model-id: 1 stepping: 1
    microcode: 0x8001138
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 8 tpc: 2 threads: 16 smt: enabled cache:
    L1: 768 KiB desc: d-8x32 KiB; i-8x64 KiB L2: 4 MiB desc: 8x512 KiB
    L3: 16 MiB desc: 2x8 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 2779 high: 3394 min/max: 2200/3400 boost: enabled
    scaling: driver: acpi-cpufreq governor: schedutil cores: 1: 3183 2: 3122
    3: 3018 4: 3292 5: 2461 6: 3333 7: 1817 8: 1924 9: 3394 10: 3258 11: 3204
    12: 3159 13: 2341 14: 3374 15: 1795 16: 1804 bogomips: 108841
  Flags: 3dnowprefetch abm adx aes aperfmperf apic arat avic avx avx2 bmi1
    bmi2 bpext clflush clflushopt clzero cmov cmp_legacy constant_tsc cpb
    cpuid cr8_legacy cx16 cx8 de decodeassists extapic extd_apicid f16c
    flushbyasid fma fpu fsgsbase fxsr fxsr_opt ht hw_pstate ibpb irperf
    lahf_lm lbrv lm mca mce misalignsse mmx mmxext monitor movbe msr mtrr
    mwaitx nonstop_tsc nopl npt nrip_save nx osvw overflow_recov pae pat
    pausefilter pclmulqdq pdpe1gb perfctr_core perfctr_llc perfctr_nb
    pfthreshold pge pni popcnt pse pse36 rapl rdrand rdseed rdtscp rep_good
    sep sev sha_ni skinit smap smca sme smep ssbd sse sse2 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a
    ssse3 succor svm svm_lock syscall tce topoext tsc tsc_scale
    v_vmsave_vmload vgif vmcb_clean vme vmmcall wdt xgetbv1 xsave xsavec
    xsaveerptr xsaveopt xsaves
  Vulnerabilities:
  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: retbleed mitigation: untrained return thunk; SMT vulnerable
  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: Retpolines, IBPB: conditional, STIBP:
    disabled, RSB filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Ellesmere [Radeon RX 470/480/570/570X/580/580X/590]
    vendor: Sapphire Nitro+ driver: amdgpu v: kernel arch: GCN-4
    code: Arctic Islands process: GF 14nm built: 2016-20 pcie: gen: 3
    speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 ports: active: DP-1,HDMI-A-1,HDMI-A-2
    empty: DP-2,DVI-D-1 bus-ID: 26:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:67df class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: Logitech Webcam C110 type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo
    bus-ID: 1-2.4:6 chip-ID: 046d:0829 class-ID: 0102
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.4 with: Xwayland v: 22.1.3
    compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X: loaded: amdgpu unloaded: modesetting
    alternate: fbdev,vesa gpu: amdgpu display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 5760x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 1524x285mm (60.00x11.22")
    s-diag: 1550mm (61.04")
  Monitor-1: DP-1 mapped: DisplayPort-0 pos: primary,center model: MG248
    serial: <filter> built: 2020 res: 1920x1080 dpi: 92 gamma: 1.2
    size: 531x299mm (20.91x11.77") diag: 609mm (24") ratio: 16:9 modes:
    max: 1920x1080 min: 720x400
  Monitor-2: HDMI-A-1 mapped: HDMI-A-0 pos: right model: VG245
    serial: <filter> built: 2018 res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 92 gamma: 1.2
    size: 531x299mm (20.91x11.77") diag: 609mm (24") ratio: 16:9 modes:
    max: 1920x1080 min: 720x400
  Monitor-3: HDMI-A-2 mapped: HDMI-A-1 pos: primary,left
    model: Artisr15.6Pro serial: <filter> built: 2019 res: 1920x1080 hz: 60
    dpi: 142 gamma: 1.2 size: 344x193mm (13.54x7.6") diag: 394mm (15.5")
    ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 1920x1080 min: 640x480
  OpenGL: renderer: AMD Radeon RX 580 Series (polaris10 LLVM 14.0.6 DRM 3.42
    5.15.65-1-MANJARO) v: 4.6 Mesa 22.1.7 direct render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: AMD Ellesmere HDMI Audio [Radeon RX 470/480 / 570/580/590]
    vendor: Sapphire driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 1-2.1:4 v: kernel pcie:
    chip-ID: 1235:801c class-ID: fe01 gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16
    bus-ID: 26:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:aaf0 class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: AMD Family 17h HD Audio vendor: Micro-Star MSI
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16
    bus-ID: 28:00.3 chip-ID: 1022:1457 class-ID: 0403
  Device-3: Focusrite-Novation Scarlett Solo USB type: USB
    driver: snd-usb-audio
  Device-4: Logitech Webcam C110 type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo
    bus-ID: 1-2.4:6 chip-ID: 046d:0829 class-ID: 0102
  Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.15.65-1-MANJARO running: yes
  Sound Server-2: sndio v: N/A running: no
  Sound Server-3: JACK v: 1.9.21 running: yes
  Sound Server-4: PulseAudio v: 16.1 running: yes
  Sound Server-5: PipeWire v: 0.3.57 running: yes
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Wireless-AC 9260 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel pcie: gen: 2
    speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 21:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:2526 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlo1 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Intel I211 Gigabit Network vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: igb
    v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: f000 bus-ID: 22:00.0
    chip-ID: 8086:1539 class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp34s0 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
  IF-ID-1: virbr1 state: down mac: <filter>
  IP v4: <filter> scope: global broadcast: <filter>
  WAN IP: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel Wireless-AC 9260 Bluetooth Adapter type: USB driver: btusb
    v: 0.8 bus-ID: 3-4:4 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: 9.57 TiB used: 374.06 GiB (3.8%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Western Digital
    model: WD10EZEX-08WN4A0 size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 4096 B
    logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter>
    rev: 1A02 scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 860 EVO 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/sdc maj-min: 8:32 type: USB vendor: HGST (Hitachi)
    model: HTS721010A9E630 size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 4096 B
    logical: 512 B type: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter> scheme: GPT
  SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
  ID-4: /dev/sde maj-min: 8:64 type: USB vendor: SanDisk model: Cruzer Blade
    size: 14.53 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: N/A
    serial: <filter> rev: 1.00
  SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
  ID-5: /dev/sdf maj-min: 8:80 type: USB vendor: Western Digital model: WD
    Elements 25A3 size: 7.28 TiB block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B
    type: N/A serial: <filter> rev: 1030 scheme: GPT
  Message: No optical or floppy data found.
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 465.46 GiB size: 457.09 GiB (98.20%) used: 374.06 GiB
    (81.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb2 maj-min: 8:18 label: N/A
    uuid: df133989-f97d-4f2d-9c57-94c7e99fe388
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%) used: 300 KiB
    (0.1%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sdb1 maj-min: 8:17 label: NO_LABEL
    uuid: 727E-DB89
Swap:
  Alert: No swap data was found.
Unmounted:
  ID-1: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1 size: 529 MiB fs: ntfs label: Recovery
    uuid: 447C11117C10FEFC
  ID-2: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2 size: 100 MiB fs: vfat label: N/A
    uuid: AE13-F8F5
  ID-3: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3 size: 16 MiB fs: <superuser required>
    label: N/A uuid: N/A
  ID-4: /dev/sda4 maj-min: 8:4 size: 930.88 GiB fs: ntfs label: N/A
    uuid: 5458181D5817FD04
  ID-5: /dev/sdc1 maj-min: 8:33 size: 128 MiB fs: <superuser required>
    label: N/A uuid: N/A
  ID-6: /dev/sdc2 maj-min: 8:34 size: 931.39 GiB fs: ntfs label: Clank
    uuid: 1E12108D12106BD1
  ID-7: /dev/sdf1 maj-min: 8:81 size: 7.28 TiB fs: ntfs label: Elements
    uuid: 1454C45554C43AEE
USB:
  Hub-1: 1-0:1 info: Hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 10 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s chip-ID: 1d6b:0002 class-ID: 0900
  Hub-2: 1-2:2 info: Genesys Logic Hub ports: 4 rev: 2.1 speed: 480 Mb/s
    power: 100mA chip-ID: 05e3:0610 class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 1-2.1:4 info: Focusrite-Novation Scarlett Solo USB type: Audio
    driver: snd-usb-audio interfaces: 4 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s power: 500mA
    chip-ID: 1235:801c class-ID: fe01
  Device-2: 1-2.4:6 info: Logitech Webcam C110 type: Video,Audio
    driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo interfaces: 4 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s
    power: 500mA chip-ID: 046d:0829 class-ID: 0102
  Device-3: 1-3:3 info: SanDisk Cruzer Blade type: Mass Storage
    driver: usb-storage interfaces: 1 rev: 2.1 speed: 480 Mb/s power: 224mA
    chip-ID: 0781:5567 class-ID: 0806 serial: <filter>
  Device-4: 1-4:5 info: Super Top microSD card reader (SY-T18)
    type: Mass Storage driver: usb-storage interfaces: 1 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s power: 100mA chip-ID: 14cd:1212 class-ID: 0806
    serial: <filter>
  Device-5: 1-8:7 info: Logitech G502 SE HERO Gaming Mouse type: Mouse,HID
    driver: hid-generic,usbhid interfaces: 2 rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s
    power: 300mA chip-ID: 046d:c08b class-ID: 0300 serial: <filter>
  Device-6: 1-9:8 info: Micro Star MSI GK50 LOW PROFILE Gaming Keyboard
    type: Keyboard,HID driver: hid-generic,usbhid interfaces: 3 rev: 2.0
    speed: 12 Mb/s power: 100mA chip-ID: 0db0:0b5a class-ID: 0300
  Hub-3: 2-0:1 info: Super-speed hub ports: 4 rev: 3.1 speed: 10 Gb/s
    chip-ID: 1d6b:0003 class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 2-1:2 info: SimpleTech G-DRIVE mobile USB-C type: Mass Storage
    driver: uas interfaces: 1 rev: 3.0 speed: 5 Gb/s power: 896mA
    chip-ID: 4971:8043 class-ID: 0806 serial: <filter>
  Hub-4: 2-2:3 info: Genesys Logic Hub ports: 4 rev: 3.1 speed: 5 Gb/s
    chip-ID: 05e3:0612 class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 2-2.2:4 info: Western Digital Elements Desktop (WDBWLG)
    type: Mass Storage driver: usb-storage interfaces: 1 rev: 3.1 speed: 5 Gb/s
    power: 8mA chip-ID: 1058:25a3 class-ID: 0806 serial: <filter>
  Hub-5: 3-0:1 info: Hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 4 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s chip-ID: 1d6b:0002 class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 3-1:5 info: XP-Pen 15.6 inch PenDisplay type: Mouse,HID
    driver: hid-generic,usbfs,usbhid interfaces: 3 rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s
    power: 70mA chip-ID: 28bd:090d class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: 3-3:3 info: Micro Star PRO CARBON type: HID
    driver: hid-generic,usbhid interfaces: 1 rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s
    power: 500mA chip-ID: 1462:7b85 class-ID: 0300 serial: <filter>
  Device-3: 3-4:4 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-6: 4-0:1 info: Super-speed hub ports: 4 rev: 3.0 speed: 5 Gb/s
    chip-ID: 1d6b:0003 class-ID: 0900
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 36.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 56.0 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: amdgpu fan: 2069
Info:
  Processes: 459 Uptime: 1h 9m wakeups: 0 Init: systemd v: 251
  default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 clang: 14.0.6
  Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1847 libs: 478 tools: octopi,pamac,yay Shell: Zsh
  v: 5.9 default: Bash v: 5.1.16 running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.21

The multi-monitor set-up in plasma is pretty fundamentally broken. Menus appear in the wrong place and display settings are randomly reset, often depending on the order in twhi in which monitors are ready. I just had a power outage this morning and the switch-over to the UPS causes the monitors to briefly hiccup, result: monitors swapped, windows scrambled, toolbars messed up. Took me 15 minutes to straighten stuff back out. Extremely frustrating. There are open issues, some fixed in future releases but overall the reaction seems very unprofessional.

Yeah, I have an annoying problem where my ArtistPro and VG245 will switch backgrounds and stuff if I leave the pc idle for too long; very annoying.

As for this current issue, looks like it solved itself, but I’m not putting any faith the issue is fully resolved yet.