Switching refresh rate

I just managed to finally upgrade my display drivers without borking my system, but now another issue has come up: I have a 144Hz monitor that I could use fully with the previous drivers (Nvidia 440xx). But if I now try to switch refresh rate from the standard 60Hz the screen goes black and says ‘No signal’. I can’t press ‘Confirm changes’, of course, so the screen reverts to the previous setting (60Hz) and it starts working again.

Could someone help me?

Since you use XFCE, just check or remove the file:
~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/displays.xml

It will regenerate after reboot with the correct values.
Also, did you manually tweaked /etc/X11/mhwd.d/nvidia.conf - can we see the content of it ?

Thanks for your usual prompt presence, Bogdan. Please see under.

# nvidia-xconfig:  version 440.82

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Files"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Mouse0"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "Protocol" "auto"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Keyboard0"
    Driver         "kbd"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Unknown"
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
	Option "NoLogo" "1"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
    Option         "COMPOSITE" "Enable"
EndSection

 
Section "InputClass"
    Identifier          "Keyboard Defaults"
    MatchIsKeyboard        "yes"
    Option              "XkbOptions" "terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp"
EndSection

EDIT: this is the output of /etc/X11/mhwd.d/nvidia.conf.nvidia-xconfig-original

Ok, that is indeed the default, but is important to know if the one used, aka nvidia.conf has something changed/custom. The goal is to make your displays to run at their native resolution and refresh rate.

No, I haven’t been messing around inside the file.

And removing the

didn’t helped either?
You need to reboot after you remove that file.

Oh, lol, okay. I’ll do it now then and check. Thanks :slight_smile:

Didn’t work :confused:

EDIT: but I notice the file says nvidia-xconfig: version 440.82

Ok, try this for the nvidia.conf

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Files"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Mouse0"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "Protocol" "auto"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Keyboard0"
    Driver         "kbd"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Unknown"
    VertRefresh     144.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    Option  "ConnectToAcpid"    "Off"
    Option "metamodes" "nvidia-auto-select +0+0 {ForceCompositionPipeline = On}
EndSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
    Option         "COMPOSITE" "Enable"
EndSection

 
Section "InputClass"
    Identifier          "Keyboard Defaults"
    MatchIsKeyboard        "yes"
    Option              "XkbOptions" "terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp"
EndSection

then reboot once you modify it.

Didn’t work either.

Can you please open Nvidia X Server Settings and see if the 144Hz is available for that Monitor, and if is, set it and see how that config is written, share it here, then we can append it to the nvidia.conf
You can create a fixed layout too, for each port and Monitor.
Also the XFCE Display Settings should give you some options … but i can’t test right now.

Hmmm… maybe x server is the culprit. It appears to be installed, but it won’t open :question::question::question:

Open up Terminal and run this command:
nvidia-settings
What do you get?

1 Like

Surprise!

✘ zeno@linux-desktop  ~  nvidia-settings 

ERROR: NVIDIA driver is not loaded


ERROR: Unable to load info from any available system

Ok, we start from zero then :slight_smile:
inxi -Fxza --no-host
mhwd -li
cat /etc/modprobe.d/mhwd-gpu.conf
cat /etc/modules-load.d/mhwd-gpu.conf
cat /etc/X11/mhwd.d/nvidia.conf

1 Like
 zeno@linux-desktop  ~  sudo mousepad /etc/X11/mhwd.d/nvidia.conf.nvidia-xconfig-original
[sudo] password for zeno: 
 zeno@linux-desktop  ~  inxi -Fxza --no-host
System:    Kernel: 5.8.6-1-MANJARO x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A 
           parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.8-x86_64 root=UUID=a95e2a41-0994-4bfd-a4ac-fbffb27f2236 rw quiet apparmor=1 
           security=apparmor resume=UUID=a2d8244b-5073-464f-94e7-ca19d033980e udev.log_priority=3 
           Desktop: Xfce 4.14.2 tk: Gtk 3.24.20 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm4 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Manjaro Linux 
Machine:   Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: ROG STRIX B360-F GAMING v: Rev 1.xx serial: <filter> UEFI: American Megatrends 
           v: 1901 date: 02/20/2020 
CPU:       Topology: 8-Core model: Intel Core i7-9700F bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Kaby Lake family: 6 model-id: 9E (158) 
           stepping: D (13) microcode: D6 L2 cache: 12.0 MiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 48016 
           Speed: 800 MHz min/max: 800/4700 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 5: 800 6: 800 7: 800 8: 800 
           Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled 
           Type: l1tf status: Not affected 
           Type: mds status: Not affected 
           Type: meltdown 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 mitigation: Enhanced IBRS, IBPB: conditional, RSB filling 
           Type: srbds mitigation: TSX disabled 
           Type: tsx_async_abort mitigation: TSX disabled 
Graphics:  Device-1: NVIDIA TU104 [GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: nouveau v: kernel 
           alternate: nvidia_drm,nvidia bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1e81 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: modesetting alternate: fbdev,nouveau,nv,vesa display ID: :0.0 screens: 1 
           Screen-1: 0 s-res: 2560x1440 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 677x381mm (26.7x15.0") s-diag: 777mm (30.6") 
           Monitor-1: DP-1 res: 2560x1440 hz: 60 dpi: 109 size: 597x336mm (23.5x13.2") diag: 685mm (27") 
           OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 10.0.1 256 bits) v: 3.3 Mesa 20.1.7 compat-v: 3.1 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
           alternate: snd_soc_skl,snd_sof_pci bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:a348 
           Device-2: NVIDIA TU104 HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 chip ID: 10de:10f8 
           Device-3: Corsair Corsair VOID PRO USB Gaming Headset type: USB driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid 
           bus ID: 1-8:4 chip ID: 1b1c:0a1d serial: <filter> 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.8.6-1-MANJARO 
Network:   Device-1: Intel Ethernet I219-V vendor: ASUSTeK driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k port: efa0 bus ID: 00:1f.6 
           chip ID: 8086:15bc 
           IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 262.70 GiB used: 158.68 GiB (60.4%) 
           SMART Message: Required tool smartctl not installed. Check --recommends 
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Kingston model: SA2000M81000G size: 931.51 GiB block size: physical: 512 B 
           logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 serial: <filter> rev: S5Z42102 scheme: GPT 
           ID-2: /dev/nvme1n1 vendor: Kingston model: SA2000M8250G size: 232.89 GiB block size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B 
           speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 serial: <filter> rev: S5Z42102 scheme: GPT 
           ID-3: /dev/sda type: USB vendor: SanDisk model: Cruzer Glide size: 29.82 GiB block size: physical: 512 B 
           logical: 512 B serial: <filter> rev: 2.01 scheme: MBR 
Partition: ID-1: / raw size: 914.10 GiB size: 898.75 GiB (98.32%) used: 158.68 GiB (17.7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Swap:      Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache pressure: 100 (default) 
           ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 17.12 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p3 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 27.8 C mobo: N/A gpu: nouveau temp: 55 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nouveau fan: 0 
Info:      Processes: 227 Uptime: 10m Memory: 15.56 GiB used: 1.46 GiB (9.4%) Init: systemd v: 246 Compilers: gcc: 10.2.0 
           alt: 9 Packages: 1306 pacman: 1285 lib: 368 flatpak: 21 Shell: Zsh v: 5.8 running in: xfce4-terminal inxi: 3.1.05 
 zeno@linux-desktop  ~  mhwd -li
> Installed PCI configs:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  NAME               VERSION          FREEDRIVER           TYPE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    video-nvidia-450xx            2019.10.25               false            PCI


Warning: No installed USB configs!
 zeno@linux-desktop  ~  cat /etc/modprobe.d/mhwd-gpu.conf
##
## Generated by mhwd - Manjaro Hardware Detection
##
 
 zeno@linux-desktop  ~  cat /etc/modules-load.d/mhwd-gpu.conf
##
## Generated by mhwd - Manjaro Hardware Detection
##
 
 zeno@linux-desktop  ~  cat /etc/X11/mhwd.d/nvidia.conf
cat: /etc/X11/mhwd.d/nvidia.conf: No such file or directory
 ✘ zeno@linux-desktop  ~  

EDIT: I see that I am using the nouveau driver, so I’m guessing something went wrong during the installation of the new drivers.

This is not in use by anything. Is a backup file. I’m not interested in it for now. Is good to have it there, but is not for our purpose now. :slight_smile:

yes, that is what the system uses now

That is why i asked for the other files and outputs.
Try to install the driver, and redo what we mentioned so far. It should work.

Did all of it and still it doesn’t work :sweat: :sweat:

 ✘ zeno@linux-desktop  ~  inxi -Fxza --no-host
System:
  Kernel: 5.8.6-1-MANJARO x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A 
  parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.8-x86_64 
  root=UUID=a95e2a41-0994-4bfd-a4ac-fbffb27f2236 rw quiet apparmor=1 
  security=apparmor resume=UUID=a2d8244b-5073-464f-94e7-ca19d033980e 
  udev.log_priority=3 
  Desktop: Xfce 4.14.2 tk: Gtk 3.24.20 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm4 
  dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Manjaro Linux 
Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: ROG STRIX B360-F GAMING v: Rev 1.xx 
  serial: <filter> UEFI: American Megatrends v: 1901 date: 02/20/2020 
CPU:
  Topology: 8-Core model: Intel Core i7-9700F bits: 64 type: MCP 
  arch: Kaby Lake family: 6 model-id: 9E (158) stepping: D (13) 
  microcode: D6 L2 cache: 12.0 MiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx 
  bogomips: 48016 
  Speed: 800 MHz min/max: 800/4700 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 800 2: 800 
  3: 800 4: 800 5: 800 6: 800 7: 800 8: 800 
  Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled 
  Type: l1tf status: Not affected 
  Type: mds status: Not affected 
  Type: meltdown 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 mitigation: Enhanced IBRS, IBPB: conditional, RSB filling 
  Type: srbds mitigation: TSX disabled 
  Type: tsx_async_abort mitigation: TSX disabled 
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA TU104 [GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER] vendor: ASUSTeK 
  driver: nvidia v: 450.66 alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm bus ID: 01:00.0 
  chip ID: 10de:1e81 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: nvidia display ID: :0.0 
  screens: 1 
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 2560x1440 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 677x381mm (26.7x15.0") 
  s-diag: 777mm (30.6") 
  Monitor-1: DP-2 res: 2560x1440 hz: 60 dpi: 109 
  size: 597x336mm (23.5x13.2") diag: 685mm (27") 
  OpenGL: renderer: GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 450.66 
  direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_skl,snd_sof_pci bus ID: 00:1f.3 
  chip ID: 8086:a348 
  Device-2: NVIDIA TU104 HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 chip ID: 10de:10f8 
  Device-3: Corsair Corsair VOID PRO USB Gaming Headset type: USB 
  driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid bus ID: 1-8:4 chip ID: 1b1c:0a1d 
  serial: <filter> 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.8.6-1-MANJARO 
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Ethernet I219-V vendor: ASUSTeK driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k 
  port: efa0 bus ID: 00:1f.6 chip ID: 8086:15bc 
  IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 961.33 GiB used: 159.48 GiB (16.6%) 
  SMART Message: Required tool smartctl not installed. Check --recommends 
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Kingston model: SA2000M81000G size: 931.51 GiB 
  block size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 
  serial: <filter> rev: S5Z42102 scheme: GPT 
  ID-2: /dev/nvme1n1 vendor: Kingston model: SA2000M8250G size: 232.89 GiB 
  block size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 
  serial: <filter> rev: S5Z42102 scheme: GPT 
  ID-3: /dev/sda type: USB vendor: SanDisk model: Cruzer Glide 
  size: 29.82 GiB block size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B 
  serial: <filter> rev: 2.01 
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw size: 914.10 GiB size: 898.75 GiB (98.32%) 
  used: 159.48 GiB (17.7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache pressure: 100 (default) 
  ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 17.12 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) 
  priority: -2 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p3 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 27.8 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 47 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 0% 
Info:
  Processes: 247 Uptime: 2m Memory: 15.56 GiB used: 668.9 MiB (4.2%) 
  Init: systemd v: 246 Compilers: gcc: 10.2.0 alt: 9 Packages: 1310 
  pacman: 1287 lib: 368 flatpak: 23 Shell: Zsh v: 5.8 
  running in: xfce4-terminal inxi: 3.1.05 
 zeno@linux-desktop  ~  

Don’t forget to share this tho:

Here is mhwd -li:

 zeno@linux-desktop  ~  mhwd -li
> Installed PCI configs:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  NAME               VERSION          FREEDRIVER           TYPE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    video-nvidia-450xx            2019.10.25               false            PCI


Warning: No installed USB configs!

Here is cat /etc/modprobe.d/mhwd-gpu.conf

 zeno@linux-desktop  ~  cat /etc/modprobe.d/mhwd-gpu.conf        
##
## Generated by mhwd - Manjaro Hardware Detection
##
 
blacklist nouveau
blacklist ttm
blacklist drm_kms_helper
blacklist drm

Here is cat /etc/modules-load.d/mhwd-gpu.conf

 zeno@linux-desktop  ~  cat /etc/modules-load.d/mhwd-gpu.conf
##
## Generated by mhwd - Manjaro Hardware Detection
##
 
nvidia
nvidia-drm

Here is cat /etc/X11/mhwd.d/nvidia.conf

 zeno@linux-desktop  ~  cat /etc/X11/mhwd.d/nvidia.conf
# nvidia-xconfig: X configuration file generated by nvidia-xconfig
# nvidia-xconfig:  version 450.66

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Files"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Mouse0"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "Protocol" "auto"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Keyboard0"
    Driver         "kbd"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Unknown"
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
	Option "NoLogo" "1"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
    Option         "COMPOSITE" "Enable"
EndSection

 
Section "InputClass"
    Identifier          "Keyboard Defaults"
    MatchIsKeyboard        "yes"
    Option              "XkbOptions" "terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp"
EndSection

EDIT: now x server works, too.