# Display prob - Gentoo on Dell inspiron 2650

## Ronen

When the computer is load, The console work fine, but when X loded and I try to switch to console with ctrl+alt+F1, I get black screen on my LCD and console screen on a CRT monitor connected to the same computer. 

I tried to applay this 

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=64129

seggestion.  It improved the loading (The loading where in full screen insted half...) but still, I cant switch to console after X loaded...

Any seggestions?

----------

## Lord_Orion

Can you give us more information about your graphic card, etc... to help us to answer you... that would be great...

----------

## Garbz

check /etc/X11/XF86Config that the <ctrl><alt><fn> keys arne't trapped.

There's a config option in there just read the comments in the config file.

----------

## gnoodle

is it just the display which goes blank, or is the computer locking up and no longer responds to keyboard input...any flashing lights or leds on your laptop?

the reason i ask is that on my vaio pcg-srx77 i was able to install everything and get boot into x windows fine. but as soon as i switched from x to a tty terminal via ctrl+alt+fn my computer would lock up. 

the problem was the built-in magicgate device and the inability of the gentoo-sources stock kernel to identify and load the proper module. the fix was for me to manually edit a usb-storage kernel file and enter the identifier info. 

while your dell isn't likely to have the same magicgate issue, maybe the problem is kernel & hardware related.

----------

## Ronen

It's just the Display goes blank. farther more - it is just the LCD screen that goas blank. the CRT screen attached is working fine, And I can switch back to X, and the Display back...

The Graphic adaptor is NVIDIA GeForce2 Go 100 (8MB).

----------

## gnoodle

hmmm...so maybe it's just a matter of the laptop automatically blanking the lcd when the monitor is attached. (i know, i have a gift for stating the obvious.)

one of my laptops used to do that in the past as well...never had linux installed on it, just a default hardware feature which could be overridden in bios & with key press combinations. as for under linux, could be a driver issue...could be x window setting behaviour. 

if it isn't a bios setting issue (doesn't seem like it from what you describe) then is it possible that it is an x windows multi-head display issue? maybe x considers your lcd & monitor set-up as being a multi-headed display set-up but is not configured to handle it properly? 

i haven't dealt with multi-headed x windows set-ups, so i'm kinda stumbling in the dark, but check out "xinerama" options as well as configuring display mirroring under x windows. 

anybody? throw in your 2p.

----------

## Ronen

It's not the hardware:

In windows - both screen are working perfectly all the time, as well as in Knoppix.

While booting, the console works fine in both screens.

In X,  The display is OK in both of them...

But when I shut down X or ctrl+alt+Fn from X to consol, the LCD is blank and the CRT is fine. when I back to the X the LCD is fine again.

The LCD is blank on console evan when the CRT is disconneted.

I did not compiled xinerama.

----------

## gnoodle

hmmm...stream of consciousness stuff here, but here's what i'm thinking.

x windows display normally runs on the "F7" virtual terminal by default, right? so that ctrl-alt-f7 = x windows...while ctrl-alt-f1 is for the virtual terminal on tty1, etc.

maybe what's happening is the virtual terminals are associated with a particular display device in x windows, such that when the crt is attached and x windows displays properly, the default display is set to something like crt:tty7 (my own pseudo shorthand) but when you want to switch to lcd:tty1 (via ctrl-alt-f1) it doesn't know how to get back, since it is looking for the tty1 on the ctrl display (i.e. ctrl:tty1) but that has not been set-up.

maybe? anybody?

----------

## Lord_Orion

I know that I had a lot of trouble with last nvidia drivers with my work computers... It didn't allow me too to go to virtual terminals. So I emerged /usr/portage/media-video/nvidia-kernel/nvidia-kernel-1.0.3123-r2.ebuild

and 

/usr/portage/media-video/nvidia-kernel/nvidia-glx-1.0.3123.ebuild

these are a lot less buggy than the last...

try it with these, it can work... but keep care you will have to change the name of module... these drivers use NVdriver (in modules.autoload)

 :Cool: 

----------

## Ronen

Lord_Orion, Can you explain in farther ditails?

----------

## koala

I have a 2650 too. I need to use the 4191 drivers, 'cos later drivers don't work.

I had a similar issue, where the console worked alright (even 1024x768), but after loading X switching back to the console resulted in a strangely garbled display; that is solved by playing with the LCD/CRT settings in the BIOS (though that might not be good for you).

----------

## Ronen

Cancaling the Doual display in the BIOS solved the problam, but now I have only one screen...

----------

## koala

If you like risks, there is a new BIOS on Dell's website... I haven't tried it yet.

I also suggest you to check the linux-dell-laptops on Yahoo, which is an excellent source of info for this:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linux-dell-laptops/

----------

## Garbz

I sugest dell support forums.  The problem is not limited to Gentoo and neither the Geforce 2 GOs.  Mine used to do something similar when i switch BACK to X, it was fixed when i flash the bios about 6 months ago.

Dell have a support forum for linux users so ask there, they offer great help for customers considering they fully endorse linux  :Smile: :

Also flashing dell bioses isn't as risky as it sounds.  Apparen;ty it won't even void the warranty and is encouraged by support staff.

----------

## Lord_Orion

 *Ronen wrote:*   

> Lord_Orion, Can you explain in farther ditails?

 

As I said, some cards are not reseted by the drivers of 41 and 43 series, like the geforces I have on my work computers. No way to go back to console mode once I was under X server, because the can not reset my X mode settings.

Once I reemerged 31 series, all worked great...

I tried with several kernel configuration and XF86Config-4 settings but always a dark screen... and nothing...

So, only one conclusion : for some Nvidia cards, the drivers are buggy...

The most strange, these cards have 2 years yet... and the work perfectly with the old drivers.

If Nvidia could make them working with their next driver version it would be great...

----------

