Linux Format forums

mikejd · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 9:05 pm Post subject: Problem with display blanking out

I am presently experiencing a problem with my display. It keeps blanking out at a regular interval, approx. every 30 secs. This seems to have been a bit of a problem since I changed the computer but has got much worse a few days ago.

The monitor was previously used with an older machine running Mandriva. I changed it for a more recent machine (bought 2nd hand) and now running OpenSuse 11.4. There were no problems with the older machine but the new machine worked OK generally but the blanking occurred occasionally, like maybe once or twice a day.

Then last week it got a lot worse. Overnight the display changed, when I booted up in the morning the blanking began to occur every 30 secs and blanked for about 3-4 secs. The computer keeps working as, if I am typing it keeps entering text during the blackout. The screen resolution also changed from 1280px width to max 1024px although the display appears to have remained at 1280px wide because the toolbar at the bottom now extends beyond the screen. So I assumed it was a display/graphics problem.

I have upgraded the graphics card from a GeForce 7300 to GeForce 8400. The blanking now still occurs but only blacks out for a fraction of a second, and the screen resolution is still max. 1024px. I have tried another monitor with no improvement

Anybody have any ideas? Could it be, perhaps, a software problem (running KDE4)? Any assistance welcome.

regards,
Mike

Dutch_Master · LXF regular Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:49 am Posts: 2354

Given you changed hardware (most of it anyway) I'd think that can be more or less excluded as a possible cause (but not entirely though). I have a feeling it can be the settings of your videocard. CRT screens require overscan, digital screens do not. Should be addressed by the driver. Update the driver, or downgrade if you already have the latest.

mikejd · Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 10:50 am Post subject:

Thanks Dutch_master. I am not sure how I change the driver or which driver to change. Would this be the driver for the video card or for the monitor?

Mike

Dutch_Master · LXF regular Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:49 am Posts: 2354

Those are the same Wink

You're using an nVidia card, so head over to their website, find the Linux drivers (they are there!) and get the latest for your card. You'll need to install it on the commandline. Not a terminal... The easiest way to get there is the following: start a terminal, then become root (su) or prefix the following with sudo:

mikejd · Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 3:23 pm Post subject:

I found a how-to at http://www.suse.de/~sndirsch/nvidia-installer-HOWTO.html#3 for installing the NVidia driver. This is done through Yast after adding NVidia downloads as a repository.

This all seemed to go OK but the monitor is still only recognised as max. resolution of 1024px.