NVIDIA 346 driver weirdness

[SteveRiley]

I updated the NVIDIA driver today, from 343.22 to 346.16 (both from the Xorg Edgers PPA). After rebooting, something quite unusual manifested itself.

The NVIDIA logo, normally centered on the screen, appeared to have been moved far to the right -- I could see only a small portion of the left edge of the logo on the right side of the screen. Then when KDM started, no login dialog was visible -- only the desktop background. I entered my password anyway. The desktop started to load, but the box with the progressing icons wasn't present -- again, only the desktop background was visible. Once KWin started, the desktop appeared as normal.

It's almost as if the driver is detecting a second monitor, I thought to myself. I opened System Settings -> Display and Monitor and, sure enough, two monitors appeared: the LCD panel (LVDS-0) on my laptop, and an external monitor (CRT-0) plugged into the VGA port:

This is obviously incorrect: there is no external monitor attached, I can assure you. The NVIDIA Settings utility shows the same misperception:

The driver is somehow mistakenly thinking that a monitor is attached to the VGA port. But there isn't! (Also note that the NVIDIA driver uses a different label for the laptop's display: DFP-0.)

Even more clues exist in /var/log/Xorg.0.log. Compare the two log snippets below:

Booting with the 343.22 driver
(II) NVIDIA(0): Creating default Display subsection in Screen section
(==) NVIDIA(0): Depth 24, (==) framebuffer bpp 32
(==) NVIDIA(0): RGB weight 888
(==) NVIDIA(0): Default visual is TrueColor
(==) NVIDIA(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
(**) NVIDIA(0): Option "RegistryDwords" "EnableBrightnessControl=1"
(**) NVIDIA(0): Enabling 2D acceleration
(II) NVIDIA(0): Display (Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0)) does not support NVIDIA
(II) NVIDIA(0): 3D Vision stereo.
(II) NVIDIA(GPU-0): Found DRM driver nvidia-drm (20130102)
(II) NVIDIA(0): NVIDIA GPU NVS 4200M (GF119) at PCI:1:0:0 (GPU-0)
(--) NVIDIA(0): Memory: 1048576 kBytes
(--) NVIDIA(0): VideoBIOS: 75.19.53.00.22
(II) NVIDIA(0): Detected PCI Express Link width: 16X
(--) NVIDIA(0): Valid display device(s) on NVS 4200M at PCI:1:0:0
(--) NVIDIA(0): CRT-0
(--) NVIDIA(0): Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0) (boot, connected)
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-1
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-2
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-3
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-4
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-5
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-6
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): CRT-0: 400.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0): Internal LVDS
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0): 330.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-1: Internal TMDS
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-1: 165.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-2: Internal TMDS
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-2: 165.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-3: Internal TMDS
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-3: 165.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-4: Internal DisplayPort
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-4: 480.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-5: Internal DisplayPort
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-5: 480.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-6: Internal DisplayPort
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-6: 480.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(**) NVIDIA(0): Using HorizSync/VertRefresh ranges from the EDID for display
(**) NVIDIA(0): device Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0) (Using EDID
(**) NVIDIA(0): frequencies has been enabled on all display devices.)
(==) NVIDIA(0):
(==) NVIDIA(0): No modes were requested; the default mode "nvidia-auto-select"
(==) NVIDIA(0): will be used as the requested mode.
(==) NVIDIA(0):
(II) NVIDIA(0): Validated MetaModes:
(II) NVIDIA(0): "DFP-0:nvidia-auto-select"
(II) NVIDIA(0): Virtual screen size determined to be 1920 x 1080
(--) NVIDIA(0): DPI set to (143, 144); computed from "UseEdidDpi" X config
(--) NVIDIA(0): option
(II) NVIDIA(0): Setting mode "DFP-0:nvidia-auto-select"
(==) NVIDIA(0): Disabling shared memory pixmaps
(==) NVIDIA(0): Backing store enabled
(==) NVIDIA(0): Silken mouse enabled
(==) NVIDIA(0): DPMS enabled
(II) NVIDIA(0): [DRI2] Setup complete
(II) NVIDIA(0): [DRI2] VDPAU driver: nvidia
(II) NVIDIA(GPU-0): Display (Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0)) does not support NVIDIA
(II) NVIDIA(GPU-0): 3D Vision stereo.
(II) NVIDIA(GPU-0): Display (Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0)) does not support NVIDIA
(II) NVIDIA(GPU-0): 3D Vision stereo.
(II) NVIDIA(GPU-0): Display (Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0)) does not support NVIDIA
(II) NVIDIA(GPU-0): 3D Vision stereo.
(II) NVIDIA(GPU-0): Display (Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0)) does not support NVIDIA
(II) NVIDIA(GPU-0): 3D Vision stereo.

Booting with the 346.16 driver
(II) NVIDIA(0): Creating default Display subsection in Screen section
(==) NVIDIA(0): Depth 24, (==) framebuffer bpp 32
(==) NVIDIA(0): RGB weight 888
(==) NVIDIA(0): Default visual is TrueColor
(==) NVIDIA(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
(**) NVIDIA(0): Option "RegistryDwords" "EnableBrightnessControl=1"
(**) NVIDIA(0): Enabling 2D acceleration
(II) NVIDIA(GPU-0): Found DRM driver nvidia-drm (20130102)
(II) NVIDIA(0): NVIDIA GPU NVS 4200M (GF119) at PCI:1:0:0 (GPU-0)
(--) NVIDIA(0): Memory: 1048576 kBytes
(--) NVIDIA(0): VideoBIOS: 75.19.53.00.22
(II) NVIDIA(0): Detected PCI Express Link width: 16X
(--) NVIDIA(0): Valid display device(s) on NVS 4200M at PCI:1:0:0
(--) NVIDIA(0): Lenovo Group Limited (CRT-0) (connected)
(--) NVIDIA(0): Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0) (boot, connected)
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-1
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-2
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-3
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-4
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-5
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-6
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): Lenovo Group Limited (CRT-0): 400.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0): Internal LVDS
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0): 330.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-1: Internal TMDS
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-1: 165.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-2: Internal TMDS
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-2: 165.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-3: Internal TMDS
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-3: 165.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-4: Internal DisplayPort
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-4: 480.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-5: Internal DisplayPort
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-5: 480.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(--) NVIDIA(0): DFP-6: Internal DisplayPort
(--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-6: 480.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
(**) NVIDIA(0): Using HorizSync/VertRefresh ranges from the EDID for display
(**) NVIDIA(0): device Lenovo Group Limited (CRT-0) (Using EDID
(**) NVIDIA(0): frequencies has been enabled on all display devices.)
(**) NVIDIA(0): Using HorizSync/VertRefresh ranges from the EDID for display
(**) NVIDIA(0): device Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0) (Using EDID
(**) NVIDIA(0): frequencies has been enabled on all display devices.)
(==) NVIDIA(0):
(==) NVIDIA(0): No modes were requested; the default mode "nvidia-auto-select"
(==) NVIDIA(0): will be used as the requested mode.
(==) NVIDIA(0):
(II) NVIDIA(0): Validated MetaModes:
(II) NVIDIA(0): "DFP-0:nvidia-auto-select,CRT-0:nvidia-auto-select"
(II) NVIDIA(0): Virtual screen size determined to be 3840 x 1080
(--) NVIDIA(0): DPI set to (143, 144); computed from "UseEdidDpi" X config
(--) NVIDIA(0): option
(II) NVIDIA(0): Setting mode "DFP-0:nvidia-auto-select,CRT-0:nvidia-auto-select"
(==) NVIDIA(0): Disabling shared memory pixmaps
(==) NVIDIA(0): Backing store enabled
(==) NVIDIA(0): Silken mouse enabled
(==) NVIDIA(0): DPMS enabled
(II) NVIDIA(0): [DRI2] Setup complete
(II) NVIDIA(0): [DRI2] VDPAU driver: nvidia
(**) NVIDIA(0): Using HorizSync/VertRefresh ranges from the EDID for display
(**) NVIDIA(0): device Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0) (Using EDID
(**) NVIDIA(0): frequencies has been enabled on all display devices.)
(**) NVIDIA(0): Using HorizSync/VertRefresh ranges from the EDID for display
(**) NVIDIA(0): device Lenovo Group Limited (CRT-0) (Using EDID
(**) NVIDIA(0): frequencies has been enabled on all display devices.)
(**) NVIDIA(0): Using HorizSync/VertRefresh ranges from the EDID for display
(**) NVIDIA(0): device Lenovo Group Limited (DFP-0) (Using EDID
(**) NVIDIA(0): frequencies has been enabled on all display devices.)
(**) NVIDIA(0): Using HorizSync/VertRefresh ranges from the EDID for display
(**) NVIDIA(0): device Lenovo Group Limited (CRT-0) (Using EDID
(**) NVIDIA(0): frequencies has been enabled on all display devices.)

So. It's obvious the driver is incorrectly detecting the true state of the machine. What's odd is I can't figure out how to override this. I've tried switching off the fake CRT using KScreen: no help. Using the NVIDIA settings utility: no help. I even tried forcing the DFP-0:nvidia-auto-select modeline in a new /etc/X11/xorg.conf and that worked only once. After a reboot, and subsequent checks, both KScreen and NVIDIA Settings would simply overlay the two "monitors" on top of each other.

Oh, and the driver performs quite poorly: lots of stuttering and general overall sluggishness. So I've reverted to 343.22 for now.

[NickStone]

Thanks for the heads up of the bug in the Nvidia 346.16 driver. I looked on the Arch site to see what version they had available because Arch is a rolling release / bleeding edge Linuc distro and all their packages are up to date, and I found that the version of Nvidia they have in their "normal" repositories is that of 343.22. I also checked out Nvidia web site and it appears that the driver you downloaded is atill at its beta stage.

It appears that you've been a bit premature in upgrading drivers on your computer. Unless your aim was to test alpha/beta software.

[SteveRiley]

It appears that you've been a bit premature in upgrading drivers on your computer. Unless your aim was to test alpha/beta software.

Actually, I always upgrade to the next NVIDIA driver as soon as it appears in Xorg Edgers. This is the first time I've encountered a buggy one. Fortunately, it's easy enough to roll back:

1. Purge the borked one
2. Reboot to let Nouveau or VESA "reset" everything (maybe not a necessary step)
3. Install the previous one

[oshunluvr]

From what I've read, not everyone is having this problem but Steve isn't totally alone. Probably chipset/model specific. Reportedly, there's several major improvements to this driver (most are over my head ) so hopefully they'll have a bug fix soon.