Hi all
a quick question to hopefully get some pointers...

I run Linux on an MSI B550-A Pro motherboard, with a Ryzen CPU. I have been running with a cheapish graphics card until recently - GT720 I think.
I have just upgraded this to an MSI GT1030 card - only because I need to
use a KVM and my setup means that this has to use Display Port rather
than HDMI, which I was using previously.

So, simple test - fit new graphics card, try previous HDMA cable, all fine.
Swap to a known good HDMI cable - no output. The Monitor
(Dell U2412M) sees nothing whether the input is set to DisplayPort or 'Auto'.

I also tried plugging the video card DP output into my KVM; the LED
shows red which I presume means 'no input'.

I'm just trying to work out which world of pain I am now entering.
Assuming the eBayer I got the card from is telling the truth when they
say it was working for them via DP, is this likely to be a Linux
driver issue, a Bios issue, or perhaps something else? I guess
I am a bit surprised I don't even see the Bios, but DP is new to me and
perhaps there is something I am missing...

Thanks, J^n

jkn <jkn_gg@nicorp.f9.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi all
> a quick question to hopefully get some pointers...
>
> I run Linux on an MSI B550-A Pro motherboard, with a Ryzen CPU. I have been running with a cheapish graphics card until recently - GT720 I think.
> I have just upgraded this to an MSI GT1030 card - only because I need to
> use a KVM and my setup means that this has to use Display Port rather
> than HDMI, which I was using previously.
>
> So, simple test - fit new graphics card, try previous HDMA cable, all fine.
> Swap to a known good HDMI cable - no output. The Monitor
> (Dell U2412M) sees nothing whether the input is set to DisplayPort or 'Auto'.
>
> I also tried plugging the video card DP output into my KVM; the LED
> shows red which I presume means 'no input'.
>
> I'm just trying to work out which world of pain I am now entering.
> Assuming the eBayer I got the card from is telling the truth when they
> say it was working for them via DP, is this likely to be a Linux
> driver issue, a Bios issue, or perhaps something else? I guess
> I am a bit surprised I don't even see the Bios, but DP is new to me and
> perhaps there is something I am missing...

That's odd, one HDMI cable works the other doesn't?
Or do you mean 'Swap to a known good DP cable'?

It's not unusual for GPUs to only display the BIOS on one output, or for the
monitor to not sync to it (BIOSes often use a strange mode like 720x400).
Sometimes monitors are just grumpy.

One thing you could try is wiring up the monitor with both HDMI and DP
cables. Then, using the one that works, go into settings and see if it can
detect the other monitor. Try switching between inputs on the monitor until
you can get both to work.

(Also, stupid thing because it's bitten me before: Ryzen mobos may have an
HDMI or DP socket on the mobo, but if there's no graphics in the CPU the
socket doesn't do anything. If you were fumbling about the back maybe you
plugged into the useless socket?)

Try to get things working before setting up the KVM, because KVMs add
another layer of trouble into the mix. If you keep the HDMI running while
fiddling with the DP settings, you can at least see to fiddle with them.

Another thing, you are using the proprietary NVIDIA Linux drivers? The
system may come up with nouveau (reverse engineered open source driver) by
default, which isn't very reliable especially on more modern GPUs.

Theo

jkn wrote:

> I'm just trying to work out which world of pain I am now entering.
> Assuming the eBayer I got the card from is telling the truth when they
> say it was working for them via DP, is this likely to be a Linux
> driver issue, a Bios issue, or perhaps something else? I guess
> I am a bit surprised I don't even see the Bios, but DP is new to me and
> perhaps there is something I am missing...

In BIOS/UEFI do you have any IGD/PEG/PCI/AUTO setting?

On Sunday, December 17, 2023 at 4:34:58 PM UTC, Theo wrote:
> jkn <jkn...@nicorp.f9.co.uk> wrote:
> > Hi all
> > a quick question to hopefully get some pointers...
> >
> > I run Linux on an MSI B550-A Pro motherboard, with a Ryzen CPU. I have been running with a cheapish graphics card until recently - GT720 I think.
> > I have just upgraded this to an MSI GT1030 card - only because I need to
> > use a KVM and my setup means that this has to use Display Port rather
> > than HDMI, which I was using previously.
> >
> > So, simple test - fit new graphics card, try previous HDMA cable, all fine.
> > Swap to a known good HDMI cable - no output. The Monitor
> > (Dell U2412M) sees nothing whether the input is set to DisplayPort or 'Auto'.
> >
> > I also tried plugging the video card DP output into my KVM; the LED
> > shows red which I presume means 'no input'.
> >
> > I'm just trying to work out which world of pain I am now entering.
> > Assuming the eBayer I got the card from is telling the truth when they
> > say it was working for them via DP, is this likely to be a Linux
> > driver issue, a Bios issue, or perhaps something else? I guess
> > I am a bit surprised I don't even see the Bios, but DP is new to me and
> > perhaps there is something I am missing...

Hi Theo, thanks for the good points.

> That's odd, one HDMI cable works the other doesn't?
> Or do you mean 'Swap to a known good DP cable'?

sorry, yes - I did mean that: "Swap [from HDMI] to a known good DP cable"

>
> It's not unusual for GPUs to only display the BIOS on one output, or for the
> monitor to not sync to it (BIOSes often use a strange mode like 720x400).
> Sometimes monitors are just grumpy.
>
I plan on checking this out (and the BIOS settings) a bit more.

> One thing you could try is wiring up the monitor with both HDMI and DP
> cables. Then, using the one that works, go into settings and see if it can
> detect the other monitor. Try switching between inputs on the monitor until
> you can get both to work.

Yes, that was another on my list...

>
> (Also, stupid thing because it's bitten me before: Ryzen mobos may have an
> HDMI or DP socket on the mobo, but if there's no graphics in the CPU the
> socket doesn't do anything. If you were fumbling about the back maybe you
> plugged into the useless socket?)

I had actually forgotten, until I started looking at the manual for the motherboard
last night, that it has some Video ports on the back. But no, I am definitely
connecting to the MSI board.
>
> Try to get things working before setting up the KVM, because KVMs add
> another layer of trouble into the mix. If you keep the HDMI running while
> fiddling with the DP settings, you can at least see to fiddle with them.

Absolutely! I was only trying the KVM because its Red/Green LEDs were a
way of seeing if it too could see any Video output.

> Another thing, you are using the proprietary NVIDIA Linux drivers? The
> system may come up with nouveau (reverse engineered open source driver) by
> default, which isn't very reliable especially on more modern GPUs.

I *think* I have the nvidia drivers - I get messages about 'nvidia driver taints kernel'.
I was wondering about updating the drivers but was trying to understand as
much as I could beforehand.

Thanks a lot
J^n

On Sunday, December 17, 2023 at 4:50:59 PM UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
> jkn wrote:
>
> > I'm just trying to work out which world of pain I am now entering.
> > Assuming the eBayer I got the card from is telling the truth when they
> > say it was working for them via DP, is this likely to be a Linux
> > driver issue, a Bios issue, or perhaps something else? I guess
> > I am a bit surprised I don't even see the Bios, but DP is new to me and
> > perhaps there is something I am missing...

Hi Andy
> In BIOS/UEFI do you have any IGD/PEG/PCI/AUTO setting?

I have no idea about any of those settings! So I will take a
look next...

Thanks
J^n

On Sunday, December 17, 2023 at 4:50:59 PM UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
> jkn wrote:
>
> > I'm just trying to work out which world of pain I am now entering.
> > Assuming the eBayer I got the card from is telling the truth when they
> > say it was working for them via DP, is this likely to be a Linux
> > driver issue, a Bios issue, or perhaps something else? I guess
> > I am a bit surprised I don't even see the Bios, but DP is new to me and
> > perhaps there is something I am missing...
> In BIOS/UEFI do you have any IGD/PEG/PCI/AUTO setting?

(after looking up...). I would presume that this should be unchanged
from what I had previously, ie. PCI. But I will check.

On Sunday, December 17, 2023 at 6:21:47 PM UTC, jkn wrote:
> On Sunday, December 17, 2023 at 4:50:59 PM UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
> > jkn wrote:
> >
> > > I'm just trying to work out which world of pain I am now entering.
> > > Assuming the eBayer I got the card from is telling the truth when they
> > > say it was working for them via DP, is this likely to be a Linux
> > > driver issue, a Bios issue, or perhaps something else? I guess
> > > I am a bit surprised I don't even see the Bios, but DP is new to me and
> > > perhaps there is something I am missing...
> > In BIOS/UEFI do you have any IGD/PEG/PCI/AUTO setting?
> (after looking up...). I would presume that this should be unchanged
> from what I had previously, ie. PCI. But I will check.

General update - I seem to have got things working...

I'm not exactly sure what I did; went into the BIOS using HDMI,
but couldn't see anything useful ... played around with a few cables...
maybe rebooted etc.

But anyway, all seems to be running fine, even through the KVM, now -
although I haven't quite worked out the arrangement of the integrated
USB 3.0 hub, and how to best use it.

I am grateful for small mercies ... so thanks to all, and apologies for
the noise.

J^n