Dell Latitude screen blanks, does not wake up

cumthsc · 09-18-10, 05:35 PM

I have a Dell Latitude e6410 with GT218 [NVS 3100M] and 1440x900 screen. It's running BIOS A05, Fedora 13 kernel-2.6.34.6-54.fc13.x86_64, and nvidia driver 256.53.

When the screen backlight turns off after an idle period, I'm not able to wake it up. Moving the mouse turns the backlight back on, but the screen remains dark. Flipping to a different virtual console works (i.e., I can use the VC in text mode), but flipping back generally has no effect. When I downgrade to BIOS A03, I have the same issue, but intermittently, flipping to a VC and back brings the image back, but sometimes frozen and sometimes without a cursor (although the mouse does work).

Is anyone else seeing this?

The nouveau drivers seem to have no problem, although they don't yet reliably support 3D on this card. The nvidia drivers worked before, but several things (BIOS, kernel, driver) changed in a short period of time and I'm not sure which one caused the problem. Downgrading the kernel had no effect. I had an older nvidia driver with an even older kernel, but X wouldn't start at all with that combo.

TIA for any assistance.

Sazar · 09-18-10, 06:32 PM

Have you called tech support?

I haven't seen any issues with me 6410 and I am running the latest BIOS, but not the latest Nvidia drivers.

cumthsc · 09-19-10, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sazar

Have you called tech support?

Not yet. I thought I'd check here first. Are you suggesting nVidia tech support?

kwizart · 09-19-10, 08:31 AM

Can you look at http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=46678 and attach the output of nvidia-bug-report.sh ?
Thx

Sazar · 09-19-10, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cumthsc

Not yet. I thought I'd check here first. Are you suggesting nVidia tech support?

Nope. Unless you got the bog standard 1 year support, your system should still be covered and they should be able to diagnose and figure out what to do. If there is an issue with your screen, they can get you a new one.

If it is a software/driver issue, that also can be diagnosed.

Are you using the recommended driver from www.dell.com/support ? If not, give that a shot and see if it resolves your issues. Like I said, I am running the same notebook, slightly different card, but I keep my system updated at that site.

cumthsc · 09-19-10, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwizart

Can you look at http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=46678 and attach the output of nvidia-bug-report.sh ?
Thx

I couldn't startx with the "--logverbose 6" option, because that somehow invokes xterm with some invalid arguments that I couldn't debug. So I ran straight startx, waited for the freeze, and ran nvidia-bug-report.sh. The result is attached.

Sazar · 09-19-10, 03:27 PM

Oh, I didn't even notice you were running Linux on this

If the system did not have Linux pre-installed, your options are limited to finding assisting through someone who knows about the product, the card and the drivers.

cumthsc · 09-19-10, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sazar

Nope. Unless you got the bog standard 1 year support, your system should still be covered and they should be able to diagnose and figure out what to do. If there is an issue with your screen, they can get you a new one.

If it is a software/driver issue, that also can be diagnosed.

Are you using the recommended driver from www.dell.com/support ? If not, give that a shot and see if it resolves your issues. Like I said, I am running the same notebook, slightly different card, but I keep my system updated at that site.

It's a brand new machine as of June, so it's still under warranty, but (a) I don't think it's a hardware issue, as it worked fine before and it works fine with the nouveau driver, and (b) I can't find any Linux support for Latitude on the Dell site. That jives with my previous experience getting support on older Latitudes: when I call and tell them I'm running Linux, they tell me they won't support the machine because I've changed the configuration from the way it was shipped (Win7 64-bit in this case).

So do you have a Linux driver from Dell support? (Mine's from rpmfusion.org, BTW.)

cumthsc · 09-19-10, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sazar

Oh, I didn't even notice you were running Linux on this

If the system did not have Linux pre-installed, your options are limited to finding assisting through someone who knows about the product, the card and the drivers.

Oops, we crossed posting about this. You're right, which is why I asked here...

cumthsc · 10-18-10, 09:00 PM

This issue seems to be fixed with driver 260.19.12. Thanks, nVidia!

09-18-10, 05:35 PM	#1
cumthsc Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 9	Dell Latitude screen blanks, does not wake up I have a Dell Latitude e6410 with GT218 [NVS 3100M] and 1440x900 screen. It's running BIOS A05, Fedora 13 kernel-2.6.34.6-54.fc13.x86_64, and nvidia driver 256.53. When the screen backlight turns off after an idle period, I'm not able to wake it up. Moving the mouse turns the backlight back on, but the screen remains dark. Flipping to a different virtual console works (i.e., I can use the VC in text mode), but flipping back generally has no effect. When I downgrade to BIOS A03, I have the same issue, but intermittently, flipping to a VC and back brings the image back, but sometimes frozen and sometimes without a cursor (although the mouse does work). Is anyone else seeing this? The nouveau drivers seem to have no problem, although they don't yet reliably support 3D on this card. The nvidia drivers worked before, but several things (BIOS, kernel, driver) changed in a short period of time and I'm not sure which one caused the problem. Downgrading the kernel had no effect. I had an older nvidia driver with an even older kernel, but X wouldn't start at all with that combo. TIA for any assistance.

09-18-10, 06:32 PM	#2
Sazar Sayonara !!! Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 9,297	Re: Dell Latitude screen blanks, does not wake up Have you called tech support? I haven't seen any issues with me 6410 and I am running the latest BIOS, but not the latest Nvidia drivers. __________________ Help to find cures for Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many Cancers. Folding@Home - Is it in you?

09-19-10, 08:31 AM	#4
kwizart Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Paris, France Posts: 129	Re: Dell Latitude screen blanks, does not wake up Can you look at http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=46678 and attach the output of nvidia-bug-report.sh ? Thx __________________ Repository for Fedora and blog (french) RPM Fusion packages for Fedora

09-19-10, 03:27 PM	#7
Sazar Sayonara !!! Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 9,297	Re: Dell Latitude screen blanks, does not wake up Oh, I didn't even notice you were running Linux on this If the system did not have Linux pre-installed, your options are limited to finding assisting through someone who knows about the product, the card and the drivers. __________________ Help to find cures for Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many Cancers. Folding@Home - Is it in you?

10-18-10, 09:00 PM	#10
cumthsc Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 9	Re: Dell Latitude screen blanks, does not wake up This issue seems to be fixed with driver 260.19.12. Thanks, nVidia!