[SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

spidersnacker · 2026-04-25 20:07:18

Hi! I've been trying to set up a second monitor with my laptop, but when I plug in the HDMI cable, there's no signal. xrandr doesn't seem to see it at all:

$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 16384 x 16384
eDP connected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 344mm x 193mm
   1920x1080    144.15*+  60.20  
   1680x1050    144.15  
   1280x1024    144.15  
   1440x900     144.15  
   1280x800     144.15  
   1280x720     144.15  
   1024x768     144.15  
   800x600      144.15  
   640x480      144.15  
HDMI-A-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DisplayPort-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DisplayPort-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DisplayPort-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DisplayPort-3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DisplayPort-4 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

It worked just fine on another laptop that runs Windows, so I know the issue isn't with the monitor or the cable.

Last edited by spidersnacker (2026-04-30 23:01:15)

seth · 2026-04-25 20:59:47

Is this an Xorg session (otherwise the xrandr output is meaningless, you'd have to use the tools specific to your wayland compositor)
Is this a hybrid graphics system?

so I know the issue isn't with […] the cable.

Famous last words… might be the plug/seating?
Does the monitor receive a signal on the console (ctrl+alt+f3)?
Does it w/ a live distro like eg. https:/grml.org/ ?

spidersnacker · 2026-04-25 23:44:58

Is this an Xorg session

Yes, KDE Plasma on X11.

Is this a hybrid graphics system?

Also yes, NVIDIA and AMD.

might be the plug/seating?

Starting to seriously consider that. I tried connecting my laptop to my TV and it also said no signal, but to be fair, I don't know if that even should return anything. I've never connected a computer to a TV before.

Does the monitor receive a signal on the console (ctrl+alt+f3)?
Does it w/ a live distro like eg. https:/grml.org/ ?

Tried both of those and it still received no signal, but I could be missing something. All I did for both was log in and hope for the best, wasn't sure if there'd be anything else to do.

If there's nothing I can do, I can probably just get a USB-C to HDMI cable. The USB-C port I use to connect my drawing tablet works perfectly fine.

Magrid · 2026-04-26 07:08:24

All I did for both was log in and hope for the best, wasn't sure if there'd be anything else to do.

yeah usually that does the trick.

I know it’s obvious but have you tried other ports? From the xrandr command it seems like you have plenty of display port.

seth · 2026-04-26 08:51:11

Does it w/ a live distro like eg. https:/grml.org/ ?
Tried both of those and it still received no signal

It kinda sounds like the output died, but please post your Xorg log, https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Xorg#Generalplease and your complete system journal for the boot after attaching the output:

sudo journalctl -b | curl -s -H "Accept: application/json, */*" --upload-file - 'https://paste.c-net.org/'

(Mostly because of "Also yes, NVIDIA and AMD.")

spidersnacker · 2026-04-26 18:15:36

seth wrote:

please post your Xorg log, https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Xorg#Generalplease

https://pastebin.com/CyhpvL7n

seth wrote:

and your complete system journal for the boot after attaching the output:
sudo journalctl -b | curl -s -H "Accept: application/json, */*" --upload-file - 'https://paste.c-net.org/'

https://paste.c-net.org/TeresitaOccupy It gave me this link, which I'm pretty sure is what you're looking for, but this was the entire output just in case (not sure what's going on with the rest of it, it's like a baby trying to say its first word):

{"link":"TeresitaOccupy","url":"https://paste.c-net.org/TeresitaOccupy","de[[[[[[[[t[t[t[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[t[t[[[[[[t[[t[[[[[[[[[t[[t[[[[t[[t[t[toby[tob[to[t[[[[[t[to[toby@[to[t[[[[[to[t[[[[[[t[[[[[t[[[[[[[t[to[[t[[[[[[[[[[[[[t[t[[[[[[t[to[tob[tob[[t[toby@[tob[toby[toby[tob[toby[toby@[toby@[toby@ar[toby@ar[toby@ar[to[[[[t[to[t[[[[[[[to[toby[tob[toby[to[tob[tob[toby@[tob[tob[to[tob[t[to[tob[to[toby[toby@a[to[toby@a[to[tob[t[to[t[t[t[t[[toby@archlinu[toby@

Magrid wrote:

From the xrandr command it seems like you have plenty of display port.

That'd sure make sense, wouldn't it? But either I just can't find them, or it's lying and my laptop (Acer Nitro ANV15-41) doesn't actually have any.

seth · 2026-04-26 18:36:40

but this was the entire output

That looks like copypasta, but the command gets you a delete key, see https://paste.c-net.org for details

Neither nvidia nor nouveau modules are loaded.

pacman -Qs 'nvidia|kernel'

spidersnacker · 2026-04-26 21:52:07

pacman -Qs 'nvidia|kernel'

Here's the output for that.

$ pacman -Qs 'nvidia|kernel'
local/dkms 3.4.0-1
    Dynamic Kernel Modules System
local/egl-gbm 1.1.3-1
    The GBM EGL external platform library
local/egl-wayland 4:1.1.21-1
    EGLStream-based Wayland external platform
local/egl-wayland2 1.0.1-1
    EGLStream-based Wayland external platform (2)
local/egl-x11 1.0.5-1
    NVIDIA XLib and XCB EGL Platform Library
local/fuse2 2.9.9-5
    Interface for userspace programs to export a filesystem to the Linux kernel
local/fuse3 3.18.2-1
    Interface for userspace programs to export a filesystem to the Linux kernel
local/iptables 1:1.8.13-1
    Linux kernel packet control tool (using nft interface)
local/kmod 34.2-1
    Linux kernel module management tools and library
local/lib32-libdrm 2.4.131-1
    Userspace interface to kernel DRM services (32-bit)
local/libdrm 2.4.131-1
    Userspace interface to kernel DRM services
local/libnetfilter_conntrack 1.1.1-1
    Library providing an API to the in-kernel connection tracking state table
local/libnfnetlink 1.0.2-2
    Low-level library for netfilter related kernel/userspace communication
local/libsysprof-capture 50.0-1
    Kernel based performance profiler - capture library
local/libvdpau 1.5-4
    Nvidia VDPAU library
local/libxnvctrl 595.58.03-1
    NVIDIA NV-CONTROL X extension
local/linux 6.19.14.arch1-1
    The Linux kernel and modules
local/linux-api-headers 6.19-1
    Kernel headers sanitized for use in userspace
local/linux-firmware-nvidia 20260410-1
    Firmware files for Linux - Firmware for NVIDIA GPUs and SoCs
local/linux-headers 6.19.14.arch1-1
    Headers and scripts for building modules for the Linux kernel
local/mtdev 1.1.7-1
    A stand-alone library which transforms all variants of kernel MT events to
    the slotted type B protocol
local/nvidia-utils 595.58.03-2
    NVIDIA drivers utilities
local/vulkan-nouveau 1:26.0.5-1
    Open-source Vulkan driver for Nvidia GPUs
local/xf86-video-nouveau 1.0.18-1 (xorg-drivers)
    Open Source 3D acceleration driver for nVidia cards

Neither nvidia nor nouveau modules are loaded.

Thanks for pointing that out! I've consulted Google and it seems that to fix that I'd add nvidia-drm.modeset=1, nvidia-drm.fbdev=1, and nouveau.config=NvBios=PRAMIN to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT= in /etc/default/grub, what am I missing? Excuse my ignorance, I'm still very new to Arch.

V1del · 2026-04-27 00:46:48

no, you need to install nvidia-open if you're opting for nvidia-utils (... and should probably remove vulkan-nouveau/xf86-video-vulkan) nvidia-drm.modeset as well as fbdev are the default already anyway and I've literally never seen that nouveau option and strongly assume it to be entirely irrelevant (is consulting "google" -> consulting "random AI"? you should generally not trust them)

spidersnacker · 2026-04-28 21:51:05

no, you need to install nvidia-open if you're opting for nvidia-utils (... and should probably remove vulkan-nouveau/xf86-video-vulkan) nvidia-drm.modeset as well as fbdev are the default already anyway

Thank you for the tips!! I was able to make some progress.

is consulting "google" -> consulting "random AI"? you should generally not trust them

Noo, I really did properly Google it I found the option in the ArchWiki page for Nouveau, it said that it prevents unloading. That being said, upon rereading NVIDIA's page, I realized I don't need both NVIDIA and Nouveau drivers (not sure why I thought otherwise...)

So the good news is I think I got the NVIDIA and AMD modules loaded, and the monitor works now!!! Hooray!!! Bad news is, unless I put nomodeset in the kernel parameters, my laptop freezes once I log in - though I can still move the cursor and change tty. And nomodeset makes the AMD module not load, causing the monitor to, once again, not receive a signal.
Tried things that seemed to work for other people in this situation like blacklisting the integrated gpu (allows me to boot without nomodeset, but of course the monitor gets no signal) and reinstalling drivers (nothing changes). Any ideas..?

New Xorg logs and system journal in case it's necessary again. Or do I need to make a new thread since it's a separate issue?

seth · 2026-04-29 12:56:28

Bad news is, unless I put nomodeset in the kernel parameters, my laptop freezes once I log in - though I can still move the cursor and change tty.

Can we please see the Xorg log and journal for *that* boot?
Does it help to suspend the compositor (SHIFT+Alt+F12)?

spidersnacker · 2026-04-29 22:49:40

Xorg log and system journal for that boot.

seth wrote:

Does it help to suspend the compositor (SHIFT+Alt+F12)?

Didn't seem to. I tried suspending it before logging in, so before it froze, as well as after, and I don't think it helped either time. I also tried it once after successfully logging in with nomodeset just for good measure, still nothing.

spidersnacker wrote:

The USB-C port I use to connect my drawing tablet works perfectly fine.

It might also be worth mentioning that this is no longer the case. No signal when I have nomodeset on, but the tablet works fine when I don't, similarly to the monitor.
Also, a screen recorder I use has started giving me errors ("Failed to get OpenGL information. Make sure your GPU drivers are properly installed."). I assume I broke something while troubleshooting, I just don't know what or how to fix it.

seth · 2026-04-30 07:12:10

Try modesetting driver seeks to operate the nvidia GPU, try to add "initcall_blacklist=simpledrm_platform_driver_init" XOR "initcall_blacklist=sysfb_init" to the https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Kernel_parameters

spidersnacker · 2026-04-30 23:00:34

Tried those things (and some more) and nothing seemed to work still.... but!
I made it so AMD and NVIDIA modules both loaded early and then switched to Wayland and for some reason it works. Arch boots fine, no issues with the monitor. No clue what was going on, or if any of the changes I made were actually necessary, but the problem has gone away and that's enough for me lol. Thank y'all for your help and patience

seth · 2026-05-01 06:19:07

Might have been a race condition where the display server started before the GPU was fully initialized?

Arch Linux

#1 2026-04-25 20:07:18

[SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#2 2026-04-25 20:59:47

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#3 2026-04-25 23:44:58

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#4 2026-04-26 07:08:24

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#5 2026-04-26 08:51:11

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#6 2026-04-26 18:15:36

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#7 2026-04-26 18:36:40

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#8 2026-04-26 21:52:07

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#9 2026-04-27 00:46:48

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#10 2026-04-28 21:51:05

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#11 2026-04-29 12:56:28

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#12 2026-04-29 22:49:40

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#13 2026-04-30 07:12:10

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#14 2026-04-30 23:00:34

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

#15 2026-05-01 06:19:07

Re: [SOLVED] HDMI not being detected

Board footer