Re: [gentoo-user] New machine: Contents of display are offset around 2 inches from the left hand side.

[Michael <confabulate@kintzios.com>]

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On Monday, 26 August 2024 11:40:43 BST Alan Mackenzie wrote:
> Hello, Michael.
> 
> On Sun, Aug 25, 2024 at 22:04:05 +0100, Michael wrote:

[snip ...]
> > OK, in the first instance disable the CMS in the UEFI settings and reboot.
> > Some boards do not lose some of their cached settings when you simply
> > shutdown.  Remove the power cable, depress and hold the power button for
> > 10-20 seconds.  Any capacitors will discharge.  Reconnect the power and
> > boot normally.
> 
> That didn't help either, I'm afraid.

:-(

> I've had a reply from MSI's support.  It's along the lines of "buy new
> cables, don't use an adapter, and don't use a KVM box".  In other words,
> not at all useful.  I'm trying to work out whether it's worth trying to
> supply MSI with the extra information about the excess numbers of pixels
> being multiples of 16 in both the horizontal and vertical directions.  I
> suspect I'll just get the runaround from them, no matter what.

Yes, I suspected this would be their default response.  If there is a known 
problem and a fix or workaround, OEMs will advise of it usually in their FAQs.  
On a newly released product they may ask for additional information.  
Otherwise they are unlikely to engage in troubleshooting with retail users and 
tend to point at anything else but their product.  ;-)


> Or, I could go back to the shop that built the machine.  Maybe I should
> try it connected directly to an HDMI monitor.

If you have a monitor with the same connector as your graphics card (DP or 
HDMI) then you can test the health of the new PC with it.  However, if you 
must use the KVM and DVI-HDMI adaptor, then the options are limited.


> > If the above gymnastics do not fix it, then you'll have to try resetting
> > the MoBo.  Make a note of any changed settings and check the CSM option
> > is left disabled.
> 
> I think this is what I will try next.  I don't know which of the settings
> has been changed, so I'll need to make a note of practically every
> setting.  Most of them are still defaults.

Depending on the MoBo you can usually create a backup file with all the 
firmware settings and reload it later on, after you reset the MoBo and 
finished with your tests.


> > > Ahhhhh.  If it does it in the BIOS, it's either a monitor or video card,
> > > or mobo if video is built in, problem.
> > 
> > On modern APUs video graphics chips are integrated within the CPU die
> > itself as separate graphics cores.
> 
> It seems such a graphic core is supplying 2112x1116@60Hz, rather than the
> correct 1920x1080@60Hz.  Hopefully the fault is in the firmware, not in
> the graphics unit.  ;-(

If this is the problem then you should be able to set your desktop to a 
1920x1080 resolution.  I am not familiar with xfce but there will be some 
display setting to adjust the resolution with.

> 
> [ .... ]
> 
> > Let's hope this is an MSI/CSM specific issue rather than a hardware fault.
> 
> Given MSI support's attitude, it's looking like my machine is going back
> to the shop that made it, unless resetting the CMOS RAM does the job.
> That's the thing to try out next.

Another thing to try to confirm is if the EDID of the monitor is correct:

Emerge sys-apps/edid-decode, then capture the EDID of the monitor with get-
edid in a file and feed it to 'edid-decode -p'.  It will parse the file and 
output a human readable output.  Then you can see what the preferred 
resolution is as far as the monitor EDID content is concerned, or if it is 
indeed missing as you reported previously.

You can also read Xorg.0.log to find out what your xorg driver reports.

The recurring flickering of the display after you've loaded your desktop shows 
the linux OS is trying to re-adjust the display.  Usually this happens when 
the connection/power to the monitor is disrupted, which again points to a 
connector issue, or it can also happen if you specified in your GUI the wrong 
resolution/frequency.

Due to my ham-fisted attempts to connect a DVI adaptor behind a monitor 
without being able to see what I was doing, I recall bending one of the 
terminals at the DVI connector.  This was giving spurious results.  I had to 
straighten the terminal carefully with long nose pliers, before I was able to 
use the monitor properly.  Check if your connectors have suffered something 
similar.

Other than the above, I'm out of ideas.  :-(

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