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 Tuesday, 27 August 2024 17:05:26 BST Alan Mackenzie wrote:
> Hello, everybody.
> 
> On Mon, Aug 26, 2024 at 14:49:14 +0000, Alan Mackenzie wrote:
> > On Mon, Aug 26, 2024 at 12:54:20 +0100, Michael wrote:
> > > On Monday, 26 August 2024 11:40:43 BST Alan Mackenzie wrote:
> > > > On Sun, Aug 25, 2024 at 22:04:05 +0100, Michael wrote:
> > I'm beginning to think getting an MSI board was a mistake.
> 
> I'm still thinking that.
> 
> > > > Or, I could go back to the shop that built the machine.  Maybe I
> > > > should try it connected directly to an HDMI monitor.
> 
> OK, I'm just back from the shop.  The technician there plugged the
> machine into an HDMI monitor, and it just worked.  Before leaving, I
> assured him that I _would_ get the machine working, even if that might
> involve buying a new monitor.  ;-(

Well, that's a different monitor and the cable was an HDMI-to-HDMI cable (I 
assume?).  Since you went to all this trouble it would be better if you 
dragged your monitor along with you.  Either way, I admire your doggedness to 
get to the bottom of this.  :-)


> When I got back home again and plugged in the new machine, it was
> slightly different.  It was still pumping out 2112x1116, but the 2" gap
> has become a 1" gap on both the left hand and the right hand sides.
> There's still a (smaller) gap at the top.  I haven't yet tried booting
> into Linux.
> 
> At least we now have an indication of something "analog" perhaps not
> being in order.  I'm thinking that perhaps my HDMI->DVI adapter is
> broken.  I should have bought a new one while I was at the shop, just to
> test.  I did have trouble with Windows laptops when I plugged them in
> via this adapter a couple of years ago.  Maybe I'll go back to the shop
> to get that new HDMI->DVI adapter tomorrow.

It would be best if you could buy a cable with the requisite HDMI on one end 
and a DVI-D on the other.  DVI-DL is capable of higher than 1920x1080 
resolutions, although the optimal resolution of your panel is at 1920x1080.


> There might still be errors in the MSI's BIOS firmware's handling of the
> EDID, I still think that.
> 
> [ .... ]
> 
> >> 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.
> 
> After reading the fine manual page, I tried edid-decode -pc, the -c
> meaninguto check the correctness of the EDID.  It output a warning and
> (attleastdone)efault - something about some indicated resolutions'
> verticallsyncptimetlying(outside the given bounds.

Normally warnings and errors reported by the DDC check can be overcome by the 
graphics and/or Xorg drivers.  I have monitors here which complain about all 
sorts of warnings and errors and fail the DDC compatibility check, but still 
work fine *and* display a more accurate picture (chromatically) than other 
monitors which pass the EDID/DDC check and post no warnings.  Go figure ...  
:-/


> The diagnostics look like this:
> 
> Warnings:
> 
> Block 1, CTA-861 Extension Block:
>   Display Product Serial Number is set, so the Serial Number in the Base
> EDID should be 0. Add a Colorimetry Data Block with the sRGB colorimetry
> bit set to avoid interop issues.
> 
> Failures:
> 
> Block 1, CTA-861 Extension Block:
>   Missing VCDB, needed for Set Selectable RGB Quantization to avoid interop
> issues. EDID:

This Extended Block Type Tag 1 is used to provide the Video Capability Data 
Block.  I don't think this is critical.  It just means the EDID Extension 
block with additional information may not be provided wholly or partly by the 
monitor.

>   Base EDID: Some timings are out of range of the Monitor Ranges:
>     Vertical Freq: 50.000 - 75.062 Hz (Monitor: 56.000 - 75.000 Hz)

This could be relevant, especially as your display keeps flickering on & off, 
as it tries to find a suitable frequency.


> EDID conformity: FAIL
> 
> [ .... ]
> 
> > > 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.
> > 
> > Yes.  I think the connectors are OK, but maybe we'll see how the machine
> > performs differently at the shop tomorrow.
> 
> I've decided I'm definitely going to get a new HDMI->DVI adapter.

I suggest you buy an HDMI-to-DVI-D bidirectional adaptor, or a cable with such 
connectors on each end.  A DVI-DL will be able to display higher resolutions 
than 1920x1080, if both ends had this connector, but the HDMI is a single link 
interface so only one of the dual link connectors on the DVI end will be wired 
in.

Random links as an example:

https://cablenet.co.uk/product/32-3750

https://www.kenable.co.uk/en/computer-cables-/dvi-cables-adapters/dvi-to-hdmi-cables/8970-dvi-d-24-1pin-male-to-hdmi-digital-video-cable-lead-gold-05m-50cm-008970-5055383489701.html

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