Desktop MATE : Blurry blue screen with oscillations

[Rapha_]

Hello,


I tested all desktops (except kde) of v5.0rc3-x86_64 and they all display correctly, except Mate which seems to be booting but displays X Window with a blurry blue screen with oscillations...

I also tested the others versions of Mate to see if there was a similar problem. From Version 4 to v5.0rc1 it works...But the same problem is present also with v5.0rc2-x86_64

You have to know, I don't use drivers for the video card with Porteus (except for some movies)



I still managed to display X Window almost normally with the help of some startup cheatcodes I found in Parted-Magic (Linux)


These cheatcodes do not bring anything to my problem:

edd=on vga=normal blacklist=nouveau
edd=on vga=normal xconfig=forcevesa
edd=on vga=normal xconfig=forcerefresh nomodeset
edd=on vga=normal nodri=yes


On the other hand, these cheatcodes work, the Desktop Mate is displayed almost normally, but all Windows and icons are enlarged and the screen resolution seems to be blocked at "640 x 480" :

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nomodeset

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edd=on vga=normal nodri=yes acpi=off

Is this bug known ?

How to display a good screen resolution ?



The tested computer :

OptiPlex 740 - Dell
AMD Athlon 64 X2 - Dual Core Processor 4850e

NVIDIA C51 [GeForce 6150 LE] - VGA controller
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16, NUMA node 0

[donald]

This helped me to get the correct resolution without any distortion:
a) know how your moitor is called:

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xrandr --listmonitors

mine is VGA-1 -- could also be LVDS1 etc.
b) create a file screenfix.sh (+x) in the home dir

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#!/bin/bash
xrandr --output VGA-1 --off
xrandr --output VGA-1 --auto

reboot and use cheatcode guiexec=/path/to/screenfix.sh

[Rapha_]

Thank you very much, donald !

Sorry for this late reply ...I am in the process to explore your solution...and I am learning

[Rapha_]

Well, although the screen on XFCE works perfectly, on MATE there is always a problem of screen resolution even with your script.

screenfix.sh

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#!/bin/bash
xrandr --output VGA-1 --off
xrandr --output VGA-1 --auto

porteus.cfg

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APPEND 3 from=/dev/sda1/ noload=xfce;lxde;openbox;lxqt;cinnamon nomodeset guiexec=/dev/sdb1/boot/syslinux/screenfix.sh 

Just to compare the result between XFCE and MATE ...

xrandr XFCE :

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guest@porteus:/mnt/sdb1/boot/syslinux$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 4096 x 4096
VGA-1 connected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 527mm x 296mm
   1920x1080     60.00*+
   1680x1050     59.95  
   1280x1024     75.02    60.02  
   1440x900      59.89  
   1280x960      60.00  
   1280x800      59.81  
   1152x864      75.00  
   1280x720      60.00  
   1024x768      75.03    70.07    60.00  
   832x624       74.55  
   800x600       72.19    75.00    60.32    56.25  
   640x480       75.00    72.81    66.67    59.94  
   720x400       70.08  
DVI-D-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

xrandr MATE :

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root@porteus:/home/guest# xrandr
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 640 x 480, current 640 x 480, maximum 640 x 480
default connected 640x480+0+0 0mm x 0mm
   640x480        0.00* 

xrandr XFCE :

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guest@porteus:/mnt/sdb1/boot/syslinux$ xrandr --listmonitors
Monitors: 1
 0: +*VGA-1 1920/527x1080/296+0+0  VGA-1

xrandr MATE :

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root@porteus:/home/guest# xrandr --listmonitors
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Monitors: 1
 0: +default 640/169x480/127+0+0  default

screenfix.sh MATE :

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root@porteus:/mnt/sdb1/Divers# sh screenfix.sh
'randr: unrecognized option '--off
Try 'xrandr --help' for more information.
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
warning: output VGA-1 not found; ignoring

xrandr MATE :

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root@porteus:/mnt/sdb1/Divers# xrandr --output VGA-1 --auto
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
warning: output VGA-1 not found; ignoring

I tested also in MATE :

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root@porteus:/mnt/sdb1/Divers# xrandr -s 1920/527x1080
Size index 1920 is too large, there are only 1 sizes

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root@porteus:/mnt/sdb1/Divers# xrandr --newmode 1920x1080_60.00 173.00 1920 2048 2248 2576 1080 1083 1088 1120 -hsync +vsync
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default

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root@porteus:/mnt/sdb1/Divers# xrandr --addmode VGA-1 1920x1080_60.00
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
xrandr: cannot find output "VGA-1"

By the way I don't know which boot logs to analyze ....Xorg.0.log ?


.

[donald]

do not add nomodeset or anything like that.
but guiexec=/path/to/screenfix.sh of course.

btw -> APPEND 3 is the text mode, the script should work for normal boot to desktop.

EDIT
I have a similar PC
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+ and nvidia GeForce 7050 PV

Let the system boot - it will use the nouveau driver and set the wrong resolution but
a split second later the script corrects the resolution .-- at least it should.
(works for me)

EDIT_2
Your screenfix.sh is executable, is it?

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ls -lh screenfix.sh
-rwxr-xr-x 1 guest users 68 Jul 27 11:51 screenfix.sh*

[Rapha_]

All my files have all permissions and executables. (But I can't change anything: I think it's because my Usb is in Fat32 and my Hard disk in Ntfs ) like this :

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root@porteus:/mnt/sdb1/boot/syslinux# ls -lh screenfix.sh
-rwxrwxrwx 1 guest root 137 Jul 27 17:55 screenfix.sh*

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APPEND from=/dev/sda1/ noload=xfce;lxde;openbox;lxqt;cinnamon guiexec=/mnt/sdb1/boot/syslinux/screenfix.sh

But without "nomodeset " the screen is scrambled (I can't load a a picture here to show you )


in any case, I noticed that there was a problem loading the script: I saw this when I pressed the keys (Alt + F2) :

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/opt/porteus-scripts/xorg/gui-autostart:/mnt/sdb1/boot/syslinux/screenfix.sh:/bin/bash^M: bad interpreter: No such file or directory 

So I corrected the end of lines in the text editor (Windows to Unix) . Tested the script in Xfce Terminal (it works). And moved it on the /porteus/rootcopy/home/guest (directory)

New cheatcode :

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APPEND from=/dev/sda1/ noload=xfce;lxde;openbox;lxqt;cinnamon guiexec=/home/guest/screenfix.sh

Now the screen start scrambled, but now becomes completely black or after few seconds, I can't do anything, (Alt +F1) or (Alt +F2) don't respond. I can just reload with (Alt +Print +e)

it's not very important for me because I don't use this desktop. And I don't want it to take up all my time.

I saw that the bug had been noticed before...

[donald]

Hmm...too bad, but I can't reproduce the problems you are having, unfortunately.

--> does FAT32 make any difference -- nope.
I installed Mate on a FAT32 formatted USB-stick > saved screenfix.sh in
.../rootcopy/home/guest/ > and had this simple line in porteus.cfg

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APPEND from=UUID:C5F6-93AD guiexec=/home/guest/screenfix.sh

I always use UUIDs to make sure the correct drive is used.

It took a bit longer - because it's an old USB stick - but it worked.
(I think no screenshot is needed to prove that).

sorry for being of no help..

EDIT

xrandr MATE
0: +default 640/169x480/127+0+0 default
and
warning: output VGA-1 not found; ignoring

That's the problem, the xrandr output does not list any output except default.
Could it be that a fallback driver such as vesa and not the nouveau driver is used?
Compare, if you like, which driver is being used - in XFCE and MATE
(porteus system info or lspci -k )

[ncmprhnsbl]

seems strange that it only affects mate..
maybe try: menu>control center>look and feel>windows>general>compositing manager>uncheck: enable software compositing window manager
and perhaps then look at the 'Displays' setting...

the contents of /var/log/Xorg.0.log might show something, too

[beny]

hi i have used mate and no trouble at all fx6600 geforce7200gx,maybe you have to boot system with the always fresh option or the text mode option that show if something do not run.and the blue desktop is horrible,well also the greyed too

[Rapha_]

I also tested the "Forcing modes" and the "Disabling modesetting" for Nvidia :
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Kernel ... s_and_EDID

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nomodeset nouveau.modeset=0

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video=VGA-1:1920x1080@60

With no résults...

sorry for being of no help..

No, I am learning a lot from what you have suggested !

That's the problem, the xrandr output does not list any output except default.
Could it be that a fallback driver such as vesa and not the nouveau driver is used?
Compare, if you like, which driver is being used - in XFCE and MATE
(porteus system info or lspci -k )

In fact, there is the same restriction when I use "nomodeset" with XFCE : I understand that "nomodeset" or "acpi=off" it makes a Safe boot mode and with that no change is possible. And with your command I see it stay with "nouveau"

maybe try: menu>control center>look and feel>windows>general>compositing manager>uncheck: enable software compositing window manager
and perhaps then look at the 'Displays' setting...

Nothing happened when I deactivated "compositing window manager" in Safe boot mode (acpi=off) and it is not keeped when I reboot (I don't know how to config that in "rootcopy"....)

maybe you have to boot system with the always fresh

the problem is present also in "fresh mode"


In fact, it gets much better !

I tested a new script , with the help of this page :
https://wiki.mux.re/doku.php?id=linux:display

screenfix3.sh

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#!/bin/bash
#xrandr --output VGA-1 --off
#xrandr --output VGA-1 --auto
# On trouve les infos pour la création du mode correspondant à 1920x1080 60Hz (résolution supposée être la bonne donc)
# cvt 1920 1080 60
 
# Ensuite on copie toute la ligne sans "Modeline" et on créer le mode avec  :
xrandr --newmode "1920x1080_60.00"  173.00  1920 2048 2248 2576  1080 1083 1088 1120 -hsync +vsync
 
# On ajoute notre mode à la sortie qui nous intéresse (par exemple VGA-1 si l'écran en question est branché dessus)
xrandr --addmode VGA-1 1920x1080_60.00
 
# On active ensuite le mode crée sur la sortie
xrandr --output VGA-1 --mode 1920x1080_60.00

The screen start scrambled for 2-3 seconds, then it will be displayed correctly !

Everything works and settings are normal now... Except if I deactivate "compositing window manager" the screen becomes scrambled again, even if I press the escape key (Esc) several times...Then (Ctrl + alt + F1) then (Ctrl + alt + F7) it becomes normal


I re-tested Donald's script directly from MATE (still a black screen), while it works well on XFCE

I compared the "/var/log/Xorg.0.log" for MATE and XFCE (not in detail) , I see the block of lines concerning " nouveau " (from "EDID Vendor "AUS") are loaded many times with MATE (7 times), but only 2 times with XFCE




I would not have progressed if Donald had not given me an option

[donald]

The screen start scrambled for 2-3 seconds, then it will be displayed correctly !

Excellent, and because you found the solution yourself, you will never forget how to do it.

[Rapha_]

I tested another startup script that allows this time to automatically deactivate after a few seconds, the software (Marco's compositing manager *) that causes of problems :
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/MATE#T ... ompositing

compositing.sh

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#!/bin/bash
if [ "$(gsettings get org.mate.Marco.general compositing-manager)" = "true" ]
then
  gsettings set org.mate.Marco.general compositing-manager false
else
  gsettings set org.mate.Marco.général compositing-manager true
fi

it works too


But all this is not great: having a scrambled screen for 5-6 seconds...


So I tried to deactivate this software in advance.

Using a code on this page:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/xcompmgr

I was able to test this by creating a "xorg.conf" file and a set of folders to place in "rootcopy":
/rootcopy/etc/X11/xorg.conf

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# /etc/X11/xorg.conf (xorg X Window System server configuration file)

Section "Extensions"
        Option  "Composite" "false"
EndSection

So this time no more scrambling at startup, but still 2-3 windows of discontent ... Otherwise, globally the system works




*
Marco's developers mention a relation with Xpresent :
https://github.com/mate-desktop/marco/issues/548

A visual overview of the bug (bugs.debian.org):
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugrepo ... .JPG;msg=5
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugrepo ... .mp4;msg=5

[donald]

Hi Rapha

A visual overview...

Yep, that's how it looks.

--> xorg.conf = sets the resolution right but destroyed the panel.


Another approach:
[ tested on FAT32 without saving changes]

a) boot with nomodeset to have a clear desktop. [but wrong resolution]

b) run

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guest@porteus:~$ mate-window-properties

and disable "software compositing"

c)
cd /mnt/live/memory/changes/home/guest/.config/dconf/
and copy the "user" file into
$BOOTDEV/porteus/rootcopy/home/guest/.config/dconf/

reboot without nomodeset -- all good at my end.
[It stays a few seconds on a blank screen before the desktop appears.]

[Rapha_]

Than you very much Donald...I didn't know where to save the configs of MATE

Your method works perfectly !

--> xorg.conf = sets the resolution right but destroyed the panel.

indeed, a conflict with the panel (taskbar) !

I tried to continue in my direction to see what was wrong, and what could be corrected :

I did a "reset the panels" the icons (clock, network etc..) reloaded, but the transparency of the panel disappeared. The menu can also disappear (but it can be put back). The transparency can be reset but the conflict comes back. And also, the windows have a thick border that I can't fix

So finally I decided to uncheck the "compositing manager" and save the settings as you did !

[SEMERENDO.cr]

Well, if you have the answer yourself, another desktop like the Xfce works perfectly, why complicate your life?
Particularly, I am fascinated by Mate because the file explorer "caja" is more intuitive/functional, easy to use when connecting with ftp; Not to mention how well it organizes and displays files information. He is also very fast, maybe not as fast as Thunar.