switching to external VGA monitor does not work anymore on dell precision M4400 and Ubuntu 10.04

Bug #585258 reported by Lucio Crusca
34
This bug affects 7 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
linux (Ubuntu)
Won't Fix
Medium
Unassigned

Bug Description

I've just upgraded my 9.10 to 10.04. If I boot the latest 9.10 available kernel (linux-image-2.6.31-21-generic), fn+F8 switches the vga output as expected. If I boot linux-image-2.6.32-22-generic, fn+F8 does nothing (in a gnome-terminal it prints a lowecase "p").

Other fn+F* combinations do work as expected.

I'm going to compile the latest vanilla kernel, I'll post the results here as soon as they're available.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
Package: linux-image (not installed)
Regression: Yes
Reproducible: Yes
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-22.33-generic 2.6.32.11+drm33.2
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-22-generic i686
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
AlsaVersion: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.21.
AplayDevices:
 **** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
 card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: STAC92xx Analog [STAC92xx Analog]
   Subdevices: 1/1
   Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
Architecture: i386
ArecordDevices:
 **** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
 card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: STAC92xx Analog [STAC92xx Analog]
   Subdevices: 2/2
   Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
   Subdevice #1: subdevice #1
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: lucio 1575 F.... pulseaudio
CRDA: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
Card0.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:0 'Intel'/'HDA Intel at 0xf6fdc000 irq 21'
   Mixer name : 'IDT 92HD71B7X'
   Components : 'HDA:111d76b2,10280250,00100302'
   Controls : 20
   Simple ctrls : 14
Date: Tue May 25 08:55:35 2010
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=cd624de3-0441-40cf-9577-913b75566897
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" - Release i386 (20091028.5)
MachineType: Dell Inc. Precision M4400
PccardctlIdent:
 Socket 0:
   no product info available
PccardctlStatus:
 Socket 0:
   no card
ProcCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic root=UUID=7c9e46b0-1ace-444a-95a4-9624c5d55e96 ro quiet splash
ProcEnviron:
 SHELL=/bin/bash
 PATH=(custom, user)
 LANG=it_IT.UTF-8
RelatedPackageVersions: linux-firmware 1.34
SourcePackage: linux
dmi.bios.date: 10/30/2009
dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.bios.version: A18
dmi.board.name: 0R906R
dmi.board.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.chassis.type: 8
dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellInc.:bvrA18:bd10/30/2009:svnDellInc.:pnPrecisionM4400:pvr:rvnDellInc.:rn0R906R:rvr:cvnDellInc.:ct8:cvr:
dmi.product.name: Precision M4400
dmi.sys.vendor: Dell Inc.

Revision history for this message
Lucio Crusca (lucrus) wrote :
Revision history for this message
Jeremy Foshee (jeremyfoshee) wrote :

Hi Lucio,

If you could also please test the latest upstream kernel available that would be great. It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds . Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please remove the 'needs-upstream-testing' tag. This can be done by clicking on the yellow pencil icon next to the tag located at the bottom of the bug description and deleting the 'needs-upstream-testing' text. Please let us know your results.

Thanks in advance.

    [This is an automated message. Apologies if it has reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

tags: added: kj-triage
Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
status: New → Incomplete
Revision history for this message
Lucio Crusca (lucrus) wrote :

I've tried to compile 2.6.34 vanilla, but I can't get it to boot, it hangs on "waiting for root filesystem". Here are my steps:

$ tar xjf linux-2.6.34.tar.bz2 && cd linux*
$ cp /boot/config-`uname -r` .config
$ make oldconfig
[return, return, return, ... ]
$ make menuconfig
General Setup / Local version = -m4400
Processor Type And Features / Processor family = Core 2 / newer Xeon
Processor Type And Features / Timer frequency = 300 HZ
Device Drivers / Serial ATA and Parallel ATA drivers *Yes / Everything *Yes except for ISA PnP PATA and PCMCIA PATA, but those shouldn't be needed to boot a internal sata disk, right?
Filesystems / Ext2 *Yes
Filesystems / Ext3 *Yes
Filesystems / Ext4 *Yes
(My root fs is ext4)
Exit / save configuration
$ fakeroot make-kpkg --initrd binary-arch
$ cd .. && sudo dpkg -i linux-image-2.6.34-m4400_2.6.34-m4400-10.00.Custom_i386.deb linux-headers*.deb

What's wrong? What have I missed to let the new kernel boot on my system?

Revision history for this message
Lucio Crusca (lucrus) wrote :
Revision history for this message
Lucio Crusca (lucrus) wrote :

I ended up using a precompiled 2.6.34 mainline kernel instead of compiling myself upstream sources (they told me it's basically the same thing).

Test results: the same as 2.6.32, Fn+F8 does nothing in X and outputs a "p" in gnome-terminal. Following suggestions on the gmane linux.ubuntu.kernel.devel.general group, I've already tried to add acpi_osi="!Windows 2009" boot argument but it does not solve the problem in 2.6.32 nor 2.6.34. either.

tags: removed: needs-upstream-testing
Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
status: Incomplete → New
Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
status: New → Triaged
importance: Undecided → Medium
tags: added: kernel-graphics
Revision history for this message
Lucio Crusca (lucrus) wrote :

Recent Ubuntu updates made the problem appear also in latest 9.10 kernel, namely linux-image-2.6.31-21-generic. However with that kernel (and only that), if I press Fn+F8 during boot before gdm starts, the external vga gets the output, but after gdm has started Fn+F8 stops working and does nothing.

Since latest updates did not touch linux-image-2.6.31-21-generic, but only other packages, I suspect this problem could be related to other packages also/only, but I don't know how to check if it's such a case. It seems there were no udev nor acpi updates recently, and I don't know what other package could influence the support of Fn+whatever.

Any help appreciated.

Revision history for this message
Lucio Crusca (lucrus) wrote :

I add that when I press Fn+F8 in linux-image-2.6.31-21-generic after gdm has started, nothing happens but a new line is written to dmesg:

dell-wmi: Unknown key 42 pressed

Moreover I'm not sure that the time when it stops working is exactly when gdm starts, it could very well be sometime during bootup before gdm.

Revision history for this message
pieroide (pieroide) wrote :

I have the same problem with my Precision M4400 - Ubuntu 10.04.2 LTS amd64.
I cannot switch to external monitor with Fn+F8 buttons also when it's docked (both VGA and DisplayPort on PR03X docking-station).
The only way to switch monitor is via nvidia-settings (fortunately saving the configuration it switch automatically if I connect external monitor before booting)
I have no problems with karmic 64

any suggestions?

Revision history for this message
=JeffH (jeff-hodges) wrote :

Hey folks, can we get this fixed? It's also a problem on the Dell E6500, and possibly the entire E6xxx series (as well as precision and other more recent Dells).

I've recently posted this..

[ubuntu] 10.4 upgrade - Fn F8 (external monitor flip) not working (post #7)
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=11176214&postcount=7

..where I note that it appears that the scancodes that are issued by the Dell E6500 keyboard are now different than the ones that were issued by my Dell D820 (and on which fn+f8 external monitor switch works with 10.04.x).

Is the keyboard driver and its default keymaps bound into the kernel? If so that'd explain Lucio Crusca's observations of the behavior being different with only booting different kernel revs.

For a workaround is it possible to dynamically load a new keymap that'd fix this problem?

Please, please, please, can we fix this -- I have to do the external monitor switch thing all the time and I really want to get my E6500 working properly. thanks!!!

Revision history for this message
=JeffH (jeff-hodges) wrote :

FYI: This bug (585258), is apparently essentially a duplicate of this one here..

[Firmware Bug]: Duplicate ACPI video bus devices for the same VGA controller. Switch display Fn button not working on Dell e6400
Bug #722377
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/722377

Is anyone looking into these? (please :)

thanks!

Revision history for this message
Bruno Coutinho Mundim (bcmundim) wrote :

I would like to report that this is still an issue with Kubuntu 12.04 on my Dell Inspiron 1520. The last time it worked for me was with Kubuntu 9.10. It is really a pitty that this bug is still around. My workaround was to use Xubuntu whenever I have to give presentations with my laptop.

Revision history for this message
Joseph Salisbury (jsalisbury) wrote : Unsupported series, setting status to "Won't Fix".

This bug was filed against a series that is no longer supported and so is being marked as Won't Fix. If this issue still exists in a supported series, please file a new bug.

This change has been made by an automated script, maintained by the Ubuntu Kernel Team.

Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
status: Triaged → Won't Fix
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