Laptop screen goes black during operation, just on kernel 6.1.0.37

[PolkaDots]

I am relatively new to Linux, so forgive me.

I am running MX Linux KDE 23.6, KDE 5.27.5, kernel 6.1.0-37-amd64 on an HP Elitebook 820 G1, 16GB RAM, i5-4300.

I first tried Linux with Zorin 17. The laptop onboard screen kept going black periodically while the DP/HDMI outboard monitor continued fine. It could be restored just by changing the desktop settings from dual monitor to single, then back again. It was not related to screen blanking or power.

I couldn't resolve it so changed to MX. It has been rock solid for months. Not even a hint of the issue. Now suddenly it is doing it too. It occurs in the middle of any and every application. It disappears mid-word as you type. It disappears while editing audio. The back light is still on, there is no content. The computer is still fully working. The DP port still works. Changing sleep and power screen blanking settings has no effect. It doesn't have the same appearance as screen blanking. That is darker. This looks like the screen has full brightness but no content, so appears grey. Logging out and back in brings the screen back.

Significantly, if I boot into kernel 6.1.0.35 from the advanced boot menu, the problem is not present. I do not know if 6.1.0.37 was just applied in the last few days. The problem only happens while running it. There have been many updates over the last few days and weeks but I cannot find a way to see the history of updates via Discover to trace it it to something.

Since I spent days and days trying to resolve the MPEG codec issue recently that affected Audacity and VLC, (I see a solution is posted in the News. Whew!), I know when I'm over my head fixing Linux problems. I was wondering if someone could suggest ways I could get to root of this problem. Thanks! Running 6.1.0-35 is a workaround but I'd like to know what is up with this HP and certain versions of Linux.

Jo-Anne

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Quick Info report:

Code: Select all

Snapshot created on: 20250501_1231
System:
  Kernel: 6.1.0-37-amd64 [6.1.140-1] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.1.0-37-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.27.5 wm: kwin_x11 vt: 7 dm: SDDM Distro: MX-23.6_KDE_x64 Libretto
    April 13 2025 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Hewlett-Packard product: HP EliteBook 820 G1 v: A3009CD10203
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Hewlett-Packard model: 1991 v: KBC Version 15.59 serial: <superuser required>
    UEFI: Hewlett-Packard v: L71 Ver. 01.49 date: 02/24/2020
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i5-4300U bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Haswell gen: core 4 level: v3
    note: check built: 2013-15 process: Intel 22nm family: 6 model-id: 0x45 (69) stepping: 1
    microcode: 0x26
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 2 tpc: 2 threads: 4 smt: enabled cache: L1: 128 KiB
    desc: d-2x32 KiB; i-2x32 KiB L2: 512 KiB desc: 2x256 KiB L3: 3 MiB desc: 1x3 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 799 high: 800 min/max: 800/2900 scaling: driver: intel_cpufreq
    governor: ondemand cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 798 4: 798 bogomips: 19953
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: indirect_target_selection status: Not affected
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT vulnerable
  Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: mmio_stale_data status: Unknown: No mitigations
  Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed status: Not affected
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Retpolines; IBPB: conditional; IBRS_FW; STIBP: conditional; RSB
    filling; PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected; BHI: Not affected
  Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Haswell-ULT Integrated Graphics vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: i915 v: kernel
    arch: Gen-7.5 process: Intel 22nm built: 2013 ports: active: HDMI-A-1,eDP-1
    empty: DP-1,DP-2,HDMI-A-2 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:0a16 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: Chicony HP HD Webcam type: USB driver: uvcvideo bus-ID: 2-7:6 chip-ID: 04f2:b3ed
    class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 with: Xwayland v: 22.1.9 compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X:
    loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa dri: crocus gpu: i915 display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1800 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 506x475mm (19.92x18.70") s-diag: 694mm (27.32")
  Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 mapped: HDMI-1 pos: primary,top model: Samsung S24F350 serial: <filter>
    built: 2017 res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 94 gamma: 1.2 size: 521x293mm (20.51x11.54")
    diag: 598mm (23.5") ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 1920x1080 min: 720x400
  Monitor-2: eDP-1 pos: bottom model: LG Display 0x03ee built: 2012 res: 1280x720 hz: 60 dpi: 117
    gamma: 1.2 size: 277x156mm (10.91x6.14") diag: 318mm (12.5") ratio: 16:9 modes: 1366x768
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 Mesa 24.2.8-1mx23ahs renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 4400 (HSW GT2)
    direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Haswell-ULT HD Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    bus-ID: 00:03.0 chip-ID: 8086:0a0c class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: Intel 8 Series HD Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard 8 driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:9c20 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-37-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Ethernet I218-LM vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: e1000e v: kernel port: 3080
    bus-ID: 00:19.0 chip-ID: 8086:155a class-ID: 0200
  IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Intel Wireless 7260 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel modules: wl pcie: gen: 1
    speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:08b1 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlan0 state: down mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel Bluetooth wireless interface type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8 bus-ID: 2-4:3
    chip-ID: 8087:07dc class-ID: e001
  Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 2.1 lmp-v: 4.0
    sub-v: 500 hci-v: 4.0 rev: 500
  Info: acl-mtu: 1021:5 sco-mtu: 96:5 link-policy: rswitch hold sniff
    link-mode: peripheral accept service-classes: rendering, capturing, object transfer, audio,
    telephony
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 465.76 GiB used: 68.47 GiB (14.7%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Western Digital model: WD Blue SA510 2.5 500GB
    size: 465.76 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD
    serial: <filter> rev: 6100 scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 59.47 GiB size: 57.49 GiB (96.66%) used: 20.87 GiB (36.3%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 256 MiB size: 252 MiB (98.46%) used: 274 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
  ID-3: /home raw-size: 406.04 GiB size: 398.6 GiB (98.17%) used: 47.6 GiB (11.9%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 3 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 file: /swap/swap
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 48.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Repos:
  Packages: 2739 pm: dpkg pkgs: 2729 libs: 1492 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala pm: rpm pkgs: 0
    pm: flatpak pkgs: 10
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list
    1: deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/brave-browser-archive-keyring.gpg] https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
    2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
    1: deb http://mirror.math.princeton.edu/pub/mxlinux/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
    2: deb http://mirror.math.princeton.edu/pub/mxlinux/mx/repo/ bookworm ahs
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vivaldi.list
    1: deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.vivaldi.com/stable/deb/ stable main
Info:
  Processes: 213 Uptime: 1m wakeups: 2 Memory: 15.52 GiB used: 2.02 GiB (13.0%) Init: SysVinit
  v: 3.06 runlevel: 5 default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 alt: 12
  Client: shell wrapper v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: UEFI

[j2mcgreg]

The 6.1.xxx kernel has given a lot of users headaches over its lifespan. I suggest that you use MX Package Installer (MXPI) to install a Liquorix kernel. Be prepared to experiment a bit, but the 6.9.12-2 would be a good starting point. Reboot after the install is complete.

[CharlesV]

Welcome in!

I am going to suggest that you switch off to a linux kernel. (At least for a test) . That machine is new enough I would be running a liquorix 6.12.x. ( There are a few more things to try out, but moving to that liquorx will probably resolve this issue.)

You can load this kernel by starting MX Package Installer and then search for liquorix and choosing the 6.12 and then clicking on install.

Once the install is done, reboot and you should be in a 6.12. ( check your QSI to verify that.)

( Looks like j2mcgreg nija'd me :-) .. And yes, 6.9 or 6.12 are both excellent ! )

[PolkaDots]

Ok. That's another new world for me to explore. Thanks for the pointer. Now I have to hit the books! I actually enjoy the problems in Linux because it is the best way to learn it.

[Jerry3904]

It's pretty painless in MX:
1) launch MX Package Installer
2) click the "kernels" arrow to see a pull down menu
3) check to select the 6.12 liquorix kennel
4) click the"Install" button at the bottom of the page
5) reboot to automatically start using

[PolkaDots]

Wow, that is easy. I read up on it. I installed liquorix 6.12.17-1 and it is stable now. However, it created a new issue which I will have to research: "Virtual box cannot operate in VMX root mode." It suggests to disable the KVM kernel extension and recompile the kernel. Adventures in Linux! What is lovely in MX is the old 6.1.0.35 and 37 are still available in the advanced boot menu, so I can switch over to one of them to use Virtual box if needed while I research this issue.
Thanks for the insights.

[CharlesV]

Ah, ya... I believe that was

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sudo modprobe -r kvm_intel

[PolkaDots]

This is a followup to my original post.
I have done many experiments to see what affects the screen blanking out on the built-in monitor.
I tried different kernels (6.1.0.35, 6.1.0.37, and the Liquorix that was suggested.). It ultimately affected all. I had upgraded the RAM around the same time. I experimented with that. Inconclusive. I ran Win 10 on the laptop. No problems. I ran other distros. It affected some, not others.
I believe I may have now found the source of it. In KDE the Display Configuration tool allows me to change the refresh rate of the built-in monitor of the laptop. The options are 60 and 40 Hz, with 60 as the default. When set to 40 Hz, the problem has disappeared. Some other distros and DE's don't offer a way to change the refresh rate of the built-in monitor in their display config tool, hence they are always 60 Hz I assume. I have this intermittent blanking out problem on them.

So I have a workaround for the issue. I posted it here in case anyone in future does a search for a problem like this. It may give them something to try.