[gentoo-user] "xset dpms" not working

[Walter Dnes]

My settings...

========================================================================
[x8940][waltdnes][~] xset q
Keyboard Control:
auto repeat: on key click percent: 0 LED mask: 00000002
XKB indicators:
00: Caps Lock: off 01: Num Lock: on 02: Scroll Lock: off
03: Compose: off 04: Kana: off 05: Sleep: off
06: Suspend: off 07: Mute: off 08: Misc: off
09: Mail: off 10: Charging: off 11: Shift Lock: off
12: Group 2: off 13: Mouse Keys: off
auto repeat delay: 660 repeat rate: 25
auto repeating keys: 00ffffffdffffbbf
fadfffefffedffff
9fffffffffffffff
fff7ffffffffffff
bell percent: 50 bell pitch: 400 bell duration: 100
Pointer Control:
acceleration: 2/1 threshold: 4
Screen Saver:
prefer blanking: yes allow exposures: yes
timeout: 600 cycle: 600
Colors:
default colormap: 0x20 BlackPixel: 0x0 WhitePixel: 0xffffff
Font Path:
/usr/share/fonts/misc,/usr/share/fonts/100dpi,built-ins,/usr/share/fonts/misc
DPMS (Display Power Management Signaling):
Standby: 600 Suspend: 601 Off: 602
DPMS is Enabled
Monitor is On
========================================================================

Regardless of the above, the monitor does not blank after 10 minutes
(i.e. 600 seconds). If I run "xset dpms force off" from xterm (both as
local user and as root), the display goes dark... for approximately 1
second... and then returns to normal. Don't know if this is relavant,
but yesterday I was fighting a grocery delivery website for the better
part of an hour trying to place a simple order. In the course of that,
X crashed to a text tty commandline a few times.

Calling support confirmed a nationwide problem at their end. The help
desk guy was surprised that I managed to get my order through at all; it
was that bad at their end. Anyhow, my order was delivered OK this
morning. The DPMS issue started yesterday, so I wonder if it's related
to the X crashes.

[Walter Dnes]

Post by Walter Dnes
Regardless of the above, the monitor does not blank after 10 minutes
(i.e. 600 seconds). If I run "xset dpms force off" from xterm (both as
local user and as root), the display goes dark... for approximately 1
second... and then returns to normal.

So I turned the monitor off with the physical switch, took a nap, and
turned it on when I got up. Now the blanking works again. Cue the
Microsoft support jokes. What gives???

[Michael]

Post by Walter Dnes

Post by Walter Dnes
Regardless of the above, the monitor does not blank after 10 minutes
(i.e. 600 seconds). If I run "xset dpms force off" from xterm (both as
local user and as root), the display goes dark... for approximately 1
second... and then returns to normal.

So I turned the monitor off with the physical switch, took a nap, and
turned it on when I got up. Now the blanking works again. Cue the
Microsoft support jokes. What gives???

Are you using a Display Port, or HDMI connection perhaps? Modern monitors
come with their own onboard chipset which may lose sync with the PC. I've
experience the opposite with mine when I first bought it and thought the PC
had crashed ... :-)

[Walter Dnes]

Post by Michael
Are you using a Display Port, or HDMI connection perhaps? Modern
monitors come with their own onboard chipset which may lose sync with
the PC. I've experience the opposite with mine when I first bought it
and thought the PC had crashed ... :-)

HDMI port according to the message on the display. Another quirk
when the blanking works and the screen is dark. Every several minutes
the entire screen goes bright blue for a few seconds and then returns to
dark for the next several minutes.

[Dale]

Post by Walter Dnes

Post by Michael
Are you using a Display Port, or HDMI connection perhaps? Modern
monitors come with their own onboard chipset which may lose sync with
the PC. I've experience the opposite with mine when I first bought it
and thought the PC had crashed ... :-)

HDMI port according to the message on the display. Another quirk
when the blanking works and the screen is dark. Every several minutes
the entire screen goes bright blue for a few seconds and then returns to
dark for the next several minutes.

I haven't been following this thread as I'm not familiar with xset but
this info made me think.  Could you have a bad cable?  Maybe the plug on
the back of the monitor or video card is worn out and not making a good
connection?  Maybe there is a dust bunny in the connector preventing a
good connection. 

Just a thought.  Maybe. 

Dale

:-)  :-)