Display shrunk after update

Issues & Assistance
1

A few week old problem with Arch based distros is back, and that is one or more updates is shrinking the display down to about half of the available screen space but right in the center of the screen. Then when you check display settings it says it’s set at the 2560 x 1080 this monitor is. Then going to any of the other 3 virtual desktops I have set up comes up with a full black screen, no taskbar or docks, and right clicking on any one of the three does noting. I rolled the system back and that as expected from before did not fix the issue. I managed to address it by toggling a different resolution, keeping it, and then selecting the correct resolution and keep it. I now have all 4 virtual desktops back working properly and at the correct resolution, but my concern is it happening again when I try updates again. The last time this happened none of what I did above fixed it, I was surprised it worked this time. Can someone look into the below list of updates and maybe see if they know what’s causing the issue. I’m pretty sure this is on the updates coming from Arch cause it happened on ArcoLinux as well. Thanks

 9  core/libtirpc                     1.3.4-1        -> 1.3.5-1
 8  core/linux                         6.10.2.arch1-2 -> 6.10.3.arch1-1
 7  core/linux-headers          6.10.2.arch1-2 -> 6.10.3.arch1-1
 6  core/rpcbind                    1.2.6-4        -> 1.2.7-1
 5  extra/egl-wayland           3:1.1.13-1     -> 3:1.1.13.1-1
 4  extra/libx11                      1.8.9-1        -> 1.8.10-1
 3  extra/linux-zen                 6.10.2.zen1-2  -> 6.10.3.zen1-1
 2  extra/linux-zen-headers  6.10.2.zen1-2  -> 6.10.3.zen1-1
 1  extra/python-pyzstd         0.16.0-2       -> 0.16.1-1

 ~  inxi -F                                                                           ✔  09:31:12 AM 
System:
  Host: CCCP Kernel: 6.10.2-zen1-2-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.1.3 Distro: RebornOS Linux
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: ASUS product: N/A v: N/A serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: ASUSTeK model: TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WIFI II v: Rev X.0x
    serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American Megatrends v: 3607
    date: 03/22/2024
CPU:
  Info: 8-core model: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X bits: 64 type: MT MCP cache: L2: 4 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 2281 min/max: 2200/4662 cores: 1: 2200 2: 2200 3: 2200
    4: 2195 5: 2200 6: 2200 7: 2200 8: 2200 9: 3400 10: 2312 11: 2200 12: 2196
    13: 2200 14: 2200 15: 2195 16: 2200
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GA106 [GeForce RTX 3060 Lite Hash Rate] driver: nvidia
    v: 555.58.02
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.13 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.1 driver: X:
    loaded: nvidia unloaded: modesetting gpu: nvidia,nvidia-nvswitch
    resolution: 2560x1080~60Hz
  API: EGL v: 1.5 drivers: nvidia,swrast
    platforms: gbm,x11,surfaceless,device
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: nvidia mesa v: 555.58.02
    renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060/PCIe/SSE2
  API: Vulkan v: 1.3.279 drivers: nvidia surfaces: xcb,xlib
Audio:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GA106 High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
  Device-2: AMD Starship/Matisse HD Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
  API: ALSA v: k6.10.2-zen1-2-zen status: kernel-api
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.2.2 status: active
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 driver: iwlwifi
  IF: wlp7s0 state: down mac: d2:ad:b6:a2:07:3e
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8125 2.5GbE driver: r8169
  IF: enp9s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: c8:7f:54:71:15:6e
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: IMC Networks Wireless_Device driver: btusb type: USB
  Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 state: up address: 34:6F:24:28:FA:4E bt-v: 5.2
  Device-2: Intel AX200 Bluetooth driver: btusb type: USB
  Report: ID: hci1 state: up address: 08:5B:D6:81:98:C1 bt-v: 5.2
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 26.83 TiB used: 18.69 TiB (69.6%)
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Crucial model: CT1000T500SSD8 size: 931.51 GiB
  ID-2: /dev/nvme1n1 vendor: Crucial model: CT500P3SSD8 size: 465.76 GiB
  ID-3: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: Expansion HDD size: 7.28 TiB
    type: USB
  ID-4: /dev/sdb vendor: Seagate model: Expansion HDD size: 10.91 TiB
    type: USB
  ID-5: /dev/sdc vendor: Seagate model: ST8000AS0002-1NA17Z size: 7.28 TiB
    type: USB
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 232.81 GiB used: 27.86 GiB (12.0%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5
  ID-2: /boot/efi size: 299.4 MiB used: 182.1 MiB (60.8%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
  ID-3: /home size: 232.81 GiB used: 27.86 GiB (12.0%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5
  ID-4: /var/log size: 232.81 GiB used: 27.86 GiB (12.0%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5
Swap:
  Alert: No swap data was found.
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 39.5 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 43 C
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 0%
Info:
  Memory: total: 48 GiB available: 46.96 GiB used: 6.78 GiB (14.4%)
  Processes: 523 Uptime: 1h 0m Shell: Zsh inxi: 3.3.35
2

I can’t guess the exact cause of your problem, but it seems plausible that libx11 and egl-wayland affect how graphics diaplay on the screen. Did you maybe just need a reboot after the update? Otherwise if you are on X11, perhaps look into downgrading libx11.

1 Like
4

Thanks for the quick reply. I have Reborn, Garuda, and Arco installed with Reborn as my default. In Reborn I checked my email, did some social media, did my updates, rebooted into Arco which I’m still in the process of setting up, did it’s updates, booted back into it to finish the setup and was greeted with that. I thought maybe Arco hadn’t addressed the issue like I thought other distros had, so I rebooted back into Reborn to be greeted with that. That told me it wasn’t distro specific but a update.

So you’re suggesting I do the updates again and see if it happens again and if it does try downgrading libx11, and reboot?

EDIT:

Yes I’m on x11 cause in my book Wayland is still not ready for prime-time. Thanks again

5

Wayland does work in most cases except in a rare few applications. It is set as the default by some major distros. If you have already rebooted after the update, I suggest trying out Wayland or downgrading libx11

6

Let me update Garuda since it is on Wayland and see if the issue is specific to x11 or across the board.

7

Ok I waited til this morning to do anything cause it was late for me. After fixing the resolution yesterday I decided to reboot to see if the issue came back and it did. However this time I actually had full access to my other 3 desktops. Everything in it’s proper place that was set to autostart. Still the unclickable black area around the wallpaper, but was easily enough to correct again by selecting a different resolution and the reelecting the correct resolution. It’s not hurting anything so I’ll leave for now and just adjust the resolution when needed til it’s fixed. Thanks for the help, much appreciated.

EDIT:

Since I have Reborn as my main OS I decided to do the downgrade on Arco and it didn’t work. One odd but good thing about Reborn is that since I did the original resolution switch I have full access to all mt desktops and no issues that I can see, where as with other Arch based distros I get the full screen on the main desktop but the other 3 desktops are still black screens. Reborn is the only one that seems to restore full functionality on toggling the resolution.

8

OK after noticing a few dialog box much larger than they should be and some where they shouldn’t be I’ve setup to use Wayland as you suggested. ALL seems and looks god so far.

1 Like