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[BUG]: Display Issues with artix-cinnamon-openrc ISO on laptops

1. Summary:
When booting the artix-cinnamon-openrc-20240819-x86_64.iso on an HP ProBook 450 G2 laptop, the desktop environment fails to load correctly, displaying horizontal and vertical colored lines. Using the nomodeset kernel parameter in GRUB allows the GUI to load but with a significantly reduced display resolution.

2. Detailed Description:
I am encountering a display problem when attempting to boot the Artix Linux Cinnamon OpenRC live ISO (artix-cinnamon-openrc-20240819-x86_64.iso) on my HP ProBook 450 G2 laptop. Instead of the desktop environment loading as expected, the screen shows a series of horizontal and vertical colored lines, making the interface unusable.

Applying the nomodeset kernel parameter in GRUB allows the GUI to load correctly; however, this results in a very low display resolution, which severely hampers usability. Secure Boot has been disabled in the UEFI settings to rule out related issues.

I attached four images demonstrating the display problem.

3. Steps to Reproduce:

  • Download the artix-cinnamon-openrc-20240819-x86_64.iso from the official Artix Linux website.
  • Create a bootable USB drive using Rufus version 4.5.2180 in DD mode.
  • Observe the display during the boot process without nomodeset: Desktop environment fails to load correctly, displaying colored lines.
  • Observe the display during the boot process with nomodeset: GUI loads but with reduced display resolution.
      
4. Expected Behavior:
The system should boot into the Artix Linux live environment without display artifacts, and the desktop environment should load correctly with proper display resolution.

5. Actual Behavior:

Without nomodeset: The desktop environment does not load correctly; instead, the screen shows horizontal and vertical colored lines.

With nomodeset: The GUI loads properly, but the display resolution is significantly lower than expected.


6. System Information:

Laptop Model: HP ProBook 450 G2
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-5200U CPU @ 2.20GHz, 2201 MHz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
RAM: 16 GB DDR3
Graphics:
  • GPU1: Intel(R) HD Graphics 5500
  • GPU2: AMD Radeon R5 M255
  
BIOS Version: Hewlett-Packard M73 Ver. 01.54, 03/03/2020
ISO Version: artix-cinnamon-openrc-20240819-x86_64.iso
Boot Mode: UEFI
USB Creation Tool: Rufus 4.5.2180 (DD mode was used)

7. Additional Information:

Secure Boot: Disabled in UEFI settings.
Graphics Configuration: This laptop utilizes dual graphics (Intel integrated and AMD Radeon discrete GPU).
Other Distributions that work on this laptop: Linux Mint and Manjaro live environments work fine on this laptop.
Kernel Parameters Tried: nomodeset
 
Attempts to Resolve:
Created the USB using Rufus in DD mode.
Disabled Secure Boot.
Applied the nomodeset kernel parameter.

8. Attachments:
Image 1: An image showing horizontal and vertical colored lines during boot without nomodeset.
Image 2: Screenshot showing the GUI with low resolution when using nomodeset.
Image 3: fastfetch output.
Image4: lspci output.
Most people don't use Linux because they find it difficult to use. I find Linux easy to use but don't daily drive it because my favorite distro doesn't work well on my existing hardware. :-(

Re: [BUG]: Display Issues on HP ProBook 450 G2 with artix-cinnamon-openrc ISO

Reply #1 –
Now, this is a nice and detailed error report!
This probably hit you because of the kernel / GPU driver combination. If you've got a fast internet connection, I suggest you download the 20240823 ISO which runs on kernel 6.10.6; it may boot fine. If not, you should proceed installing the system with modesetting disabled and then trying either linux-lts or any other kernel which works. A system update will fix your issue, eventually.

Re: [BUG]: Display Issues on HP ProBook 450 G2 with artix-cinnamon-openrc ISO

Reply #2 –
Quote from: nous – on
Now, this is a nice and detailed error report!
This probably hit you because of the kernel / GPU driver combination. If you've got a fast internet connection, I suggest you download the 20240823 ISO which runs on kernel 6.10.6; it may boot fine. If not, you should proceed installing the system with modesetting disabled and then trying either linux-lts or any other kernel which works. A system update will fix your issue, eventually.
Thank you for your fast response. I also highly appreciate your kind words! :)
I will test other kernel versions, and the 20240823 ISO and will report my findings.
Most people don't use Linux because they find it difficult to use. I find Linux easy to use but don't daily drive it because my favorite distro doesn't work well on my existing hardware. :-(

Re: [BUG]: Display Issues on HP ProBook 450 G2 with artix-cinnamon-openrc ISO

Reply #3 –
Quote from: nous – on
Now, this is a nice and detailed error report!
This probably hit you because of the kernel / GPU driver combination. If you've got a fast internet connection, I suggest you download the 20240823 ISO which runs on kernel 6.10.6; it may boot fine. If not, you should proceed installing the system with modesetting disabled and then trying either linux-lts or any other kernel which works. A system update will fix your issue, eventually.
Thank you again for your valuable suggestions. I appreciate your guidance!   :)
I downloaded and tested artix-cinnamon-openrc-20240823-x86_64.iso, but unfortunately, I encountered the same display issue.

Typically, I use the base installer when setting up Artix Linux on a desktop. However, for my laptop, I wanted to ensure that all hardware components function correctly before proceeding with the installation. That's why I opted for an ISO that includes a GUI, allowing me to test the system thoroughly. Given the fact that I encountered a display issue in the live environment, I'm concerned that the same problem might persist after I install Artix Linux using the base installer.

Could you please advise on how I should proceed to ensure a successful installation? Any additional recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you again for your support and guidance!
Most people don't use Linux because they find it difficult to use. I find Linux easy to use but don't daily drive it because my favorite distro doesn't work well on my existing hardware. :-(

Re: [BUG]: Display Issues on HP ProBook 450 G2 with artix-cinnamon-openrc ISO

Reply #4 –
If possible, disable the AMD Radeon card in the BIOS, so only the Intel card will be used.
Then enable mode-setting, as this is required by Intel, and try again.

artist

Re: [BUG]: Display Issues on HP ProBook 450 G2 with artix-cinnamon-openrc ISO

Reply #5 –
Quote from: Artist – on
If possible, disable the AMD Radeon card in the BIOS, so only the Intel card will be used.
Then enable mode-setting, as this is required by Intel, and try again.

artist
Thank you for your suggestion. I disabled the AMD Radeon discrete GPU in the UEFI, which allowed me to successfully boot into the live graphical environment.

Given that I was able to boot into the live environments of other "just works" distributions, such as Linux Mint and Manjaro, without disabling the discrete GPU, it seems that some components required for handling hybrid GPUs in laptops may be missing or not functioning as intended in the artix-cinnamon-openrc-20240823-x86_64 ISO. Nevertheless, this solution has enabled me to proceed with my final hardware tests before installing Artix Linux on this laptop. I believe this issue can now be considered resolved.

Most people don't use Linux because they find it difficult to use. I find Linux easy to use but don't daily drive it because my favorite distro doesn't work well on my existing hardware. :-(

Re: [BUG]: Display Issues on HP ProBook 450 G2 with artix-cinnamon-openrc ISO

Reply #6 –
Mint's kernel is 6.8 series, so it is very probable that linux-lts will work fine with your discrete GPU enabled.

Re: [BUG]: Display Issues on HP ProBook 450 G2 with artix-cinnamon-openrc ISO

Reply #7 –
Quote from: nous – on
Mint's kernel is 6.8 series, so it is very probable that linux-lts will work fine with your discrete GPU enabled.
Thank you for your kind suggestions.  :)
I want to clarify that I'm currently experiencing these issues in the live environment, and not on a bare-metal installation of Artix Linux. As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to test everything in a graphical live environment before I nuke my current OS and install Artix Linux.
In the meantime, I downloaded the manjaro-cinnamon-24.0.5-240729-linux69.iso and created a bootable USB with it. I booted from the USB on my laptop and chose the option to load with open-source drivers in GRUB. The Manjaro ISO that I downloaded uses kernel version 6.9.10, which is newer than what Linux Mint uses, but it still works flawlessly on my laptop.
If I don't manage to get the non-LTS kernel work with my setup, I may consider installing the LTS kernel. However, one of the main reasons I chose Artix Linux over other systemd-free distributions, like Devuan, was to avoid the "LTS" (aka old) stuff. I also have access to several laptops with hybrid GPUs, so I may test the Live Artix Linux USB on them to see if they encounter the same issue. I will report any new findings.
Thanks again for your support and guidance!
Most people don't use Linux because they find it difficult to use. I find Linux easy to use but don't daily drive it because my favorite distro doesn't work well on my existing hardware. :-(

Re: [BUG]: Display Issues with artix-cinnamon-openrc ISO on laptops

Reply #8 –
Quote from: Phosphate5 – on
to avoid the "LTS" (aka old) stuff
LTS kernels aren't old, they get backported updates regularly from the "current" kernel. My experience says they even work better on older hardware and break way less often.
Anyway, I suspect the 6.10 kernel series is what gives your laptop trouble, why don't you try last year's stable ISOs from our "old and archived" download section?

Re: [BUG]: Display Issues with artix-cinnamon-openrc ISO on laptops

Reply #9 –
Quote from: nous – on
Quote from: Phosphate5 – on
to avoid the "LTS" (aka old) stuff
LTS kernels aren't old, they get backported updates regularly from the "current" kernel. My experience says they even work better on older hardware and break way less often.
Anyway, I suspect the 6.10 kernel series is what gives your laptop trouble, why don't you try last year's stable ISOs from our "old and archived" download section?
Thank you for your patience. I really appreciate your efforts in helping users.
As you suggested, I downloaded the artix-cinnamon-openrc-20230814-x86_64.iso, which uses Linux kernel version 6.4.10, but as shown in the attached images, I encountered the same display issue.
I also apologize for the low quality of the attached images. Unfortunately, I don't have a capture card and can't record directly when I'm in tty.
Most people don't use Linux because they find it difficult to use. I find Linux easy to use but don't daily drive it because my favorite distro doesn't work well on my existing hardware. :-(

Re: [BUG]: Display Issues with artix-cinnamon-openrc ISO on laptops

Reply #10 –
Hi,
It has been a long time since I first posted about this issue on the Artix Linux forum. I have tested the live graphical environments of several distributions (Devuan, Fedora, Linux Mint, Manjaro, and Kali Linux) and encountered no graphical issues with them. I also recently downloaded and tested artix-xfce-openrc-20240823-x86_64.iso, which surprisingly boots without any graphical problems, as shown in the attached screenshot. However, occasionally, even the XFCE live environment behaves strangely when I try to launch applications.

I also tested the live USB that I created using the artix-cinnamon-openrc-20240823-x86_64 ISO on a Lenovo B50 laptop with an AMD Radeon R5 M330 discrete GPU, and it had no graphical issues. For some reason that I don’t fully understand, only my particular HP laptop is affected, which is very frustrating. Perhaps some additional drivers or blobs, which are included in the ISOs of other distributions, are necessary to make everything work on my HP laptop.

The hybrid GPU problem I am experiencing with my laptop on Artix Linux is quite frustrating and is the reason why I am still using Windows. My HP laptop is my main machine, and I cannot ensure that Artix Linux works reliably on it without performing some tests using the live environment. Additionally, I heavily debloated my Windows installation to make it feel less painful to use, and I really don’t remember what changes I made to debloat it. I might not be able to recreate that setup from scratch! Since the live environment of Artix Linux doesn’t work well on my laptop, I fear that the bare metal installation might also have the same graphical issue and I may end up with a broken Artix Linux installation and no GUI after installing Artix Linux using the base installer. Unfortunately, I am also short on storage, so dual-booting is not an option.

Perhaps compiling a custom Linux kernel might help, but for now, I am stuck with Windows. Fortunately or unfortunately, I am red-pilled by Artix Linux and OpenRC. However, if I cannot get Artix Linux to work with my laptop, I might consider switching to a Systemd-based “Just Works” distro, Arch Linux, or even Gentoo! While I have a preference for non-Systemd distros, “Just Works” Systemd-based distros are also open source and may work better on my laptop. Since I don’t play games and don't rely on any critical Windows applications, continuing with Windows no longer seems practical for me.
Most people don't use Linux because they find it difficult to use. I find Linux easy to use but don't daily drive it because my favorite distro doesn't work well on my existing hardware. :-(