View Full Version : Screen keeps going off
Not sure if this is a problem with Ubuntu Jaunty.
I am using XBMC to play all my media. For some reason after a while watching a video the screen will go blank. TV doesn't see any input from the PC. This doesn't always happen though. If i move the mouse it comes back but can lose signal after a minute again. Power management is set to never put the computer to sleep or switch off the monitor. I dont have screensaver enabled either.
I'm using Ubuntu 9.04 and have the Nvidia 185 beta drivers installed.
ASUS P5N7A-VM motherboard
Can anyone help? I've tried everything and am slowly going mad!
Thanks!
Check your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. There might be an option in there for DPMS listed as Option "DPMS". Put a # in front to comment it out and reboot or restart X and that should solve your issue. It did for me
Cheers!
jowilkin
2009-04-30, 08:26
I am having this issue too. I'm also using the Asus p5n7a-vm. There isn't any DPMS option in my xorg.conf.
I was using 64-bit ubuntu jaunty, but having several different issues so I just went to 32-bit jaunty. Now most issues are solved, but screen keeps going off after a few minutes. I didn't have this problem with ubuntu 8.10 32-bit.
I have screensaver turned off and power management set to never sleep, etc.
Details:
Asus p5n7a-vm motherboard, intel e5200 cpu, 2 gig ram, onboard sound
Ubuntu 9.04, 32-bit
Using the xbmc version xbmc - 9.04~beta1-jaunty1 from https://launchpad.net/~team-xbmc/+archive/jaunty-ppa
uname output: 2.6.28-11-generic #42-Ubuntu SMP i686 GNU/Linux
Alsa 1.0.18 from standard jaunty repos.
Nvidia drivers from https://launchpad.net/~thefirstm/+archive/ppa
Would the log help in debugging this? I can upload it if so.
edit: I found this thread on the ubuntu forums: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=7057737. Will report back if I can get any of the suggestions in it to work.
jowilkin
2009-04-30, 08:53
Seems to be a jaunty/gnome problem.
The following seemed to solve it for me. Run gnome-screensaver-command -i before running xbmc, as recommended in the post I linked to in my previous post. For example, use the following script to launch xbmc:
#!/bin/bash
gnome-screensaver-command -i &
xbmc && killall -15 gnome-screensaver-command ;
exit
Or just disable screen saver complete and turn off powersaving mode in ubuntu.
But remeber to turn on your xbmc screensaver if you got a plasma screen.
jowilkin
2009-05-01, 11:41
Or just disable screen saver complete and turn off powersaving mode in ubuntu.
But remeber to turn on your xbmc screensaver if you got a plasma screen.
The problem is that we did disable screen saver and turn off powersaving and the issue persists.
Using the above command does seem to work however.
BTW new plasmas don't burn in like the old ones. I have a plasma and have mistakenly fallen asleep with a still image on the screen several times with no consequences.
if you run XBMC in fullscreen you shouldn't have this issue ?
The problem is that we did disable screen saver and turn off powersaving and the issue persists.
I am far from an export on linux but my understanding is that you need to put some flags in Xorg.conf.
sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
add at the end:
Section "ServerFlags"
Option "BlankTime" "0"
Option "StandbyTime" "0"
Option "SuspendTime" "0"
Option "OffTime" "0"
EndSection
jowilkin
2009-05-03, 04:33
if you run XBMC in fullscreen you shouldn't have this issue ?
The issue persists even in fullscreen mode. Using the method I posted above does solve the problem though.
I am far from an export on linux but my understanding is that you need to put some flags in Xorg.conf.
sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
add at the end:
Section "ServerFlags"
Option "BlankTime" "0"
Option "StandbyTime" "0"
Option "SuspendTime" "0"
Option "OffTime" "0"
EndSection
I will try this if I have a chance, but it should not be necessary. I should be able to just turn off the screensaver in the gnome screensaver applet.
It seems like it's a bug in gnome to me, but not sure.
@jowilkin
Have you had any luck with this yet?
I've tried all the suggestions in this thread and its still doing it. EVerything works fine for 2 hours. Then during a movie or anything the screen goes blank. Sound is still playing. I pause the movie and start it again using the spacebar and the screen comes back on and everything works. The thing is it will happen again in 5 or 10 minutes... not exact timing. This will happen over and over until I reboot. Then it wont happen for another 2 hours.
Does anyone know what could be causing this?
I've tried all the suggestions in this thread and its still doing it. EVerything works fine for 2 hours. Then during a movie or anything the screen goes blank. Sound is still playing. I pause the movie and start it again using the spacebar and the screen comes back on and everything works. The thing is it will happen again in 5 or 10 minutes... not exact timing. This will happen over and over until I reboot. Then it wont happen for another 2 hours.
Does anyone know what could be causing this?
So you have tried the suggestion from jowilkin already?
#!/bin/bash
gnome-screensaver-command -i &
xbmc && killall -15 gnome-screensaver-command ;
exit
I'm running Linux Mint 7(Jaunty-base) and experiencing the same issue, i am not at home at the moment however so cannot test this script.
henrikyo
2009-07-09, 04:41
anyone got any solution to this problem, i mean, its a shame to cary a mouse with you at all times, because a remote isnt sufficient.
FrozenRunner
2009-07-19, 01:14
I think that I may have found a solution for this problem, it seems that the root user in linux has separate power settings from the active user. If you press Alt-F2 and type "gksudo gnome-power-settings" the power management box pops up. For me this box had the settings set to go off in 30 minutes, setting this to never should keep the screen from turning off.
It seems that there are power management settings for both the logged in user and the root user. I checked this a few times, when I click the power management from the top menu "System | Preferences | Power Management" I have one set of settings and another set when using the above command. Setting both of these to never appears to have fixed the problem for now, hopefully for good.
FrozenRunner
2009-07-19, 01:18
Oh, and I am running Ubuntu 9.04
ArchangHell
2009-08-02, 19:14
I was having the same problem with the ubuntu 9.04 64bit version.
A couple of tests and lots of patience, and was easy to confirm that both gnome screensaver and power manager were the cause of that annoying blank screen.
First, i don't use the gnome screensaver so I disabled it. I prefer the power saving method (energy and equipment saving, beats fancy effects).
I'm really a newbie and after some research, I made my first script:D, thinking in something like the *.bat files of old MS-dos.
Execute in console
gedit xbmc.sh
Insert the next lines in the editor and save it
#!/bin/bash
killall gnome-power-manager
xbmc
gnome-power-manager
exit
Execute in console
chmod 777 xbmc.sh
In the icon I have for xbmc I changed the command to this script and everything is working fine.
By the way: in gnome power manager I have monitor going off after 11 minutes and computer never going to sleep.