FS#67106 - [linux] Switching to multiple monitors in VMWare only shows a black screen

Attached to Project: Arch Linux
Opened by Karlo Dautović (dafta) - Thursday, 25 June 2020, 13:52 GMT
Last edited by freswa (frederik) - Sunday, 13 September 2020, 14:56 GMT
Task Type Bug Report
Category Kernel
Status Closed
Assigned To Tobias Powalowski (tpowa)
Jan Alexander Steffens (heftig)
Levente Polyak (anthraxx)
Architecture x86_64
Severity High
Priority Normal
Reported Version
Due in Version Undecided
Due Date Undecided
Percent Complete 100%
Votes 1
Private No

Details

Description:
After updating to the 5.7.* kernel, whenever I try switching
to multiple monitors, the screen turns to black, and stays that
way until I switch to a single monitor again. By downgrading the
kernel, I have pinpointed this issue to the 5.7 kernel release.
The 5.6.15 kernel doesn't have this issue, and every version of the
kernel from 5.7 onwards has it.

The latest kernel I have tried this on:
Linux archlinux 5.7.6-arch1-1 #1 SMP PREEMPT Thu, 25 Jun 2020 00:14:47 +0000 x86_64 GNU/Linux

I've tried to replicate this bug both in Gnome and KDE, and it does
happen. I've also tried it on KDE on Kali Linux and it worked as it
should, so I'm pretty sure this is an Arch issue.

In the attached dmesg output, the command buffer error that happens
at 25.988301 happens exactly when switching to multiple monitors
for the first time. Subsequent monitor switching doesn't output any
more error messages.

Steps to reproduce:
Install the latest Arch Linux in VMWare, with open-vm-tools and a
desktop environment (KDE or Gnome, possibly others). Run the VM in
fullscreen mode, switch to multiple displays, notice the black
screen, switch back to one monitor.
   dmesg (117 KiB)
   vmware.log (156.3 KiB)
   scsi (0.3 KiB)
   ver_linux (1.8 KiB)
   lspci (112.8 KiB)
   iomem (4.5 KiB)
   modules (5.1 KiB)
   cpuinfo (2.2 KiB)
   ioports (1.6 KiB)
   config (242.7 KiB)
This task depends upon

Closed by  freswa (frederik)
Sunday, 13 September 2020, 14:56 GMT
Reason for closing:  Upstream
Additional comments about closing:  This is not a packaging bug, please report this upstream. Thank you.
Comment by Karlo Dautović (dafta) - Monday, 06 July 2020, 10:09 GMT
Are there any updates on this bug report?
Comment by Karlo Dautović (dafta) - Friday, 10 July 2020, 07:51 GMT
The issue is still there even with the newest kernel, and it's really crippling my job performance. Are there any updates?
Comment by Jan Alexander Steffens (heftig) - Friday, 10 July 2020, 08:43 GMT
I can't help you with any driver issues unless you can point me to a commit I can backport or revert to fix the problem.

Have you tried using linux-lts?
Comment by Karlo Dautović (dafta) - Friday, 10 July 2020, 08:50 GMT
Well, since it starts happening on 5.7, this is the commit that introduces the bug: https://git.archlinux.org/svntogit/packages.git/commit/trunk?h=packages/linux&id=d0b96b4828f482cc02a57ab05b14c3d3d00b0782

linux-lts works as expected, however I'd very much like to continue using linux unless absolutely necessary. I did switch to linux-lts for the time being, however.
Comment by Jan Alexander Steffens (heftig) - Friday, 10 July 2020, 09:04 GMT
Sorry, I mean a commit to the linux code, not our package.
Comment by Jan Alexander Steffens (heftig) - Friday, 10 July 2020, 09:09 GMT
What is the combined resolution of your monitors? Your vmware log shows the framebuffer is configured for a maximum of 2560x1600.

https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/52557
Comment by Karlo Dautović (dafta) - Friday, 10 July 2020, 14:04 GMT
Apologies, I thought this was an Arch bug since I couldn't reproduce it in other distros, but it seems I misread the kernel version in the other systems. After updating to 5.7.* it happens in other systems as well.

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