Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    Video blank when hooking monitor back up.....

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
    22 Posts 3 Posters 2.4k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • J
      jsmiddleton4 @stephenw10
      last edited by

      @stephenw10

      Been about 5 hours since adding the i915 tweaks to .local file. Video is still present. Wish I had a more exact time frame for when the hdmi port becomes inactive. Feels like 5 hours is enough. Gonna test it over night.

      stephenw10S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • JKnottJ
        JKnott @jsmiddleton4
        last edited by

        @jsmiddleton4

        I use a 4 port USB & HDMI KVM. It works fine with no issues.

        PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
        i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
        UniFi AC-Lite access point

        I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

        J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • J
          jsmiddleton4 @stephenw10
          last edited by

          @stephenw10

          So the driver=yes loads the Intel driver in the BSD “base”?

          Haven’t found what unsupported does.

          The Dell 390 is the Sandy Bridge chipset.

          https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/how-to-use-the-old-or-the-new-i915kms-driver-for-intel-integrated-graphics-with-xorg.66732/

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • J
            jsmiddleton4 @JKnott
            last edited by jsmiddleton4

            @jknott

            port USB & HDMI KVM

            Thanks but if I was going to buy something I’d probably pickup a 10 inch monitor and slap it on the wall by the PC/router.

            I’ve kept expenses to a minimum. The Dell 390 was free. Decent PC in its day but now its like the earlier generations of robots in iROBOT.

            For PFSense its most excellent.

            Only cost was the 2.5gb NIC’s. 3 of them cost less than a 2.5ge switch.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • stephenw10S
              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator @jsmiddleton4
              last edited by

              @jsmiddleton4 said in Video blank when hooking monitor back up.....:

              Wish I had a more exact time frame for when the hdmi port becomes inactive.

              If that's the issue you are hitting it effectively becomes inactive at boot. The behaviour is that the video console is fine as long as a monitor is connected at boot. If there is no monitor connected at boot the port becomes inactive and connecting a monitor at some later stage will show nothing.

              Steve

              J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • J
                jsmiddleton4 @stephenw10
                last edited by jsmiddleton4

                @stephenw10

                The monitor is connected at boot. At least was at some point. When I disconnect the monitor it always has the console/menu display when I turn off the monitor prior to disconnecting its HDMI cable. Then over time the signal on the HDMI port drops. I’ve tried unplugging/replugging the HDMI cable into the PC’s port thinking it’s wake up. Didn’t.

                For now the two .local tweaks seem to be the answer.

                If the “unsupported” tweak lets the end user select display resolutions beyond the default I don’t need that.

                If the two .local tweaks don’t fix it I have a VGA cable to try.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • stephenw10S
                  stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                  last edited by

                  The 'unsupported' variable allows the driver to attach to the chipset hardware in some systems, notably in the Minnowboard turbot.
                  It should be a pretty obvious change in the boot sequence if it's being used.

                  J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • J
                    jsmiddleton4 @stephenw10
                    last edited by jsmiddleton4

                    @stephenw10

                    I don’t see any change. Probably don’t need it.

                    Edit: I have to take that back. The display is different, significantly better. Text better and the entire screen is being used instead of mostly just the left hand side.

                    J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • J
                      jsmiddleton4 @jsmiddleton4
                      last edited by

                      Success.

                      Removed the "modes" line from .local and of course booted last night. Monitor off, unplugged cable.

                      This is my wife's work at home work station and I'm not able to leave the cable connected between her monitor and the PFSense PC.

                      Plugged back in this morning. Boom, PFSense console all nice and crisp text wishing me a good morning.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • stephenw10S
                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                        last edited by

                        Nice, sounds like you were hitting that then.

                        J 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • J
                          jsmiddleton4 @stephenw10
                          last edited by

                          @stephenw10

                          One more "to do" matter addressed for the PFSense Router. Gotta tell you that this software is free blows my mind.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • J
                            jsmiddleton4
                            last edited by jsmiddleton4

                            Interesting that these two lines were not in my syslog prior to adding the i915 tweak in .local.

                            Not deleting the line. Monitor is doing great. Just interesting.

                            I of course don't have AMD anything in my PFSense Intel PC box.

                            AMD Features2=0x1<LAHF>
                            AMD Features=0x28000800<SYSCALL,RDTSCP,LM>

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • J
                              jsmiddleton4 @stephenw10
                              last edited by

                              @stephenw10

                              This reads like a who's buried in Grant's Tomb kinda question but....

                              If I put in a stand alone video card, NVIDIA 210 for free, remove the i915 tweaks, or REM them with #?

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • stephenw10S
                                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                last edited by

                                It will probably work. It would depend on the motherboard/BIOS auto selecting it for console output over the built in device. Most do that.

                                J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • J
                                  jsmiddleton4 @stephenw10
                                  last edited by

                                  @stephenw10

                                  It'll work. I've checked.

                                  Just wondering about the i915 entries in loader.conf.local is all.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • stephenw10S
                                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                    last edited by

                                    Oh, yeah remove them. You don't want to load that driver if you don't need it, takes up valuable kernel memory.

                                    Steve

                                    J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                    • J
                                      jsmiddleton4 @stephenw10
                                      last edited by jsmiddleton4

                                      @stephenw10

                                      I may not use it. It fits my design goal, free. Totally not needed. And I'm not all that eager to have a video card fan start squealing. The box is in a work at home office.

                                      Someone gave me an electric boat trolling motor. I'm looking at connecting it to the battery in the PFSense box UPS. Stick the propeller into the case. Cool that sucker DOWN.

                                      There'd have to be some tweak to the NUT package though.

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • First post
                                        Last post
                                      Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.