Problems With Linux Mint Recognizing Ultrawide Monitor?

[temps]

I was installing Linux Mint on an old computer today and was having some problems. I put the USB stick with the installation media into the computer, booted into bios, directed the PC to start from the USB stick etc.

Then I save and exit the bios , and a menu comes up on the screen with several options:
GNU Grub:
Start Linux Mint Cinnamon 64 bit
Start Linux Mint Cinnamon 64 bit (compatibility mode)
OEM Install (for manufacturers)
Boot from next volume
UEFI Firmware Settings

At first I was trying to select the option to start Linux Mint Cinnamon 64 bit without the compatibility mode, but this just resulted in a black screen and an indication from my monitor that it lost the signal from the PC or something like that.

Then I tried running it in compatibility mode, and managed to get to the Linux Mint installer. However, the installer live environment was locked into a very low resolution because of compatibility mode, and I was unable to see the buttons on the installer page in order to proceed, I think because of the locked resolution of the installer and the fact that I was doing this on an ultrawide (3440x1440) monitor, which of course has a very skewed aspect ratio.

I fumbled around with it a while trying to get it to work, then decided to try plugging in a different monitor, then rebooted back to bios. This time I was using a more typical 4K monitor. And this time, I managed to get it to boot properly without compatibility mode, and got Linux Mint installed properly.

But here's the problem: now when I unplug the 4K monitor and plug the connector cord into the appropriate port on the ultrawide monitor, the screen again goes black and I have no image. But the ultrawide DID get an image when I was in the BIOS for some reason.

Does Linux Mint have some issues with ultrawide monitors? Or could it be the fact the GPU on the old PC is too old for ultrawides or something? The GPU is an AMD HD 7870 2 GB iirc, but don't quote me on it I can barely remember because it's from like 2012 or something like that.

What do you guys think is the reason the ultrawide won't work with the new Mint PC?

Interestingly, the ultrawide seemed to be working with this GPU when I still had Windows 10 on the PC. How can I fix this so I can use both Mint and the ultrawide?

EDIT: I looked up my GPU order from 2013 on my Newegg account to confirm, and the GPU is an XFX Core Edition Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2 GB GDDR5 graphics card.

[tyl0413]

Are you using multiple monitors? I had issues with such setups on mint before. I think in your case theres a high chance the GPU just can't handle the monitor. Are you sure it ran at 3440x1440 on Windows?

[☥ Duat बुनॆ]

Are you on X11 or Wayland? You can check this by issuing this command into the terminal

loginctl show-session $(loginctl | grep $(whoami) | awk '{print $1}') -p Type

You can then check what your gpu model is with:

lspci | grep 'VGA'

If you haven't managed to install Mint yet you can try doing it with a different monitor then plug the ultrawide one and see what happen

[temps]

Originally posted by tyl0413:

Are you using multiple monitors? [...] Are you sure it ran at 3440x1440 on Windows?

I only use 1 monitor at a time. The 4K monitor is one that I brought over to use from my other PC because the Mint computer did not seem to be working with the ultrawide for some reason.

This PC which is now on Linux Mint was working with the ultrawide while I still had Windows installed. As soon as I put Mint on the PC, it no longer creates an image on the ultrawide... UNLESS I am in the bios.

[Zyro]

GPU support had vastly improved over the last years on Linux, so it's not unlikely that the windows drivers can support old video cards in a way the Linux drivers cannot (because the cards have been used mainly before the improvements). I'm not sure this would affect resolutions too, though.

[Der tüddelige Fußgänger]

Wait.
All of Mint's desktops use X11, don't they?

When you get to the desktop. Try to get a terminal open. Once you've done that. Maybe try out "xrandr --mode 3440x1440"
This should set the output to your monitors resolution.

[temps]

Originally posted by The Nintendo Guy:

Wait.
All of Mint's desktops use X11, don't they?

When you get to the desktop. Try to get a terminal open. Once you've done that. Maybe try out "xrandr --mode 3440x1440"
This should set the output to your monitors resolution.

I already tried setting resolution to 3440x1440 while the 4K monitor was plugged in, then switched to the ultrawide monitor. The ultrawide screen was black.

[ripper81]

I found this very old reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/computers/comments/4y6hxi/radeon_hd_7870_4k_monitor_how_to_run_max/

Might be worth a look.

However all Radeon GPU´s that are not supported by the AMDGPU Kernel driver (like the GPU mentioned in the post which is using the legacy Radeon driver) have certain limitations when compared to the old proprietary windowsdrivers. There is no support for Vulkan with this driver for example.

Have you tried to install another distribution (Ubuntu 22.10 for example) to see if the problem might be related to linux mint ?

[temps]

Originally posted by ripper81:

I found this very old reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/computers/comments/4y6hxi/radeon_hd_7870_4k_monitor_how_to_run_max/

Might be worth a look.

I read that. Seems weird he would be saying he has a max resolution of 2560x1600 on my GPU, because of the two monitors I have that I tested with it (a 3440x1440 ultrawide, and a 4K monitor), the old GPU runs the 4K monitor at 4K resolutions just fine.

Indeed, the newegg page for the Radeon HD 7870 says the card supports 4K and even higher resolution multi-monitor AMD Eyefinity setups in the "overview" section:
https://www.newegg.com/xfx-radeon-hd-7870-ghz-edition-fx-787a-cnfc/p/N82E16814150604?Item=N82E16814150604

Originally posted by ripper81:

However all Radeon GPU´s that are not supported by the AMDGPU Kernel driver (like the GPU mentioned in the post which is using the legacy Radeon driver) have certain limitations when compared to the old proprietary windowsdrivers. There is no support for Vulkan with this driver for example.

I heard AMD's drivers on Linux got way better for Linux when they went open source (which iirc happened a few years after the release of this card).

Originally posted by ripper81:

Have you tried to install another distribution (Ubuntu 22.10 for example) to see if the problem might be related to linux mint ?

I'm feeling reluctant to do that... but might resort to that if no other solution comes up... thanks. Is there any reason I shouldn't try Pop OS first in the event I go that route?

[Marlock]

to use the experimental AMDGPU driver on the HD 7870 (it's a GCN1 card):
https://steamcommunity.com/app/221410/discussions/8/3033726352252196107/#c3033726352252375326