Graphics Problems with HDMI

I am a long time user of Zorin. I have a home built PC. Up until now, I connected the HDMI port off the motherboard to my receiver and the output of my receiver to speakers and TV. However, Zorin stopped updating for some reason and it had been a number of years, so I downloaded the latest version, wiped the hard drive and reinstalled the latest version of Zorin Core. This resulted in only seeing 256 colors displayed to my TV. To resolve this I had to bump down the graphics to 1080i. So, I ordered and installed a PNY GeForce GT 520 graphics card. With this card installed, when the computer boots, I see the motherboard initialization screen and then the Zorin initial screen, but then the screen goes blank. When I connect the video card to an analog monitor, it displays just fine. I went in and adjusted the resolution to 1080p all looked fine. But when I boot with the HDMI port connected to my TV, it still goes blank after the initial Zorin screen appears. Any recommendation on how to resolve this? I appreciate the help.

Unfortunately, Ubuntu 18.04 on which Zorin 15 is based appears to have issues regarding HDMI, 4K scaling etc., and even using Wayland (which Zorin has as an option at boot) does not help either. When 15 updates to 19.04/19.10 whether this would resolve the issue I don't know. Have you given Zorin 12 a shot in live mode? It is supported until April 2021.

My only other question is have you updated your installation after installing, but might be problematical as you don't have screen output.

Yes...when I installed Zorin 15 I ran the update. Is there another flavor of Linux that works well for HDMI output to TV?

jereece wrote:Yes...when I installed Zorin 15 I ran the update. Is there another flavor of Linux that works well for HDMI output to TV?

Any distro that is based off Canonicals Ubuntu 18.04 can possibly show this issue. A flavor that is not based off Ubuntu 18.04 will probably work better in this regard. But differences between distros and what their target audience is may cause you other frustrations.
As Swarfendor pointed out above, Zorin 12.4 is such and is well supported. I have been clinging to 12.4 fanatically, myself.
That said, reading around on the internet, it seems many people have had some success by running the

Code:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Code:

sudo apt-get upgrade

and then updating their graphics card drivers. If you are able to use a different monitor port temporarily, it may be worthwhile to try updating the drivers first as that would be a lot less intensive than a full wipe and reload.
Some have mentioned waiting to plug in their HDMI cable until after full boot, and then the system finally recognizes it and works normally afterward.
Also, some have noted that updating the kernel helped resolve the issue which does not always work from one run of dist-upgrade. You may need to install and use ukuu and up the kernel to at least 4.20 or above.

I find this issue interesting since everyone always seems to push for the "latest and greatest" whether it is needed or not... to have the HDMI not working is odd. Canonical... how did this one slip by ya, buddy?

Aravisian wrote:

jereece wrote:Yes...when I installed Zorin 15 I ran the update. Is there another flavor of Linux that works well for HDMI output to TV?

Any distro that is based off Canonicals Ubuntu 18.04 can possibly show this issue. A flavor that is not based off Ubuntu 18.04 will probably work better in this regard. But differences between distros and what their target audience is may cause you other frustrations.
As Swarfendor pointed out above, Zorin 12.4 is such and is well supported. I have been clinging to 12.4 fanatically, myself.
That said, reading around on the internet, it seems many people have had some success by running the

Code:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Code:

sudo apt-get upgrade

and then updating their graphics card drivers. If you are able to use a different monitor port temporarily, it may be worthwhile to try updating the drivers first as that would be a lot less intensive than a full wipe and reload.
Some have mentioned waiting to plug in their HDMI cable until after full boot, and then the system finally recognizes it and works normally afterward.
Also, some have noted that updating the kernel helped resolve the issue which does not always work from one run of dist-upgrade. You may need to install and use ukuu and up the kernel to at least 4.20 or above.

I find this issue interesting since everyone always seems to push for the "latest and greatest" whether it is needed or not... to have the HDMI not working is odd. Canonical... how did this one slip by ya, buddy?

Well to be fair, the HDMI goes to a receiver, not straight to TV - then the guys at Canonical must have been watching my thread about having to 'blacklist' (I prefer 'blocklist' and 'allowlist' terminology, but heyho!) HDMI output so I can use my SoundBlaster AudigyRX soundcard!