I think I found the solution for my case for this exact problem after facing it for 3 months!. Read on!
System:
- Laptop with Intel HD integrated graphics (No dual GPU, no Nvidia
Optimus)
- Manjaro with KDE Plasma
Problem description:
- After fresh install of Manjaro and attempt to login with your password on the Login page, the screen freezes
- Even if you manage to pass by some miracle after the Login page (after many restarts and tries) some programs will simply start and instantly "hide" on launch. You are unable to start 90% of the applications.
Factors which seem to be involved:
It seems like the problem is caused by a combination of the following factors:
- Your GPU model (Intel Integrated Graphics only in my case, without other GPUs for Nvidia Optimus technology - aka swapping between integrated and dedicated graphics)
- Your choice whether to use a free or non-free GPU driver in Manjaro
- Your Desktop Environment of Choice (In my case: KDE)
- Kernel version (I tried all kernels 4.15-4.19. Only 4.20 worked)
Things which I tried and did not work:
- Tried both free and non-free GPU drivers
- Tried every major Manjaro distro version from 2015 until 2019. Did not work
- Stable kernel versions (I tried all kernels 4.15-4.19)
- Reinstalling Xorg, packages, messing around with various Xorg configurations
- Full upgrade of all packages
Things which worked by bypassing the problem:
- Updating to Kernel 4.20 (You can do this from "System settings > Kernel"). Good thing about updating the kernel is that it will fix your GRUB if you have messed it.
- Booting Manjaro with with the following boot options (in order to do this press "e" while at the GRUB menu and then find the parameter "quiet" somewhere in the bottom and add the following parameters after it):
i915.modeset=1 vga=791
Basically, what this does is if you have an Intel based GPU, it forces graphical parameters to be run before X server starts and setting your resolution to 1024x768x32 which is widely supported by most systems. Using this trick you should be able to bypass the "blank black screen" bug, which happens when X server is not able to compose your screen. If you add the parameter
3
(yes, just the number 3) as a parameter after "quiet" this will boot your system entirely in text mode.
- TIP: If you boot your Manjaro and in the login screen you hit CTRL+ALT+F3, enter your username and password and then enter "sudo startx" the system is able to "bypass" the login freeze. However, you will be logged in as the "root" user and you will have limited access to most programs.
Effective solution:
- Update your kernel to 4.20
- Do full system upgrade with:
sudo pacman -Syyu
- Disable and uninstall your GPU drivers in "Hardware Detection Tool"
- Change your Software rendering setting by going to:
Settings > Display and Monitor > Compositor > Rendering backend >
OpenGL 3.1
In case you still get a "black blank screen" after you do these, boot Manjaro with boot options into text mode (already described how above), and try re-installing your GPU drivers again via the guide here: https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php/Configure_Graphics_Cards#Automated_Identification_and_Installation