Flip Event Timeout / Freeze with Driver 570.x during Multi-Monitor Activation - Works with 550.x

Graphics / Linux Linux
1

nvidia-bug-report.log.gz (240.9 KB)

System Information:

  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
  • OS: Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS
  • Kernels Tested:
    • Standard Ubuntu HWE Kernel: 6.11.0-21-generic
    • Mainline Kernel: 6.14.0-061400-generic
  • NVIDIA Drivers Tested:
    • 570.124.04 (Tested both nvidia-driver-570-open and nvidia-driver-570 proprietary module packages)
    • 550.144.03 (Tested nvidia-driver-550 proprietary module package)
  • Desktop Environment: GNOME (Default Ubuntu session, likely tested on both Wayland and X11 initially, issue persisted)

Problem Description:
The system experiences freezes, often requiring a hard reboot. The kernel log (dmesg) consistently shows the following error message around the time of the freeze: *ERROR* [nvidia-drm] [GPU ID 0x00000100] Flip event timeout on head 0
System still accessible via ssh

Specific Trigger Scenario (Steps to Reproduce):

The freeze occurs reliably under the following conditions:

  1. Boot the system with only one monitor connected/powered on.
  2. After logging into the GNOME desktop, power on the second monitor (hotplug). The desktop typically switches primary display automatically, which is usually successful.
  3. Open GNOME Display Settings (gnome-control-center display).
  4. Attempt to configure the display setup, specifically by enabling the first (or newly connected second) monitor to create an “Extended Display” layout.
  5. The system freezes during the modeset attempt initiated by the display settings change.

Note: Simpler modesetting events like restarting GDM or the initial automatic display switch upon hotplugging sometimes did not reliably trigger the freeze in later, more focused tests.

Behavior with Driver 570.124.04:

  • The freeze occurs consistently under the trigger scenario described above.
  • The issue was observed with both the open-source kernel modules (nvidia-driver-570-open) and the proprietary kernel modules (nvidia-driver-570).
  • The issue was observed on both the standard Ubuntu kernel (6.11.0-21-generic) and the mainline kernel (6.14.0-061400-generic).

Behavior with Driver 550.144.03:

  • The freeze does NOT occur under the same trigger scenario when using the nvidia-driver-550 package on the standard Ubuntu kernel (6.11.0-21-generic). The multi-monitor extended display can be activated successfully after hotplugging.
  • Side Note: This driver version (550.144.03) failed to build via DKMS for the mainline kernel 6.14.0-061400-generic

Conclusion:
This appears to be a regression in the NVIDIA 570.x driver series compared to the 550.x series. The bug specifically affects complex modesetting operations involving multi-monitor activation after hotplugging within the GNOME desktop environment on Ubuntu 24.04 (and potentially similar setups) with an RTX 4090. The issue is independent of whether the open or proprietary kernel modules (within the 570 series) are used. The older 550.x driver series does not exhibit this specific problem on the standard supported kernel. The same hardware configuration was previously reported stable on Debian.