GeForce-GTX-1050-Ti does not detect IBM T221 monitor

  • The card doesn’t detect the monitor when startx is invoked.
  • The console is displayed, but only at 640x480 mode.
  • nvidia-smi says that no monitor is connected.
  • more recent monitors are detected on the same connector.
  • nvidia quadro fx 1700 detects the t221 monitor, and startx runs fine.

Please help if there is anyone aware of this issue!
Is this a driver problem or a hardware problem?
Has anyone used this monitor with reasonably recent cards (with driver version >= 390)?

OS: Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS, nvidia driver 390.116-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64
Card: [MSI Computer Video Card (GTX 1050 TI 4G OC)] https://www.msi.com/Graphics-card/GeForce-GTX-1050-Ti-4G-OC.html
Monitor: [IBM T221] http://www.ibmfiles.com/ibmfiles/monitors/T221_usersguide.pdf

Here the /var/log/Xorg.0.log
It says no monitor is connected, even though the monitor is showing console outputs

[  3133.304] 
X.Org X Server 1.19.6
Release Date: 2017-12-20
[  3133.304] X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
[  3133.304] Build Operating System: Linux 4.4.0-138-generic x86_64 Ubuntu
[  3133.304] Current Operating System: Linux T3400 4.15.0-47-generic #50-Ubuntu SMP Wed Mar 13 10:44:52 UTC 2019 x86_64
[  3133.304] Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-4.15.0-47-generic root=/dev/mapper/linux_systems-ubuntu64 ro recovery nomodeset rd.retry=300 rd.timeout=360
[  3133.305] Build Date: 25 October 2018  04:11:27PM
[  3133.305] xorg-server 2:1.19.6-1ubuntu4.2 (For technical support please see http://www.ubuntu.com/support) 
[  3133.305] Current version of pixman: 0.34.0
[  3133.305] 	Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.x.org
	to make sure that you have the latest version.
[  3133.305] Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
	(++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
	(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
[  3133.306] (==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Wed Apr 10 06:18:46 2019
[  3133.306] (==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf"
[  3133.306] (==) Using config directory: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d"
[  3133.306] (==) Using system config directory "/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d"
[  3133.307] (==) ServerLayout "Layout0"
[  3133.307] (**) |-->Screen "Screen0" (0)
[  3133.307] (**) |   |-->Monitor "IBM T221 HLF"
[  3133.307] (**) |   |-->Device "Device0"
[  3133.307] (**) |-->Input Device "Keyboard0"
[  3133.307] (**) |-->Input Device "Mouse0"
[  3133.307] (==) Automatically adding devices
[  3133.307] (==) Automatically enabling devices
[  3133.307] (==) Automatically adding GPU devices
[  3133.308] (==) Automatically binding GPU devices
[  3133.308] (==) Max clients allowed: 256, resource mask: 0x1fffff
[  3133.308] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic" does not exist.
[  3133.308] 	Entry deleted from font path.
[  3133.308] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/" does not exist.
[  3133.308] 	Entry deleted from font path.
[  3133.308] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/" does not exist.
[  3133.308] 	Entry deleted from font path.
[  3133.309] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi" does not exist.
[  3133.309] 	Entry deleted from font path.
[  3133.309] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi" does not exist.
[  3133.309] 	Entry deleted from font path.
[  3133.309] (==) FontPath set to:
	/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc,
	/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1,
	built-ins
[  3133.309] (==) ModulePath set to "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
[  3133.309] (WW) Hotplugging is on, devices using drivers 'kbd', 'mouse' or 'vmmouse' will be disabled.
[  3133.309] (WW) Disabling Keyboard0
[  3133.310] (WW) Disabling Mouse0
[  3133.310] (II) Loader magic: 0x560373e06020
[  3133.310] (II) Module ABI versions:
[  3133.310] 	X.Org ANSI C Emulation: 0.4
[  3133.310] 	X.Org Video Driver: 23.0
[  3133.310] 	X.Org XInput driver : 24.1
[  3133.310] 	X.Org Server Extension : 10.0
[  3133.311] (++) using VT number 1

[  3133.314] (II) systemd-logind: took control of session /org/freedesktop/login1/session/_31
[  3133.314] (II) xfree86: Adding drm device (/dev/dri/card0)
[  3133.315] (II) systemd-logind: got fd for /dev/dri/card0 226:0 fd 11 paused 0
[  3133.317] (**) OutputClass "nvidia" ModulePath extended to "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/nvidia/xorg,/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
[  3133.318] (--) PCI:*(0:2:0:0) 10de:1c82:1462:8c96 rev 161, Mem @ 0xfc000000/16777216, 0xc0000000/268435456, 0xd0000000/33554432, I/O @ 0x0000dc80/128, BIOS @ 0x????????/131072
[  3133.318] (II) LoadModule: "glx"
[  3133.318] (II) Loading /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/nvidia/xorg/libglx.so
[  3133.324] (II) Module glx: vendor="NVIDIA Corporation"
[  3133.324] 	compiled for 4.0.2, module version = 1.0.0
[  3133.324] 	Module class: X.Org Server Extension
[  3133.324] (II) NVIDIA GLX Module  390.116  Sun Jan 27 06:24:32 PST 2019
[  3133.324] (II) LoadModule: "nouveau"
[  3133.324] (WW) Warning, couldn't open module nouveau
[  3133.325] (II) UnloadModule: "nouveau"
[  3133.325] (II) Unloading nouveau
[  3133.325] (EE) Failed to load module "nouveau" (module does not exist, 0)
[  3133.325] (II) Applying OutputClass "nvidia" to /dev/dri/card0
[  3133.325] 	loading driver: nvidia
[  3133.325] (==) Matched nvidia as autoconfigured driver 0
[  3133.325] (==) Matched nouveau as autoconfigured driver 1
[  3133.325] (==) Matched nouveau as autoconfigured driver 2
[  3133.325] (==) Matched modesetting as autoconfigured driver 3
[  3133.325] (==) Matched fbdev as autoconfigured driver 4
[  3133.325] (==) Matched vesa as autoconfigured driver 5
[  3133.325] (==) Assigned the driver to the xf86ConfigLayout
[  3133.325] (II) LoadModule: "nvidia"
[  3133.325] (II) Loading /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/nvidia/xorg/nvidia_drv.so
[  3133.325] (II) Module nvidia: vendor="NVIDIA Corporation"
[  3133.325] 	compiled for 4.0.2, module version = 1.0.0
[  3133.325] 	Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[  3133.325] (II) LoadModule: "nouveau"
[  3133.325] (WW) Warning, couldn't open module nouveau
[  3133.325] (II) UnloadModule: "nouveau"
[  3133.325] (II) Unloading nouveau
[  3133.325] (EE) Failed to load module "nouveau" (module does not exist, 0)
[  3133.325] (II) LoadModule: "modesetting"
[  3133.326] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/modesetting_drv.so
[  3133.326] (II) Module modesetting: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[  3133.326] 	compiled for 1.19.6, module version = 1.19.6
[  3133.326] 	Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[  3133.326] 	ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 23.0
[  3133.326] (II) LoadModule: "fbdev"
[  3133.326] (WW) Warning, couldn't open module fbdev
[  3133.326] (II) UnloadModule: "fbdev"
[  3133.326] (II) Unloading fbdev
[  3133.326] (EE) Failed to load module "fbdev" (module does not exist, 0)
[  3133.326] (II) LoadModule: "vesa"
[  3133.326] (WW) Warning, couldn't open module vesa
[  3133.326] (II) UnloadModule: "vesa"
[  3133.326] (II) Unloading vesa
[  3133.326] (EE) Failed to load module "vesa" (module does not exist, 0)
[  3133.326] (II) NVIDIA dlloader X Driver  390.116  Sun Jan 27 05:57:42 PST 2019
[  3133.326] (II) NVIDIA Unified Driver for all Supported NVIDIA GPUs
[  3133.326] (II) modesetting: Driver for Modesetting Kernel Drivers: kms
[  3133.326] (II) systemd-logind: releasing fd for 226:0
[  3133.328] (II) Loading sub module "fb"
[  3133.328] (II) LoadModule: "fb"
[  3133.328] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libfb.so
[  3133.328] (II) Module fb: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[  3133.328] 	compiled for 1.19.6, module version = 1.0.0
[  3133.328] 	ABI class: X.Org ANSI C Emulation, version 0.4
[  3133.328] (II) Loading sub module "wfb"
[  3133.328] (II) LoadModule: "wfb"
[  3133.328] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libwfb.so
[  3133.328] (II) Module wfb: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[  3133.328] 	compiled for 1.19.6, module version = 1.0.0
[  3133.328] 	ABI class: X.Org ANSI C Emulation, version 0.4
[  3133.328] (II) Loading sub module "ramdac"
[  3133.328] (II) LoadModule: "ramdac"
[  3133.328] (II) Module "ramdac" already built-in
[  3133.329] (WW) Falling back to old probe method for modesetting
[  3133.329] (**) NVIDIA(0): Depth 24, (--) framebuffer bpp 32
[  3133.329] (==) NVIDIA(0): RGB weight 888
[  3133.329] (==) NVIDIA(0): Default visual is TrueColor
[  3133.329] (**) NVIDIA(0): Using gamma correction (2.2, 2.2, 2.2)
[  3133.329] (II) Applying OutputClass "nvidia" options to /dev/dri/card0
[  3133.329] (**) NVIDIA(0): Option "Stereo" "0"
[  3133.329] (**) NVIDIA(0): Option "SLI" "Off"
[  3133.329] (**) NVIDIA(0): Option "MultiGPU" "Off"
[  3133.329] (**) NVIDIA(0): Option "BaseMosaic" "Off"
[  3133.329] (**) NVIDIA(0): Option "AllowEmptyInitialConfiguration"
[  3133.329] (**) NVIDIA(0): Stereo disabled by request
[  3133.329] (**) NVIDIA(0): NVIDIA SLI disabled.
[  3133.329] (**) NVIDIA(0): NVIDIA Multi-GPU disabled.
[  3133.329] (**) NVIDIA(0): Enabling 2D acceleration
[  3133.900] (--) NVIDIA(0): Valid display device(s) on GPU-0 at PCI:2:0:0
[  3133.900] (--) NVIDIA(0):     DFP-0 (boot)
[  3133.900] (--) NVIDIA(0):     DFP-1
[  3133.900] (--) NVIDIA(0):     DFP-2
[  3133.900] (--) NVIDIA(0):     DFP-3
[  3133.901] (II) NVIDIA(0): NVIDIA GPU GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (GP107-A) at PCI:2:0:0 (GPU-0)
[  3133.901] (--) NVIDIA(0): Memory: 4194304 kBytes
[  3133.901] (--) NVIDIA(0): VideoBIOS: 86.07.42.00.83
[  3133.902] (II) NVIDIA(0): Detected PCI Express Link width: 16X
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-0: disconnected
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-0: Internal TMDS
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-0 Name Aliases:
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DFP
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DFP-0
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DPY-0
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DVI-D-0
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DVI-D-0
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-0: 330.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): 
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-1: disconnected
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-1: Internal TMDS
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-1 Name Aliases:
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DFP
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DFP-1
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DPY-1
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   HDMI-0
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   HDMI-0
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-1: 165.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): 
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-2: disconnected
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-2: Internal DisplayPort
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-2 Name Aliases:
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DFP
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DFP-2
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DPY-2
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DP-0
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DP-0
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-2: 1440.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): 
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-3: disconnected
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-3: Internal TMDS
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-3 Name Aliases:
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DFP
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DFP-3
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DPY-3
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DP-1
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0):   DP-1
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): DFP-3: 165.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(GPU-0): 
[  3133.902] (==) NVIDIA(0): 
[  3133.902] (==) NVIDIA(0): No modes were requested; the default mode "nvidia-auto-select"
[  3133.902] (==) NVIDIA(0):     will be used as the requested mode.
[  3133.902] (==) NVIDIA(0): 
[  3133.902] (--) NVIDIA(0): No enabled display devices found; starting anyway because
[  3133.903] (--) NVIDIA(0):     AllowEmptyInitialConfiguration is enabled
[  3133.903] (II) NVIDIA(0): Validated MetaModes:
[  3133.903] (II) NVIDIA(0): Virtual screen size determined to be 640 x 480
[  3133.903] (WW) NVIDIA(0): Unable to get display device for DPI computation.
[  3133.903] (**) NVIDIA(0): DPI set to (67, 40); computed from "DisplaySize" Monitor
[  3133.903] (**) NVIDIA(0):     section option
[  3133.903] (II) UnloadModule: "modesetting"
[  3133.903] (II) Unloading modesetting
[  3133.903] (--) Depth 24 pixmap format is 32 bpp
[  3133.904] (II) NVIDIA: Using 24576.00 MB of virtual memory for indirect memory
[  3133.904] (II) NVIDIA:     access.
[  3133.927] (II) NVIDIA(0): Setting mode "NULL"
[  3133.961] (==) NVIDIA(0): Disabling shared memory pixmaps
[  3133.961] (==) NVIDIA(0): Backing store enabled
[  3133.961] (==) NVIDIA(0): Silken mouse enabled
[  3133.962] (**) NVIDIA(0): DPMS enabled
[  3133.962] (II) Loading sub module "dri2"
[  3133.962] (II) LoadModule: "dri2"
[  3133.962] (II) Module "dri2" already built-in
[  3133.962] (II) NVIDIA(0): [DRI2] Setup complete
[  3133.962] (II) NVIDIA(0): [DRI2]   VDPAU driver: nvidia
[  3133.962] (--) RandR disabled
[  3133.965] (II) SELinux: Disabled on system
[  3133.965] (II) Initializing extension GLX
[  3133.965] (II) Indirect GLX disabled.
[  3134.013] (II) config/udev: Adding input device Power Button (/dev/input/event1)
[  3134.013] (**) Power Button: Applying InputClass "evdev keyboard catchall"
[  3134.013] (**) Power Button: Applying InputClass "libinput keyboard catchall"
[  3134.013] (II) LoadModule: "libinput"
[  3134.013] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/input/libinput_drv.so
[  3134.015] (II) Module libinput: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[  3134.015] 	compiled for 1.19.6, module version = 0.27.1
[  3134.015] 	Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
[  3134.015] 	ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 24.1
[  3134.015] (II) Using input driver 'libinput' for 'Power Button'
[  3134.015] (II) systemd-logind: got fd for /dev/input/event1 13:65 fd 37 paused 0
[  3134.015] (**) Power Button: always reports core events
[  3134.015] (**) Option "Device" "/dev/input/event1"
[  3134.015] (**) Option "_source" "server/udev"
[  3134.016] (II) event1  - Power Button: is tagged by udev as: Keyboard
[  3134.016] (II) event1  - Power Button: device is a keyboard
[  3134.016] (II) event1  - Power Button: device removed
[  3134.016] (**) Option "config_info" "udev:/sys/devices/LNXSYSTM:00/LNXPWRBN:00/input/input1/event1"
[  3134.016] (II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "Power Button" (type: KEYBOARD, id 6)
[  3134.016] (**) Option "xkb_model" "microsoft4000"
[  3134.016] (**) Option "xkb_layout" "us"
[  3134.016] (**) Option "xkb_options" "ctrl:swapcaps,terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp"
[  3134.035] (II) event1  - Power Button: is tagged by udev as: Keyboard
[  3134.035] (II) event1  - Power Button: device is a keyboard
[  3134.036] (II) config/udev: Adding input device Power Button (/dev/input/event0)
[  3134.036] (**) Power Button: Applying InputClass "evdev keyboard catchall"
[  3134.036] (**) Power Button: Applying InputClass "libinput keyboard catchall"
[  3134.036] (II) Using input driver 'libinput' for 'Power Button'
[  3134.036] (II) systemd-logind: got fd for /dev/input/event0 13:64 fd 40 paused 0
[  3134.036] (**) Power Button: always reports core events
[  3134.036] (**) Option "Device" "/dev/input/event0"
[  3134.037] (**) Option "_source" "server/udev"
[  3134.037] (II) event0  - Power Button: is tagged by udev as: Keyboard
[  3134.037] (II) event0  - Power Button: device is a keyboard
[  3134.037] (II) event0  - Power Button: device removed
[  3134.037] (**) Option "config_info" "udev:/sys/devices/LNXSYSTM:00/LNXSYBUS:00/PNP0C0C:00/input/input0/event0"
[  3134.037] (II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "Power Button" (type: KEYBOARD, id 7)
[  3134.037] (**) Option "xkb_model" "microsoft4000"
[  3134.037] (**) Option "xkb_layout" "us"
[  3134.037] (**) Option "xkb_options" "ctrl:swapcaps,terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp"
[  3134.038] (II) event0  - Power Button: is tagged by udev as: Keyboard
[  3134.038] (II) event0  - Power Button: device is a keyboard
[  3134.039] (II) config/udev: Adding input device HDA NVidia HDMI/DP,pcm=3 (/dev/input/event8)
[  3134.039] (II) No input driver specified, ignoring this device.
[  3134.039] (II) This device may have been added with another device file.
[  3134.039] (II) config/udev: Adding input device HDA NVidia HDMI/DP,pcm=7 (/dev/input/event9)
[  3134.039] (II) No input driver specified, ignoring this device.
[  3134.039] (II) This device may have been added with another device file.
[  3134.040] (II) config/udev: Adding input device HDA NVidia HDMI/DP,pcm=8 (/dev/input/event10)
[  3134.040] (II) No input driver specified, ignoring this device.
[  3134.040] (II) This device may have been added with another device file.
[  3134.040] (II) config/udev: Adding input device Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (/dev/input/event2)
[  3134.040] (**) Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: Applying InputClass "evdev keyboard catchall"
[  3134.040] (**) Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: Applying InputClass "libinput keyboard catchall"
[  3134.040] (II) Using input driver 'libinput' for 'Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000'
[  3134.041] (II) systemd-logind: got fd for /dev/input/event2 13:66 fd 41 paused 0
[  3134.041] (**) Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: always reports core events
[  3134.041] (**) Option "Device" "/dev/input/event2"
[  3134.041] (**) Option "_source" "server/udev"
[  3134.042] (II) event2  - Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: is tagged by udev as: Keyboard
[  3134.042] (II) event2  - Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: device is a keyboard
[  3134.042] (II) event2  - Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: device removed
[  3134.042] (**) Option "config_info" "udev:/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.1/usb4/4-2/4-2:1.0/0003:045E:00DC.0001/input/input5/event2"
[  3134.042] (II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000" (type: KEYBOARD, id 8)
[  3134.042] (**) Option "xkb_model" "microsoft4000"
[  3134.042] (**) Option "xkb_layout" "us"
[  3134.042] (**) Option "xkb_options" "ctrl:swapcaps,terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp"
[  3134.043] (II) event2  - Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: is tagged by udev as: Keyboard
[  3134.043] (II) event2  - Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: device is a keyboard
[  3134.044] (II) config/udev: Adding input device Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (/dev/input/event3)
[  3134.044] (**) Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: Applying InputClass "evdev keyboard catchall"
[  3134.044] (**) Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: Applying InputClass "libinput keyboard catchall"
[  3134.044] (II) Using input driver 'libinput' for 'Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000'
[  3134.045] (II) systemd-logind: got fd for /dev/input/event3 13:67 fd 42 paused 0
[  3134.045] (**) Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: always reports core events
[  3134.045] (**) Option "Device" "/dev/input/event3"
[  3134.045] (**) Option "_source" "server/udev"
[  3134.046] (II) event3  - Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: is tagged by udev as: Keyboard
[  3134.046] (II) event3  - Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: device is a keyboard
[  3134.046] (II) event3  - Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: device removed
[  3134.046] (II) libinput: Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: needs a virtual subdevice
[  3134.046] (**) Option "config_info" "udev:/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.1/usb4/4-2/4-2:1.1/0003:045E:00DC.0002/input/input6/event3"
[  3134.046] (II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000" (type: MOUSE, id 9)
[  3134.046] (**) Option "AccelerationScheme" "none"
[  3134.046] (**) Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: (accel) selected scheme none/0
[  3134.046] (**) Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: (accel) acceleration factor: 2.000
[  3134.046] (**) Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: (accel) acceleration threshold: 4
[  3134.047] (II) event3  - Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: is tagged by udev as: Keyboard
[  3134.047] (II) event3  - Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: device is a keyboard
[  3134.048] (II) config/udev: Adding input device HDA Intel Front Headphone (/dev/input/event7)
[  3134.048] (II) No input driver specified, ignoring this device.
[  3134.048] (II) This device may have been added with another device file.
[  3134.048] (II) config/udev: Adding input device HDA Intel Mic (/dev/input/event4)
[  3134.048] (II) No input driver specified, ignoring this device.
[  3134.048] (II) This device may have been added with another device file.
[  3134.049] (II) config/udev: Adding input device HDA Intel Line (/dev/input/event5)
[  3134.049] (II) No input driver specified, ignoring this device.
[  3134.049] (II) This device may have been added with another device file.
[  3134.049] (II) config/udev: Adding input device HDA Intel Line Out (/dev/input/event6)
[  3134.049] (II) No input driver specified, ignoring this device.
[  3134.049] (II) This device may have been added with another device file.
[  3134.058] (**) Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: Applying InputClass "evdev keyboard catchall"
[  3134.058] (**) Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: Applying InputClass "libinput keyboard catchall"
[  3134.058] (II) Using input driver 'libinput' for 'Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000'
[  3134.058] (II) systemd-logind: returning pre-existing fd for /dev/input/event3 13:67
[  3134.058] (**) Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: always reports core events
[  3134.058] (**) Option "Device" "/dev/input/event3"
[  3134.058] (**) Option "_source" "_driver/libinput"
[  3134.058] (II) libinput: Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: is a virtual subdevice
[  3134.058] (**) Option "config_info" "udev:/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.1/usb4/4-2/4-2:1.1/0003:045E:00DC.0002/input/input6/event3"
[  3134.058] (II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000" (type: KEYBOARD, id 10)
[  3134.058] (**) Option "xkb_model" "microsoft4000"
[  3134.058] (**) Option "xkb_layout" "us"
[  3134.058] (**) Option "xkb_options" "ctrl:swapcaps,terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp"
[  3144.046] (II) Server zapped. Shutting down.
[  3144.065] (**) Option "fd" "37"
[  3144.065] (II) event1  - Power Button: device removed
[  3144.065] (**) Option "fd" "40"
[  3144.065] (II) event0  - Power Button: device removed
[  3144.065] (**) Option "fd" "41"
[  3144.065] (II) event2  - Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: device removed
[  3144.065] (**) Option "fd" "42"
[  3144.065] (**) Option "fd" "42"
[  3144.065] (II) event3  - Microsoft Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: device removed
[  3144.067] (II) UnloadModule: "libinput"
[  3144.067] (II) systemd-logind: not releasing fd for 13:67, still in use
[  3144.067] (II) UnloadModule: "libinput"
[  3144.067] (II) systemd-logind: releasing fd for 13:67
[  3144.076] (II) UnloadModule: "libinput"
[  3144.076] (II) systemd-logind: releasing fd for 13:66
[  3144.092] (II) UnloadModule: "libinput"
[  3144.092] (II) systemd-logind: releasing fd for 13:64
[  3144.108] (II) UnloadModule: "libinput"
[  3144.108] (II) systemd-logind: releasing fd for 13:65
[  3148.635] (II) NVIDIA(GPU-0): Deleting GPU-0
[  3148.638] (II) Server terminated successfully (0). Closing log file.

Here’s output from nvidia-smi -q

$ nvidia-smi -q

==============NVSMI LOG==============

Timestamp                           : Wed Apr 10 07:16:14 2019
Driver Version                      : 390.116

Attached GPUs                       : 1
GPU 00000000:02:00.0
    Product Name                    : GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
    Product Brand                   : GeForce
    Display Mode                    : Disabled
    Display Active                  : Disabled
    Persistence Mode                : Disabled
    Accounting Mode                 : Disabled
    Accounting Mode Buffer Size     : 4000
    Driver Model
        Current                     : N/A
        Pending                     : N/A
    Serial Number                   : N/A
    GPU UUID                        : GPU-71e38920-0438-d355-92d7-dc39f14d8a78
    Minor Number                    : 0
    VBIOS Version                   : 86.07.42.00.83
    MultiGPU Board                  : No
    Board ID                        : 0x200
    GPU Part Number                 : N/A
    Inforom Version
        Image Version               : G001.0000.01.04
        OEM Object                  : 1.1
        ECC Object                  : N/A
        Power Management Object     : N/A
    GPU Operation Mode
        Current                     : N/A
        Pending                     : N/A
    GPU Virtualization Mode
        Virtualization mode         : None
    PCI
        Bus                         : 0x02
        Device                      : 0x00
        Domain                      : 0x0000
        Device Id                   : 0x1C8210DE
        Bus Id                      : 00000000:02:00.0
        Sub System Id               : 0x8C961462
        GPU Link Info
            PCIe Generation
                Max                 : 2
                Current             : 2
            Link Width
                Max                 : 16x
                Current             : 16x
        Bridge Chip
            Type                    : N/A
            Firmware                : N/A
        Replays since reset         : 0
        Tx Throughput               : 0 KB/s
        Rx Throughput               : 0 KB/s
    Fan Speed                       : 35 %
    Performance State               : P0
    Clocks Throttle Reasons
        Idle                        : Not Active
        Applications Clocks Setting : Not Active
        SW Power Cap                : Not Active
        HW Slowdown                 : Not Active
            HW Thermal Slowdown     : Not Active
            HW Power Brake Slowdown : Not Active
        Sync Boost                  : Not Active
        SW Thermal Slowdown         : Not Active
        Display Clock Setting       : Not Active
    FB Memory Usage
        Total                       : 4039 MiB
        Used                        : 0 MiB
        Free                        : 4039 MiB
    BAR1 Memory Usage
        Total                       : 256 MiB
        Used                        : 2 MiB
        Free                        : 254 MiB
    Compute Mode                    : Default
    Utilization
        Gpu                         : 1 %
        Memory                      : 0 %
        Encoder                     : 0 %
        Decoder                     : 0 %
    Encoder Stats
        Active Sessions             : 0
        Average FPS                 : 0
        Average Latency             : 0
    Ecc Mode
        Current                     : N/A
        Pending                     : N/A
    ECC Errors
        Volatile
            Single Bit            
                Device Memory       : N/A
                Register File       : N/A
                L1 Cache            : N/A
                L2 Cache            : N/A
                Texture Memory      : N/A
                Texture Shared      : N/A
                CBU                 : N/A
                Total               : N/A
            Double Bit            
                Device Memory       : N/A
                Register File       : N/A
                L1 Cache            : N/A
                L2 Cache            : N/A
                Texture Memory      : N/A
                Texture Shared      : N/A
                CBU                 : N/A
                Total               : N/A
        Aggregate
            Single Bit            
                Device Memory       : N/A
                Register File       : N/A
                L1 Cache            : N/A
                L2 Cache            : N/A
                Texture Memory      : N/A
                Texture Shared      : N/A
                CBU                 : N/A
                Total               : N/A
            Double Bit            
                Device Memory       : N/A
                Register File       : N/A
                L1 Cache            : N/A
                L2 Cache            : N/A
                Texture Memory      : N/A
                Texture Shared      : N/A
                CBU                 : N/A
                Total               : N/A
    Retired Pages
        Single Bit ECC              : N/A
        Double Bit ECC              : N/A
        Pending                     : N/A
    Temperature
        GPU Current Temp            : 22 C
        GPU Shutdown Temp           : 102 C
        GPU Slowdown Temp           : 99 C
        GPU Max Operating Temp      : N/A
        Memory Current Temp         : N/A
        Memory Max Operating Temp   : N/A
    Power Readings
        Power Management            : Supported
        Power Draw                  : N/A
        Power Limit                 : 75.00 W
        Default Power Limit         : 75.00 W
        Enforced Power Limit        : 75.00 W
        Min Power Limit             : 52.50 W
        Max Power Limit             : 75.00 W
    Clocks
        Graphics                    : 1341 MHz
        SM                          : 1341 MHz
        Memory                      : 3504 MHz
        Video                       : 1215 MHz
    Applications Clocks
        Graphics                    : N/A
        Memory                      : N/A
    Default Applications Clocks
        Graphics                    : N/A
        Memory                      : N/A
    Max Clocks
        Graphics                    : 1961 MHz
        SM                          : 1961 MHz
        Memory                      : 3504 MHz
        Video                       : 1708 MHz
    Max Customer Boost Clocks
        Graphics                    : N/A
    Clock Policy
        Auto Boost                  : N/A
        Auto Boost Default          : N/A
    Processes                       : None

makoto@T3400:~ 9.6G [505] 07:16 2s :)
$

This seems to be a dual-link dvi monitor, so you would either have to connect it to a DVI connector or use an active converter that supports that. Which connector did you connect it to?

Thx generix, indeed this is a dual-link (in fact a quad-link) monitor.
Reading your question I though I’d try every connector on the board.
Until yesterday, I had only tried the (single-link) DVI connector and the HDMI connector (throught a dvi-hdmi converter), neither of which worked.

However, today I got a cheap DVI-DisplayPort adapter at the local yodobashi store at 480 yen and tried the third connector on board, which is the displayport connector.

It worked!

Now the monitor displays at 3840*2400 @13Hz with amazingly crisp text console. (btw the refresh rate of this monitor should increase by 12Hz with max about 48Hz with quad-link dvi connection.)

Now my question becomes: why? Why is only the display port working and not the DVI and HDMI connectors?

X seems to be working fine on the displayport too. For what it’s worth, here’s my xorg.conf if if should help anyone having a similar trouble:

# nvidia-xconfig: X configuration file generated by nvidia-xconfig
# nvidia-xconfig:  version 390.30  (buildmeister@swio-display-x64-rhel04-14)  Wed Jan 31 22:46:17 PST 2018


Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Files"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Mouse0"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "Protocol" "auto"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Keyboard0"
    Driver         "kbd"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier "IBM T221 HLF"
	ModelName "IBM T221 HLF"
	VendorName "IBM"
	# Monitor Manufactured week 0 of 2006
	# EDID version 1.4
	# Digital Display
	DisplaySize 240 300
	Gamma 2.20
	Option "DPMS" "true"
	Modeline	"3840x2400 single" 148.00 3840 3888 3904 3984
                                                  2400 2402 2408 2451 +hsync -vsync
	#Modeline 	"Mode 0" 245.00 1920 1968 2000 2080 2400 2402 2412 2455 +hsync -vsync 
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nouveau"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor	   "IBM T221 HLF"
    DefaultDepth    24
	Option  "Stereo" "0"
	#Option	"metamodes"	"DVI-I-1: 1920x2400 +0+0"
	Option	"SLI" "Off"
	Option	"BaseMosaic"	"Off"
	Option  "MultiGPU"	"Off"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
	#Modes	"640x480" "1920x2400"
	#Virtual 640 480
    EndSubSection
EndSection

NB: never mind the commented line! I tried many different combinations on the wrong connectors.

Actually it turned out xorg.conf is not even necessary for me because i don’t need stiching the tiles (13Hz is good enough for text interactions).

Now I have the triple-head set up as follows:

Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 7040 x 2400, maximum 32767 x 32767
DVI-D-0 connected 1280x1024+3840+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 376mm x 301mm
   1280x1024     60.02*+  75.02  
   1280x960      75.00    60.00  
   1152x864      75.00  
   1024x768      75.03    70.07    60.00  
   800x600       75.00    72.19    60.32    56.25  
   640x480       75.00    72.81    59.94  
HDMI-0 connected 1920x1080+5120+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 477mm x 268mm
   1920x1080     60.00*+  59.94    50.00    60.00    50.04    50.04  
   1680x1050     59.95  
   1600x1200     60.00  
   1440x900      74.98    59.89  
   1280x1024     75.02    60.02  
   1280x960      60.00  
   1280x720      59.94    50.00  
   1152x864      75.00  
   1024x768      75.03    70.07    60.00  
   800x600       75.00    72.19    60.32    56.25  
   720x576       50.00  
   720x480       59.94  
   640x480       75.00    72.81    59.94    59.93  
DP-0 connected 3840x2400+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 480mm x 300mm
   3840x2400     12.71*+
   1920x2400     20.10  
   1920x1200     40.93  
   1600x1200     60.00  
   1280x1024     75.02    60.02  
   1024x768      85.00    75.03    70.07    60.00  
   800x600       85.06    75.00    72.19    60.32    56.25  
   640x480       85.01    75.00    72.81    59.94  
DP-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

I’m still puzzled as to why only the displayport connector can talk to the T221 monitor. Is it a hardware problem, a firmware problem (e.g. EDID parsing?) or a driver problem? What recent nvidia gpus (>=390) work flawlessly with T221?

It’s kind of a special monitor. It seems it is simply not detecting a single-link connection, or maybe just on a specific port otherwise it refuses to work.
If your only DVI connector on the graphics card is just single-link, bad luck.
HDMI is also always single-link, so if you use a passive converter, it’s also single-link DVI. Most if not all HDMI2DVI converters are passive ones.
With DP, there are two kinds of converters, active and passive ones. The passive kind also is just single-link, the active ones are dual-link.
So you were lucky instantly grabbing an active instead of a passive DP2DVI converter.

I’m not sure if this is related to the difference of active/passible converter, as I had no problems using T221 with an older
quadro fx 1700 card. I could directly connect the two single link DVI connector to the card without any problem.

I’m having a bit of problem in displaying the boot console on T221 because of the forced ordering of the monitors, as the bios always chooses the smaller surrounding monitors.

hwinfo --framebuffer shows:

02: None 00.0: 11001 VESA Framebuffer
  [Created at bios.459]
  Unique ID: rdCR.SM+Zq8dkIj0
  Hardware Class: framebuffer
  Model: "NVIDIA GP107 Board"
  Vendor: "NVIDIA Corporation"
  Device: "GP107 Board"
  SubVendor: "NVIDIA"
  SubDevice: 
  Revision: "Chip Rev"
  Memory Size: 16 MB
  Memory Range: 0x01000000-0x01ffffff (rw)
  Mode 0x0301: 640x480 (+640), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0303: 800x600 (+800), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0305: 1024x768 (+1024), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0307: 1280x1024 (+1280), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0311: 640x480 (+1280), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0312: 640x480 (+2560), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0314: 800x600 (+1600), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0315: 800x600 (+3200), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0317: 1024x768 (+2048), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0318: 1024x768 (+4096), 24 bits
  Mode 0x031a: 1280x1024 (+2560), 16 bits
  Mode 0x031b: 1280x1024 (+5120), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0345: 1600x1200 (+1600), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0346: 1600x1200 (+3200), 16 bits
  Mode 0x034a: 1600x1200 (+6400), 24 bits
  Mode 0x034b: 3840x2400 (+3840), 8 bits
  Mode 0x034c: 3840x2400 (+7680), 16 bits
  Mode 0x034d: 3840x2400 (+15360), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0371: 1360x768 (+5440), 24 bits
  Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown

but passing vga=0x34d as the boot parameter won’t choose the right resolution. the largest value that i’ve found to be working is 0x31b. without vga= parameter, the console displays with nice 3840x2400x3 resolution if the other monitors are disconnected, but not when cnnected (even if they are turned off).

are those vesa mode numbers not for large monitors?

For future reference (for myself or possibly others) my conclusions are that:

  1. this card only detects T221 at the DP connector
  2. nvidia driver only shows console to a monitor at DVI or HDMI port (chosen randomly? at boot)
  3. the open source nouveau driver has better support for KMS and shows the console on all the monitors simultaneously
  4. xrandr works fully with nouveau
  5. it’s not possible to have independent framebuffer for each connector.

The last restriction is a bit painful, but understandable given the philosophy(?) of KMS: reduce duplication of code.
A multi-head window system is done by X so maybe I should use X for that.