FAQ Z83-4 black screen [virtual extended display]

I'm moving this thread to the FAQ section.

I just turned all the power saving off, no sleep mode , never turn monitor off etc etc but this sounds better. Thanks

This fix works on multiple platforms, and on other branded products too.

Hi Ken,

I tried the fix, but I still have problems waking up the Z83-4.

It seems to depend on the time between the Z83-4 was left unattended. If it is a short period it works OK. For a longer period it doesn't want to wake up. I tried the trick disconnecting the HDMI cable. That doesn't work.

Does the Z83-4 have different levels of sleep? I noticed that first the screen goes black. Then after some time the numlock and function light on my keyboard are turned off, but it can still wake up by a key press. After a longer time there is no means to wake it up; not by the keyboard, not by the button on the Z83-4 and not by disconnecting or reconnecting the HDMI cable. The power led is on and green and also the leds on the Ethernet port are on.

Best regards,
Jan

Is your BIOS updated to V1.4?
This fix has been verified by Intel and there is no better fix until they release a new driver for these platforms.
Personally I don't experience the issue you mentioned, with everything most updated (Windows, graphics drivers, BIOS, etc...), nor I can see other reports of the same kind on this board.

Yes, I did update my BIOS to V1.4. That doesn't seem to make a difference.
The Intel Graphics HD driver was version 20.19.15.4380. I'm updating the driver now.

Hi Ken,

If I install the Virtual Display Enable Disable patch will it prevent me from running Windows Remote Desktop on the MINIX PC? I bought the MINIX PC to use as a local PC running a robotic mount with a couple of telescopes on it capturing image data. I access the MINIX PC system over the network using Wi-Fi from a remote location. Thanks!

Chip

BTW: firmware has been updated to 1.4

I still the same problem after the updates. Only disabling sleep mode prevents it from freezing.

Yes! If you need remote (virtual) desktop you can't use this patch!

What is your current graphics driver?

Dear Ken, it's great to see how you actively help out users here on the forum.

I bought a brand new z83-4 two days ago. I'm sorry to say I experience these same troubles with a black screen after wake up from Minix sleep, also even when I try to wake from only monitor sleep but with the Minix still on.

My monitor is an HP2710m.

Bios version as stated in Windows info screen: 150 (seems like it's even newer than the 140 version mentioned in this thread?). Graphics driver is 4380.

Newbie question: how can I enter the bios?

I ran the .bat file provided in this thread to update the registry, that did not help.

It makes no difference if I enter sleep mode via the Minix power button (which in Windows is set to enter sleep mode) or via the windows start power menu, or via the power plan settings which is set to go to sleep after 5 minutes.

By the way ... what color should the led have in sleep mode? Mine stays blue, or sometimes alternates / flickers between green and blue. The unit also stays warmer than I'd expect for sleep mode. Also all USB ports stay powered, even though in windows settings I said to turn them off and also disabled 'enable to wake up' for mouse and keyboard.

A further experiment was to change the power settings to turn off the monitor after 3 minutes but never to enter sleep mode. The result is that the power led also starts to flicker between blue and green and the monitor still comes up black. It looks as if the 'monitor off' state is similar to 'sleep' state?

I hope there is a solution. The Minix is used as a PC for frequent checking email and internet multiple times a day, sleep mode is essential not to have to go thru a complete power off / on cycle every time.

I also have the exact same problem, even after use the Virtual Display Enable Disable patch the problem persist. The firmware is 1.4. However I can get sometimes some image from windowns but then I am unable enter a password because the space for that dont appear.

The Graphics driver was 4380 i update to 4474 let see if solve the problem

even with the new drivers the problem persist. a solution would be welcome turn off and on hdmi dont solve the problem only turn off the power windows is showing errors because of this this is a big problem and need a permanent fix

A hotplug of the HDMI connection is needed in this case I think.

what do you mean by hotplug? how can i solve the problem?
sometimes i dont have any sound on the box and how to solve it also
.

hi !! i got the same black scream problem and i got the Led green problem !!!
what should i do frist to resolve my problem?

I have just purchased a unit this last Sunday 30APR2017 and have had trouble with the same issue.

The primary purpose of this unit is as an entertainment center controller as my "smart" home theater system does not have enough processor power to handle the network load of HD streaming.

I have the HDMI from the Minix unit cabled to the HDMI-IN of my Samsung "smart" surround home theater system. HDMI-OUT of home theater goes to TV, the idea here being I will get the benefit of any AV content with 5.1 sound.

The home theater will shutoff automatically if no activity is detected for some amount of time - this feature cannot be shut off. Apparently, when the computer goes to sleep after an idle time the home theater would shut down. I have found the unit in this condition twice so far and noted that the Minix was VERY HOT to the touch for some reason, and I had the same black screen. If I pressed ENTER I would hear the Windows tone like it was expecting a password to be entered but the screen would stay black. After a bit I could see a moving mouse cursor. I have recovered twice from this condition both times by cycling the power via the power switch - I did not need to actually disconnect the power supply.

I tried a plug cycle of the HDMI cable numerous times with no results. I have (last night) followed all the items in this FAQ except the BIOS burn. I loaded the Intel Driver Manager and downloaded and installed the latest Intel graphics driver (the new driver date was March 2017). I ran the patch batch file provided in this thread and verified I do not have the "Virtual Monitor" item in control panel after the update and restart. I did not, however, check if that virtual monitor item did exist before the application of the patch.

I did test this subsequent to the above by switching my input source on the home theater effectively plug cycling the HDMI port - the video did come back after a 1 or 2 second delay. I HAVE NOT yet checked this by letting the computer enter sleep mode again. This will be crucial, as sleep mode is mandatory and if it doesn't work it will be a deal breaker for me. I hope it does as I really like this comp as an A/V system control and streaming engine.

So I don't know what is going on with this as I was told in an email by Minix that this is an Intel problem that is not yet solved.

Yet at the same time since I went through the steps in this FAQ I have not been able to duplicate the fault for two straight nights though I have tried several ways to make it fail.

The failure condition for me was:

PC Enters sleep mode (set for 10 min.)

After some (10 or 15 min.) time the TV/monitor will automatically power down due to non-activity.

After another amount of time (5 or 10 min.) the home theater system will automatically power down due to non-activity.

This would be the condition I would find the entertainment system when the new PC had the problem - the PC would have a blinking GREEN LED (if I remember correctly the LED was GREEN). After turning on both home theater (which routes HDMI to TV) and TV I would hit the enter key on the black screen PC and here a Windows noise like it wanted a password but had no login box. I could move the mouse around and get a mouse pointer that would continue to move around but the screen would never wake up.

The above scenario happened to me three times, every time I would leave it on unattended for an hour or so.

I installed the patch and updated the driver per the instruction in this FAQ two days ago. Since that time I have not been able to duplicate the problem though I have tried.

Yesterday I would switch the home theater input source to another after the PC was asleep and leave it that way for ~30 min - no problem. I did the same and turned off the home theater - no problem.

Today I just let it sit and watched the PC enter sleep first, then the TV automatically powered off, and finally the home theater powered off. The PC LED kept blinking blue - it never blinked green, and when I turned on the home theater and TV I was able to wake up the PC normally.

So while it is still early it looks like my problem was fixed by the procedure in this FAQ. This is a very fresh system (I just received it four days ago) and I have only installed a hardware utility that has a temperature display (Cam), malwarebytes, and Kodi.

hello, have you updated the system bios to the latest as well?

I DID NOT upgrade the BIOS.

I was apprehensive to do that quite yet as this is a new type of platform for me and until I've checked things out more thoroughly I did not want to risk bricking the thing.

That said, I also find it difficult to ascertain exactly which BIOS version I currently have.

Main BIOS screen information:

Core version: 0.4
Build date: 11/18/2016, 11:54:27
Minix Firmware version: 0.4
TXE Firmware version: 02.00.02.3095

Bottom of BIOS screen: Version 2.17.1249

Windows 10 System Information:

System SKU: 4G32G
Bios Version/Date: American Megatrends, Inc. CHTA150, 11/18/2016

So - does the above information indicate that I have Version 1.50 FW (as per your posts identifying versions of 1.4, 1.6, etc.)?