Workaround for black screen when booting linux on p8 mini laptop

N100_P8_Linux_Black_Screen_Workaround.md

Fixing Display Issues on 8" Mini Laptops (P8, Topton, etc.) Running Linux

Problem

Many 8" mini laptops from brands like Topton experience a display issue in Linux where the screen doesn't work at boot time, but works correctly after a sleep/wake cycle.

Solution

This workaround automatically performs a brief sleep/wake cycle during boot to activate the display. The system will sleep for 3 seconds and then wake up with a working display.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Create a systemd service

Create a new systemd service file:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/rtcwake-on-boot.service

Add the following content to the file:

[Unit]
Description=Suspend system briefly after boot
DefaultDependencies=no
Before=basic.target
After=local-fs.target

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/bin/rtcwake -u -s 3 -m mem
RemainAfterExit=yes

[Install]
WantedBy=basic.target

Save and exit by pressing Ctrl+X, then Y to confirm.

2. Enable the service

Enable the service to run at boot:

sudo systemctl enable rtcwake-on-boot.service

3. Test the service

You can test if the service works correctly:

sudo systemctl start rtcwake-on-boot.service

Your system should sleep and wake up after 3 seconds with a working display.

Troubleshooting

• If 3 seconds isn't enough time, try increasing the value in the -s parameter (e.g., -s 5 for 5 seconds)
• If you tried a 1-second sleep and it didn't work, stick with 3 seconds or more

Compatibility

This solution has been confirmed working on Arch Linux with KDE, but should work on most Linux distributions that use systemd.

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Note: This is a workaround until the underlying bug is fixed in a future update. If you know the root cause of this issue, please contribute to fixing it!

Thank you! This worked after trying many things. Cheers.

Another Luigi here thanks you.