Error on machine wake-up / NVIDIA DRM/GPU Errors

arnaudom · November 17, 2025, 2:59am

I am experiencing system freeze or crash after the computer wakes up after the screen went blank (automatic suspend is off).
The machine is pretty old.
I suspect the issue is display driver but cannot confirm:
NVIDIA-SMI 470.256.02 Driver Version: 470.256.02 CUDA Version: 11.4.
The drivers are installed while running Kernel 6.8 (6.14 not compatible)

These are typical logs error after crash:
Received an X Window System error. This probably reflects a bug in the program.
The error was 'BadWindow (invalid Window parameter)'.
(Details: serial 975108 error_code 3 request_code 7 (core protocol) minor_code 0)
gdm3[1482]: Gdm: on_display_added: assertion 'GDM_IS_REMOTE_DISPLAY (display)' failed
gdm3[1482]: Gdm: on_display_removed: assertion 'GDM_IS_REMOTE_DISPLAY (display)' failed
systemd[1462]: Failed to start signal-desktop.service - Signal Desktop.
gdm-password][15118]: gkr-pam: unable to locate daemon control file
gdm3[1482]: Gdm: on_display_added: assertion 'GDM_IS_REMOTE_DISPLAY (display)' failed
systemd[1462]: Failed to start app-gnome-gnome\x2dkeyring\x2dpkcs11-15292.scope - Application launched by gnome-session-binary.
systemd[1462]: Failed to start app-gnome-gnome\x2dkeyring\x2dssh-15288.scope - Application launched by gnome-session-binary.
systemd[1462]: Failed to start app-gnome-xdg\x2duser\x2ddirs-15309.scope - Application launched by gnome-session-binary.
gdm3[1482]: Gdm: on_display_removed: assertion 'GDM_IS_REMOTE_DISPLAY (display)' failed
drm:nv_drm_master_set [nvidia_drm]] ERROR [nvidia-drm] [GPU ID 0x00000100] Failed to grab modeset ownership
kernel: [drm:nv_drm_master_set [nvidia_drm]] ERROR [nvidia-drm] [GPU ID 0x00000100] Failed to grab modeset ownership

I have tried many settings fixes, updated bios, but the same issue persist.

Can somebody point me to a proper fix?

Ponce-De-Leon · November 17, 2025, 11:26am

Welcome to the Forum!

Does Your System run in Wayland or X11? You can check that in Settings>About. When it runs in Wayland, I would recommend to try it with switching to X11/Xorg.

To do that, go to the Login Screen (not the Lock Screen). On the Login Screen, click on Your Profile so that the Password Field appears. When it is appeared, You should see a Gear Icon in the bottom right Corner. Click on it and choose ''Zorin Desktop on Xorg'' and then log in.

StarTreker · November 17, 2025, 11:34am

Make sure Secure Boot is disabled in the BIOS.

arnaudom · November 17, 2025, 11:32pm

It run on x11.

Ponce-De-Leon · November 18, 2025, 11:36am

And You are on Zorin 17, yes?

arnaudom · November 18, 2025, 11:40am

Description: Zorin OS 18
Release: 18
Codename: noble

Ponce-De-Leon · November 18, 2025, 11:44am

Did You installed it with the Nvidia Driver or did You installed the Driver later after the Zorin OS Installation?

arnaudom · November 18, 2025, 1:44pm

I installed it after.

Ponce-De-Leon · November 18, 2025, 1:52pm

Maybe it could help to uninstall and then install the Driver again. Open the Terminal and type:

sudo apt purge nvidia* to remove the Nvidia Driver and related Files. Then:

sudo apt autoremove to remove files Rest. But be cautious! First take a Look in the List of removable Packages before You delete them.

Then to install the Driver type sudo apt install nvidia-driver-470 nvidia-dkms-470

And what I have for get to ask before: What Nvidia Card do You have? When Nvidia Driver is installed type nvidia-smi in the Terminal and post the Output please.

arnaudom · November 18, 2025, 2:01pm

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Processes: |
| GPU GI CI PID Type Process name GPU Memory |
| ID ID Usage |
|=============================================================================|
| No running processes found |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

arnaudom · November 20, 2025, 1:05am

I did not face issue for the past 2 days.
I have actually made a settings change, while I am not sure it is the exact fix, in Zorin appearance > interface > taskbar settings > action > Gnome functionality, I activated ¨Keep original gnome-shell dash" and "Keep original gnome-shell top panel".
The result is that I have 2 tasks bars.
If this is the actual solution, that's kind of weird.

Zachdaredpanda · December 3, 2025, 3:13am

Try a More Stable Driver thats a little bit more Legacy for that kernal!

Forpli · December 3, 2025, 11:45am

Another user reported that nvidia 470 driver didn't worked well on Zorin 18 with kernel 6.14. He installed kernel 6.8. (6.8.12) and then it worked.

You could try this or switch to Zorin 17. It is still supported for two years and you'll probably have less problems there with the nvidia 470 driver.

Suspend is often a problem in Linux. You could also test if it helps to go manually into suspend by pressing the button in start menu.