This issue is caused by how XFCE with the proprietary NVIDIA driver handles display detection and monitor layout on resume from suspend. The root cause is the NVIDIA driver reporting hotplug events when displays are re-initialised after waking, which XFCE misinterprets and resets the display layout. This is exacerbated when:

  • XFCE does not persistently store layouts across users/machines by default.
  • No unified display profile is present, or it is invalidated when EDID or port layout changes (even slightly).
  • nofb (disable framebuffer console) might interfere with early modesetting expected by tools like xrandr or DEs on resume.

✅ Root Cause:

XFCE with the proprietary NVIDIA driver on Rocky 8.10 resets multi-monitor layout after suspend/resume due to unreliable detection events, lack of system-wide layout persistence, and possibly compounded by nofb.

✅ Working Solutions

✅ 1. Disable nofb in kernel cmdline

nofb disables the framebuffer console and can lead to misbehavior during suspend/resume. Modern systems no longer need this.

Edit /etc/default/grub:

sudo sed -i 's/\bnofb\b//g' /etc/default/grub
sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/efi/EFI/rocky/grub.cfg

Then reboot.

✅ 2. Set up a system-wide autorandr profile hook

Install autorandr, which can dynamically re-apply monitor layouts on resume.

sudo dnf install autorandr xrandr

Set up a known layout:

xrandr # identify displays
autorandr --save dual-display-layout

Then create a systemd sleep hook:

sudo tee /lib/systemd/system-sleep/autorandr-resume.sh > /dev/null << 'EOF'
#!/bin/sh
case "$1" in
  post)
    export DISPLAY=:0
    export XAUTHORITY=/home/<your-user>/.Xauthority
    /usr/bin/autorandr --change --force
    ;;
esac
EOF
sudo chmod +x /lib/systemd/system-sleep/autorandr-resume.sh

Make sure to replace <your-user> with the actual user account that owns the X session.

If multiple users use the system, you’ll need to dynamically detect active sessions using something like loginctl.

✅ 3. Avoid XFCE display profile per-user

Since you can’t create per-user profiles in a dynamic hardware layout environment, disable XFCE from auto-saving changes by setting:

xfconf-query -c displays -p /Default/AutoApply -s false

Do this for all user profiles (/etc/skel or via automation if many users).

✅ 4. Use nvidia-settings to persist X configuration

Instead of relying on XFCE display settings, use NVIDIA’s own tool:

sudo nvidia-settings

Set layout, then save to /etc/X11/xorg.conf (requires root). This helps NVIDIA persist layouts across reboots and resumes.

✅ 5. Set IgnoreEDIDChecksum in xorg.conf if EDID is flaky

If monitors are incorrectly detected, add:

Section "Device"
    Identifier "Device0"
    Driver "nvidia"
    VendorName "NVIDIA Corporation"
    Option "UseEDID" "TRUE"
    Option "IgnoreEDIDChecksum" "DFP-0"
EndSection

Replace DFP-0 with your monitor if needed.

🔗 References

✅ Recommended Permanent Fix Strategy:

  1. Remove nofb from kernel cmdline (to allow proper framebuffer handoff).
  2. Use autorandr + systemd sleep hook to re-apply display layout post-resume.
  3. Configure users to not autosave broken layouts.
  4. Optional: use nvidia-settings for system-wide X layout persistence if consistent hardware.

Updated: