[arch-general] text console no longer turns off (it blanks, but powered) after 4.12.5 or xf86-video-ati update

[David C. Rankin]

On 08/16/2017 03:49 AM, David C. Rankin wrote:
> On 08/15/2017 11:32 PM, Ralf Mardorf wrote:
>> PPS: A few days ago I tested a LCD monitor. Screen blanking already
>> caused the monitor to completely power off (after hat it was needed to
>> turn on the monitor by the monitor's power button). Perhaps you changed
>> some Eco settings of your monitor? Maybe your monitor powered off
>> triggered by screen blanking and now it doesn't do it anymore?
> 
> 
> Ralf,
> 
>   Thank you for your suggestions. I'll go through the DPMS page again. I
> haven't change a single-thing on my system, so Eco setting, no monitor
> settings, no nothing. Past 7-8 years same config, monitor always powers down,
> as soon as the updates went in on 8/11, DPMS just quit working for the text
> console. Crossing-fingers the DPMS has a hidden nugget somewhere inside :)
> 

Ralf, all,

  I can use 'setterm --blank 3 --poweroff 4' to have the screen blank and
poweroff just as it has always done since 2009 up to the 4.12.5 kernel and
xf86-video-ati 1:7.9.0-2. Now for the first time I am having to manually set
it. What changed? Why should I now have to manually use 'setterm' where before
this was automatically set to a reasonable default?

  Does anybody know if this is an Arch change or an upstream change?
/etc/issue has not changed in months, e.g.

$ l /etc/issue
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 20 Mar 26 16:57 /etc/issue

  How do I set a default for the system so all of the text consoles VT1-6
automatically poweroff? I see the "Bash loop to set ttys 0-256" in the DPMS wiki:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Display_Power_Management_Signaling#DPMS_interaction_in_a_Linux_console_with_setterm

but having to put that in a profile seems like a cludge. /etc/issue apparently
can be used for preventing blanking/poweroff, but is this the correct file for
setting the poweroff systemwide?

  The http://webpages.charter.net/dperr/dpms.htm link doesn't address system
config (just how it works) Thanks for any wisdom on this topic you can provide.

-- 
David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E.