Solved Screen Tearing Issue on Lenovo X200 Laptop

Solved issue
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I'm running Linux Mint 21 XFCE, and I've recently noticed quite a bit of screen tearing when using many of my programs. I tried RTFL which produced no results, then I tried searching for an answer online, and from what I found in this Mint forum post, https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=370767, I'm experiencing a driver issue. I tried going to my driver manager to see which one I'm using, and it said they're are up to date, which led to me to have copy and paste lspci -k into the terminal to see them (btw, here are my results): 00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Memory Controller Hub (rev 07) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 07) Subsystem: Lenovo Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller Kernel driver in use: i915 Kernel modules: i915 00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 07) Subsystem: Lenovo Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller 00:03.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset MEI Controller (rev 07) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: mei_me Kernel modules: mei_me 00:03.3 Serial controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset AMT SOL Redirection (rev 07) Subsystem: Lenovo Mobile 4 Series Chipset AMT SOL Redirection Kernel driver in use: serial 00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82567LM Gigabit Network Connection (rev 03) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: e1000e Kernel modules: e1000e 00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 03) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd 00:1a.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 03) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd 00:1a.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #6 (rev 03) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd 00:1a.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 03) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci 00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 03) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel 00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 03) Kernel driver in use: pcieport 00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 03) Kernel driver in use: pcieport 00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 03) Kernel driver in use: pcieport 00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 03) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd 00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 03) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd 00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 03) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd 00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 03) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci 00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev 93) 00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation ICH9M-E LPC Interface Controller (rev 03) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: lpc_ich Kernel modules: lpc_ich 00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801IBM/IEM (ICH9M/ICH9M-E) 4 port SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 03) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: ahci Kernel modules: ahci 00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 03) Subsystem: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Kernel driver in use: i801_smbus Kernel modules: i2c_i801 03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Qualcomm Atheros AR242x / AR542x Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01) Subsystem: Qualcomm Atheros AR242x / AR542x Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) Kernel driver in use: ath5k Kernel modules: ath5k

And here's the results of copying and pasting inxi -Fxxxrz

System: Kernel: 5.15.0-72-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 11.3.0 Desktop: Xfce 4.16.0 tk: Gtk 3.24.23 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm 4.16.1 vt: 7 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 21 Vanessa base: Ubuntu 22.04 jammy Machine: Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 7450WNN v: ThinkPad X200 Tablet serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <superuser required> Mobo: LENOVO model: 7450WNN serial: <superuser required> BIOS: LENOVO v: 7WET62WW (3.12 ) date: 02/03/2010 Battery: ID-1: BAT0 charge: 34.0 Wh (100.0%) condition: 34.0/66.2 Wh (51.4%) volts: 16.5 min: 14.4 model: SANYO 42T4658 type: Li-ion serial: <filter> status: Full CPU: Info: dual core model: Intel Core2 Duo L9400 bits: 64 type: MCP smt: <unsupported> arch: Core Yorkfield rev: A cache: L1: 128 KiB L2: 6 MiB Speed (MHz): avg: 798 min/max: 800/1867 boost: enabled cores: 1: 798 2: 798 bogomips: 7447 Flags: ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 ssse3 Graphics: Device-1: Intel Mobile 4 Series Integrated Graphics vendor: Lenovo driver: i915 v: kernel ports: active: LVDS-1 empty: DP-1, DP-2, DP-3, HDMI-A-1, HDMI-A-2, VGA-1 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:2a42 class-ID: 0300 Device-2: Lenovo Integrated Webcam type: USB driver: uvcvideo bus-ID: 1-6:2 chip-ID: 17ef:480c class-ID: 0e02 Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.4 compositor: xfwm v: 4.16.1 driver: X: loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa gpu: i915 display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1 Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1280x800 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 338x211mm (13.3x8.3") s-diag: 398mm (15.7") Monitor-1: LVDS-1 model: Lenovo res: 1280x800 hz: 60 dpi: 125 size: 261x163mm (10.3x6.4") diag: 308mm (12.1") modes: 1280x800 OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Mobile Intel GM45 Express (CTG) v: 2.1 Mesa 22.2.5 direct render: Yes Audio: Device-1: Intel 82801I HD Audio vendor: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:293e class-ID: 0403 Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.15.0-72-generic running: yes Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 15.99.1 running: yes Sound Server-3: PipeWire v: 0.3.48 running: yes Network: Device-1: Intel 82567LM Gigabit Network vendor: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 driver: e1000e v: kernel port: 1840 bus-ID: 00:19.0 chip-ID: 8086:10f5 class-ID: 0200 IF: enp0s25 state: down mac: <filter> Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR242x / AR542x Wireless Network Adapter driver: ath5k v: kernel pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 168c:001c class-ID: 0200 IF: wls1 state: up mac: <filter> Drives: Local Storage: total: 1.06 TiB used: 65.7 GiB (6.1%) ID-1: /dev/sda type: USB vendor: Seagate model: BUP Slim BK size: 931.51 GiB speed: <unknown> type: N/A serial: <filter> rev: 0302 scheme: MBR ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Western Digital model: WD1600BEVS-08VAT2 size: 149.05 GiB speed: 1.5 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 5400 serial: <filter> rev: 1A14 scheme: GPT Partition: ID-1: / size: 145.16 GiB used: 14.48 GiB (10.0%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb3 ID-2: /boot/efi size: 512 MiB used: 6.1 MiB (1.2%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sdb2 Swap: ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 2 GiB used: 309.6 MiB (15.1%) priority: -2 file: /swapfile Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 44.0 C mobo: 44.0 C Fan Speeds (RPM): fan-1: 2332 Repos: Packages: 2242 apt: 2234 flatpak: 8 No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com vanessa main upstream import backport 2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy main restricted universe multiverse 3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-updates main restricted universe multiverse 4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-backports main restricted universe multiverse 5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jammy-security main restricted universe multiverse Info: Processes: 213 Uptime: 2d 1h 56m wakeups: 8 Memory: 2.81 GiB used: 1.7 GiB (60.6%) Init: systemd v: 249 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 11.3.0 alt: 11/12 Shell: Bash v: 5.1.16 running-in: xfce4-terminal inxi: 3.3.13

While I don't mind researching similar issues in forums and using them to help me solve my own problems, what's wrong with this situation is the hardware often varies from computer model to computer model (in this case, this person using Nvidia drivers while I'm using Intel drivers). Because I now know what's causing the problem, I tried looking up a tutorial on how to fix it, and after going here: https://www.maketecheasier.com/get-rid-screen-tearing-linux/, I found I needed to open Xorg and put this into the config file Section "Device" Identifier "Intel Graphics" Driver "intel" Option "TearFree" "true" EndSection

I would've done so had I known how to create the file. When completing a web search on how to do that, I came across this web page, https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Config, but I found it confusing because it didn't seem to show me what program I needed to use in order to create it. Do I need to use a text editor?
 
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00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 07)
Subsystem: Lenovo Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller
Kernel driver in use: i915
Kernel modules: i915

I found I needed to open Xorg and put this into the config file

Section "Device"


Identifier "Intel Graphics"

Driver "intel"

Option "TearFree" "true"

EndSection

I would've done so had I known how to create the file. When completing a web search on how to do that, I came across this web page, https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Config, but I found it confusing because it didn't seem to show me what program I needed to use in order to create it. Do I need to use a text editor?
Yes you need to use a text editor like nano or vim, which seem to be the most popular ones. You need to use it as root and create the file. The simplest approach is to navigate to the /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ directory inside a terminal, become root by using "sudo" or "su" and then write the file with a name like "10-tearfree.conf", with the text exactly as presented. Then exit root (with cntl+d) to return to user. To make it take effect you can to log out of X and back in, (if you can on your system) or simply reboot.

Another thing to check is that you have the i915 firmware, which I believe is in the linux-firmware package in ubuntu, so ensure that the latest of that is installed.

It won't hurt, and may help, to also have the latest intel-microcode package installed.

See how it goes.
 
Yes you need to use a text editor like nano or vim, which seem to be the most popular ones. You need to use it as root and create the file. The simplest approach is to navigate to the /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ directory inside a terminal, become root by using "sudo" or "su" and then write the file with a name like "10-tearfree.conf", with the text exactly as presented. Then exit root (with cntl+d) to return to user. To make it take effect you can to log out of X and back in, (if you can on your system) or simply reboot.

Another thing to check is that you have the i915 firmware, which I believe is in the linux-firmware package in ubuntu, so ensure that the latest of that is installed.

It won't hurt, and may help, to also have the latest intel-microcode package installed.

See how it goes.

I tried
sudo 10-tearfree.conf
and it told me "command not found"
 
I tried

and it told me "command not found"
Aha, sudo needs the command of the text editor, for example if using the text editor nano:
Code:
sudo nano 10-tearfree.conf
then the file will be created as root for you to edit.

You need to have sudo working on your computer and be able to use it. Otherwise you can use your root account directly by typing: su, and entering your root password. Then you just need to write the file with:
Code:
nano 10-tearfree.conf
To get back to user, hit cntl+d.

If not sure about using nano, have some practices in the terminal in your home directory and perhaps a look online for some hints.
 
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Aha, sudo needs the command of the text editor, for example if using the text editor nano:
Code:
sudo nano 10-tearfree.conf
then the file will be created as root for you to edit.

You need to have sudo working on your computer and be able to use it. Otherwise you can use your root account directly by typing: su, and entering your root password. Then you just need to write the file with:
Code:
nano 10-tearfree.conf
To get back to user, hit cntl+d.

If not sure about using nano, have some practices in the terminal in your home directory and perhaps a look online for some hints.

I managed to solve the problem, but not by using this recommendation. Because I hated the functionality of XFCE, I switched to MATE, and not only did it fix the screen tearing issue, but it feels more smoother to use. Thanks for your help regardless!
 

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