problems with x server in gentoo linux – 3254 days old

[visvent]

hi, uhm, i recently assigned to this forum and immediatelly saw that there are several ubernerds on this forum who really know a lot about software(especially linux)

well , the thing is, i installed gentoo linux yesterday(saturday), everything went fine
except for the x config for my radeon 9600, i couldn't find a way to get x working

i already posted my problem on forums.gentoo.org ; u might wonna have a look at it.
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=187694


the thing is why i posted this here , is because, i uninstalled gentoo, 'cause i couldn't get x working and reinstalled fedora so i could look up info to get x working in gentoo 'cause i only have one pc at the moment, my bro's laptop is being repaired and i can't get a networkdevice being recognised by my dad's old 486 (i already spent 3 full hours to get it working )

i know there are several linuxfreaks on this forum and i really have to be sure how to fix my x/ati fglrx problem...

any help would higly be appreciated

[Grogan]

First of all, I'm not familiar with gentoo. Second of all, you're using ATI's proprietary drivers that use their own X configuration. The first hurdle is obviously that kernel module though. Ordinarily, lack of DRI wouldn't prevent the X server from loading, but with those ATI drivers who knows.

As stated at the other forum, you need to find out why the fglrx module isn't loading. Possibly it's not even there (failed to compile). Most likely it compiles the kernel back end (and links in the binary module code) when you use emerge to install it. This means that it must compile correctly. It must find the include headers of your running kernel, also as stated.

Boot up your machine. Don't try to start X yet. As root, type modprobe fglrx and see if it fails to load. Then type dmesg and see if there are any clues.

lsmod shows you the modules already loaded.

I would probably configure X without the ATI drivers and get it working for now.

Here's how to use the xf86config utility to generate a new config. (without DRI enabled by default). At least get yourself into the GUI. And no, don't use framebuffer there's no reason why you can't use the proper radeon driver.

http://www.bitbenderforums.com/vb22/...?postid=313121

[visvent]

Ah k thanks for the advice,
indead i used framebuffer
i'll try to get my x working without the fglrx module for now, thanks for the xf86config guide;

otherwise it's practically guesswork

but the 3d support doesn't matter that much for me, 'cause in 2 months or so i'll buy a nvidia gforcefx5900xt only 200 $ or so....

thx again for the guide

[visvent]

oh yeah, as u read in the post gentoo forums
i've got a radeon 9600 pro
a few months ago i did a install of slackware
everything went fine, of course except for x
I configured x , but didn't set too high settings
for example > resolution : 800*600
as card driver i selected ati radeon (generic)

then when i started x, the damn system freaked again, just as in gentoo, the same damn problem

i tried it several times, but the thing is > the fact that it doesn't work (x) could be a misconfig of me or a kernel module error

but hey, at least, thx to guys like u , it gave me hope to move on , now i've got some really good manuals and there are many people who have had the same prob as i had but fixed it

but i'll feel more comfortable with my gforcefx5900xt

The results are amazingly better than ati........

[Grogan]

Probably misconfiguration, because all Radeon is well supported in X, (for normal 2D desktop operation anyway... newer radeons don't work too well for DRI, hence, the proprietary ATI drivers). The kernel doesn't need anything special for this either.

[visvent]

yeah prolly, but the fact that even the radeon driver of slackware didn't work is 'cause i just should have set the video device driver to vsa generic, then i prolly would have worked

i'm using fedora right now and the auto config put it automatically on vesa generic and it works fine

on gentoo forums they said i first should set the video device to vesa generic and then i can choose to install the fglrx drivers

The radeonfb drivers often cause problems when used with the ATI fglrx driver, such as screen corruption or system hangs when switching between X and the console. It's better to use the VESA fb

[Grogan]

Your adapter is capable of much better than framebuffer X servers.

You don't seem to understand what you are quoting. They aren't talking about your X server, they are talking about framebuffer console drivers in the kernel. If you've compiled your own kernel, and enabled the radeon framebuffer driver, they are telling you to recompile your kernel and use the vesafb instead.

Anyway, good luck.

[visvent]

yeah, it's all kind of hectical these days(i'm in the middle of my examperiod)

and i'm kind of experimenting with all this stuff, but it doesn't matter, i'm willing to learn

[Walden]

check out this thread over at Gentoo's forums. http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.p...682&highlight=

hey, he has a name like i do