Xorg -configure issues - total Gentoo newbie

energymedia · n00b Joined: 03 Nov 2004 Posts: 4

Hey all,

I am completely new to Gentoo and am trying to get a workstation configured (Dell Optiplex GX110). I have had everything go successful up until trying to get xorg-x11 configured. Emerged it OK and reinitialized the environment variables (# env-update, # sourece /etc/profile). Tried to use the 'Xorg -configure' and get the following error:

asgardwarrior · n00b Joined: 07 Apr 2004 Posts: 46

Do you compile the video driver when you made your kernel?

pjp · Administrator Joined: 16 Apr 2002 Posts: 20067

Moved from Installing Gentoo.
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Quis separabit? Quo animo?

benj_a · n00b Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 2

I am having the same problem, (and am also a completely new to gentoo).

I installed a stage 3 distribution, kernel-2.6, from the 2004.2 cd, and used genkernel to build the kernel. I don't remember seeing anything about the video driver (but please correct me if I need to go back to that and do it over again).

I am loading the i810 driver at boot time, but my Xorg -configure still says it can't find it.

Any help would be great!

Thanks,
Ben

energymedia · n00b Joined: 03 Nov 2004 Posts: 4

Like Benj_a, my install was exacty like he stated. I used the genkernel option (as I am not sure I am ready to configure it on my own yet), and did not notice anything regarding the video driver being compiled.

synapscape · Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:01 pm Post subject:

Well, the kernels video driver is called the DRM (Direct Rendering Manager) which does some hardware-level stuff and thus resides in the kernel. The DRI, the companion module, runs within X. Both deliver fast hw-accel. graphics. Just for both of you to settle some terms...

So, to tell if you got the kernel module running, type "lsmod" (as root) to see a list of all loaded kernel modules. the i810 module should be among them. if not, try "modprobe i810" (i don't know the exact name, check /lib/modules/**your-kernel-name-here**/video/ for the module... ) .

This module must be loaded.

Without your xorg.conf further help is difficult. Try searching for the terms i810 AND "no screens found" on these forums. "no screens found" is a common error, it could say several things. You could check you xorg.conf for the sections monitor, device and screen. They should look like this (for a voodoo3):

benj_a · n00b Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 2

Thanks for the hints - I spent some time searching through the forums, and I think the problem I am having is using genkernel. It seems that for me to get i810 support, I need to do the manual build.

Does this sound right?

I will let you know if this works (but now I need to figure out why my first attempt at the manual kernel build failed....)

Thanks for the help.

Btw, my xorg.conf file just seems to be screwed up - all the resolution and color depth parameters are zeros - so I think the first step is to get the manual kernel going and then go back to xorg and see what happens.

-Ben

energymedia · n00b Joined: 03 Nov 2004 Posts: 4

I have found a lot of information regarding this problem and have made some headway. I had two lines both stating HorizSync, one with valid numbers, one with a zero. Tried again and it stated that no screens were found. I am going to modify this tonight and will let you know how it goes.

Thanks for all of the assistance so far.

emorphix · Apprentice Joined: 09 Oct 2004 Posts: 189 Location: Earth

There is a great tool in portage that allows you to check what your monitor uses for a Horiz and Vert rate

synapscape · Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 11:29 am Post subject:

@benj_a:
It may not be necessary to build a new kernel by hand. As you've stated before, you are loading the i810 module at boot time if my eyes don't betray me :wink:

This tells me that everything seems to be right with your kernel...

Nevertheless, a quick checklist for i810 support in your kernel (for 2.6):

1) Enable MTRR -> "Processor type and features"
2) Choose a suitable AGP-GART for your system (well.. um... which one might it be... ummm... maybe... ummm... intel_agp?! :wink:

) -> "Device drivers" -> "Character devices" -> "dev/agpgart" + "Intel 440LX/BX/GX, I8xx and E7x05 chipset support"
3) Choose a suitable drm -> "Device drivers" -> "Character devices" -> "Direct Rendering Manager" + "Intel I810"

This should be all for the kernel part... But you can save yourself some work if you check your boot-messages with dmesg and look for parts about agp-gart and i810. If they are there without any complains, then everything is fine with your kernel. At least i think so... :wink:

Ah, one more thing: In your BIOS, you may be able to set "agp aperture size" or something like that. This sets the max. amount of RAM available to the gfx-core. Set it to something useful like 64MB...

Now, back to xorg.conf:
Doing some quick research on these forums it appears to me that auto-config for x.org doesn't always work. So, here's a little gift for you people, a xorg.conf - hopefully working and edited down to the relevant parts (leaving out mouse, keyboard... ) :wink:

Please remind that i don't have any i810 myself...

energymedia · n00b Joined: 03 Nov 2004 Posts: 4

emorphix, great tool. Thanks for the tip.

I have done a lot more searching regarding my original problem and now have what I think is the correct settings as I can run startx and get the screen and mouse. The problem now is that it locks up approx 5 seconds after I run startx.

I will post the config file once I get home, but does anyone have any ideas as to why this might be happening?