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donttrip
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Joined: 19 Sep 2011
Posts: 22
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 Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 3:28 am Post subject: [solved]startx blank screen no mouse |
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I've installed xorg-server, udev, and ati-drivers. I can startx and get a blank screen and no mouse.
I've looked at xorg.conf (http://paste.pocoo.org/show/479630) and it does not have anything for input device.
I've tried to run Xorg -configure but it reports:
| Code: | List of video drivers
fglrx
No devices to configure. Configuration Failed
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X Log file: http://paste.pocoo.org/show/479635
When I do startx I cannot go to a different terminal and I can't get out of x (not even with ctrl + alt + backspace).
Should note that when I do a dmesg after unplugging my mouse it does not show any errors.
Also I'm not sure what startx is supposed to look like when kde/gde is not installed.
Thanks for any advice you may have.
Last edited by donttrip on Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:29 am; edited 1 time in total |
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palmer
Guru
Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 322
Location: Berkeley, CA
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 4:28 am Post subject: |
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I have this in my xorg.conf, which I believe should prevent X from starting without any input devices, and disable the new auto input device detection stuff (which used to be broken for me).
| Code: | Section "ServerFlags"
Option "AllowEmptyInput" "off"
Option "AutoAddDevices" "false" |
If you put those ServerFlags in, you'll have to add the input devices manually. My xorg.conf has the following (you'll need to emerge the drivers if you don't have them for some reason).
| Code: | Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "keyboard_usb"
Driver "kbd"
Option "AutoRepeat" "500 30"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc104"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "mouse_main"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
# Option "Device" "/dev/input/by-id/usb-Microsoft_Corporation_Microsoft_??_Laser_Mouse_6000-mouse"
# Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mouse0"
Option "Buttons" "13"
Option "Emulate3Buttons"
EndSection |
As far as video goes, have you tried just using vesa? I've seen a lot of people have problems with ATI's drivers, so it might be worth it to take one possible failure method out, just debugging reasons. Something what I've put below should enable vesa (again, you'll have to emerge the drivers)
| Code: | Section "Device"
Driver "vesa"
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When nothing is installed, you should see twm running with xclock and 3 xterms (assuming you've installed twm, xterm, and xclock). Something like this
http://i.imgur.com/ywQKQ.png
The defaults are in /etc/X11/xinitrc/xinitrc |
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donttrip
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Joined: 19 Sep 2011
Posts: 22
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 4:32 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks, palmem. I will give this a try. |
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donttrip
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Joined: 19 Sep 2011
Posts: 22
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 4:59 am Post subject: |
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with those changes I get:
Fatal Error:
no screens found |
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cach0rr0
Bodhisattva
Joined: 13 Nov 2008
Posts: 4123
Location: Houston, Republic of Texas
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:13 am Post subject: |
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| donttrip wrote: | with those changes I get:
Fatal Error:
no screens found |
vesa driver wont work unless you've merged xf86-video-vesa
RE: no ctrl+alt+backspace, X disables that. Assuming your kernel supports it, you'll need to ALT+SysRq+K to kill X. If you're just starting X to test, simply type 'X -retro', and see if anything loads (this will emulate the 'no xorg.conf' autodetection stuff.). Without the -retro, you just see a black screen. With it, you see the black and white stipple background, and a cursor, as well it restores the CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE functionality. If you see the black and white stipple background, the video side is fine to be run without an xorg.conf. If not, you should look into setting up an xorg.conf that *only* contains the lines necessary for the video driver, then retest
RE: buggy autodetection - this was awful in the days of HAL, but has been very solid now that things have moved to udev. By the by, I trust you have 'udev' in your global USE flags? (meaning, in make.conf). I would think it would be on by default, but you never know.
RE: startx without a DE/WM installed, see above. It will just be a blank black screen by default.
RE: autogenerating a config file (Xorg -configure), the standard X tools do an awful job of this for fglrx. There should actually be a utility called "ati-xconfig" or "aticonfig" or something along those lines that will generate an fglrx-friendly conf file. Check 'equery files ati-drivers' to see the name, as I don't recall it. Having said that, even that utility is excessive. You can probably get away with an xorg.conf that just has:
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donttrip
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Joined: 19 Sep 2011
Posts: 22
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:19 am Post subject: |
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I don't understand:
ALT+SysRq+K
What is SysRq?
Also it looks like you were going to type more at the end of your post |
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palmer
Guru
Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 322
Location: Berkeley, CA
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:21 am Post subject: |
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| donttrip wrote: | ALT+SysRq+K
What is SysRq? |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_SysRq_key
It might not say on your keyboard, but on mine it's the same key as "Prt Scrn" (right above "Insert", which is above the arrow keys). |
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cach0rr0
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Joined: 13 Nov 2008
Posts: 4123
Location: Houston, Republic of Texas
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:22 am Post subject: |
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| donttrip wrote: |
Also it looks like you were going to type more at the end of your post |
I'd actually typed up an xorg.conf, but nuked it because it was wrong (and forgotten to nuke the sentence that said "hey, look below, there's an xorg.conf!")
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palmer
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Joined: 17 Nov 2004
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Location: Berkeley, CA
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:24 am Post subject: |
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| cach0rr0 wrote: | | RE: no ctrl+alt+backspace, X disables that. |
I think you should be able to set
| Code: | Section “ServerFlags”
Option “DontZap” “false” |
in order to get ctrl+alt+backspace working again?
Last edited by palmer on Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:24 am; edited 1 time in total |
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cach0rr0
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Joined: 13 Nov 2008
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Location: Houston, Republic of Texas
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:24 am Post subject: |
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| palmem wrote: |
It might not say on your keyboard, but on mine it's the same key as "Prt Scrn" (right above "Insert", which is above the arrow keys). |
my keyboard doesnt list 'SysRq' on it anywhere, but sure enough I try ALT+PrintScrn+K one day, and it kills off X - should work just fine for most I'd imagine.
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cach0rr0
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Joined: 13 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:25 am Post subject: |
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| palmem wrote: |
I think you should be able to set
| Code: | Section “ServerFlags”
Option “DontZap” “false” |
in order to get ctrl+alt+backspace working again? |
in the pre-HAL post-disablethatkeystrokecombinationbydefault days, the above worked fine.
when HAL came along, you had to edit one of those cryptic .fdi files to re-enable that feature
nowadays with udev i havent a clue. I know most functions have returned to xorg.conf, but havent a clue if DontZap still works
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palmer
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Joined: 17 Nov 2004
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Location: Berkeley, CA
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:28 am Post subject: |
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| cach0rr0 wrote: | | palmem wrote: |
I think you should be able to set
| Code: | Section “ServerFlags”
Option “DontZap” “false” |
in order to get ctrl+alt+backspace working again? |
in the pre-HAL post-disablethatkeystrokecombinationbydefault days, the above worked fine.
when HAL came along, you had to edit one of those cryptic .fdi files to re-enable that feature
nowadays with udev i havent a clue. I know most functions have returned to xorg.conf, but havent a clue if DontZap still works |
I've never tried enabling it that way, just disabling it (for multi-seat) that way. I really don't want to kill X right now (watching SoTG), but I think curiosity is going to end up getting the better of me :) |
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donttrip
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Joined: 19 Sep 2011
Posts: 22
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:49 am Post subject: |
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Once I emerged xf86-video-vesa X -retro did actually bring up the wite/black screen with the cursor in the middle of the screen and mouse doesn't work.
udev is in the use flags
Should I be using an xorg.conf since X -retro works fine?
also startx is giving an error now about "Failed to load module 'evdev' (module does not exist)"
I'm using genkernel for now. Do you think I have to recompile genkernel with evdev enabled? Sorry I'm pretty new to compiling kernels. I assumed the genkernel would probably have all that I needed in it to get a working system.
my make.conf has INPUT_DEVICES="evdev synaptics" I took that from the guide on installing/configuring X |
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cach0rr0
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Joined: 13 Nov 2008
Posts: 4123
Location: Houston, Republic of Texas
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:09 am Post subject: |
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| donttrip wrote: | | Once I emerged xf86-video-vesa X -retro did actually bring up the wite/black screen with the cursor in the middle of the screen and mouse doesn't work. |
ok, so it at least works with vesa. I assume this means you tried X -retro before merging xf86-video-vesa, and that failed? If so, autodetection for fglrx will fail without an xorg.conf (though, there's no guarantee fglrx is going to work *with* one, if the problem resides somewhere else, such as being unable to load the fglrx driver to begin with because, say, some other driver has the card occupied, a driver for which you havent built an xf86-video-*)
| donttrip wrote: |
Should I be using an xorg.conf since X -retro works fine?
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still uncertain. We at least know that it's not strictly necessary for the video side, at least to the point that things work with vesa
| donttrip wrote: |
also startx is giving an error now about "Failed to load module 'evdev' (module does not exist)"
...snip...
my make.conf has INPUT_DEVICES="evdev synaptics" I took that from the guide on installing/configuring X |
all putting evdev in INPUT_DEVICES does is mean that xf86-input-evdev gets merged. For people who don't set things like VIDEO_CARDS or INPUT_DEVICES, when portage merges X drivers, it will merge everything and the kitchen sink. If you set up those two variables, it only merges what you've set. Having said that, can you confirm that indeed xf86-input-evdev is installed?
| donttrip wrote: |
I'm using genkernel for now. Do you think I have to recompile genkernel with evdev enabled? Sorry I'm pretty new to compiling kernels. I assumed the genkernel would probably have all that I needed in it to get a working system.
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possibly, possibly not. What happens if you do:
| Code: |
# zgrep EVDEV /proc/config.gz
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?
On mine (as it should be for people using evdev)
| Code: |
# zgrep EVDEV /proc/config.gz
CONFIG_INPUT_EVDEV=y //note that genkernel may make this =m, which is fine
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if for some reason you dont have a /proc/config.gz, and cant check things that way, go back and do a 'genkernel --menuconfig all' which will give you the oldish menuconfig interface. Hit the forward slash (/) to search, key in 'EVDEV', and hit enter. It should show you both the path to locate EVDEV within the kernel config, and whether or not you currently have it enabled.
The failure of the mouse pointer is, I'm almost certain, something amiss with evdev.
The one other possibility here, with genkernel, perhaps it didnt set the kernel appropriately for fglrx users.
To test, easiest way, do a 'modprobe fglrx' and see if you get errors. If you do, check the fglrx gentoo wiki entry, as it should show you what to disable in the kernel (via genkernel --menuconfig. hint: Direct Rendering Manager should be disabled, and you don't need e.g. 'radeon' stuff, as youll be using fglrx)
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donttrip
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Joined: 19 Sep 2011
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:19 am Post subject: |
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Yes X -retro failed before the installation
Now that xf86-input-evdev the mouse does work.
# zgrep EVDEV /proc/config.gz Showed that it was there. Value was "y"
Since this is working with vesa could I just install kde now and be done with it? I don't have my heart set on flgrx at all.
Also should note that startx complains about 'failed to load module ati/fdev" but that's with my xorg.conf renamed so it doesn't use it.
With xorg.conf there (and with it set to vesa it only complains about "exec: xterm: nout found" and "xterm: command not found"
Also, I really appreciate all the help (both of you). |
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cach0rr0
Bodhisattva
Joined: 13 Nov 2008
Posts: 4123
Location: Houston, Republic of Texas
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:47 am Post subject: |
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| donttrip wrote: |
Since this is working with vesa could I just install kde now and be done with it? I don't have my heart set on flgrx at all.
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your performance with vesa is going to be pretty rubbish. ultimately you will want to get fglrx working, else i think youll just be hating life trying to run a very bogged down kde under vesa with sub-optimal resolution
what's the output of:
| Code: |
eselect opengl list
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?
ALSO: are you able to successfully 'modprobe fglrx' from the command-line? does it throw any errors, and if not, is anything interesting spit out in dmesg?
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donttrip
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:56 am Post subject: |
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eselect opengl list
| Code: |
[1] ati
[2] xorg-x11
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modprobe fglrx outputs nothing
dmesg
I didn't see anything from dmesg thtat seemed relevant but here is a link to the full dmesg:
http://paste.pocoo.org/show/479698 |
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cach0rr0
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Joined: 13 Nov 2008
Posts: 4123
Location: Houston, Republic of Texas
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:18 am Post subject: |
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dmesg looks fine
| Code: |
eselect opengl set 1
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then try an 'X -retro'
I don't know what the easiest way would be after doing so to tell whether or not fglrx is loaded other than a)seeing if it's a higher resolution display, or b)trawling the Xorg log
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donttrip
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Joined: 19 Sep 2011
Posts: 22
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:32 am Post subject: |
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| cach0rr0 wrote: | dmesg looks fine
| Code: |
eselect opengl set 1
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then try an 'X -retro'
I don't know what the easiest way would be after doing so to tell whether or not fglrx is loaded other than a)seeing if it's a higher resolution display, or b)trawling the Xorg log |
Seemed to be the same resolution display but it's really hard to tell. But it worked as expected.
var/log/Xorg.0.log is over 2600 lines long. What all should I be looking for? Seems like there is way too much info in that log to be useful. I renamed the log file and then ran X -retro again and just that one command generated the same 2600 lines of text.
edit: I pasted Xorg.0.log: http://paste.pocoo.org/show/479709/ |
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cach0rr0
Bodhisattva
Joined: 13 Nov 2008
Posts: 4123
Location: Houston, Republic of Texas
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:36 am Post subject: |
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yeah, it regens at each run, and short of erroring out will stay there
i cant think of any fancy grep off the top of my head that wont miss data.
dunno about the other paste sites, but pastebin.com can certainly handle 2600 lines of text (people paste kernel .configs up there all the time, which are >2000 lines of text)
winding down for the might, might check back in a few and see if you have the linkage, if not ill pop in tomorrow and see
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donttrip
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cach0rr0
Bodhisattva
Joined: 13 Nov 2008
Posts: 4123
Location: Houston, Republic of Texas
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:46 am Post subject: |
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bah...i move too slow
yeah it's using vesa.
I might try aticonfig again
and then to test using the .conf it generates, do
| Code: |
X -config /path/to/newconf.conf -retro
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see how you fare with that i suppose. I don't have any other brilliant ideas, am running on fumes.
OH...one other thing, are you doing these tests as root or as a normal user?
if as a normal user, i *think* you need to add your user to the 'video' group, logout, log back in, then test. Otherwise, you dont end up with permissions for direct video card access
if testing as root then disregard
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VoidMage
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Joined: 14 Oct 2006
Posts: 6196
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:59 am Post subject: |
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| Zapping requires 'terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp' in XkbOptions - just add that to a separate conf snippet and there'll be no need for '-retro'. |
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Anon-E-moose
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Location: Dallas area
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 10:11 am Post subject: |
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using "-retro" as a test is good, not only does it allow the "ctrl alt backspace" keys
but changes the background from "black" to the old stippled pattern, so that you can tell you're in "X"
But I agree for long term usage, set C-A-B the way VoidMage suggested.
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donttrip
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Joined: 19 Sep 2011
Posts: 22
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 3:13 pm Post subject: |
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| X -retro doesn't allow me to use any key combination to kill it. I was starting to think that maybe it just doesn't recognize my keyboard at all, like earlier it wasn't recognizing the mouse. |
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