Re: nVidia users help needed
Thus spake John Wheat ([EMAIL PROTECTED]): > I am new to Debian and relatively new to Linux and ask your help with this > God forsaken nVidia card. > I initially installed 2.2r0 and upgraded the system to 2.2r3 followed by a > dist-upgrade to Woody (for Xfree4.0.3). When I enter the command xf86cfg the > command is unrecognized. I have never been able to get even a frame buffered > support for this card and subsequently no X! I have tried all that I know of > to do with the dist-upgrades for a more current set-up but all has failed. I > also did a simple package selection which seemingly does not install kernl > headers or source as /usr/src/linux does not contain these items unless > Debian stores them elsewhere. I was going to try and compile the Nvidia-src > files I found on one of the Debian FTP sites that I read of in the archives, > but no kernel-src-headers. > TIA, > John Wheat I just installed the above setup last weekend. Here are the steps I took: 0) Installed fresh Debian 2.2r2 Potato without X! 1) Went to Xfree86.org and downloaded the binary packages for Xfree. Read the instructions is is very simple. Look at your xfree log after wards and make sure your running 4.1. I use xf86config to create a default configure file. 2) Got the kernel source for 2.2.19 from kernel.org installed and compiled the kernel. I didn't use the typcial Debian way of compiling the Kernel just did by hand. 3) Get the latest NVIDIA drivers from nvidia.com. The documentation on the web site is good. 4) Compiled the nvidia packages GLX and KERNEL and installed them. 5) Loaded the kernel nvidia kernel module. 6) Changed my X configuration file like specified in the nvidia documentation. 7) Made sure my driver was working correctly by looking at the xfree log file. That was it, simple. Be prepared to spend some time, it took me about six hours, but now I can play Loki games like Soldier of Fortune. -- Todd V. Rovito [EMAIL PROTECTED] Carpe Aptenodytes! "Seize the Penguins!"
Re: nVidia users help needed
On Tue, Jul 31, 2001 at 12:17:59PM -0700, der.hans wrote: > Am 30. Jul, 2001 schw?zte Geoffrey Romer so: > > > IP constraints. Convincing Nvidia that their value is in their hardware, > > not their APIs, and thereby convincing them to open-source the drivers > > they already have, seems like the most viable option to me. > > Actually, the way I hear it nVidia believes that. The problem, as I saw it > explained, is that nVidia needs the OpenGL compliant certification for their > m$ drivers and SGI won't let them have that with something that's open > source. So, SGI is the company we have to convince. > Yet I do seem to remember that parts of their drivers are licensed from one or more third-parties that won't allow them to open-source their stuff. -- Casper Gielen [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- People just generally like to disagree. Bill Joy
Re: nVidia users help needed
Am 30. Jul, 2001 schwäzte Geoffrey Romer so: > IP constraints. Convincing Nvidia that their value is in their hardware, > not their APIs, and thereby convincing them to open-source the drivers > they already have, seems like the most viable option to me. Actually, the way I hear it nVidia believes that. The problem, as I saw it explained, is that nVidia needs the OpenGL compliant certification for their m$ drivers and SGI won't let them have that with something that's open source. So, SGI is the company we have to convince. ciao, der.hans -- # [EMAIL PROTECTED] home.pages.de/~lufthans/ www.DevelopOnline.com # Stell dir vor, es ist Krieg und keiner geht hin...
Re: nVidia users help needed
> Weird. I thought using hardware acceleration would decrease it, not > increase it... Not really. Among other things, I think the video card's on-board memory shows up as system memory in some situations (including, apparently, this one). > Is the any chance in a future of an open source driver, ie. > independent of nVidia's implementation? In a way, there already is- I'm pretty sure the nv driver which comes with X is open-sourced, and correspondingly is more stable and well-behaved. On the other hand, it doesn't support hardware 3D. For the minority of us who care about hardware 3D, the nvidia driver probably works well enough that nobody would bother trying to start from scratch writing one. Moreover, it would be difficult to do so without running up against IP constraints. Convincing Nvidia that their value is in their hardware, not their APIs, and thereby convincing them to open-source the drivers they already have, seems like the most viable option to me. > All so, some thing else I found strange: The kernel module is still > getting used despite the fact I have rebooted and loaded X with the > standard nv driver. What loads the kernel module? I'm a little fuzzy on kernel-module auto-loading, but suffice it to say that it's in some init script somewhere, and isn't really being used. It will probably go away if you uninstall nvidia-kernel (though I haven't tried it, so caveat hacker). > pluto:~# dpkg -s device3dfx-source > Package: device3dfx-source > Status: install ok installed > Priority: extra > Section: graphics > Installed-Size: 68 > Maintainer: Zephaniah E. Hull <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Source: device3dfx > Version: 2000.11.02-0.1 > Depends: make, m4, debhelper > Recommends: kernel-package > Description: Device driver source for 3Dfx boards for 2.x kernels > This package is the source for the 3Dfx device driver to allow access > to 3Dfx boards without the user having root privileges. It should > work on 2.0/2.1/2.2/2.3/2.4 kernels and set the MTRR settings > correctly. It should also work with SMP kernels (2.1/2.2/2.3/2.4). Bingo. 3Dfx boards. You don't need it- it's just taking up room on your system. -- Geoffrey M. Romer [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" -Salvor Hardin "I can't leave you alone with this man! He might be a tenor!" -Fred Astaire
Re: nVidia users help needed
> "Geoffrey" == Geoffrey Romer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Geoffrey> I have the same problem. Here's a quote from the Geoffrey> xscreensaver FAQ: Geoffrey> ---snip--- Try editing your .xscreensaver file and Geoffrey> changing the memoryLimit setting to 0. Thanks for the suggestion. Will try it ASAP. Geoffrey> However, apparently certain OpenGL libraries (notably Geoffrey> nVidia) do something strange that makes them appear to Geoffrey> allocate more than 128M of memory for every OpenGL Geoffrey> program! Consequently, those programs die on startup Geoffrey> because they aren't able to allocate memory. Weird. I thought using hardware acceleration would decrease it, not increase it... Geoffrey> ---snip--- I can reproduce this here, but only when Geoffrey> using nVidia's GLX libraries. Unfortunately, nVidia Geoffrey> can't play nice with everyone else who's writing GLX Geoffrey> implementations for Linux. So, if you really want things Geoffrey> to work, you'll either have to convince nVidia to do Geoffrey> something right, or download the source and compile your Geoffrey> own. Sorry. ---pins--- Geoffrey> Sigh... The joys of closed-source drivers... Is the any chance in a future of an open source driver, ie. independent of nVidia's implementation? All so, some thing else I found strange: The kernel module is still getting used despite the fact I have rebooted and loaded X with the standard nv driver. What loads the kernel module? NVdriver 658880 2 (autoclean) Geoffrey> I don't recognize the name, but I'll bet anything that Geoffrey> has something to do with 3Dfx video cards (Voodoo and Geoffrey> its successors), in which case you certainly don't need Geoffrey> it unless you have a 3Dfx card installed. Where did you Geoffrey> see that? pluto:~# dpkg -s device3dfx-source Package: device3dfx-source Status: install ok installed Priority: extra Section: graphics Installed-Size: 68 Maintainer: Zephaniah E. Hull <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Source: device3dfx Version: 2000.11.02-0.1 Depends: make, m4, debhelper Recommends: kernel-package Description: Device driver source for 3Dfx boards for 2.x kernels This package is the source for the 3Dfx device driver to allow access to 3Dfx boards without the user having root privileges. It should work on 2.0/2.1/2.2/2.3/2.4 kernels and set the MTRR settings correctly. It should also work with SMP kernels (2.1/2.2/2.3/2.4). > "johanc" == johanc <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: johanc> I have experienced the same problem on a RIVATNT2 johanc> delivered on a Dell station, except I had green/black johanc> stripes. johanc> If I don't remember wrong I think I found the solution in johanc> the README's from nvidia. In hindsight, I didn't reboot after disabling AGP. Perhaps that was the problem. johanc> Johan, who got rid of it but can't remember how. Do you have any of these in your XF86Config-4 file? Option "NvAgp" "0" ... disables AGP support Option "NvAgp" "1" ... use NVAGP, if possible Option "NvAgp" "2" ... use AGPGART, if possible I think 1 is the default. -- Brian May <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Re: nVidia users help needed
On Sun, 29 Jul 2001 15:54:12 -0700 "John Wheat" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I am new to Debian and relatively new to Linux and ask your help with > this > God forsaken nVidia card. > I initially installed 2.2r0 and upgraded the system to 2.2r3 followed by > a > dist-upgrade to Woody (for Xfree4.0.3). When I enter the command xf86cfg > the > command is unrecognized. I have never been able to get even a frame > buffered > support for this card and subsequently no X! I have tried all that I > know of > to do with the dist-upgrades for a more current set-up but all has > failed. I > also did a simple package selection which seemingly does not install > kernl > headers or source as /usr/src/linux does not contain these items unless > Debian stores them elsewhere. I was going to try and compile the > Nvidia-src > files I found on one of the Debian FTP sites that I read of in the > archives, > but no kernel-src-headers. > TIA, > John Wheat > John, If you manage to get the nVidia driver to compile, I have an XF86Config-4 for an nVidia RIVA TNT. That ought to work with all other nVidia cards as well, with a little tweaking to make it conform to your monitor, it might help you. Drop me an email off-list if you're interested. BTW, prepare for lots of fun, the nVidia drivers are not noted for their stability. Mart -- 'Quoth the mailserver: 554!' pgpOpcSyqyLyF.pgp Description: PGP signature
Re: nVidia users help needed
On Mon, Jul 30, 2001 at 08:43:42AM -0700, Geoffrey Romer wrote: > > > Question: I have a RIVATNT2 card with 32Megs RAM, and I tried for the > > first time to use 3d graphics acceleration. > > > > It sort of works, but: > > > > a) I got this thick yellow (with black stripes) vertical line that > > appears in the bottom right hand of the screen. > > That's odd... I don't recognize these symptoms (I have a GeForce myself), > so I can't really say what the problem is there, or what to do about it. I have experienced the same problem on a RIVATNT2 delivered on a Dell station, except I had green/black stripes. If I don't remember wrong I think I found the solution in the README's from nvidia. Johan, who got rid of it but can't remember how.
Re: nVidia users help needed
> Question: I have a RIVATNT2 card with 32Megs RAM, and I tried for the > first time to use 3d graphics acceleration. > > It sort of works, but: > > a) I got this thick yellow (with black stripes) vertical line that > appears in the bottom right hand of the screen. That's odd... I don't recognize these symptoms (I have a GeForce myself), so I can't really say what the problem is there, or what to do about it. > b) GL xscreensavers all seg-fault when run full screen (but work fine > when run in a Window. I have the same problem. Here's a quote from the xscreensaver FAQ: ---snip--- Try editing your .xscreensaver file and changing the memoryLimit setting to 0. Version 3.33 introduced the memoryLimit option as a precautionary limit to prevent runaway memory use if one of the display modes happened to be buggy; it prevents any program launched by xscreensaver from allocating more than that much memory. It defaults to 50M, which is a lot. However, apparently certain OpenGL libraries (notably nVidia) do something strange that makes them appear to allocate more than 128M of memory for every OpenGL program! Consequently, those programs die on startup because they aren't able to allocate memory. Turning off the memory limit should work around this. ---pins--- And from the Debain bug database: ---snip--- I can reproduce this here, but only when using nVidia's GLX libraries. Unfortunately, nVidia can't play nice with everyone else who's writing GLX implementations for Linux. So, if you really want things to work, you'll either have to convince nVidia to do something right, or download the source and compile your own. Sorry. ---pins--- Sigh... The joys of closed-source drivers... Thanks for asking, though, you got me to get off my butt and find a workaround. > I tried disabling AGP, but that didn't seem to help. I reverted back > to the nv driver, but the same problems still occurred (except now the > cursor was also corrupt), and the only way I could fix this was by > rebooting the computer. > > Any ideas? > > (oh, one more thing, what is device-3dfx? Do I need that? What does it > do?) I don't recognize the name, but I'll bet anything that has something to do with 3Dfx video cards (Voodoo and its successors), in which case you certainly don't need it unless you have a 3Dfx card installed. Where did you see that? -- Geoffrey M. Romer [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" -Salvor Hardin "I can't leave you alone with this man! He might be a tenor!" -Fred Astaire
Re: nVidia users help needed
Hello, I've installed the testing distribution on a new machine yesterday with a GeForce2 MX card. First, if you just install xserver-xfree86 and xserver-common you should be able to run X with the default config file. In my case this works fine. Then, if you want to modify your XF86Config-4 file, xf86cfg is located in the package 'xbase-clients' (apt-get install xbase-clients). On my computer, this program do not run in graphic mode. But with the option '-textmode' it works fine. Then, configure your X server as desired, and try to start X. In my case X refused to start after I had selected NVidia GeForce card. If you are in the same case, edit manually your XF86Config-4 file and in the section of your NVIdia card replace "GeForce" by the real type of your card, ie "GeForce2 MX" in my case. After you should be able to start X. Finally, if you want to try NVIDIA accelerated driver, go to nvidia homepage and download the driver. You should install some debian packages, ie : apt-cache search nvidia apt-get install nvidia-glx-src apt-get install nvidia-kernel-src But I've not tried this yet. With kind regards, Gael,
Re: nVidia users help needed
> "Geoffrey" == Geoffrey Romer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Geoffrey> In addition, you probably want the nvidia-kernel-src and Geoffrey> nvidia-glx-src packages. The documentation for those Geoffrey> packages (in /usr/doc/package-name) should explain how Geoffrey> to install them. You do need to be running unstable or Geoffrey> testing, though. Geoffrey> The documentation for nvidia-glx-src will describe the Geoffrey> changes you will need to make to XF86Config (in Geoffrey> particular, "Driver" needs to be set to "nvidia," rather Geoffrey> than "nv". Question: I have a RIVATNT2 card with 32Megs RAM, and I tried for the first time to use 3d graphics acceleration. It sort of works, but: a) I got this thick yellow (with black stripes) vertical line that appears in the bottom right hand of the screen. b) GL xscreensavers all seg-fault when run full screen (but work fine when run in a Window. I tried disabling AGP, but that didn't seem to help. I reverted back to the nv driver, but the same problems still occurred (except now the cursor was also corrupt), and the only way I could fix this was by rebooting the computer. Any ideas? (oh, one more thing, what is device-3dfx? Do I need that? What does it do?) -- Brian May <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Re: nVidia users help needed
> I am new to Debian and relatively new to Linux and ask your help with this > God forsaken nVidia card. > I initially installed 2.2r0 and upgraded the system to 2.2r3 followed by a > dist-upgrade to Woody (for Xfree4.0.3). When I enter the command xf86cfg the > command is unrecognized. I have never been able to get even a frame buffered > support for this card and subsequently no X! I have tried all that I know of > to do with the dist-upgrades for a more current set-up but all has failed. I > also did a simple package selection which seemingly does not install kernl > headers or source as /usr/src/linux does not contain these items unless > Debian stores them elsewhere. I was going to try and compile the Nvidia-src > files I found on one of the Debian FTP sites that I read of in the archives, > but no kernel-src-headers. If you want kernel source or headers, you want the kernel-source-vvv or kernel-headers-vvv packages, where vvv is the version number of the kernel you're compiling against. Personally, I recommend springing for the full source distribution, and using make-kpkg (in the kernel-package package) to compile the kernel and/or modules. In addition, you probably want the nvidia-kernel-src and nvidia-glx-src packages. The documentation for those packages (in /usr/doc/package-name) should explain how to install them. You do need to be running unstable or testing, though. I haven't been able to find a good program to to auto-configure Xfree4 (XF86Setup and its ilk seem to have disappeared), but you can perform the necessary configuration with a little bit of trial and error by editing /etc/X11/XF86Config by hand- the format is really not that difficult. You can run 'dpkg-reconfigure -plow xserver-xfree86', which performs some of XF86Setup's functions, and which will generate a starting XF86Config. The documentation for nvidia-glx-src will describe the changes you will need to make to XF86Config (in particular, "Driver" needs to be set to "nvidia," rather than "nv". Hope that helps. -- Geoffrey M. Romer [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" -Salvor Hardin "I can't leave you alone with this man! He might be a tenor!" -Fred Astaire
Re: nVidia users help needed
On Sun, Jul 29, 2001 at 03:54:12PM -0700, John Wheat muttered: --> I am new to Debian and relatively new to Linux and ask your help with this --> God forsaken nVidia card. --> --> --> --> -- --> To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --> with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] --> Go to nvidia's web page and download the latest driver -- David - www.richsob.com
