RE: X server for crappy Packard Hell machine
My original linux box was a Packard Hell 486 SX 33 with 528k video board that ran X server - slow but ran. I even used Window Maker. I like punishment!! If you send me more details I try and help the best I can!! Rod > -Original Message- > From: Stuart Ballard [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 1999 10:15 PM > To: debian-user@lists.debian.org > Subject: X server for crappy Packard Hell machine > > Hi, > > I have installed debian slink on an old Packard Hell computer. Most > things work fine, but the standard XF86_SVGA xserver appears to have > some problems - it works, sort of, but once the screen gets busy I get > random pixels going the wrong color. It appears as if video memory is > sometimes getting randomly corrupted. If I was running windows, I would > suspect a bad video driver - but I'm not running a video driver. > > I am sure that this is a case of crappy hardware, but I also know that > windows managed to work around it somehow, so it can be done. > > Since the only documentation I have on the hardware is a sticker on the > box which says "1Mb video memory upgradable to 2Mb", I configured X by > accepting all the defaults I could find, and probing for anything it > would let me probe for. This, of course, is probably what went wrong. > > Does anyone have any tips on how I can figure out how X *should* have > been configured, or whether it would have been possible to use one of > the accelerated servers instead of the basic one? > > Thanks a million, > Stuart. > > > -- > Unsubscribe? mail -s unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] < > /dev/null
Re: X server for crappy Packard Hell machine
Actually, if you only have 1 MB of video RAM I would suggest picking up an 8 meg card some where for a nominal fee. X likes video ram. Also you may want to get on the net and try to figure out what king of card you have. http://www.windrivers.com/ has a great site for identifying your hardware using pictures of the chipsets among other things. Then maybe you can select the right settings in XF86Config. Also I think maybe you "pixelation" is probably caused by the default color depth. try to set it to 16bpp or 24bpp and see how that works. sounds to me like you may even have the XF86_VGA server running and not know it. -- "We're associates of your business partner, Marcellus Wallace. You do remember your business partner Marcellus Wallace don't you?" Jules - Pulp Fiction Ben Lutgens (pgp public key is "blutgens" available @ hkp://pgpkeys.mit.edu)
Re: X server for crappy Packard Hell machine
On Wed, Jul 21, 1999 at 10:15:15PM -0400, Stuart Ballard wrote: > Hi, > > I have installed debian slink on an old Packard Hell computer. Most > things work fine, but the standard XF86_SVGA xserver appears to have > some problems - it works, sort of, but once the screen gets busy I get > random pixels going the wrong color. It appears as if video memory is > sometimes getting randomly corrupted. If I was running windows, I would > suspect a bad video driver - but I'm not running a video driver. > > I am sure that this is a case of crappy hardware, but I also know that > windows managed to work around it somehow, so it can be done. > > Since the only documentation I have on the hardware is a sticker on the > box which says "1Mb video memory upgradable to 2Mb", I configured X by > accepting all the defaults I could find, and probing for anything it > would let me probe for. This, of course, is probably what went wrong. > > Does anyone have any tips on how I can figure out how X *should* have > been configured, or whether it would have been possible to use one of > the accelerated servers instead of the basic one? > One thing I've found about Packard Bell that's nice... If you go to their web site there's a section under customer service (I think) where you can enter the serial number for your pc and get some fairly detailed info about the hardware in it, right down to the actual chipsets used. It comes in really handy with the older ones where documentation no longer exists. HTH, Mike [Private mail welcome, but no need to CC: me on list replies.] -- Michael Merten -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---> NRA Life Member -- http://www.nra.org ---> Debian GNU/Linux Fan -- http://www.debian.org ---> CenLA-LUG Founder -- http://www.angelfire.com/la2/cenlalug -- "To this day, it is 1999, isn't the male primarily responsible for the physical defense of the American home? If you hear a creak on the floor downstairs in the middle of the night, the woman never says, 'Let me check.' You have to check. ... I mean, give me a break! The reason men are more pro-gun is because they are responsible for the physical protection of the American home." --CNBC's Chris Matthews on the gun control "gender gap."
X server for crappy Packard Hell machine
Hi, I have installed debian slink on an old Packard Hell computer. Most things work fine, but the standard XF86_SVGA xserver appears to have some problems - it works, sort of, but once the screen gets busy I get random pixels going the wrong color. It appears as if video memory is sometimes getting randomly corrupted. If I was running windows, I would suspect a bad video driver - but I'm not running a video driver. I am sure that this is a case of crappy hardware, but I also know that windows managed to work around it somehow, so it can be done. Since the only documentation I have on the hardware is a sticker on the box which says "1Mb video memory upgradable to 2Mb", I configured X by accepting all the defaults I could find, and probing for anything it would let me probe for. This, of course, is probably what went wrong. Does anyone have any tips on how I can figure out how X *should* have been configured, or whether it would have been possible to use one of the accelerated servers instead of the basic one? Thanks a million, Stuart.
