Re: X/Nvidia trouble after upgrade

["Jonathan M. Slivko" <jslivko speakeasy net>]

Robert,
Nice FAQ, this one is a keeper :)
-- Jonathan

--
Jonathan M. Slivko <jslivko speakeasy net>
Web: http://www.speakeasy.net/~jslivko/
"Linux: Who Do You Want To Hack Today?"

On Tue, 12 Nov 2002, Robert P. J. Day wrote:

> On Tue, 12 Nov 2002, Nick Wilson wrote:
> 
> > 
> > * and then Nick Wilson declared....
> > > It's telling me that the nvidia kernel was made with gcc2 compiler but
> > > the kernel I'm running was made with version 3.
> > 
> > Update: Not sure if it's the same thing but I get flickering unuseable
> > screen in basic console mode untill a msg comes up saying "INIT: "x"
> > respawning to fast: disabling for five minutes"
> > 
> > Damn! -- Any thoughts (he says hopefully..)
> 
>   (i have *got* to put this on a web page somewhere ...)
> 
> 
> * Overview -- Configuring NVIDIA cards for Dell Inspirons under Red Hat
> 
>   Based on my experience configuring two Dell Inspirons (7500,
> with 1400x1050 display, and 8100, with 1600x1200 display), I figured
> I'd document the process to save everyone else the grief of having
> to figure it out themselves.
> 
>   These instructions should work for any recent release of Red Hat
> Linux, as well as the recent "limbo" and "null" beta releases, but
> there are extra steps you should watch for if you're running one
> of the betas, so read these instructions carefully.
> 
>   Everything you need -- drivers and docs -- can be found at
> www.nvidia.com; I just thought I'd write the abridged version.
> If these instructions don't work, you should go straight to the
> source.
> 
>   Send comments, feedback, criticism, large sums of money to
> 
>   Rob Day
>   rpjday mindspring com
> 
> * Step 1 -- Getting the RPMs
> 
>   From www.nvidia.com, download the two appropriate (and most
> recent) RPMs for your Linux box.  Since I'm running Red Hat,
> these would be:
> 
>   NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-3123.i386.rpm		# the binary GLX driver file
>   NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-3123.src.rpm	# the source kernel driver file
> 
>   First, make sure that these RPMs have matching version numbers;
> bad things will likely happen if they don't.
> 
>   And second, while you can grab the prebuilt binary of the GLX
> package, you're *strongly* encouraged to download (and compile)
> the source version of the kernel package.  As I read it, you 
> should try to use the prebuilt binary kernel RPM only if you're
> running the stock, standard, as-it-was-shipped-from-Red Hat
> kernel.  So play it safe -- get the source RPM for the kernel
> package and build it yourself.  If you do this, you can't go wrong.
> 
> * Step 2 -- Building and installing the RPMs
> 
>   Assuming that you have no earlier versions of NVIDIA RPMs
> cluttering up your machine, first, compile the kernel source
> RPM with something resembling:
> 
>   # rpmbuild --rebuild NVIDIA_kernel-<whatever>.src.rpm
> 
> If it builds successfully, install it from /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386.
> Note that, if you're running the recent "null" beta, you'll get some
> installation warnings about a mismatched compiler version.  Ignore
> them, and keep going.
> 
>   Then install the binary GLX RPM.  Once again, you'll get some
> installation warnings, this time regarding conflicting MESA RPMs.
> As before, ignore them.
> 
>   On to the XF86Config file.
> 
> * Step 3 -- Setting up the /etc/X11/XF86Config file
> 
>   Until recently, for backward compatibility, Red Hat Linux
> supported two versions of the XF86Config file:
> 
>   XF86Config-4		for XFree86 4.x support
>   XF86Config		for XFree86 3.x support
> 
>   If you were running XFree86 4.x, X would first search for
> XF86Config-4, then XF86Config as a second choice.  The latest
> Red Hat beta(s), however, have dropped support for XFree86 3.x,
> so you can have simply a file of the name XF86Config.  And what
> do you put in that file?
> 
>   For detailed instructions, you should read the online doc file
> http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-2960/README.txt.  
> In short, what should and shouldn't be there:
> 
>   Section "Module"
> 	  # Load "dri"		# remove if there
> 	  # Load "GLcore"	# remove if there
> 	  Load "glx"		# add
> 	  ...
>   Section "Device"
> 	  Identifier "NVIDIA Geforce 2 (generic)"    (in my case)
> 	  # Driver "nv"		# remove if there
> 	  # Driver "vesa"	# remove if there
> 	  Driver "nvidia"	# add
> 	  ...
> 
>   If you're too lazy to do all that, you can use the XF86Config
> file I've attached to the end of this writeup, which works for my
> 1600x1200 Inspiron 8100.
> 
>   (NOTE:  The search algorithm for the appropriate XF86Config file
> is actually more complicated than I described here.  See the man page
> for XF86Config for the details, although what I've written here 
> should be enough to get you going.)
> 
> * Step 4 -- Starting X
> 
>   If you're using any version of Red Hat up to 7.3 (and possibly
> either of the limbo betas, if memory serves), at this point, you
> should just have to type "startx &" to get an X session.
> 
>   If, however, you're using the latest "null" beta, there is a mismatch
> related to the gcc compilers that were used to compile the NVIDIA drivers
> and what Red Hat shipped with "null".  No problem -- just force loading
> of the driver first with:
> 
>   # insmod -f NVdriver		(ignore any warnings)
> 
> then try "startx &" again.
> 
>   You can either force loading of the driver each time you bring up
> your machine this way, or I found adding the line
> 
>   install NVdriver insmod -f NVdriver
> 
> to the file /etc/modules.conf will take care of this for you.
> 
> * Step 5 -- Getting fancy
> 
>   If you're bored, you might want to experiment with a few more
> XF86Config settings that are documented in the aforementioned
> README.txt file at www.nvidia.com.  A couple of examples (that
> would be added under the "Device" section for the NVIDIA card:
> 
>   Option "NoLogo" "1"			  # don't display logo
>   Option "CursorShadow" "1"		  # have shadowed cursor
> 
> * Appendix A -- my /etc/X11/XF86Config file
> 
> # XFree86 4.0 configuration generated by Xconfigurator
> 
> Section "ServerLayout"
> 	Identifier "XFree86 Configured"
> 	Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
> 	InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
> 	InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
> EndSection
> 
> # By default, Red Hat Linux 6.0 and later use xfs
> 
> Section "Files"
> 	FontPath "unix/:7100"
> EndSection
> 
> # Module loading section
> 
> Section "Module"
> 	Load  "dbe"		# Double-buffering
> 	#Load  "GLcore"		# OpenGL support
> 	#Load  "dri"		# Direct rendering infrastructure
> 	Load  "glx"		# OpenGL X protocol interface
> 	Load  "extmod"		# Misc. required extensions
> 	Load  "v4l"		# Video4Linux
> 	# Load  "pex5"		# PHIGS for X 3D environment (obsolete)
> 	# Load  "record"	# X event recorder
> 	# Load  "xie"		# X Image Extension (obsolete)
> 	# You only need the following two modules if you do not use xfs.
> 	# Load  "freetype"	 # TrueType font handler
> 	# Load  "type1"		# Adobe Type 1 font handler
> EndSection
> 
> Section "InputDevice"
> 	Identifier  "Keyboard0"
> 	Driver      "keyboard"
> 	Option      "XkbLayout"	"us"
> EndSection
> 
> Section "InputDevice"
> 	Identifier  "Mouse0"
> 	Driver      "mouse"
> 	Option      "Device" "/dev/mouse"
> 	Option      "Protocol" "PS/2"
> 	Option      "Emulate3Buttons" "on"
> 	Option      "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
> EndSection
> 
> Section "Monitor"
> 	Identifier "Dell 1600X Laptop Display Panel"
> 	VendorName "Unknown"
> 	ModelName  "Unknown"
> 	HorizSync 59.0-85.0
> 	VertRefresh 60
> 	Option "dpms"
> EndSection
> 
> Section "Device"
> 	Identifier "NVIDIA GeForce 2 (generic)"
> 	Driver "nvidia"
> 	BoardName "Unknown"
> 	Option "NoLogo" "1"
> 	Option "CursorShadow" "1"
> EndSection
> 
> Section "Device"
> 	Identifier "Linux Frame Buffer"
> 	Driver "fbdev"
> 	BoardName "Unknown"
> EndSection
> 
> Section "Screen"
> 	Identifier "Screen0"
> 	Device "NVIDIA GeForce 2 (generic)"
> 	Monitor "Dell 1600X Laptop Display Panel"
> 	DefaultDepth 24
> 	Subsection "Display"
> 		Depth 24
> 		Modes "1600x1200"
> 	EndSubSection
> EndSection
> 
> Section "DRI"
> 	Mode 0666
> EndSection
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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