[K12OSN] Video Driver Issues

[Doug Simpson]

If you have a VGA monitor, and a VGA card, try this in the lts.conf file 
for that workstation.  If you get video, then you can bump it up until it 
quits again and back it off until it shows up again.

[computer1]				#or whatever you want to nake that computer
	X_SERVER 	= XF86_trident 	#or X_SERVER = XF86_SVGA if you don't know
	X_COLOR_DEPTH 	= 8		#This sets 8 bit (256) color
	X_MODE_0 	= "640x480"	#Screen Resolution
	X_HORZ_SYNC 	= "31-62"	#May not be needed


Then in your dhcpd.conf file make an entry for that computer using the MAC 
Address like this:

   host computer1 {
	hardware ethernet	00.00.00.00.00.00;  #MAC address of NIC
	

Don't forget to include the line for the path to the kernel.  There will 
be examples in the dhcpd.conf file for that.

This will set computer1 to get a specific set of information from the 
lts.conf file for the computer in question.  Just make sure you use the 
same name in both places and restart dhcpd after any changes.

computer1 can be whatever you want to use for a name, I just used that for 
an example.

This works for me on just about any monitor and VGA card (greater than 
2MB! of video RAM).  Then once you get it going, you can up the resolution 
to 800x600 and see if it still works.

Then try color depth at a higher standard value and see if it still works.

800x600 at 16 bit color is a good resolution if your card will support it.

Remember, too, that the X server will sometimes not complete without 
a mouse working so make sure the mouse settings are correct.

PS/2 for a PS/2 mouse is the default in the [Default] section in the 
lts.conf file so if the mouse is not a PS/2 style, for example a serial 
mouse, you will have to enter those settings under [computer1] in the 
lts.conf file, also.

If your mouse is a serial one, try these settings:

X_MOUSE_PROTOCOL	= "Microsoft"
X_MOUSE_DEVICE		= "/dev/ttyS0" #ttyS0 for com1, ttyS1 for com2

Hope this helps!

Doug


On Tue, 6 Jul 2004, Mark Cockrell wrote:

> Hello all,
>     Forgive me if this is an old question, but I'm new here, and new to 
> the world of Linux in general.  I'm trying to get some thin clients 
> (old, repurposed machines) working and I can't seem to get the video 
> card to work.  Is there some trick I need to know or some specialized 
> driver for Trident cards (9880, 9680, and 9440)?  Any help would be 
> appreciated.
> 
> 

-- 
Doug Simpson
Technology Specialist
DeQueen Public Schools
DeQueen, AR 71832
simpsond at leopards.k12.ar.us
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