DebianThis forum is for the discussion of Debian Linux.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Most Linux distros don't detect my graphics card, making them unusable. I have posted on many forums to get it working, but it won't. I've had to use either Mepis or Kanotix due to the great hardware detection. I've had problems with Mepis not updating everything, and Kanotix has a really slow release cycle and its future is very uncertain at the moment.
I believe hardware detection is really a function of the kernel, so any newer distro should be okay. Mepis and Kanotix I believe are both Debian or Ubuntu based. So using Debian testing branch should be okay, as should the latest Ubuntu...
Distribution: Distribution: RHEL 5 with Pieces of this and that.
Kernel 2.6.23.1, KDE 3.5.8 and KDE 4.0 beta, Plu
Posts: 5,700
Rep:
With the info from the distro that detect the card you should be able to edit the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file for the video driver section and monitor to get X working. But that may depend on the driver it is using. If it is say a new Nvidia or ATI then the default kernel drivers may not work with it. This is where you need to use properitory drivers from ATI or Nvidia or who ever makes the card. Many distros do not include this in there detection install tools.
What would help is the make, model, and version of the card.
Also post the /etc/X11/xorg.conf contents from a working distro. This should be the only file to edit to get the X server running.
#BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
#Option "sw_cursor" # needed for some ati cards
#Option "hw_cursor"
#Option "NoAccel"
#Option "ShowCache"
#Option "ShadowFB"
#Option "UseFBDev"
#Option "Rotate"
Option "UseInternalAGPGART" "no"
# savage special options, use with care
#Option "NoUseBios"
#Option "BusType" "PCI"
Option "DmaMode" "None"
# nvidia special options, use with care
Option "CursorShadow" "1"
Option "CursorShadowAlpha" "63"
Option "CursorShadowYOffset" "2"
Option "CursorShadowXOffset" "4"
Option "FlatPanelProperties" "Scaling = native"
Option "NoLogo" "false"
Option "IgnoreEdid" "true" # needs to be true for some nvidia cards
EndSection
Distribution: Distribution: RHEL 5 with Pieces of this and that.
Kernel 2.6.23.1, KDE 3.5.8 and KDE 4.0 beta, Plu
Posts: 5,700
Rep:
Take that info and compare it to the distro that has issues with X. Make sure the monitor, screen, video sections all look close using the correct driver.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.
