Installing Intel 82845G Video Driver after 2.6.9 Kernel Upgrade
 

I'm a NOOOBIE, and it took me forever to get the 2.6.9 Kernel installed, even though I used the kernel-image-2.6.9...etc.. as opposed to the source, but now I'm thinking I probably should have used the source... The kernel seems to be working fine, but when executing the video driver ./install.sh I get

make -C /lib/modules/2.6.9-1-686/build SUBDIRS /root/dripkg/agpgart-2.0 modules
make: *** /lib/modules/2.6.9-1-686/build no such file or directory
make: *** /lib/modules/2.6.9-1-686/build [default:] error 2
Makefile.linux:139 cannot find kernel config file

I also can't get my conexant driver to work, but I'll save that for another day, right now I'd be happy to get Xwindows working. I'm upgrading from Woody, which I just installed. I can't get .deb files off of the internet because I can't get my modem to work, so I'm stuck with windows until I can resolve these issues.

I checked and I do not have a /lib/modules/2.6.9-1-686/build directory? Is this something I should have. I do not have the source for the kernel, do I need this? The driver is supposed to be a module, but I don't know what to do with modules anyways, so I was hoping the installation would go smoothly (ha ha) Also the lack of a kernel config file is troubling, what would this file be named?

Should I just download the source and try it that way, or would I get the same results? I have sworn myself off of Linux twice now because of the annoyances that come with getting a system with specific hardware to work, but I come back, because I would really like to use linux.

Anyone helpful information is very much appreciated.

Thank you,

This 'build' directory should point to the sources. If they are not installed, the driver will not compile.

But are you sure you'll need to compile the driver? I use the i810 for intel 865G witth kernel 2.6.9 and XFree86-4.3.99.902-43.28 without problems (I also tried to compile the INtel driver, but it gave no better performance).

I'm pretty sure I have to. I can't get my video card working at all with X windows. The error is something to the effect of "no screen found" "startx was able to find a display, but not one configured properly." (Not at the computer right now, sorry) I did a long Google on that error, and couldn't really find any answers. Only more questions. My monitors settings are straight from the book, so I KNOW those are right, and the monitor says it's a Vesa compatible or something to that effect. But I've tried the 810 and 7something driver for Intel, and the Vesa drivers and none of them work. There is one setting that I'm not sure I'm entering correctly, a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure I'm wrong. It asks how much physical memory the video card has when running xf86config and I don't know. I know the computer has 64MB of shared video RAM, but the options are all like 1024KB to like 8MB, so I thought that was a little high, maybe that's my problem. I finished downloading the source code, so maybe once I get that installed I can find out whether it's the driver or not. The 2.6.9 kernel actually recognizes my specific monitor, which is pretty cool, I just wish it would recognize my specific chipset.

I was so proud of myself for finally getting 2.6.9 installed, and then I couldn't get the drivers working with it, that really pissed me off. Thanks for your help, it is much appreciated.

Read macondo's sticky thread "Debian Post-Install Configuration", at least the first post and the links in that post that seem appropriate to you. I'm not sure how the i845G chipset is supported in Debian Sarge/Sid (I assume you're not running Woody), but my i830M chipset works OK using the default i810 driver and if abisko00's i865G chipset is supported, you should also be fine using the latest kernel-image (no compiling kernel from source is needed).

The Debian utility for configuring X is "dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86" (run it as the root user). The crucial phases in using this tool are to select the right driver (i810) and to know the horizontal and vertical refresh rates for your monitor -- these can be assigned if you choose the "advanced" option in configuring the monitor. You might also get a working configuration if you choose the "medium" option and just select the right screen size and a desired refresh value. But "dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86" won't work if you've manually edited /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 -- if this is the case, you need to add all the modifications manually. (Read the top lines in that file if you've modified this file manually but still want to use "dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86".)

If you use a PS/2 mouse (or ImPS/2), you'll probably also need to add the line to the end of /etc/modules. With the 2.6.x kernel PS/2 mice usually work using the /dev/input/mice device. The XFree86 log is in /var/log/. You can browse this log file to see if there are any warnings or errors -- lines beginning with (WW) or (EE) -- that can tell you why X fails to load. The fatal errors, of course, can be found in the last lines of the XFree86 log file.

I AM running Woody, but I upgraded the kernel to 2.6.9, if that constitutes an upgrade to sarge or sid, well kudos. But I have been unable to get th i810 driver working, as I stated. The h and v ranges are 100% positively correct. I've got one more thing to try besides trying to update the X version, since the one I have is the one that came with Woody.... I might try that.

It's very likely that the i810 driver that comes with Woody's version of XFree86 doesn't support your chipset. If you're planning to run Debian as server, upgrade to Sarge might be in place (Sarge becomes the next stable Debian release, possibly sometime early next year). If you're going to use Debian as desktop, install "apt-listbugs" and go for Sid/Unstable. Apt-listbugs will warn you beforehand of all known bugs in packages you're about to install, so you can keep your "unstable" system relatively stable by avoiding the buggy packages.

I recently answered to a similar question:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...28#post1302028

I guess the i810 driver supports Intel 845, 855 and 865. So maybe one of the methods will work for you also.

One more thing about the shared memory: be sure that you set the video memory in BIOS to the maximal value (it's 8 MB in my case) and adjust the AGP aperture to the amount that is supported by your card (64MB).

I'm not sure how to do this, but I will google on it, if anyone could let me know I'd appreciate it otherwise I'll take all of your advice, and thanks...

Sorry to double post, but I have an update.

I GOT MY WINMODEM PIECE OF CRAP WORKING!

Of course now I'm stuck with Lynx until I can get this Intel chipset working. I believe you're right that I can use the i810 driver, I entered the busid correctly and am still getting no screen found. I've got it set the color set to 24, mayhaps too high? I'll try 16 and get back with you, hopefully this time I will be doing it from Linux and not Windoze.

Intel's support website http://support.intel.com/support/gra...S-010512.htm#2 says that you need XFree86 version 4.2.0 or better but Woody comes with version 4.1.0 http://packages.debian.org/cgi-bin/s...ll&release=all so you won't get your graphics card working under Woody. You need to upgrade to Sarge that ships with XFree86 version 4.3.0.

Thanks alot man, I appreciate the help... I got some kind of visual with the vesadriver but the computer locked up. I'll give it a go with sarge... (of course with my kernel upgrade I'm almost half way there) once I get xwindows working I guess I'll have to cough up the lousy 15 bux for that full conexant driver (which really bites).

Thanks to all that helped me out, I'm losing my mind, but I've learned a lot.

OHHKKKAAYYY...

I've updated all of the xfree86 related packages so that there are no conflicts or anything wrong with X. I reran dpkg-recongfigure xserver-xfree86 and set the driver to i810 the settings I used for it were the proper bus and 64MB which is 65536 (which is what I entered) Now all I get is a blank screen, and I have to hit CTRL-ALT-F1 to escape... there aren't any errors in the XFree86.0.log, only a few unrelated warnings. I'm practically banging my head against the keyboard. KDE has NOT been updated so I'm going to try that... The only google I could find closesly related said that anything over 30 seconds should be a problem, perhaps I haven't waited long enough...

i810 grr...

Wow, you've got some weird system now. ;) You've basically installed Woody and upgraded the kernel and XFree86 to Sarge. Because X refuses to work, I expect that you're still working in the system console (the command line interface, that is). You tell us that but you don't tell how exactly you try to start X.

I'd suggest that you install fluxbox (apt-get install fluxbox) to test your X configuration. Then create ~/.xinitrc file into your home directory and type into that file. Then try to start fluxbox with the "startx" command (without quotes). If that still gives you only "blank screen", the problem would indeed appear to be in your X configuration.

Maybe you should do "dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86" again and choose the vesa driver. Then try "startx" again to see if X now works.

Edit:
BTW, if modem is your only net connection, it might be worth considering to persuade some friend who has faster net connection and CD-ROM burning equipments to download and burn a SimplyMepis or Kanotix CD for you. SimplyMepis is based on Sarge, I believe, and Kanotix on Sid. Both come with KDE and lots of apps. They have pretty good autoconfiguration of graphics cards and other hardware and they are easy to install on hard disk. Also both attempt to be compatible with Debian proper and they can offer you a more consistent, stabler, and more up to date system than your current Woody system with some packages from Sarge.

I took your advice, I'm at my friends house right now, and he downloaded the first 8 discs of the Sarge distro for me. I think even though there are no probelms with my Xserver installation. All I did to start x what type startx, I figured that would work, as that is how I had started x in the past, (with Slackware on and Old Pentium machine years ago.) I'm going to just install Sarge and go from there. It took forever for me to upgrade the xserver and kernel the way I did it, and now I'm just formatting away all that hardwork, but I think it's probably my best option. I only had the first 2 cds of the Woody distro, and now I have the first 8 of the Sarge distro, so I should be able to get everything I need plus some, and this time I will be more prepared for the installation.

Thanks again for your help dead. On the bright side, I'm become more proficient with vi and lynx, and all the system config files related to my plight.

Just wanted to thank you all...
 

This is my first transmission from my Debian Sarge Linux box, in my properly configured KDE client. You were all right, I did not need the i810 driver... of course I can't reach the maximum screen resolution of my monitor right now (I don't know if you can with the intel driver either, but I wanted to thank you all for the help. You are a true community, and I hope one day my knowledge is sufficient to be able to help others.

Regards,
Gary

PS - I'm now running Kernel 2.4 instead of 2.6 because that is what came with Sarge, and I don't want to press my luck right now ;) I'm just glad to have everything working. I ended up coughing up the 15 bux for the linuxant driver. I have a US Robotics modem, from another piecemeal computer, but all I have is PCI slots on this emachine grr... I tried installing the old hsf driver that linuxant made (which IS floating around there for those interested if you google it) but to no avail.

I'm having a few problems with playing music CDs right now, but for the time being I'm happy.

It's been real... frustrating :P