I have tried a number of different options under xf86config that sounded reasonable and a nuber more that were more failsafe that I thought would work. However, no matter what I did, I got the same error from above post. Ans yes, I did check out ATI's site. It talks about them not directly supporting Linux, but they refer you to the DRI and XFree86 sites.
Here is my XF86Config-4 file in its entirety:
# File generated by XFdrake.
# **********************************************************************
# Refer to the XF86Config(4/5) man page for details about the format of
# this file.
# **********************************************************************
Section "Files"
RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
# By default, Mandrake 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
# the X server to render fonts.
FontPath "unix/:-1"
EndSection
# **********************************************************************
# Server flags section.
# **********************************************************************
Section "ServerFlags"
# Uncomment this to cause a core dump at the spot where a signal is
# received. This may leave the console in an unusable state, but may
# provide a better stack trace in the core dump to aid in debugging
#NoTrapSignals
# Uncomment this to disable the <Crtl><Alt><BS> server abort sequence
# This allows clients to receive this key event.
#DontZap
# Uncomment this to disable the <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> mode switching
# sequences. This allows clients to receive these key events.
#DontZoom
# This allows the server to start up even if the
# mouse device can't be opened/initialised.
AllowMouseOpenFail
EndSection
# **********************************************************************
# Input devices
# **********************************************************************
# **********************************************************************
# Keyboard section
# **********************************************************************
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "Keyboard"
Option "AutoRepeat" "250 30"
Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection
# **********************************************************************
# Pointer section
# **********************************************************************
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
# ChordMiddle is an option for some 3-button Logitech mice
# Option "ChordMiddle"
EndSection
Section "Module"
# This loads the DBE extension module.
Load "dbe"
# This loads the miscellaneous extensions module, and disables
# initialisation of the XFree86-DGA extension within that module.
SubSection "extmod"
#Option "omit xfree86-dga"
EndSubSection
# This loads the Type1 and FreeType font modules
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
EndSection
# **********************************************************************
# Monitor section
# **********************************************************************
# Any number of monitor sections may be present
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Delta DB-1765"
VendorName "Delta"
ModelName "Unknown"
# HorizSync is in kHz unless units are specified.
# HorizSync may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY. REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.
HorizSync 30-65
# VertRefresh is in Hz unless units are specified.
# VertRefresh may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY. REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.
VertRefresh 50-100
# This is a set of extended mode timings typically used for laptop,
# TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output.
# These are available along with standard mode timings.
# Sony Vaio C1(X,XS,VE,VN)?
# 1024x480 @ 85.6 Hz, 48 kHz hsync
ModeLine "1024x480" 65.00 1024 1032 1176 1344 480 488 494 563 -hsync -vsync
# 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 50.00 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630
# 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 63.07 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616
EndSection
# **********************************************************************
# Graphics device section
# **********************************************************************
Section "Device"
Identifier "Generic VGA"
Driver "vga"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier ""
VendorName "Unknown"
BoardName "Unknown"
Driver ""
# VideoRam 65536
# Clock lines
# Uncomment following option if you see a big white block
# instead of the cursor!
# Option "sw_cursor"
Option "DPMS" "on"
EndSection
# **********************************************************************
# Screen sections
# **********************************************************************
Section "Screen"
Identifier "screen1"
Device ""
Monitor "Delta DB-1765"
DefaultColorDepth 16
Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
EndSection
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "layout1"
Screen "screen1"
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection
XFree86 fatal error (Radeon 8500)
as I'm a newbie too, myself. I would recommend you to download the binaries (XFree86 4.2 Binaries) instead of the normal rpm files. This binaries comes with pretty good README and install guide.
