Hi,

I got a Sony Vaio laptop which has a GeForce FX Go5600 graphics chip. Now, I am wondering why the new nVidia driver doesn't work. I downloaded and installed it but it won't work. I think it might be my config file that is the problem, if you need it i can try and get a copy out of it.

Anytime i try to startx, the screen refreshes and then all I get is a blue line along the bottom of the screen. I have the monitor set to FlatPanel 800x600. When I was installing and at the configure the graphics adapter, each time i pressed test using any of the default nvidia drivers, i would get a black screen and then as it was exiting, i would see the rainbow colours you are meant to get.

I have Mandrake 10.0 community installed and it will boot to init3 no problem.

Thanks for any help.

I am still having trouble with this, I have tried nearly everything I can think of to get ot working, but when I type startx, I still get blueness along the bottom of the screen (its not a perfect blue line, more of a selection of blue lines).

If you know what version of X you are using you could have a look at you /var/log/XFree86.0.log (I've recently applies the updates so I also have a /var/log/XFree86.9.log i.e. I'm not quite sure which one I'm actually using since the upgrades at the weekend).

Dunno how "au fait" you are with mandrake and/or linux but if you log in as root at the init3 log in, then you'd need which should then display the log. you'd be looking for anything that is marked with (EE) to see what the error actually is, then if you managed to set your modem/adsl/cable/whatever, you should be able to note down the error and then either :q to quit or ctrl z to stop then with the init3 # prompt type lynx or try links or links2 one of which should drop you into a text only browser (if it seems to start, but you get a blank screen, try hitting esc).

You should then be able to surf here, log in and post the error's.

Erm, also I'm presuming that you've managed to check out the readme for changes to your XF86Config-4 (well, that's where my config is) so it then knows that if you managed to install the nvidia driver ok that you want to use the "nvidia" driver, and not the generic "nv" driver and that you've un-commented the Load "glx" bit.

And yes you can edit the config file with but to do that, once you're in the file you'd need to hit insert, then do the changes, then esc and then :wq (you do need to type the : ).

regards

John

The error I'm getting says something like:

"NVIDIA: Failed to initialize AGP"

I'll try and see what I can do later and get the files off the linux partition (don't adsl yet, and modem doesn't work, but I will try saving it to my windows partition), and post them here later.

That sounds like the nvidia driver may be installed, but the changes haven't been made to the XF86Config-4 file.

If you look at nvidia driver readme in section 3 it tell's you which bit's need to be modified. In my case, I usually just have to change where is says driver="nv" to driver-"nvidia" (the difference being that nv is the generic driver, which in my case will work, but gives me horizontal scan lines, and "nvidia" being the actually nvidia provided driver - if you've got that working you get the nvidia splash screen during boot sequence - also sometimes if I've got it wrong, then it just won't start the X server and it drop's me into the init3 prompt/log in) and I also have to delete the # (which "comment's" out the rest of the line) in front of Load "glx"

It just depends which bit's show up in your XF86Config-4 as to whether you have to comment out the bit's in "their" instructions (i.e. put a # infront of a line or 2)

regards

John

Thanks for the help bigjohn, but i had the settings all sorted right. Was a weird one to sort, but i got it now. Found while browsing someone mentioning setting Option "NvAGP" "8", and walla it works! :-) Will have to remember that for future reference.

Excellent, well done.

To be honest, my linux knowledge is pretty limited, so I just tend to try and help when someone has a similar problem to the ones that I've had.

Anyway's, you've got it now.

regards

John

p.s. Happy birthday

Thanks! Girlfriend got me a flying lesson! Can't wait, getting to fly a plane on saturday.