I have successfully compiled, made an initrd, and booted a generic 2.6.17.13 kernel for a Cyrix 6x86L-PR200+ processor. I compiled the kernel (from Slackware 11.0 /extra)for a 586/K5/5x86/6x86/6x86MX processor family.
X-Windows will not start. Is this an X-11 issue or did I compile for the wrong processor?
My system is "Absolute Linux 2.4.33.3 on i586" which is mostly Slack 11.0 think.
Thank you

I've used Absolute on and off a few times. It is Based on Slackware, just trimmed down a lot.

Without knowing much of anything about the Cyrix CPU in question here, I'm going to guess from the name of it that it's an x86 arch CPU. Based on this guess, I'd say you have compiled for the right arch.

Did you build & install the kernel modules as well?

If the system boots and gets to the login (where X is not starting apparently), there's a good chance the kernel is OK (though not necessarily with its modules intact).

What suggests an X issue? Are there error messages you can provide, or some indication of what's going wrong?

By what method are you trying to start X?
What video driver are you using (and what video hardware is on the machine?)
Did you set up a working xorg.conf file?
How about /var/log/xorg.0.log -- is there anything in that file that tells you something's wrong with X?

Thanks,
Sasha

Sasha,
I'm still stuck with no X-windows. I think I have more than one problem.

I've now moved up and compiled for a 586/K5/5x86/6x86/6x86MX processor family (thats what is recommended for cyrix in the notes), installed modules and booted a 2.6.18 generic kernel from: http://slackware.cs.utah.edu/pub/sla...ce/linx-2.6.18 mirror.

The guide I use to compile is here:
http://www.openaddict.com/how_to_com...ware_11_0.html
I used Pat's config-generic-2.6.18 and only changed it for processor family. I use a script to generate a mkinitrd command: mkinitrd_command_generator.sh

I have tried to compile for a 486 but not very pretty. It boots, but with lots of messages. I may try "Classic Pentium" some time. All of this takes a day to compile on this machine, pretty slow.

1) I have noticed that I get no CPU identification: cat /proc/cpuinfo shows:
processor : 0
vendor_id : unknown
cpu family : 4
model : 0
model name : 486
stepping : unknown
fdiv_bug : no
hlt_bug : no
f00f_bug : no
coma_bug : no
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : no
cpuid level : -1
wp : yes
flags :
bogomips : 148.99

2)dmesg seems to agree with no cpu id:

Linux version 2.6.18 (root@shaglinoleum) (gcc version 3.4.6) #1 Mon Aug 24 20:42:59 CDT 2009
BIOS-provided physical RAM map:
BIOS-e820: 0000000000000000 - 000000000009fc00 (usable)
BIOS-e820: 000000000009fc00 - 00000000000a0000 (reserved)
BIOS-e820: 00000000000f0000 - 0000000000100000 (reserved)
BIOS-e820: 0000000000100000 - 0000000008000000 (usable)
BIOS-e820: 00000000ffff0000 - 0000000100000000 (reserved)
0MB HIGHMEM available.
128MB LOWMEM available.
On node 0 totalpages: 32768
DMA zone: 4096 pages, LIFO batch:0
Normal zone: 28672 pages, LIFO batch:7
DMI not present or invalid.
ACPI: Unable to locate RSDP
Allocating PCI resources starting at 10000000 (gap: 08000000:f7ff0000)
Built 1 zonelists. Total pages: 32768
Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=2.6.18 ro root=345 vt.default=utf8=0
Unknown boot option `vt.default=utf8=0': ignoring
Initializing CPU#0
PID hash table entries: 1024 (order: 10, 4096 bytes)
Console: colour dummy device 80x25
Dentry cache hash table entries: 16384 (order: 4, 65536 bytes)
Inode-cache hash table entries: 8192 (order: 3, 32768 bytes)
Memory: 125748k/131072k available (2151k kernel code, 4924k reserved, 717k data, 180k init, 0k highmem)
Checking if this processor honours the WP bit even in supervisor mode... Ok.
Calibrating delay loop... 148.99 BogoMIPS (lpj=297984)
Security Framework v1.0.0 initialized
Mount-cache hash table entries: 512
CPU: After generic identify, caps: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
CPU: After all inits, caps: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
Compat vDSO mapped to ffffe000.
CPU: 486
Checking 'hlt' instruction... OK.
checking if image is initramfs...it isn't (no cpio magic); looks like an initrd
Freeing initrd memory: 406k freed
NET: Registered protocol family 16
PCI: PCI BIOS revision 2.10 entry at 0xfb0e0, last bus=0
PCI: Using configuration type 1
Setting up standard PCI resources
ACPI: Interpreter disabled.
Linux Plug and Play Support v0.97 (c) Adam Belay
SCSI subsystem initialized


3) I start X-Windows with startx, with Xorg.0.log showing all of this:

X Window System Version 6.9.0
Release Date: 21 December 2005
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0, Release 6.9
Build Operating System: Linux 2.4.33.3 i686 [ELF]
Current Operating System: Linux shaglinoleum 2.6.18 #1 Mon Aug 24 20:42:59 CDT 2009 i486
Build Date: 16 September 2006
Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.X.Org
to make sure that you have the latest version.
Module Loader present
Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
(++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
(==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Tue Aug 25 16:06:06 2009
(==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf"
(==) ServerLayout "Simple Layout"
(**) |-->Screen "Videoconfig" (0)
(**) | |-->Monitor "Monitor1"
(**) | |-->Device "Videocard1"
(**) |-->Input Device "Mouse1"
(**) |-->Input Device "Keyboard1"
(**) FontPath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TTF,/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/,/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled,/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/,/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
(**) RgbPath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
(==) ModulePath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"
(WW) Open ACPI failed (/proc/acpi/event) (No such file or directory)
(II) Open APM successful
(II) Module ABI versions:
X.Org ANSI C Emulation: 0.2
X.Org Video Driver: 0.8
X.Org XInput driver : 0.5
X.Org Server Extension : 0.2
X.Org Font Renderer : 0.4
(II) Loader running on linux
(II) LoadModule: "bitmap"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/fonts/libbitmap.so
(II) Module bitmap: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: X.Org Font Renderer
ABI class: X.Org Font Renderer, version 0.4
(II) Loading font Bitmap
(II) LoadModule: "pcidata"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libpcidata.so
(II) Module pcidata: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.0
ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 0.8
(--) using VT number 3

(II) PCI: PCI scan (all values are in hex)
(II) PCI: 00:00:0: chip 8086,7030 card 0000,0000 rev 02 class 06,00,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:07:0: chip 8086,7000 card 0000,0000 rev 01 class 06,01,00 hdr 80
(II) PCI: 00:07:1: chip 8086,7010 card 0000,0000 rev 00 class 01,01,80 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:07:2: chip 8086,7020 card 0000,0000 rev 01 class 0c,03,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:09:0: chip 10de,0110 card 1545,0019 rev b2 class 03,00,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:0a:0: chip 1186,1300 card 1186,1301 rev 10 class 02,00,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:0b:0: chip 1274,5000 card 4942,4c4c rev 00 class 04,01,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: End of PCI scan
(II) Host-to-PCI bridge:
(II) Bus 0: bridge is at (0:0:0), (0,0,0), BCTRL: 0x0008 (VGA_EN is set)
(II) Bus 0 I/O range:
[0] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0000ffff (0x10000) IX[B]
(II) Bus 0 non-prefetchable memory range:
[0] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0xffffffff (0x0) MX[B]
(II) Bus 0 prefetchable memory range:
[0] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0xffffffff (0x0) MX[B]
(II) PCI-to-ISA bridge:
(II) Bus -1: bridge is at (0:7:0), (0,-1,-1), BCTRL: 0x0008 (VGA_EN is set)
(--) PCI:*(0:9:0) nVidia Corporation NV11 [GeForce2 MX/MX 400] rev 178, Mem @ 0xe8000000/24, 0xe0000000/27
(II) Addressable bus resource ranges are
[0] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0xffffffff (0x0) MX[B]
[1] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0000ffff (0x10000) IX[B]
(II) OS-reported resource ranges:
[0] -1 0 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[6] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
(II) Active PCI resource ranges:
[0] -1 0 0xe9000000 - 0xe90000ff (0x100) MX[B]
[1] -1 0 0xe0000000 - 0xe7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B](B)
[2] -1 0 0xe8000000 - 0xe8ffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[3] -1 0 0x00006200 - 0x0000623f (0x40) IX[B]
[4] -1 0 0x00006100 - 0x000061ff (0x100) IX[B]
[5] -1 0 0x00006000 - 0x0000601f (0x20) IX[B]
[6] -1 0 0x0000f000 - 0x0000f00f (0x10) IX[B]
(II) Active PCI resource ranges after removing overlaps:
[0] -1 0 0xe9000000 - 0xe90000ff (0x100) MX[B]
[1] -1 0 0xe0000000 - 0xe7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B](B)
[2] -1 0 0xe8000000 - 0xe8ffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[3] -1 0 0x00006200 - 0x0000623f (0x40) IX[B]
[4] -1 0 0x00006100 - 0x000061ff (0x100) IX[B]
[5] -1 0 0x00006000 - 0x0000601f (0x20) IX[B]
[6] -1 0 0x0000f000 - 0x0000f00f (0x10) IX[B]
(II) OS-reported resource ranges after removing overlaps with PCI:
[0] -1 0 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[6] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
(II) All system resource ranges:
[0] -1 0 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0 0xe9000000 - 0xe90000ff (0x100) MX[B]
[6] -1 0 0xe0000000 - 0xe7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B](B)
[7] -1 0 0xe8000000 - 0xe8ffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[8] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[9] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
[10] -1 0 0x00006200 - 0x0000623f (0x40) IX[B]
[11] -1 0 0x00006100 - 0x000061ff (0x100) IX[B]
[12] -1 0 0x00006000 - 0x0000601f (0x20) IX[B]
[13] -1 0 0x0000f000 - 0x0000f00f (0x10) IX[B]
(II) LoadModule: "glx"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.so
(II) Module glx: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.0
ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 0.2
(II) Loading sub module "GLcore"
(II) LoadModule: "GLcore"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libGLcore.so
(II) Module GLcore: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.0
ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 0.2
(II) Loading extension GLX
(II) LoadModule: "extmod"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libextmod.so
(II) Module extmod: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: X.Org Server Extension
ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 0.2
(II) Loading extension SHAPE
(II) Loading extension MIT-SUNDRY-NONSTANDARD
(II) Loading extension BIG-REQUESTS
(II) Loading extension SYNC
(II) Loading extension MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
(II) Loading extension XC-MISC
(II) Loading extension XFree86-VidModeExtension
(II) Loading extension XFree86-Misc
(II) Loading extension XFree86-DGA
(II) Loading extension DPMS
(II) Loading extension TOG-CUP
(II) Loading extension Extended-Visual-Information
(II) Loading extension XVideo
(II) Loading extension XVideo-MotionCompensation
(II) Loading extension X-Resource
(II) LoadModule: "xtrap"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libxtrap.so
(II) Module xtrap: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: X.Org Server Extension
ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 0.2
(II) Loading extension DEC-XTRAP
(II) LoadModule: "record"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/librecord.so
(II) Module record: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.13.0
Module class: X.Org Server Extension
ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 0.2
(II) Loading extension RECORD
(II) LoadModule: "dbe"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libdbe.so
(II) Module dbe: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: X.Org Server Extension
ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 0.2
(II) Loading extension DOUBLE-BUFFER
(II) LoadModule: "dri"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libdri.so
(II) Module dri: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.0
ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 0.2
(II) Loading sub module "drm"
(II) LoadModule: "drm"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/linux/libdrm.so
(II) Module drm: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.0
ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 0.2
(II) Loading extension XFree86-DRI
(II) LoadModule: "freetype"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/fonts/libfreetype.so
(II) Module freetype: vendor="X.Org Foundation & the After X-TT Project"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 2.1.0
Module class: X.Org Font Renderer
ABI class: X.Org Font Renderer, version 0.4
(II) Loading font FreeType
(II) LoadModule: "type1"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/fonts/libtype1.so
(II) Module type1: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.2
Module class: X.Org Font Renderer
ABI class: X.Org Font Renderer, version 0.4
(II) Loading font Type1
(II) Loading font CID
(II) LoadModule: "nv"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/nv_drv.so
(II) Module nv: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.1
Module class: X.Org Video Driver
ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 0.8
(II) LoadModule: "mouse"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/input/mouse_drv.so
(II) Module mouse: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.3
Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 0.5
(II) LoadModule: "kbd"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/input/kbd_drv.so
(II) Module kbd: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.1
Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 0.5
(II) NV: driver for NVIDIA chipsets: RIVA 128, RIVA TNT, RIVA TNT2,
Unknown TNT2, Vanta, RIVA TNT2 Ultra, RIVA TNT2 Model 64,
Aladdin TNT2, GeForce 256, GeForce DDR, Quadro, GeForce2 MX/MX 400,
GeForce2 MX 100/200, GeForce2 Go, Quadro2 MXR/EX/Go,
GeForce2 Integrated GPU, GeForce2 GTS, GeForce2 Ti, GeForce2 Ultra,

(* snipped out some of this stuff -- my card is a GeForce 2 PCI *)

GeForce 6800 GT, 0x0220, GeForce 6200, 0x0222, 0x0228, 0x0090,
GeForce 7800 GTX, GeForce 7800 GT, 0x0093, 0x0094, GeForce Go 7800,
GeForce Go 7800 GTX, 0x009C, Quadro FX 4500, 0x009E
(II) Primary Device is: PCI 00:09:0
(--) Chipset GeForce2 MX/MX 400 found
(II) resource ranges after xf86ClaimFixedResources() call:
[0] -1 0 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0 0xe9000000 - 0xe90000ff (0x100) MX[B]
[6] -1 0 0xe0000000 - 0xe7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B](B)
[7] -1 0 0xe8000000 - 0xe8ffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[8] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[9] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
[10] -1 0 0x00006200 - 0x0000623f (0x40) IX[B]
[11] -1 0 0x00006100 - 0x000061ff (0x100) IX[B]
[12] -1 0 0x00006000 - 0x0000601f (0x20) IX[B]
[13] -1 0 0x0000f000 - 0x0000f00f (0x10) IX[B]
(II) resource ranges after probing:
[0] -1 0 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0 0xe9000000 - 0xe90000ff (0x100) MX[B]
[6] -1 0 0xe0000000 - 0xe7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B](B)
[7] -1 0 0xe8000000 - 0xe8ffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[8] 0 0 0x000a0000 - 0x000affff (0x10000) MS[B]
[9] 0 0 0x000b0000 - 0x000b7fff (0x8000) MS[B]
[10] 0 0 0x000b8000 - 0x000bffff (0x8000) MS[B]
[11] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[12] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
[13] -1 0 0x00006200 - 0x0000623f (0x40) IX[B]
[14] -1 0 0x00006100 - 0x000061ff (0x100) IX[B]
[15] -1 0 0x00006000 - 0x0000601f (0x20) IX[B]
[16] -1 0 0x0000f000 - 0x0000f00f (0x10) IX[B]
[17] 0 0 0x100003b0 - 0x100003bb (0xc) IS[B]
[18] 0 0 0x100003c0 - 0x100003df (0x20) IS[B]
(II) Setting vga for screen 0.
(II) Loading sub module "int10"
(II) LoadModule: "int10"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/linux/libint10.so
(II) Module int10: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.0
ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 0.8
(II) NV(0): Initializing int10
(II) NV(0): Primary V_BIOS segment is: 0xc000
(WW) System lacks support for changing MTRRs
(--) NV(0): Chipset: "GeForce2 MX/MX 400"
(**) NV(0): Depth 24, (--) framebuffer bpp 32
(==) NV(0): RGB weight 888
(==) NV(0): Default visual is TrueColor
(II) Loading sub module "vgahw"
(II) LoadModule: "vgahw"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libvgahw.so
(II) Module vgahw: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 0.1.0
ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 0.8
(==) NV(0): Using HW cursor
(--) NV(0): Linear framebuffer at 0xE0000000
(--) NV(0): MMIO registers at 0xE8000000
(II) Loading sub module "i2c"
(II) LoadModule: "i2c"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libi2c.so
(II) Module i2c: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.2.0
ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 0.8
(II) Loading sub module "ddc"
(II) LoadModule: "ddc"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libddc.so
(II) Module ddc: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.0
ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 0.8
(II) NV(0): I2C bus "DDC" initialized.
(II) NV(0): Probing for EDID on I2C bus A...
(II) NV(0): I2C device "DDC:ddc2" registered at address 0xA0.
(II) NV(0): I2C device "DDC:ddc2" removed.
(--) NV(0): DDC detected a CRT:
(II) NV(0): Manufacturer: VSC Model: 4308 Serial#: 16843009
(II) NV(0): Year: 2003 Week: 50
(II) NV(0): EDID Version: 1.3
(II) NV(0): Analog Display Input, Input Voltage Level: 0.700/0.300 V
(II) NV(0): Sync: Separate
(II) NV(0): Max H-Image Size [cm]: horiz.: 34 vert.: 27
(II) NV(0): Gamma: 2.20
(II) NV(0): DPMS capabilities: Off; RGB/Color Display
(II) NV(0): First detailed timing is preferred mode
(II) NV(0): redX: 0.630 redY: 0.330 greenX: 0.300 greenY: 0.600
(II) NV(0): blueX: 0.150 blueY: 0.100 whiteX: 0.310 whiteY: 0.330
(II) NV(0): Supported VESA Video Modes:
(II) NV(0): 720x400@70Hz
(II) NV(0): 640x480@60Hz
(II) NV(0): 640x480@67Hz
(II) NV(0): 640x480@72Hz
(II) NV(0): 640x480@75Hz
(II) NV(0): 800x600@56Hz
(II) NV(0): 800x600@60Hz
(II) NV(0): 800x600@72Hz
(II) NV(0): 800x600@75Hz
(II) NV(0): 832x624@75Hz
(II) NV(0): 1024x768@60Hz
(II) NV(0): 1024x768@70Hz
(II) NV(0): 1024x768@75Hz
(II) NV(0): 1280x1024@75Hz
(II) NV(0): 1152x870@75Hz
(II) NV(0): Manufacturer's mask: 0
(II) NV(0): Supported Future Video Modes:
(II) NV(0): #0: hsize: 1280 vsize 1024 refresh: 60 vid: 32897
(II) NV(0): #1: hsize: 1152 vsize 864 refresh: 75 vid: 20337
(II) NV(0): Supported additional Video Mode:
(II) NV(0): clock: 108.0 MHz Image Size: 338 x 270 mm
(II) NV(0): h_active: 1280 h_sync: 1328 h_sync_end 1440 h_blank_end 1688 h_border: 0
(II) NV(0): v_active: 1024 v_sync: 1025 v_sync_end 1028 v_blanking: 1066 v_border: 0
(II) NV(0): Serial No: A18035002399
(II) NV(0): Ranges: V min: 50 V max: 75 Hz, H min: 30 H max: 80 kHz, PixClock max 140 MHz
(II) NV(0): Monitor name: VE700
(II) NV(0): Probing for EDID on I2C bus B...
(II) NV(0): I2C device "DDC:ddc2" registered at address 0xA0.
(II) NV(0): I2C device "DDC:ddc2" removed.
(II) NV(0): ... none found
(II) NV(0): Unable to detect which CRTCNumber...
(==) NV(0): ...Defaulting to CRTCNumber 0
(II) NV(0): Using CRT on CRTC 0
(--) NV(0): VideoRAM: 32768 kBytes
(==) NV(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
(II) NV(0): Monitor1: Using hsync range of 30.00-80.00 kHz
(II) NV(0): Monitor1: Using vrefresh range of 50.00-75.00 Hz
(II) NV(0): Clock range: 12.00 to 350.00 MHz
(II) NV(0): Not using default mode "640x350" (vrefresh out of range)
(II) NV(0): Not using default mode "320x175" (vrefresh out of range)
(II) NV(0): Not using default mode "640x400" (vrefresh out of range)
(II) NV(0): Not using default mode "320x200" (vrefresh out of range)

(* snipped out some of this stuff*)

(**) NV(0): Default mode "320x240": 12.6 MHz, 31.5 kHz, 60.1 Hz (D)
(II) NV(0): Modeline "320x240" 12.60 320 328 376 400 240 245 246 262 doublescan -hsync -vsync
(--) NV(0): Display dimensions: (340, 270) mm
(--) NV(0): DPI set to (76, 72)
(II) Loading sub module "fb"
(II) LoadModule: "fb"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libfb.so
(II) Module fb: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.0.0
ABI class: X.Org ANSI C Emulation, version 0.2
(II) Loading sub module "xaa"
(II) LoadModule: "xaa"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libxaa.so
(II) Module xaa: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 1.2.0
ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 0.8
(II) Loading sub module "ramdac"
(II) LoadModule: "ramdac"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libramdac.so
(II) Module ramdac: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
compiled for 6.9.0, module version = 0.1.0
ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 0.8
(--) Depth 24 pixmap format is 32 bpp
(II) do I need RAC? No, I don't.
(II) resource ranges after preInit:
[0] 0 0 0xe0000000 - 0xe7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B]
[1] 0 0 0xe8000000 - 0xe8ffffff (0x1000000) MX[B]
[2] -1 0 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[3] -1 0 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[4] -1 0 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[6] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[7] -1 0 0xe9000000 - 0xe90000ff (0x100) MX[B]
[8] -1 0 0xe0000000 - 0xe7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B](B)
[9] -1 0 0xe8000000 - 0xe8ffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[10] 0 0 0x000a0000 - 0x000affff (0x10000) MS[B](OprD)
[11] 0 0 0x000b0000 - 0x000b7fff (0x8000) MS[B](OprD)
[12] 0 0 0x000b8000 - 0x000bffff (0x8000) MS[B](OprD)
[13] -1 0 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[14] -1 0 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
[15] -1 0 0x00006200 - 0x0000623f (0x40) IX[B]
[16] -1 0 0x00006100 - 0x000061ff (0x100) IX[B]
[17] -1 0 0x00006000 - 0x0000601f (0x20) IX[B]
[18] -1 0 0x0000f000 - 0x0000f00f (0x10) IX[B]
[19] 0 0 0x100003b0 - 0x100003bb (0xc) IS[B](OprU)
[20] 0 0 0x100003c0 - 0x100003df (0x20) IS[B](OprU)
(II) NV(0): Using XFree86 Acceleration Architecture (XAA)
Screen to screen bit blits
Solid filled rectangles
8x8 mono pattern filled rectangles
Indirect CPU to Screen color expansion
Solid Lines
Scanline Image Writes
Offscreen Pixmaps
Setting up tile and stipple cache:
32 128x128 slots
32 256x256 slots
16 512x512 slots
(==) NV(0): Backing store disabled
(==) NV(0): Silken mouse enabled
(**) Option "dpms"
(**) NV(0): DPMS enabled
(==) RandR enabled
(II) Initializing built-in extension MIT-SHM
(II) Initializing built-in extension XInputExtension
(II) Initializing built-in extension XTEST
(II) Initializing built-in extension XKEYBOARD
(II) Initializing built-in extension LBX
(II) Initializing built-in extension XC-APPGROUP
(II) Initializing built-in extension SECURITY
(II) Initializing built-in extension XINERAMA
(II) Initializing built-in extension XFIXES
(II) Initializing built-in extension XFree86-Bigfont
(II) Initializing built-in extension RENDER
(II) Initializing built-in extension RANDR
(II) Initializing built-in extension COMPOSITE
(II) Initializing built-in extension DAMAGE
(II) Initializing built-in extension XEVIE

*** If unresolved symbols were reported above, they might not
*** be the reason for the server aborting.

Backtrace:
0: X(xf86SigHandler+0x8a) [0x8088b2a]
1: [0xb7f4a420]
2: /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libfb.so(fbFill+0x40c) [0xb68e563c]
3: /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libfb.so(fbPolyFillRect+0x1ed) [0xb68e5a3d]
4: /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libxaa.so [0xb6886d6b]
5: X [0x816a6be]
6: X(CreateDefaultStipple+0xfe) [0x80d2c6e]
7: X(main+0x2ba) [0x80d452a]
8: /lib/tls/libc.so.6(__libc_start_main+0xd4) [0xb7dd1e14]
9: X [0x806ff61]

Fatal server error:
Caught signal 11. Server aborting


Please consult the The X.Org Foundation support
at http://wiki.X.Org
for help.
Please also check the log file at "/var/log/Xorg.0.log" for additional information.


This is a pretty long post. I haven't figured out how to put all of that ouput into nice little windows yet.

The above is from a chart on this website and seems to indicate that the empty CPUID information is normal for that CPU.

Your dmesg shows the following:

Which tells you that you need to fix that typo or whatever it is, in your LILO or on your boot-line. It probably isn't critical enough to kill the whole situation, but it would be one less thing to be concerned with.

Most of the Xorg log looks reasonable, until the end where it segfaults. I don't know why it's segfaulting, but a very uneducated guess might be that the X server (and maybe other stuff) is too new for the CPU? Totally a guess; I really don't know.

As for the initrd you are making, what's that for? i.e. what have you got going into that initrd? And why use that script? (I'm not saying the script is no good-- I've never even heard of it ) but it's a simple one-line command to make a initrd.
On this subject, are you actually including the initrd into the kernel when you build it? You mentioned that the only thing you changed in the kernel was the ARCH, but you also need to make sure you're telling the kernel about the initrd.

I can imagine how slow it is to build a kernel on that machine -- wow, you have patience! It takes hours to build a kernel on my 333MHz PII.

A personal thing I found a while back: I had little fun working with the 2.6.18 kernel. I don't know why, I just found it weird, unlike 2.6.17.13 which worked very well for me at the time. I have no factual evidence to suggest you should not use that version, but maybe you ought to use a more "commonly used" version.

Now, I **think** that this CPU you have qualifies as an i686 but I've not confirmed it anywhere; I'm just going by the name on it (I looked on the net briefly, but finding the ? in ?86 for a given CPU can be tricky. However, if the CPU is NOT of the i686 class, but instead it's a 486 or 386 or 586, it will NOT run properly on a kernel built for "686 only" so you should check your kernel configuration and make sure that you enable "Generic Options/Extensions for x86 processors" so that the kernel will have a bit of leeway on the x86 platform. And, don't build for 686 specifically; stick with what you were using: 586/K5/5x86/6x86/6x86MX or lesser, as it's probably safe(r)..

I haven't looked at the links you gave, but I will, and if anything looks weird (or if you don't understand part of either of the guides you're following) I/you will post back later.

Also, I noticed when trying to go to the link you gave for that 2.6.28 kernel, that it was not only in a TESTING folder on the server, but also the link is no good. I definitely suggest getting a known-good stock kernel archive from ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/ and starting with that.

Regards,
Sasha

The kernel itself seems right, it's not a kernel problem, at least not directly, unless it's related to the graphics driver. However I really doubt that in this case, because you seem to be using the nv driver, which is not accelerated, and doesn't use any kernel drm modules as far as I know (never used it, so I can't be sure, but I've never seen such a thing).

It seems more like there's a bit of breakage somewhere. If X has been compiled from the ground, then it might be that the server and the driver are not in sync (a recompilation of the xf86-video-nv driver should fix it (or whatever that package is called in that distribution).

I suggest you to try the "vesa" driver however, and see if it boots X. If it doesn, then you know that the problem is somewhat confined to the "nv" driver.

Back for more:

That guide you're following is pretty dated. The lilo section looks OK, but the `make` section, and that stuff to do before reboot, are questionable.

The following should work:

1) unpack the kernel archive in /usr/src/source/HERE
2) enter HERE and do make mrproper and then make clean
3) make menuconfig # or xconfig if it works (looks like not!)
4) Now in menuconfig, give the kernel a name to append to the version string.
5) proceed to configure the kernel appropriately, and save the build as some filename you recognize, something like the name you put onto the version string.
6) save the build as .config
7) exit menuconfig
8) type make && make modules_install
9) locate your new bzimage, and copy it to /boot giving it a short name similar to the name you gave it in menuconfig (like bzimage1 or something)
10) edit your lilo.conf to add the new kernel image section to the lilo.conf file. Save the file.
11) run lilo or /sbin/lilo and make sure your new kernel is listed, and there are no errors.
12) reboot.

And at some point in there (or before, or after), I guess you would make your initrd if you really need one. Maybe you need to do that before building the kernel, or maybe after, I'm not sure because I don't use an initrd, but I suspect the kernel would need to be built first, in order for the mkinitrd command to find the stuff that needs to go into the initrd. THEN, build the kernel. (This appears to require building the kernel twice, but the second time, it will only (re)build any changes, such as adding the initrd. If this is the proper way, do not run make clean before running the second build, or it WILL do the entire build twice.
Sorry if this sounds confusing-- it is to me too, because I've never used the initrd; since you seem to be more familiar with the initrd, I hope you can create and implement it at the appropriate time.

Sasha

Hola Jesus,

Is there a way up there where you can tell if the initrd is being used? I can't tell, and as mentioned, I haven't ever used one.

Thanks!
Sasha

I am no master in initrd's, and I have used them only when strictly necessary. However above it says

Which seems to suggest that there's an initrd image involved in that boot process.

Ok, I missed that line. Thanks.

I do notice though, the X server claims to be built against 2.4.33.3 -- I wonder if that's an issue....

Sasha

Sasha,
There will be some delay between posts, because it takes some time to compile suggested kernel options. I have a compile going now for a "Classic Pentium" which should be done this evening.
The generic kernel is a good, light weight option for me because many things are build as modules. But, to eliminate initrd suspicions I will build reiserfs as a non-module. Reiserfs is what my file system is.
In the future I will try to open up the kernel with "Generic Options/Extensions for x86 processors" as well and probably drop back to the 586/K5/5x86/6x86/6x86MX family and a more common kernel.
There seems to be little good info on the Cyrix processor I'm using, so I guess I'm reduced to "compile and try". Cyrix seems to agree with the 2.4 kernel. It does get identified correctly. Don't remember where I found the script for the initrd, but it takes the brain work out of what you what you type on the command line for the "mkinitrd" statment.
Will see how my latest compile goes this evening and drop you a note.

Hi atanasoff,

Yes, I understand there will be some delay between posts as you explained. That's no problem -- we're not in any rush. Take your time, do the best you can, and post back at your convenience

Sasha

short note: this is where I found the "mkinitrd_command_generator.sh"
http://connie.slackware.com/~alien/tools/

Sasha
I think I will give up on the 2.6.17 kernel. I think the cpu id function for 6x86L-200+ is broken in this series of kernels. If the
kernel can't id the processor correctly I expect the cpu can't be fully exploited. So why bother, I'm thinking. I just finished a compile and boot of generic-2.6.17.13 with "cpu id" built in and with just about every module possible, and x-windows crashed as before. I'm thinking "X" wouldn't work well on a crippled cpu anyway. Took almost 24hrs to build the "everything but the kitchen sink" kernel. I learned a little bit about building the kernel, but not much sense in beating a dead horse. Thanks Sasha for answering my post.

X-Windows is working now. Solution: I finally upgraded the processor to an Intel P55C 200Hhz MMX processor and I'm now running a 2.6.17.7 kernel in Slackware 11.0 . The 2.6.18 "experimental" kernel in Slack 11.0 also now plays well with X-Windows. As I suspected, the newer 2.6.x kernels seem broken and unable to identify the old cyrix cpu's. I hope this helps anyone who is still playing around with old hardware.