Xserver failed to start [Debian Etch]

noctrum · 11-19-2008, 05:58 PM

Hello!
I bought few days ago Toshiba Satellite L300-1BV laptop, I decided to install debian on it and I have installed but when I want to start it up it says "x server failed to start.. configure it" (I am new in Debian, i was using ubuntu for month or so) I really dont know what happend.
It says something like:

I810: No matching Device section for instance (BUSID PCI:0:2:1) found
(EE) No devices detected.

Fatal server error:
no screens found

I get this after I configured xserver..
If someone could tell me how to copy and paste the log file of it as I have seen in topics of other users I would be greatful, or is it enough what i wrote?

My video card:

Shared graphics Intel GMA4500M 828 MB

Junior Hacker · 11-20-2008, 11:27 AM

It appears it's trying to use the I810 driver for graphics but is not finding a graphics device that can use that driver. I was just looking at what drivers come with my Debian 2.6.21 kernel and there is also a "intelfb", not sure if you should try that one.
The best thing to do at this point is to re-boot (this can be done by typing: reboot from command line as root or single user mode), boot into single user mode and put in admin password when asked for it. Then go through the X-window configuration utility to reconfigure your graphics configuration file by typing this command: dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg. Answer the questions you can answer using any manuals you have or information regarding your hardware that you can dig up on the internet. If you don't know what to put for an answer, just hit the enter key to go with the default that the utility used during the original installation, but try to give the most precise answers. At the graphics card section, look for and try other intel drivers or the "vesa" driver which should give you graphics after finishing the configuration utility and re-booting.
Don't be afraid of this configuration utility, if you were to just hit "enter" all the way through, your graphics configuration file won't change.

farslayer · 11-20-2008, 02:11 PM

i810 is not the right driver for that graphics card..

Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD Graphics Card*

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag..._x4500hd&num=1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phoronix

In order to use the GMA X4500/X4500HD under Linux, you will need to use the just-released xf86-video-intel 2.4.0 driver for mode-setting, 2D, and video support and then the latest Mesa code for the OpenGL acceleration. The GMA X4500 support was just added to Mesa a few weeks back and isn't even in a released version yet. The next version of Mesa where this Intel support will arrive is Mesa 7.1 and will come in tandem with X.Org 7.4. Even when using released versions of these packages, telling a new user to obtain the needed build dependencies, build the package from source, and then configure the setup manually isn't an ideal situation. When the support you are after isn't even in a released version, the user now needs to go through checking out the latest source-code from the git master of the respective revision control trees. The process of obtaining hardware support via an open-source driver for a brand new piece of hardware isn't exactly easy right now to a new user, especially when it comes to the graphics side of Linux.

Aside from Fedora and a few other distributions, these new packages won't be pushed into most distribution package repositories until they are readying a next major release. For instance, Ubuntu users will need to wait until October with Ubuntu 8.10 "Intrepid Ibex" before the latest Mesa / Intel code appear and thus "out of the box" support for these Intel IGPs. The latest development release of Ubuntu 8.10 (Alpha 3) is still too old for the GMA X4500/X4500HD support. However, using Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 3 we had built the latest xf86-video-intel DDX, Mesa, and DRM (Direct Rendering Manager) code from the respective git master branches.

You have your work cut out for you if you plan to get that fully functional under etch...
I would suggest giving the Lenny Daily build a shot, or Ubuntu 8.10 (Ubuntu is probably the easiest solution for this hardware at this time) .

At the very least you need a kernel of 2.6.26 or higher (etch is 2.6.18)..
with that graphics controller you probably have the G45 chipset, no ? (output of lspci would have been helpful)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phoronix same article

The same-day support for the GMA X4500 series on Linux is great to see, but this doesn't mean users should immediately buy these products if you are inexperienced with building X.Org drivers and Mesa from source. Without that support, users of these new IGPs and HDMI/DisplayPort connectors will need to use the VESA driver, which is less than ideal. Fortunately, by the distribution refreshes this fall, the updated Intel support should be widespread and result in an "out of the box" experience. Aside from the graphics, you will also need to use a very recent distribution using the Linux 2.6.25 or 2.6.26 kernel for supporting Serial ATA on the ICH10 motherboards.