Strange thing is that The system is still slow at refreshing the screen when i moving any windows. I also checked the config centre in KDE and it says its still using the generic driver for my gforce 4 :OS strange. Yet the system boots into the nvidia flash screen and the open GL screensavers which didnt work before, now do. Dont know whats going on. Would appreciate any help.


# File generated by XFdrake.

# **********************************************************************
# Refer to the XF86Config man page for details about the format of
# this file.
# **********************************************************************

Section "Files"
# 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

Section "ServerFlags"
#DontZap # disable <Crtl><Alt><BS> (server abort)
AllowMouseOpenFail # allows the server to start up even if the mouse doesn't work
#DontZoom # disable <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching)
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension
Load "v4l" # Video for Linux
Load "extmod"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx" # 3D layer
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "Keyboard"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "gb"
Option "XkbOptions" ""
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "monitor1"
VendorName "Plug'n Play"
ModelName "Hansol Electronics Mazellan710P"
HorizSync 30-95
VertRefresh 47-160

# 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

# TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output.
# 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

Section "Device"
Identifier "device1"
VendorName "nVidia Corporation"
BoardName "NVIDIA GeForce4 (generic)"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "DPMS"
Option "NvAGP" "0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "screen1"
Device "device1"
Monitor "monitor1"
DefaultColorDepth 24

Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Virtual 1024 768
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 15
Virtual 1024 768
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Virtual 1024 768
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Virtual 1024 768
EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "layout1"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
Screen "screen1"
EndSection

if you're getting the Nvidia splash screen at boot, then the modules are definitely loading. the XF86 file looks correct, except for one option.............

if you read my post #2 at the start of this thread, you will see what various options can be used there & what they do. i would change the 0 to 3 to start with. if that doesn't solve things, then try option 1, then 2.

to test if the Nvidia AGP support is working properly, in terminal as root type glxgears (hit enter). a little box with spinning gears will pop up. let it run for 20-25 seconds, then close the box & check the terminal output. with that card you should be getting 4000 fps plus/minus a few hundred. if the readout falls withing those parameters, then all is well.

otis

Cheers Otis, shall try what you suggested. So i shouldnt worry about the fact that it says its using generic drivers in KDE if everything else is running okay?

Will let you know what happens tonight

don't worry about what KDE is saying. it's probably showing generic drivers because you have that option set to "0", which means no Nvidia AGP support, hence it's reading it as generic. the real acid test is using glxgears to see what kind of frame rate you're getting. try running it before & after you change the 0 option so you can compare results.

also, to change that option, you don't need to kill X & do it using vim. you can just edit the XF86Config-4 file using a text editor. you must restart X for the changes to take effect, though.

otis

Cheers Otis. BTW, whats the option to disable the nvidia splash screen?

Shall post results tonight <if it runs> lol

here's the "device" section of my XF86Config-4 file. the line in red disables the Nvidia splash screen.

otis

Thanks for posting the Config file. It sure makes getting to the bottom of the problem allot easier. Just in case you were wondering what the options are for the "NvAGP" option are I'll post them. These are from the current versions Readme.

Option "NvAgp" "0" ... disables AGP support
Option "NvAgp" "1" ... use NVAGP, if possible
Option "NvAgp" "2" ... use AGPGART, if possible
Option "NvAGP" "3" ... try AGPGART; if that fails, try NVAGP

Hope this helps!! You are very close to getting it completely done. I would try the Option 3 first and see how "gkxgears" acts.

K guys, here's the deal :

under option 0: it boots

6326 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1265.200 FPS
6391 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1278.200 FPS
6379 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1275.800 FPS
6381 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1276.200 FPS

under option 1: it boots

5643 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1128.600 FPS
6389 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1277.800 FPS
6222 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1244.400 FPS
6392 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1278.400 FPS

under option 2: wont load x, comes up with some weird artifacts and stuff at bottom of screen, looks like it crashes

under option 3: exactly same artifacts as option 2, system crashes......

I hear 4000fps is the norm for my graphics card so i take it somethings up :O(



I really appreciate your helps guys. Where to now?

Maverick1182..........

i'm sorta running out of ideas here. only thing i can think of at the moment, is check to see if your glx 3D line in XF86Config-4 got disabled somehow. also, double check the nvidia line & make sure that isn't changed. it could be with the failed boots you had that the settings got changed back to default. look in the "module" section & make sure there isn't a # sign in front of any of the load lines. it should look like this........

also, check the "device" section to make sure everything is correct there. that should look like this.........

before you do that, check to make sure the nvidia modules are actually loading. in terminal as root type.......... lsmod (hit enter). look for a nvidia line(s). if you see them, that means the modules are loading.

finally, if all that comes clean, you might want to try reinstalling the drivers. it could be something went wrong during the install. if they are already installed, it will tell you so during the install process.

oh.......one other thing. when you're running glxgears, are you running the gears screen at normal (minimized) size. if you run that full screen, you will get slower results. you will also get slower results if you have other apps open while doing it. close all apps, run at normal size to get an accurate reading.

otis

Should i try and install later drivers like 6111? Ironically i installed 5336 drivers beacuse of the the problem stories i heard 6111 drivers were giving!

Glx gears was run in a little window , not full screen. I shall check my BIOS to see if the AGP option is running okay. Will post back later


Cheers

the 6111 drivers have been giving some people install problems (including myself). get the last one's before that (version 6036). try those, again make sure XF86 is edited properly, ignore the RVIAFB warning during installation, post back with results.

oh, yes, check your BIOS for AGP support enabled. i just assumed that was a given. never ass-u-me, eh?

otis

lol, well i'm assuming it on cos it works in windows. But as you said, never assume, so i'll check.


Will post back with results.

BTW, whats AGPGART? is looks like thats the thing thats crashing my system ? as thats the difference between 0-1 and 2-3 , no?

i'm not an expert on agpgart, but basically it's a kernel support module that lets you take advantage of the full range of speed that your graphics card supports.

i don't know if this has ben asked in this thread yet (i haven't seen it) but you don't (by any chance) have onboard video AND added an external card, do you? if for some reason that's the case, disable the onboard video in the BIOS before proceeding with anything else.

and, just as a refresher, what is the exact make/model of your vid card, and what CPU are you running?

otis

No, only have one AGP card. No on board graphics

The card i have is a Leadtek WinFast A180 DDR T, with a Geforce MX 440 chip on it 64MB.

The CPU is an AMD Althon 1.9Gb Thunderbird.

Anymore information required?

Maverick: try adding to your etc/modprobe.preload file.
This sorted out a number of nvidia niggles for me, including the 'no screens found' error that you reported having in another thread.