ATI freezes my Slackware

shadowsnipes · 05-31-2008, 10:15 AM

SlackBuilds for ATI kernel module and driver. The driver slackBuild comes with a small utility called fglrx-switch that allows you to easily switch between mesa and ATI drivers.

@STARHARVEST

Does you monitor always blink or does it act normal at least at first? You might want to check that your box is being cooled enough and that your PSU is supplying the appropriate amount of juice to support all of your hardware. Don't just guesstimate this- actually calculate your load. If cooling is a problem then add some fans or open your case to let it vent more (perhaps organize cables better). In a pinch you can stick a box fan up to the side of your case while it is open. That will keep it nice and cool, though it definitely is not quiet!

symatic · 05-31-2008, 12:51 PM

If you read the release notes it says that glxgears and fgl_glxgears have been known to freeze X. That xorg.conf file is way to complex to start removing options and pin pointing what is wrong. Start simple and then add and remove options as needed. The 8.5 driver works quite well I have installed it on three different computers(the newest card is a 1600pro)with out a hitch. What do you mean by your monitor blinks, when it is starting or during playback? Turn textered video option to on(it is used by default now) and see if the blinking goes away. Start an GL screensaver if the damn thing crawls you know you have a problem.

Could be so many things..
Good luck

P.S. use the code tags if you post files. Make for easier reading

STARHARVEST · 05-31-2008, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by symatic

If you read the release notes it says that glxgears and fgl_glxgears have been known to freeze X. That xorg.conf file is way to complex to start removing options and pin pointing what is wrong. Start simple and then add and remove options as needed. The 8.5 driver works quite well I have installed it on three different computers(the newest card is a 1600pro)with out a hitch. What do you mean by your monitor blinks, when it is starting or during playback? Turn textered video option to on(it is used by default now) and see if the blinking goes away. Start an GL screensaver if the damn thing crawls you know you have a problem.

Could be so many things..
Good luck

P.S. use the code tags if you post files. Make for easier reading

About blinking.. not actually blinking but some kind of waves.. e.g. on CRT mons when refresh rate mismatching.

STARHARVEST · 05-31-2008, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowsnipes

SlackBuilds for ATI kernel module and driver. The driver slackBuild comes with a small utility called fglrx-switch that allows you to easily switch between mesa and ATI drivers.

@STARHARVEST

Does you monitor always blink or does it act normal at least at first? You might want to check that your box is being cooled enough and that your PSU is supplying the appropriate amount of juice to support all of your hardware. Don't just guesstimate this- actually calculate your load. If cooling is a problem then add some fans or open your case to let it vent more (perhaps organize cables better). In a pinch you can stick a box fan up to the side of your case while it is open. That will keep it nice and cool, though it definitely is not quiet!

well never used slackbuilds.. I've downloaded it. "Now what?" (c) =)
p.s. My fans work good. I have 3 hdd's, don't you think I did not care bout cooling much..

T3slider · 05-31-2008, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STARHARVEST

well never used slackbuilds.. I've downloaded it. "Now what?" (c) =)

Instructions are right on the site! And they've been repeated many times on these forums. Please search before asking. http://slackbuilds.org/howto/

shadowsnipes · 06-01-2008, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STARHARVEST

well never used slackbuilds.. I've downloaded it. "Now what?" (c) =)

Well as T3Slider already mentioned the instructions for using them are in the SlackBuilds HowTo. Basically, you just untar it, cp or symlink your ati source into the directory and then run the slackBuild script. You might need to change the version number in the script and other parameters as needed/desired.

SlackBuilds are really useful because they are a semi-automated way to create custom packages exactly how you need them. Using them you can package all of your custom software and then upgrades, etc are so much cleaner.

Dimon-z · 06-01-2008, 04:10 AM

I reconfig xorg.conf file and starting glxinfo or fglxinfo and my x server crash,how to fix?
log file

Quote:

Backtrace:
0: /usr/bin/X(xf86SigHandler+0x84) [0x80c5404]
1: [0xffffe420]

Fatal server error:
Caught signal 11. Server aborting

STARHARVEST · 06-01-2008, 05:24 AM

Ok guys, this is all good stuff about slackbuilds and brothers, and of course I'll try it some time later. But now, with some kind of working driver which shows us that direct rendering is enabled and bla bla bla ATI.. couldn't be you more specific and maybe describe and share your thoughts/opinions/advices about so called "waves" on screen, some kind of refresh rate maybe. And though direct rendering is enabled e.g. why all 3d stuff brokes then? My machine transformed from working every day tool into full-time-all-day-long hobby tweaking and hacking this rocket science xorg file and other stuff.

shadowsnipes · 06-01-2008, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STARHARVEST

Ok guys, this is all good stuff about slackbuilds and brothers, and of course I'll try it some time later. But now, with some kind of working driver which shows us that direct rendering is enabled and bla bla bla ATI.. couldn't be you more specific and maybe describe and share your thoughts/opinions/advices about so called "waves" on screen, some kind of refresh rate maybe. And though direct rendering is enabled e.g. why all 3d stuff brokes then? My machine transformed from working every day tool into full-time-all-day-long hobby tweaking and hacking this rocket science xorg file and other stuff.

Please post your monitor's specs as given by the manufacturer. You might be experiencing these waves because you are specifying incorrect sync ranges.

As far as all the crashing with glxgears,

Quote:

Originally Posted by symatic

If you read the release notes it says that glxgears and fgl_glxgears have been known to freeze X.

I don't use ATI, so I don't know if this is true. Did you check if your OpenGL screensavers work as symatic suggested? You could also be experiencing problems because of all the flags you are setting for your card. Again, I'm not an ATI user, so I don't know what all of them do. symatic said you should try simplifying your xorg.conf, and this might help if you have a bad setting in there.

STARHARVEST · 06-05-2008, 05:27 PM

Hor. 30 - 82, Vert. 56 - 76. OpenGL screensavers also doesn't work. What else can I simplify I don't understand. Even fresh installed driver doesn't work. Let's take nvidia cards and drivers for them. After you do ./*driver.run and reboot all is ok permanently with damn good refresh rate and 1680x1050. What about ati? Are they sitting and drink beer instead of improving their drivers? damn it all.

symatic · 06-05-2008, 06:32 PM

Lets try this. Okay you have a clean install of the ATI driver. Now lets run 'xorgsetup'. This will create a generic, but functional xorg.conf.

Now in your Section "Monitor" make sure you have these values:

Code:

 
HorizSync    30.0 - 82.0
VertRefresh  56.0 - 76.0

Now in your Section "Screen" make sure you have, qalso the modeline you were told about as well would be nice:

Code:

 Modes   "1680x1050"

Make sure these are also in your xorg.conf

Code:

Section "DRI"
        Mode         0666
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
        Option      "Composite" "off"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
        Option      "AIGLX" "off"
EndSection

This is the best I'm gonna be able to do for you. I suggest you go to a forum where hardware/software is more on topic. Goodluck with your setup.

On a side note, ATI has made leaps and bounds with the driver. Most people do not use linux, and you can not blame them for not putting alot of man power into developing a better driver. Think about cost effectiveness, and that is why they released the specs so they wouldn't have to deal with it as much. It will come with time, be patient.

shadowsnipes · 06-05-2008, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STARHARVEST

Hor. 30 - 82, Vert. 56 - 76. OpenGL screensavers also doesn't work.

The Horizontal and Vertical sync values should vary depending upon the resolution selected. If you specify a general range like that for all modes then just make sure it is actually good for all of the modes.

Speaking of which, I recommend you include options for resolutions other than just 1680x1050.

Here is my Screen section as an example

Code:

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen 1"
    Device         "Nvidia driver"
    Monitor        "My Monitor"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       8
        Modes      "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480_75"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       16
        Modes      "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480_75"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes      "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480_75"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       32
        Modes      "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480_75"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

As you can see my max resolution my monitor can handle is 1024x768 as per my monitor's specs. Also, I lock in my 640x480 mode into 75Hz because otherwise the card tries to automatically select a refresh rate that doesn't work.

STARHARVEST · 06-06-2008, 07:42 AM

Well, I've tried to set 1680x1050 res. in modeline, but I get 1600x1200 or 1280x1024! Why so I can't understand. Where the hell it takes the res. from?!

T3slider · 06-06-2008, 10:42 AM

I have the custom Modeline in my "Monitor" section and in my "Screen" section I have the resolutions for each depth. I have heard that the Modeline can be ignored if it uses a standard, common name (like "1680x1050" in the Monitor section). Mine is simply named that and it works, but I've heard other say it doesn't. You could try renaming the Modeline to "1680x1050_custom" or something like that and then placing that in the "Screen" section. My Monitor and Screen sections look like this:

Code:

Section "Monitor"

    Identifier     "al2223w"
    HorizSync       31.0 - 81.0
    VertRefresh     56.0 - 75.0
    ModeLine       "1680x1050" 146.2 1680 1784 1960 2240 1050 1053 1059 1089
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen 1"
    Device         "NVIDIA GeForce"
    Monitor        "al2223w"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Viewport    0 0
        Depth       8
        Modes      "1680x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection     "Display"
        Viewport    0 0
        Depth       16
        Modes      "1680x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection     "Display"
        Viewport    0 0
        Depth       24
        Modes      "1680x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

It should be noted that I have an nVidia card and not an ATI card, but that shouldn't make a difference in this case. If the above does not work by default (of course you'd have to change a few things like the Device and Monitor names in the Screen section and the Identifier name in the Monitor section, as well as the VertRefresh and HorizSync values), you could try changing every instance of "1680x1050" to "1680x1050_custom" in both sections.

sfxpt · 06-08-2008, 11:48 AM

Merely saying ATI is far from enough. It is known that some ATI cards work well and some don't. The fundamental question is, what exactly is your ATI card?

Mine is:

Code:

$ lspci | grep ATI
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RV280 [Radeon 9200 SE] (rev 01)

And it doesn't work. Well, I didn't try too hard though.