[SOLVED] graphical window manager doesnt come up on startx command on slackware 14.2

nitecrawler · 08-14-2016, 06:31 AM

i did a slackware upgrade from 14.1 to 14.2 and everything seems to be on track except for my window manager....

i didnt install any packages from kde and xfce as i use fluxbox...

when i did lilo i had received a warning stating

Code:

/boot/boot.800 exists: no boot backup copy sector made

i want to post about this later for now, but presently do help me with my window manager...i am not able to startx with XDM....

the screen just freezes on a black screen as i move from user mode 3 to 4 on startx command....

my linux kernel is 4.4.14 and my processor is amd...

should i go ahead and install the propreitary drivers for ati-radeon?

hazel · 08-14-2016, 06:37 AM

If you've upgraded the Xorg server, you'll need drivers that go with the new version. You say you're using a proprietary driver, so it wouldn't have been included in the system upgrade.

It's also worth looking at the Xorg log file in /var/log. Look at the end of the file particularly. That will tell you where it crashed.

Darth Vader · 08-14-2016, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitecrawler

the screen just freezes on a black screen as i move from user mode 3 to 4 on startx command....

Oh... And you use just a bare VGA console mode on your Slackware 32bit, before startx? I.e. 80x25 ?

IF yes, WELCOME TO THE CLUB!

bassmadrigal · 08-14-2016, 09:37 AM

Unless you have a pretty recent card, you won't be able to use AMD proprietary drivers on 14.2. None of the catalyst drivers work with the xorg 1.18, and I know of no patches to get it to work. If you do have a more recent card that supports "Crimson" on Windows, then you could use the amdgpu-pro driver, but that is just an addon to the kernel driver that is already in place, so it probably wouldn't solve your problem anyway.

Most likely, there is a driver mismatch somewhere. If you were using binary drivers before and never removed the custom xorg.conf.d/ files, then it might be trying to load your older drivers for the older xorg, which won't work.

As hazel said, check the contents of the log, found in /var/log/Xorg.0.log, to find what's causing the issue. Look for any errors in there, and if you become stuck, paste the file here for us to look over (make sure you use [code][/code] tags).

nitecrawler · 08-14-2016, 11:25 AM

thanks everyone for the replies...i will look into it and give the logs here....
if it can be of any help, for the info, i have an ati radeon amd processor and i had installed the proprietary drivers for the same previously for 14.1 following slackdocs...

nitecrawler · 08-14-2016, 11:47 AM

spot on...

in /var/log/xdm.log which was generated i see the following error:

Code:

modprobe: FATAL: Module fglrx not found in directory /lib/modules/4.4.14
(WW) fgrlx: No matching Device section for instance (BusID PCI :0@0:1 :1) found

btw, i have the driver backed up in my external hard disk with the fgrlx generated tgz package too in it....i shall try to install the same and check..will revert soon on the same if i stumble again...

nitecrawler · 08-14-2016, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth Vader

Oh... And you use just a bare VGA console mode on your Slackware 32bit, before startx? I.e. 80x25 ?

IF yes, WELCOME TO THE CLUB!

thanks but not no thanks....

am not entitled just as yet....still on that learning path....
well i use a mix and match style....on 3 then hop to 4 then jump back to 3 and so on...kind of crazy depends on my mood and task at hand then....

well fluxbox anytime for me....

nitecrawler · 08-14-2016, 12:50 PM

i tried reinstalling the driver the radeon_crimson for fglrx but the direct installation of the compiled package nor the compilation of package succeeded either...

so, i went to blacklist.conf and removed the lines which i had inserted earlier:

Code:

blacklist radeon
blacklist radeonhd

and yes it worked...
i was able to switch to user mode 4 by startx on a normal user but not root...
with root i get protocol server error (probably this has got to do with the console session display screen being shared issue)...

also i would like to add when i removed the lines from blacklist.conf and rebooted, my font pixels changed in size from big to small in user mode 3 which AFAIK is a sign the correct driver is detected (correct me if i am wrong!)

so, the new kernel comes with default support for the ati radeon card i believe as the display is back now....

nitecrawler · 08-14-2016, 02:35 PM

i would like to thank pat for the time taken to write the UPGRADE.TXT file for slackware 14.1 to 14.2...

it worked perfectly without a glitch....

nitecrawler · 08-16-2016, 01:09 PM

Also I just want to quote the CHANGES_AND_HINTS.TXT file for 14.2 upgrade from the mirror http://slackware.osuosl.org/slackwar..._AND_HINTS.TXT which clearly states:

Code:

Furthermore, the kernel sources shipped with 
Slackware are configured for SMP usage, 
so you won't have to modify those to build 
external modules (such as NVidia or ATI proprietary drivers) 
if you use the SMP kernel.

So rest assured the kernel 4.4.14 supports ATI as confirmed from my end...

if you had followed this article and installed ATI proprietary drivers before

Code:

http://docs.slackware.com/howtos:hardware:proprietary_graphics_drivers

, be sure to remove the blacklist file as explained in the thread above if your graphical display fails to start after rebooting with the kernel in 14.2

the3dfxdude · 08-16-2016, 01:55 PM

I think it would be particularly helpful for others that may read this topic if you identify the card you are using and the driver you got running in X with.

nitecrawler · 08-20-2016, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] FCH Azalia Controller (rev 02)
...
Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel

And the sound card is:

Quote:

HDA -Intel

@the3dfxdude: do let me know if this is what you meant or something else?