Coming to terms with Debian sarge

jolphil · 03-06-2005, 08:17 AM

Hi All,
After a week of xserver failures with woody,dastrike suggested that I upgrade to sarge..More modern and better able to handle my GeForceFX5600 ddr graphics agp card..Done...and now online with Debian sarge..
Very unfamiliar with the ways of Debian, I have several problems with my install..
First, I have no USB support and don't know how to get it to work..I keep all my data to configure linux on it(USB jump drive) and is needed to save me tons of work..Possibly use Knoppix?
Second, I have no sound although it appears to have loaded my onboard sound drivers..MB AsusP4P800 with AD1985 snd..Uses i810 snd driver I think..
Third, my mouse is incorrect, and is shown as a three button type but without the scroll wheel,my actual mouse is the(ms optical explorer ps/2)..I really miss that..
Finally in the future I will want to install the nvidia drivers for my card but that is not necessarily the first priority..My xserver is a bit unstable at the moment but works..
A healthy list to be sure but I have time to learn..
What I need now is some guidance as to what path to follow to solve the above glitches..I am not even sure as to the proper order to proceed..
Thank you for all your help in advance..
jolphil

APB_4 · 03-06-2005, 09:20 AM

Well with the first one look at your rc.hotplug file in /etc/rc.d it should be executable. For the mouse one have you run xorgconfig or XF86config? If you have you can manually edit the xorg.conf or XF86.conf file.

Dead Parrot · 03-06-2005, 09:29 AM

Quote:

I have no USB support

Did you begin your Sarge installation with "linux26" to get the 2.6.x kernel? If not, you may want to upgrade the kernel using apt-get before you do anything else.

USB support is mainly managed in Debian with the hotplug utility. To see if hotplug is installed, do the following:

Code:

dpkg -l hotplug

If hotplug is installed, you can simply plug in your USB storage media and reboot. Then dmesg should tell you what device the kernel associates the USB media with (probably /dev/sda1). After finding out the correct device, you can mount it as usual:

Code:

mount -t vfat -o user,rw /dev/sda1 /mnt

dastrike · 03-06-2005, 10:02 AM

USB support: discover should have loaded the basic USB support already for your hardware.
With Linux 2.6:
uhci_hcd - the kernel module for the USB 1.1 UHCI interface (some motherboards use UHCI)
ohci_hcd - the kernel module for the USB 1.1 OCHI interface (some motherboards use OHCI)
ehci_hcd - the kernel module for the USB 2.0 interface (for motherboards with USB 2.0)
So if the motherboard only has USB 1.1 support, typically only one of the uhci_hcd or ochi_hcd modules are loaded.
If the motherboard has USB 2.0 support, then typically the ehci_hcd module is loaded, and one of the uhci_hcd or ochi_hcd modules.

Execute

Code:

lsmod | grep ^[uoe]hci_

to see what USB interface modules you have loaded currently.
Note: this is for Linux 2.6. In 2.4 IIRC the USB modules are slightly differently named.

Mounting an USB drive:
Manually (assuming that the USB disk appears as /dev/sda, and mounted on /mnt/usbdisk) :

Code:

mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usbdisk

Adding entry to /etc/fstab for smoother mounting:

Code:

/dev/sda1   /mnt/usbdisk    vfat    noauto,user,exec,dmask=002,fmask=113    0     0

If the USB disk does not appear as /dev/sda, use the command sg_map -i to see what it appears as. You need the package sg3-utils installed and the kernel module sg loaded to be able to to execute that command.
Example of output:

Code:

phobos:~# sg_map -i
/dev/sg0  /dev/sda
/dev/sg1  /dev/sdb
/dev/sg2  /dev/sdc  Generic   STORAGE DEVICE    0128
/dev/sg3  /dev/sdd  Generic   STORAGE DEVICE    0128
/dev/sg4  /dev/sde  Generic   STORAGE DEVICE    0128
/dev/sg5  /dev/sdf  Generic   STORAGE DEVICE    0128
/dev/sg6  /dev/sdg  USB 2.0   Mobile Disk       1.00

In this output: sda and sdb are my two SATA drives, sdc through sdf is a flash card reader and sdg is my USB "thumbdrive" disk.

Sound: Always a bit tricky to diagnose like this...
First: apt-get install alsa-utils, then run alsaconf and select some sensible choices, and then it should start working more or less... Use alsamixer to make sure the channels have volume and are not muted.

Mouse:
You need to set the buttons to 7 and the protocol to ExplorerPS/2 in the mouse config in XF86Config-4, and make sure you have the ZAxisMapping set for buttons 4 and 5 for the scrolling to work properly.
Example: my MS IntelliMouse Optical (the same applies for MS IntelliMouse Explorer as well):

Code:

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier      "Configured Mouse"
        Driver          "mouse"
        Option          "CorePointer"
        Option          "Device"                "/dev/input/mice"
        Option          "Protocol"              "ExplorerPS/2"
        Option          "Buttons"               "7"
        Option          "ZAxisMapping"          "4 5"
EndSection

If your mouse is connected through the PS/2 port, replace the /dev/input/mice in above with /dev/psaux

Regarding Nvidia's drivers, I have written instructions for one method of installation of them: http://serios.net/content/debian/nvi...ay-drivers.php

jolphil · 03-06-2005, 10:46 AM

Thanks for the info..I
I did not install the 2.6 kernel..I had the 2.4 kernel..
I used apt-get to install the 2.6.8-2-686 kernel and it seemed to install fine ..
During the initial boot screen both the 2.6 and 2.4 kernels are listed but the 2.6 throws me into xserver hell..GDM will not start ..
The 2,4 kernel boots with xserver..Thats what I am using now to write this..
I did a (2.6 kernel boot) "dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86" and used all the same numbers I used before but no go..I guess I will have to tweak it further..Now I have to go out for a while to take the wife shopping but I will try again tonight..
Thanks,
jolphil
BTW Debian seems like a very nice system..loads of software..I just have to learn it's ins and outs..

Dead Parrot · 03-06-2005, 11:35 AM

You can check the error messages in /var/log/XFree86.0.log to see why GDM refuses to start with the 2.6.x kernel. My guess is that the problem has something to do with the mouse settings, which are a bit different between 2.4.x and 2.6.x kernels. You can install the mdetect package (if you haven't got it already), which adds a mouse autoconfiguration option to the "dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86" script. If you want to disable GDM temporarily, you can install the sysvconfig utility and use it to easily disable/enable any services (such as GDM) that are started during boot time.

dastrike · 03-06-2005, 12:05 PM

I think I may have found a solution to the beyond annoying problem of X refusing to start like that... Install udev (apt-get install udev) and reboot and it should start working - at least I managed to get it working just now like that on a test installation which was upgraded from 'woody' to 'sarge' (with kernel upgraded to 2.6) experienced just that kind of problem with X refusing to start.

I need to test some more to see whether this is a definitive solution or not to that beyond annoying issue.

jolphil · 03-06-2005, 05:42 PM

Hi Guys,
Well earlier I had the 2.4 kernel working but not the 2.6..During the
try of starting x on the 2.6 I hosed both xservers and cannot get to the GUI on either...
I am not real good(allright just plain bad) at the command line ..So if it does not work at first
or second try somehow I manage to Fry it..
I am not feeling too cocky at the moment..Thus I will rest tonight and later on try a fresh install with the 2.6 kernel..
I am not sure how I missed it in the first place(cd netinst) but my Suse and MDK both installed with it..I will erase the drive and start fresh..My head is spinning with"xservers " that wont work..
I want you guys to know I really appreciate your efforts..I have not given up but just need to catch my breath and think this over..
Thanks again,
jolphil

Dead Parrot · 03-06-2005, 06:20 PM

Take your time. The command line can be a friendly place once you get to know it better.

To install Debian with the 2.6.x kernel you need to boot the installer CD with the command:

Code:

linux26

When you first plug the CD in and boot it, it will give you a prompt that says "boot:" and if you want to see all available boot options, you can at this point press some of the function keys F1-F10. But just typing linux26 and pressing Enter will do the trick.

1702fp · 03-15-2005, 03:23 AM

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Deeze · 03-15-2005, 06:36 PM

My first guess on the xserver not coming up is *video driver*. You have to reinstall the nvidia drivers after a kernel change... or at least, I've always had to.