Starting X makes me lose the console

AlucardZero · 05-21-2009, 06:59 PM

After I successfully start X, I can no longer press ctrl+alt+f{1-6} to get to ttys. My monitor says "Input not supported". Pressing ctrl+alt+f7 does bring me back to X, but if my X server is hosed for any reason then I have to crtl+alt+del to reboot the system.

I'm running Debian 6.0 on a

Code:

0b:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Matrox Graphics, Inc. MGA G400/G450 (rev 85)

with the unofficial mga drivers. Unfortunately my main graphics card died so this is what I am stuck with for the time being.

This is my xorg.conf:

Code:

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier	"Generic Keyboard"
	Driver		"kbd"
	Option		"XkbRules"	"xorg"
	Option		"XkbModel"	"pc104"
	Option		"XkbLayout"	"us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier	"Configured Mouse"
	Driver		"evdev"
	Option		"Name" "Logitech USB Receiver"
EndSection

Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Matrox"
	Driver "mga"
	BusID "PCI:11:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Configured Monitor"
#	Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Matrox"
	Monitor		"Configured Monitor"
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth           16
                Modes           "1680x1050" "1440x900" "1280x800"
        EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
   Option "IgnoreABI" "True" #needed for unofficial driver
EndSection

Any pointers for what to check and where to look are appreciated.

tredegar · 05-22-2009, 02:30 AM

Try booting with vga=normal appended to the kernel boot line.

Quigi · 05-22-2009, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlucardZero

if my X server is hosed for any reason then I have to crtl+alt+del to reboot the system.

You could first try ctrl+alt+backspace, which shuts down the X server. It's less drastic and time consuming than rebooting.

Sorry I can't help on your main question (switching virtual ttys).
/Quigi

AlucardZero · 05-22-2009, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tredegar

Try booting with vga=normal appended to the kernel boot line.

No dice. I'm not specifying a vga mode, and 'normal' didn't change anything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quigi

You could first try ctrl+alt+backspace, which shuts down the X server. It's less drastic and time consuming than rebooting.

Doesn't help when I'm playing with my xorg.conf to try to get my monitor to shut off after 5 minutes, and I get it wrong

Quakeboy02 · 05-22-2009, 03:52 PM

Have you turned off the other (not F7) ttys for some reason?

AlucardZero · 05-25-2009, 08:46 AM

I haven't touched /etc/inittab, no. And they work up until I start X; afterwards somehow they go out of range for my monitor.

AlucardZero · 05-25-2009, 08:50 PM

Sadly this question is now moot, for I have upgraded to a new old Nvidia GeForce 5200 and have both my monitors back, and console after X starts.

tredegar · 05-29-2009, 01:16 PM

Quote:

I have upgraded to a new old Nvidia GeForce 5200

Looks like this was a problem with your Matrox driver then. I had a similar problem with an (old) NVIDIA driver for old hardware, and vga=normal fixed it for me.

Anyway your problem is sorted, thanks for the follow-up.

AlucardZero · 05-29-2009, 01:37 PM

Funny thing is I could only get it with the unofficial drivers.. the official ones don't work with newer xorgs/gccs. Even funnier is that I could not get drivers to install for it on Windows XP - the official drivers all said I had an MGA G400/G450 but even though that's what they were for they then said no supported cards installed.

sploit · 05-31-2009, 11:17 AM

What exactly is the purpose of having 7 TTYs in linux?

tredegar · 05-31-2009, 12:18 PM

Quote:

What exactly is the purpose of having 7 TTYs in linux?

It doesn't have to be 7, you can probably have as many (and certainly as few) as you like.

Sometimes it is useful to be logged onto several computers at once, and this makes it easy to switch between them whilst in terminal (no GUI) mode.

With a GUI, it is easy to have several windows open, maybe with access to different computers via different windows. But you can even have several different GUIs running on different "Terminals" (Generally <CTRL><ALT><F8> and up) these GUIs don't even have to be running on the computer you are sat in front of.

So, you could say "it just adds flexibility, use it if it is useful to you, otherwise you can safely ignore it".

[ Generally, it is considered polite to start a new thread when you switch topics like this

]