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Old 08-31-2005, 10:51 AM   #1
sparxva
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Unhappy ATI Radeon / X-windows problem


I'm stuck trying to install Fedora Core 4 (x86-64) on an AMD 3500 machine. I can run the Fedora linux installer in text mode and have used that to install the packages from a local hard drive. However, every time I reboot the machine to finish the installation the display goes black (except for an underline cursor) and X-Windows does not appear.

I've read several of the earlier posts about this problem and tried several of the suggestions, but have hit a dead end.
- I've tried the key combinations to get out of X and into text console mode, but they don't work when the display is stuck like this
- I used the rescue cd and edited the X-windows configuration files to expressly identify the video card (ATI Radeon X700) as a radeon card, but it did not change the problem at boot
- I've tried pressing the 'I' key on boot to enter interactive mode so I can avoid starting X-Windows, but it hasn't worked.
- I've tried downloading the ATI driver and installer to the machine using the rescue CD to get a command line, but apparently the ethernet cards are not configured when using the rescue CD, so I can't get to the Internet.
- I've also tried editing the X-Windows config to use the video card at a standard lower resolution (to get into X-Windows and install the driver from there) but that didn't work either.
- I've also downloaded the ATI radeon drivers to a different machine running Linux, but that doesn't allow me to install the drivers on the AMD machine.

I'm stuck. Help! I think I need to do one of two things to complete the install:
1) either get X-Windows up and running at a basic level so that I can download the drivers and complete the installation, or
2) get into text mode at boot so I can download the files to the machine and install the packages

I'm open to other options, but I want to make what I have work, so please hold the suggestions to give up and buy 'x' brand of video card instead.

Thanks,

- Mike
 
Old 08-31-2005, 11:43 AM   #2
rickh
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I have FC4-64 running fine on a similar setup. I'm not an expert, but I do wonder why you installed in text mode. I think you would be better advised to install in graphics mode ... Do not set your monitor at a greater density than 1024x768. You can mess with the video after you're up and running. I would also not mess with the default disk partitioning setup.

If you're like me, you'll wind up reinstalling several times anyway, and the 1st goal is simply to get a working system.
 
Old 08-31-2005, 11:52 AM   #3
JoeDuncan
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Not sure how to fix your ATI display problems, but you can boot to a text mode console by editing /etc/inittab as root.

Find the line that says:

id:5:initdefault:

and change it to:

id:3:initdefault:

Run level 5 is X GUI mode, whereas runlevel 3 is multiuser console mode (CLI). So if X is hanging on boot, don't boot to X! Change to console mode and you should be able to tweak your xorg.conf file until you get the settings right.

Hope this helps!
 
Old 08-31-2005, 02:09 PM   #4
sparxva
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Quote:
Originally posted by rickh
I have FC4-64 running fine on a similar setup. I'm not an expert, but I do wonder why you installed in text mode. I think you would be better advised to install in graphics mode ...
I installed in text mode because I can't do anything at all in graphics mode until I fix the problem with the video card. I thought I might be able to avoid some of the problems by installing in text mode, so that I wouldn't have to enter graphics mode after the first reboot. It didn't help though.

If the graphics card was working properly it shouldn't really make any difference whether I use text mode or graphics mode, it is just a personal preference.

Last edited by sparxva; 08-31-2005 at 07:30 PM.
 
Old 08-31-2005, 09:07 PM   #5
rickh
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Setup should not care what video card you are using since it will use generic VESA drivers. Unless your Radeon card is completely non-VESA compliant (unlikely), Graohics mode should work well enough to get thru the installation.
 
Old 09-01-2005, 08:04 AM   #6
sparxva
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Setup gets through the first part of setup including partitioning and copying packages. However, setup completes when the machine reboots and the user sets parameters like the non-root account for normal use. Since I can't get into X-Windows I cannot complete the part of setup after reboot. Hence, no graphic interface.

With the earlier suggestion I can now get the system up in text mode and I've downloaded the ATI rpm for Xorg from ati.com. When I went to install the rpm the installer complained about a conflict with two of the X-windows files already on my system. I'm guessing that this means I have a newer version of those files already on my system?

Should I uninstall the newer package, install the ATI drivers, and then reinstall the newer package? Has anyone tried this?

In what is probably a separate but very annoying problem, I keep getting error messages about VPD something-or-other that push the content off the text screen. I read earlier threads that suggested the problem could be avoided by switching ethernet ports on the DFI motherboard, but that did not seem to make any difference. Ideas?

Finally, when I tried to initialize X-windows I ended up in the same stuck condition as before. Is there a command to terminate X-windows other than killing the process? I won't know what the process number is, so that option is difficult to implement unless I install some sort of remote access feature.

I'm astounded that it is this hard to get my machine working with Fedora core 4. It was a cakewalk when I installed on my old Dell box.
 
Old 09-02-2005, 10:40 AM   #7
sparxva
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Followup post - don't bother trying to get support from ATI. I tried their on-line form, which doesn't work and lost everything I typed. Then I tried calling and got "we don't support Linux" -- they weren't even willing to hear what the problem is.
 
Old 09-02-2005, 10:57 AM   #8
JoeDuncan
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Ok, so if you can boot OK to console mode, then it must be something to do with either your XOrg config file or your graphics card drivers.

Try this:

-open up a second console before starting X (ctrl-alt-F2 should do it)
-log in to the second console
-switch back to the first console (usually ctrl-alt-F7, but try F1-F8 and you should be able to find it)
-run X in the first console
-when it hangs, go back to the second console with ctrl-alt-F2

That way, you should be able to find the PID and kill the process from your second console. You can then set about troubleshooting byt trying various settings/drivers in first console and killing it when it hangs from the second.

You can also try "ctrl-alt-backspace" when X hangs, this is suppoed to kill X from within, but it doesn't always work for serious failures.

What version of X do you have?

Also, post your /etc/X11/xorg.conf or /etc/X11/XF86Config file, it may help people here identify a problem...
 
Old 09-05-2005, 02:40 PM   #9
sparxva
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Quote:
Originally posted by JoeDuncan
Ok, so if you can boot OK to console mode, then it must be something to do with either your XOrg config file or your graphics card drivers.
...
What version of X do you have?

Also, post your /etc/X11/xorg.conf or /etc/X11/XF86Config file, it may help people here identify a problem...
This is my /etc/X11/xorg.conf file created by the Fedora installer without any edits. I find it slightly disturbing that the header indicates this is an XFree86 config file when I'm (apparently) not running XFree86.

- Mike

# XFree86 4 configuration created by pyxf86config

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
# RgbPath is the location of the RGB database. Note, this is the name of the
# file minus the extension (like ".txt" or ".db"). There is normally
# no need to change the default.

# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
# By default, Red Hat 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
# the X server to render fonts.

RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
FontPath "unix/:7100"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe"
Load "extmod"
Load "fbdevhw"
Load "glx"
Load "record"
Load "freetype"
Load "type1"
Load "dri"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
# Specify which keyboard LEDs can be user-controlled (eg, with xset(1))
# Option "Xleds" "1 2 3"

# To disable the XKEYBOARD extension, uncomment XkbDisable.
# Option "XkbDisable"

# To customise the XKB settings to suit your keyboard, modify the
# lines below (which are the defaults). For example, for a non-U.S.
# keyboard, you will probably want to use:
# Option "XkbModel" "pc102"
# If you have a US Microsoft Natural keyboard, you can use:
# Option "XkbModel" "microsoft"
#
# Then to change the language, change the Layout setting.
# For example, a german layout can be obtained with:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# or:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# Option "XkbVariant" "nodeadkeys"
#
# If you'd like to switch the positions of your capslock and
# control keys, use:
# Option "XkbOptions" "ctrl:swapcaps"
# Or if you just want both to be control, use:
# Option "XkbOptions" "ctrl:nocaps"
#
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "yes"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Unknown monitor"
HorizSync 31.5 - 37.9
VertRefresh 50.0 - 70.0
Option "dpms"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Videocard0"
Driver "vesa"
VendorName "Videocard vendor"
BoardName "VESA driver (generic)"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Videocard0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 16
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 16
Modes "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "DRI"
Group 0
Mode 0666
EndSection
 
Old 09-07-2005, 10:57 AM   #10
JoeDuncan
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Sorry for taking so long with my reply....

A couple of things:

1:

I should have asked you this earlier, but what does the content of your Xorg log file show? (Should be /var/log/xorg.0.log or something along those lines...)

This may help us diagnose the problem.

In the meantime...

2:

I'm assuming here you're just trying to get some kind of X going first, and will worry about 3D hardware later. It looks like you are trying to run using a simple VESA mode which should work for just about any card.

You should probably comment out the 3D hardware specific stuff, as that will not work with VESA. The "load glx" and "load dri" lines of the module section should both be commented out, as well the entire "DRI" section should also be commented out.

You should also google your monitor to find appropriate h-sync and v-sync range values, if you have those wrong, it will definitely screw-up X.

Your "screen" section is pretty conservative so it should be fine with VESA.

3:

As for getting 3D acceleration to work, from what I have been able to find, the Radeon X700 uses the RV410 chipset which (AFAIK) is not supported by the standard radeon drivers that come with XOrg. You'll have to use the drivers from ATI's site.

Also, after you install the drivers from ATI's site, make sure you run "fglrxconfig" which is ATI's proprietary X configuration script. It should configure things correctly. Again though, it will need the proper h-sync and v-sync ranges for your monitor.
 
Old 09-07-2005, 11:08 AM   #11
JoeDuncan
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I missed your point about having a version of the ATI drivers on your system already. Sorry about that. For the 3D acceleration then, you should be able to set it up by simply running "fglrxconfig".

This should set the value of "Driver" in your "Device" section to "ati" which should be the proper driver for your card. The "radeon" driver that ships with XOrg does not look like it supports the X700 (someone please correct me if I am wrong here...)
 
Old 09-13-2005, 01:59 PM   #12
JoeDuncan
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Have you gotten it working yet?
 
Old 09-13-2005, 05:53 PM   #13
sparxva
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Quote:
Originally posted by JoeDuncan
Have you gotten it working yet?
Hi Joe,

No; I haven't gotten it working. I decided to experiment with some other versions of Linux and overwrote the hard drive. I'm also trying to find another display card -- I thought I had an old ATI card laying around. If I can set up X-windows with a different card and get it working it will help me eliminate some of the other things that might be wrong.

- Mike
 
Old 09-23-2005, 05:44 AM   #14
lipatden
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Angry

Sparx

I have the same config, x700, AMD64 3500+ and experience the same results.

1. Installation hangs after text portion completes, never gets to the graphical portion, so have to restart the installation text-only
2. Once installation completes, the default runlevel (5) makes m machine unusable as the same thing happens. Need to launch my kernel with a different runlevel (3) as I am never prompted during the install.
3. Once the screen goes blinkenkursor, no keyboard response. CTRL-ALT backspace, F1-F12, nothing responds, and the cheeky cursor just keeps-a-blinken.
4. CTRL_ALT_DEL does however manage to reboot the box, so not everything is dead.

As mentioned, it is BIZARRE that the VESA driver doesn't work. Haven't tried this with 32-bit yet though...

Lipatden
 
Old 09-24-2005, 09:43 PM   #15
sparxva
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...interesting

I reinstalled Fedora Core 4 on my AMD machine (x86_64 version, of course) using an older model VisionTek graphics card with an ATI Radeon 7000 engine. This allowed me to complete the initial installation.

First reboot, black screen of death like before.
Second reboot, I selected interactive startup and disabled a bunch of items including gdm. My X-windows failed to initialize and brought me to the text screens where I could read the logs. Unfortunately the Vpd error messages polluted the screen so badly I could not read what the logs said.
Third reboot, based on some threads elsewhere relating the Vpd error message to the Marvell ethernet interface on my DFI mobo I decided to disable both eth0 (Marvell ethernet) and eth1 (nVidia ethernet). Surprise! It booted right into X-windows. I didn't have network access until I brought up the ethernet interfaces, but it is still a big step forward. I changed the network interface configuration so that eth0 is not enabled on startup.
Fourth reboot, this time when it went to start X-windows my monitor announced that the signal was out of range. At least the X-windows server is running--now I just need to figure out what parameters are out of range.

Long story made short -- part of the problem seems related to the ethernet interfaces.
Fourth reboot.
 
  


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