Hi i just finished installing debian(had a lot of trouble with it) and im still not able to configure the video properly to get into x. I accidentaly specified the wrong video driver from the start so was never able to get into x. Ive been trying to modify this but I havnt gotten anywhere.

Basically I have a A100 Lenovo laptop with an Nvidia GO 6200 Turbo cache PCI express 256mb video card. Playing around with what Ive been finding on the net I chose the nv driver out of the possible driver list (also tried ati, glide, vga but those came up with more errors) and been changing the resolutions and frame rates so far the lowest one ive tried was the 800x600 at 60hz(which i know my card can do better) and still cant get x to start and also tried changing the color depth between 16 and 24 but nothing seems to work. Reason I was changing all of this is I read somewhere that the no screen found error might have to do with specifying the possible resolution wrongly.

I went into the /var/log/XFree86.0.log and found that at a certain point it just started skipping a bunch of stuff and said

Skipping "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libGLcore.a:m_debug_clip.o": No symbols found

Skipping "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libGLcore.a:m_debug_norm.o": No symbols found

Skipping "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libGLcore.a:m_debug_xform.o": No symbols found

Skipping "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libGLcore.a:m_debug_vertex.o": No symbols found

Skipping "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/fonts/libspeedo.a:spencode.o": No symbols found

Then after that at the end of the file i found the following error

Primary Device is: PCI 01:00:0
No devices detected

Fatal server error
no screens found

I was usually leaving the PCI bus part of the configuration blank hoping it would detect it automatically but then I also tried actually stating it PCI:01:00:0 but didnt solve anything.

Any suggestions as to where to try next? I basically only want the x up and running and then I will install the newest nvidia driver for my card, I know that even with an x working it would be buggy or not working as it should with my card until I install the nvidia drivers. Would love to just edit the sources and apt get the nvidia driver I will use but my internet connection has this really perky thing that I have to log in through my browser for "security" reasons and I have no idea how to do that running a console only machine.

First off it may be an obvious answer but trying an ATi driver on an NVidia card will never work as far as I know but, VGA, or probably more likely SVGA should at least get you somewhere on say an 800x600 @ 60Hz setting, it's the lowest i've managed to get on some really weird hardware configurations. Considering the Lenovo is pretty new it will probably take a fair amount of tweaking to get it working properly.
I suggest, you have a look at Mandriva's Hardware Compatibility Database and look for certified IBM Laptops. Reason I say that is because the entries in their database for those machines come with a PDF file that has some hints about the on-board graphics on these machines, which are now being manufactured by Lenovo.

To get around that security shield you may be able to use a text based browser such as Lynx or Links on one of your free virtual consoles (ctrl+alt+F1,F2,F3,etc)
I believe these browsers should at least be included or installable from your cd/dvd.

True but I was desperate. Heard the nvidia cards are supposed to work with the nv driver and that one didnt work either. Ended up with the vesa driver(after trying one by one) and got it to work at color depth 16, 800x600 65hz(might work better than that but i dont really care much, ill get the nvidia driver soon up and running).

That mandriva page is really usefull. thanks for the info. Unfortunately my laptop is not an IBM lenovo, its an original lenovo A100 series only sold here in China so as expected is non existent in the database. Anyways I had the lap running with fedora core 4 perfectly fine, the only problems Ive been having with the hardware are with the integrated webcam and the multi card reader(but truthfully i havnt really tried much with them since i dont intend to use them much), the rest of the hardware are from pretty known brands ranging from intel to texas instruments so I havnt had any problems with anything. I decided to give debian a try now that i got a new 100gb 7200rpm hard drive (god bless china and its cheap prices).

Anyways thanks a lot for the help.

I know your laptop is a new Lenovo build and not IBM, but it's the commands used to get X going in those Mandriva certificates i'm aiming at, those might have useful hints.
As far as I know some IBM builds also have trouble with the built-in card readers when using Linux, i'm not sure but if Lenovo is basing it's laptops off of the IBM designs that could be the reason your cardreader doesn't work.
I don't know about the webcam though.

You're lucky with access to cheap hardware there IBM/Lenovo hardware prices are horrible in Europe.