Radeon 9000 on Linux

evilmrhenry · 10-19-2003, 05:17 PM

Well, I just realized (after a month) that my poor fps in games was due to not having installed any accelerated drivers for Linux. I need a bit of help in this area.

Stats: 2.4.20 kernel, slackware based, KDE 3.1, XFree 4.3.0
Hardware: Athlon 2.0 GHz, Radeon 9000 video card.

First of all, I need to know whether to go for the ATI .rpm drivers, or the DMI drivers. I tried the .rpm drivers, but ran into problems. (after converting from rpm, and trying to compile)
I get this error message:
Error:
XFree86 drm includes at /lib/modules/2.4.20/kernel/drivers/char/drm do not fit this driver.
This driver is designed to only work with X4.1.0 or higher.
You can match this by getting Linux kernel 2.4.8 or higher.

(please note that I'm running 2.4.20, and there is a directory named /lib/. . ./char/drm)

I haven't tried the dmi drivers yet.

Again; should I go with the dmi drivers, or the ATI drivers.

Chgu · 10-19-2003, 05:40 PM

DRI drivers work fine. I get around 2000 fps with them, but don't expect it to completely replace the ATI drivers.

evilmrhenry · 10-19-2003, 06:35 PM

Going with DRI, I get this error:

Code:

Kernel Version   : 2.4.20
Module Directory : /lib/modules/2.4.20

If this is correct press ENTER, press C to change or CTRL-C to exit.

(Enter)

Code:

The script will now compile the DRM kernel modules for your machine.

Press ENTER to continue or CTRL-C to exit.

(Enter)

Code:

Compiling...
ERROR: Kernel modules did not compile

The DRI drivers can not be installed without the latest kernel modules.
Installation will be aborted. See the dri.log file for information on
what went wrong.

dri.log:

Code:

Makefile.linux:140: *** Cannot find a kernel config file.  Stop.

ls /lib/modules/2.4.20:

Code:

BUILD   modules.dep             modules.isapnpmap   modules.pnpbiosmap
build   modules.generic_string  modules.parportmap  modules.usbmap
kernel  modules.ieee1394map     modules.pcimap      pcmcia

Any ideas? Is /lib/modules/2.4.20 the right dir?

Chgu · 10-19-2003, 06:37 PM

Go to /usr/src/linux in a shell and run 'make oldconfig'. It's trying to find the current configuration of the kernel. If that's not there, install the kernel sources

Nick5768 · 10-19-2003, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Chgu
Go to /usr/src/linux in a shell and run 'make oldconfig'. It's trying to find the current configuration of the kernel. If that's not there, install the kernel sources

Sorry, I'm a real noob, but how do I do that?

I also get the exact same error messages.

When I goto /usr/src I don't see a linux directory.

Nick

Chgu · 10-19-2003, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nick5768
Sorry, I'm a real noob, but how do I do that?

I also get the exact same error messages.

When I goto /usr/src I don't see a linux directory.

Nick

What distro are you running? If it's RPM based, just use whatever install tool to find the kernel source package

Nick5768 · 10-19-2003, 10:10 PM

Ok, I installed the kernels, and did the "make oldconfig" command. Do I just follow the guidelines it says?

Thank you so much!

Nick

Chgu · 10-19-2003, 10:25 PM

Yup, and it should go right on through. Make sure to test glxgears when you restart X.

Nick5768 · 10-19-2003, 10:28 PM

Sweet, thanks man!

Nick

evilmrhenry · 10-19-2003, 11:19 PM

OK, currently glxgears crashes on startup, direct rendering is still off, but I think I'm getting closer.

When running the install script, I get the following error:

Code:

Installing files:
        DRI XFree86 modules...done
        kernel modules...depmod: *** Unresolved symbols in /lib/modules/2.4.20/kernel/drivers/char/drm/dri-old.radeon.o
depmod: *** Unresolved symbols in /lib/modules/2.4.20/kernel/drivers/char/drm/radeon.o
done
        GL & GLU libraries...done
        core libraries...done

dmesg | grep drm gives me:

Code:

[drm] Initialized radeon 1.7.0 20020828 on minor 0
[drm:radeon_unlock] *ERROR* Process 235 using kernel context 0

Chgu · 10-19-2003, 11:30 PM

Hmm...I've had that before. Every time I install DRI, I have to install XF86 again. Just download a binary pack of XF86 4.3, and install it. If it's not that error, it's one saying something like your version of X is 6 and it needs 7

Now I have to go to bed. School in the morning. XP
If that doesn't work, hope someone else is around, cuz I'll be sleeping

Chgu · 10-19-2003, 11:33 PM

Here ya go:
I dunno if you use glibc 2.2 or 2.3, but I think it's 2.3, so here's both. Just download all the files to one directory and run './Xinstall.bin' in a shell/console
ftp://ftp.xfree86.org/pub/XFree86/4....x-ix86-glibc22

ftp://ftp.xfree86.org/pub/XFree86/4....x-ix86-glibc23

evilmrhenry · 10-20-2003, 12:27 AM

OK, reinstalled XFree86. glxgears now runs again, but still at un-accelerated speeds. Direct rendering is still off, 'dmesg | grep drm' still gives the same message, the install.sh script still gives the same errors.

evilmrhenry · 10-21-2003, 11:56 AM

Well, that did *not* work. I recompiled the kernel, and lost ethernet and CD-rom. That was nasty to recover from. Thankfully, the recompile didn't erase the previous kernel.

I think that I'll ignore the 3D card for now. I've lost access to X a dozen times, not counting the recompilation problems. I'll try again in a few months, though. Linux has a good habit of getting better over time.