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Old 01-19-2004, 01:31 PM   #1
I.M.H.D.
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Redhat 9.0 not detecting AGP Geforce FX 5600 properly?


I just installed Red Hat 9.0 on a machine with a Geforce FX 5600 AGP video card with 256 MB of memory. Unfortunately, every time I tried starting X the screen flashed and then the monitor acted like it was getting no signal. I successfully installed the latest driver from NVidea, but unfortunately it still didn't work. Looking over the XF86Config file, I noticed that after loading the driver it appears to believe that the card itself is in the first PCI slot, and also that the NVidea driver seems not to have been able to match up my card with a specific model. Any ideas about what I could do to deal with this? I've used Linux before, but unfortunately it was so long ago that I've forgotten most of what I've learned. Thanks in advance!
 
Old 01-19-2004, 03:17 PM   #2
raptor95368
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if your xf86Config file doesn't show the proper driver listed as being loaded then you have one of two problems...either you loaded the wrong driver or the driver install did not go properly...

First, stop X when loading the driver
Run redhat-config-xfree86 and see if you are offered nv or nvidia as the driver...you should be offered nvidia...nv is the native RH driver
after installing the driver, verify that it has moved your original XF86Config file to .orig or .old, and has posted a new one.
Double check the readme file on the Nvidia site and make sure there are no other issues...

That is all i can think of for now, since those steps corrected my problem with a GeForce Mobile card

Good Luck
 
Old 01-19-2004, 03:21 PM   #3
I.M.H.D.
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Yeah...

I've verified that it's using the proper driver (nvidia), and that it's loading the proper config file. The only clue I have is in that config file, where it says that it's a PCI card... any other ideas?
 
Old 01-19-2004, 03:28 PM   #4
raptor95368
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What is the rest of your hardware configuration...have you told the motherboard to use the AGP at the 8x pass through...has this card worked with other distros or is it new to this set up...do you have another AGP card to test the slot with?...have you thought about a CMOS reset on the board to clear the old hardware configuration and start fresh?

Just a couple of ideas...eliminate the easy stuff first, eh
 
Old 01-19-2004, 03:40 PM   #5
I.M.H.D.
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Answers

This is the first try for this machine, yes. Actually, my motherboard only supports 4x AGP (which means that I can't take full advantage of the card... oh, well) and I have tried a CMOS reset. Sorry, I'm too poor to have any other AGP cards... but everything works quite happily with Windoze and even BEOS (although I guess that that's no surprise), which I had installed on the machine for about a month and a half when I first got it. It should also perhaps be pointed out that redhat-config-xfree86 doesn't run either, because the screen simply goes blank and the monitor gets no signal. As for the rest of my configuration-- I've got a NEC MultiSync FE1250 (which Linux detected fine), 1 gig DDR memory, an Albatron PX845PE ProIIS motherboard, a 3.06 gig Pentium 4, and a bunch of other stuff that Linux is being quite friendly with. I've also got a strange double hard drive configuration on a Promise FastTrak controller that took me a while to sort out, but that's all behind me now. I've not had time to install Linux for quite a while now, and I'm sooo close to being there... thanks a lot, guys! Any more ideas?
 
Old 01-19-2004, 03:55 PM   #6
raptor95368
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I would check the HCL for Redhat 9 on the site, and also once again suggest the read me file on the Nvidia site...also, you might also look on the xfree site to see if they have had any issues reported with the card...the monitor should not be an issue...but you may be overtaxing the card with resolution settings during configuration. How are you running the redhat-config?
 
Old 01-19-2004, 04:08 PM   #7
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Progress! ...Of a sort...

Thanks for all your help! All right-- I reinstalled the driver again and blundered about in the XF86Config file for a while and, by changing the option "NvAGP" to "2", I was able to get X <i>not</i> to shut off my monitor! Instead, I can now see a blank desktop with the X cursor on it, which does... absolutely nothing. Can't move the cursor, can't do anything. By switching to a different virtual console and back, I was able to see that it had stopped just after loading the GLX module (although this may be the last message it gives on startup anyway; I don't know). I restarted to tell you guys this and, to my astonishment, I saw this screen for about 3 more seconds... during which time I <i>could</i> move the cursor about (though nothing else happened)! Any more ideas? I should perhaps add (as I should have in my first post) that /sbin/lspci reports "01:00.0 VGA compatable controller: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device 0312 (rev a1)" and that 0312 is listed in the readme as the Geforce FX 5600, the very card that I have. at least something else has happened... thanks again!

Last edited by I.M.H.D.; 01-19-2004 at 04:36 PM.
 
Old 01-19-2004, 04:56 PM   #8
raptor95368
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question...when you installed the driver, did it recompile your kernel or go find a precompiled kernel for you?...it sounds like the driver is installing, but there are two modules to choose from and it is getting confused...I let the nvidia installer recompile the kernel and I have not trouble...just another thought. The mouse troubles seems to point to the XF886Config file, though...
 
Old 01-19-2004, 05:01 PM   #9
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I believe that it recompiled the kernel on install. I should point out that the mouse works fine in that brief glimpse at shut down... I'm going once more into the breach to see what some good poking around will do...
 
Old 01-19-2004, 05:14 PM   #10
raptor95368
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sounds like a plan...if I think of anything else, I will pop it in here...if you find anything suspicious...do the same...
 
Old 01-19-2004, 06:45 PM   #11
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Progress!

Oh-KAY. I have poked and prodded and pushed and pulled and screamed and yelled and laughed and wept and petted and kicked, and much progress has been made. Now, however, I seem to be at an impasse. Finally, I SEEM to have gotten the original issue resolved-- redhat-config-xfree86 now works properly in graphical mode, and as far as I can tell it has everything selected correctly. Furthermore, nv_check.sh, which was before reporting something screwy, has finally told me that the driver is installed properly. The only remaining problem is X's stunnorn refusal to actually finish starting. When I boot it, it'll give me that nice nVidia logo screen, followed by a black screen with a cursor on it (which moves, hurrah). And there it stops. When I run redhat-config-xfree86, it goes through these same steps but only displays the black screen with the cursor on it for about a second and a half before switching to a pretty desktop pattern and the config window, but I've waited upwards of 10 mintes for some new development in X and nothing has happened. I have only one clue, which is the fact that redhat-config-xfree86 reports my video card as using the nvidia driver, but the exact card as "Unknown Card." It also detects it, when asked to detect, as a normal VESA-compatable card. For all I know, it might be supposed to do that. So that's things as they stand right now... any more ideas, raptor (or anyone else for that matter)? Thanks again for all your help... I appreciate it!
 
Old 01-21-2004, 11:24 AM   #12
raptor95368
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ok, this is a step forward. First, when you get the black screen you are asking it to put out video on an uncompatible setting. The card setting should show an Nvidia GeForce generic, and that should probably be the card you select, and the driver should be nvidia. I would suggest a resolution of 1024x768 to start, along with millions of colors, and see if this works...sounds like you are almost there...
 
Old 01-22-2004, 12:23 PM   #13
linuxlinus
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nvidia fx5600 256mb video card?

Hello there,

I have a similar (much much less severe) situation.
I got a mb and vcard with nvidia chipsets (nforce 3 150,
and fx5700 respectively).

Upon RH8 linux installation, o/s doesn't give me the
correct video choice (i.e. fx 5700), and upon looking
at the nvidia website on hardware technology (only
very little info posted there); I took the risk and chose
"nvidia quadro" as my video card setting.

Also, only max of 128mb on board video ram can be
chosen during installation (I was a bit concerned);
but logging in as root and checked the graphics
config in KDE environment... at least linux RH8 recognize
my video card has 256mb on board video ram.

But I'm still not sure my chosen "quadro" option would
cause any problem/damage or not. Right now, I set
my GNOME/KDE environment at 1024x768 resolution,
and colour is one below (less refine) the "millions of
colours". I wonder if I can push the display colour
depth and resolution further...

Regards,
Linuxlinus
 
Old 01-22-2004, 01:22 PM   #14
raptor95368
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sounds like you might need to visit the nvidia site and get an updated driver script as well, but if 8 is showing the proper amount of ram, then you should be able to push it to millions of colours without issue. Remember, if X stops working properly, you can always go to a command line and rerun the redhat-configure-xfree86...try the colours first then try to up the resolution. And look for the updated driver for the FX5700 on the nvidia site.
 
Old 01-22-2004, 04:19 PM   #15
I.M.H.D.
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YESSSSSS!!!

I GOT IT... all of our assumptions were strangely innacurate. Get this: I had to start X using startx, not XFree86. That was it. Good grief! Talk about a simple solution to a seemingly insoluble problem! Well, thanks to everyone once again for all their help... without a running dialogue here, I probably wouldn't be typing this in Opera for Linux now! Thanks to all! Oh, and a brief note for linuxlinus: I would definitely say that you should just go for it. I'm using the newest nVidia drivers, and I have to just select "FX (generic)" as my video card type... runs just fine, though. I can even play OpenGL games without a hitch! Thanks again, guys!
 
  


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