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Old 12-15-2017, 06:18 PM   #1
gillespiea
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Slackware 14.1 on fujitsu siemens amilo screen defects


Hi all!
I'm not new to the forums but I haven't posted in a good few years.
Anyway!
I've been using linux for a long time now, but I've just been using ubuntu and derivatives of ubuntu. So I've not been delving too much into the behind the scenes of linux.
I was considering trying to follow the LFS book again and installed Slackware 32bit onto an old laptop (Fujitsu Siemens amilo) for the base to work from.
Long story short(ish), I changed my mind and thought i'd just use slackware as it's a bit more in depth on how to run it.
I installed everything from a mirror (downloaded from an ftp mirror listed on the slackware website) and went to startx. Then I noticed that my screen was all red and the mouse cursor had a box around it. everything seemed to work ok, but it had screen defects all over the place (mainly a red tinge to it with dots here and there) I doubt a screenshot would capture the defects but I might try in the morning.
I've done a good bit of digging and cant find much other than the via vn800 chip having to run off of openchrome driver (which slackware should have installed anyway). I played about with the xorg.conf and xorg.conf-vesa files to no avail. I changed the colour depth to 16 bit and it made the screen green and things were even less clear on the desktop.
It was like this is xfce, kde and another gui supplied with slack.

Any and all help is appreciated.

I almost gave up and just installed Xubuntu on it again, but I feel that I should try to get to know linux a bit better in the way that it works.

Please assume I know nothing about what is going on here, because...well, I don't really!
 
Old 12-15-2017, 06:43 PM   #2
keefaz
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Do you have openchrome installed?
check with:
Code:
ls /var/log/packages/*openchrome*
Did you try to use it in xorg.conf?
Code:
Section "Device"
   Identifier "Device0"
   Driver "openchrome"
   ...
EndSection
 
Old 12-16-2017, 03:49 PM   #3
gillespiea
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Hi keefaz

/var/log/packages/xf86-video-openchrome--i486-2

The xorg.conf has the driver as openchrome.
Is there anything else I should be checking that you can think of, off the top of your head.

I have attached a picture I took of the screen with my camera phone of the screen itself and a screenshot from the laptop which does show what i'm on about, although the screen appears blue and it doesn't have the box around the cursor.

Thanks for your help!
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	2017-12-16 21.20.40.jpg
Views:	14
Size:	254.7 KB
ID:	26541   Click image for larger version

Name:	Screenshot - 12162017 - 08:46:34 PM.jpg
Views:	15
Size:	177.2 KB
ID:	26542  
 
Old 12-16-2017, 04:31 PM   #4
keefaz
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There is a man page for openchrome that have some driver options to try
I would use in xorg.conf, at Section "Device"
Code:
Option "SWCursor"  "true"
Option "EnableAGPDMA" "true"
For a start...

Could you post your xorg.conf?
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 12-16-2017, 04:51 PM   #5
gillespiea
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Hi again,
I had this generated with xorgsetup.
I uncommented out the parts you said. That fixed the cursor (Thanks!) but the rest of the screen is still a bit odd.
here's my xorg:
I'm a bit confused as to why there are so many sections for monitors.
Code:
Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier     "X.org Configured"
	Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
	Screen      1  "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
	Screen      2  "Screen2" RightOf "Screen1"
	InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
	InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
	ModulePath   "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/local"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/TTF"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/OTF"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/Type1"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/misc"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/CID"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi"
	FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/cyrillic"
EndSection

Section "Module"
	Load  "glx"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier  "Keyboard0"
	Driver      "kbd"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier  "Mouse0"
	Driver      "mouse"
	Option	    "Protocol" "auto"
	Option	    "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
	Option	    "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier   "Monitor0"
	VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"
	ModelName    "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier   "Monitor1"
	VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"
	ModelName    "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier   "Monitor2"
	VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"
	ModelName    "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
        ### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz",
        ### <percent>: "<f>%"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option     "PrintVGARegs"       	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "PrintTVRegs"        	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "I2CScan"            	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "VBEModes"           	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "NoAccel"            	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "AccelMethod"        	# <str>
        #Option     "ExaNoComposite"     	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "ExaScratchSize"     	# <i>
        Option     "SWCursor"           	"true"
        #Option     "ShadowFB"           	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "RotationType"       	# [<str>]
        #Option     "Rotate"             	# [<str>]
        #Option     "VideoRAM"           	# <i>
        #Option     "ActiveDevice"       	# [<str>]
        #Option     "TVDotCrawl"         	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "TVDeflicker"        	# <i>
        #Option     "TVType"             	# [<str>]
        #Option     "TVOutput"           	# [<str>]
        #Option     "TVPort"             	# [<str>]
        #Option     "DisableVQ"          	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "DisableIRQ"         	# [<bool>]
        Option     "EnableAGPDMA"       	"true"
        #Option     "NoAGPFor2D"         	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "NoXVDMA"            	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "VbeSaveRestore"     	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "DisableXvBWCheck"   	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "ModeSwitchMethod"   	# [<str>]
        #Option     "MaxDRIMem"          	# <i>
        #Option     "AGPMem"             	# <i>
        #Option     "I2CDevices"         	# [<str>]
	Identifier  "Card0"
	Driver      "openchrome"
	BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
        ### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz",
        ### <percent>: "<f>%"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option     "SWcursor"           	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "kmsdev"             	# <str>
        #Option     "ShadowFB"           	# [<bool>]
	Identifier  "Card1"
	Driver      "modesetting"
	BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
        ### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz",
        ### <percent>: "<f>%"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option     "ShadowFB"           	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "DefaultRefresh"     	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "ModeSetClearScreen" 	# [<bool>]
	Identifier  "Card2"
	Driver      "vesa"
	BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier "Screen0"
	Device     "Card0"
	Monitor    "Monitor0"
	DefaultDepth 24
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     1
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     4
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     8
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     15
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     16
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     24
	EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier "Screen1"
	Device     "Card1"
	Monitor    "Monitor1"
	DefaultDepth 24
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     1
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     4
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     8
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     15
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     16
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     24
	EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier "Screen2"
	Device     "Card2"
	Monitor    "Monitor2"
	DefaultDepth 24
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     1
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     4
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     8
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     15
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     16
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport   0 0
		Depth     24
	EndSubSection
EndSection
 
Old 12-16-2017, 07:12 PM   #6
keefaz
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gillespiea View Post
Hi again,
I had this generated with xorgsetup.
I uncommented out the parts you said. That fixed the cursor (Thanks!) but the rest of the screen is still a bit odd.
here's my xorg:
I'm a bit confused as to why there are so many sections for monitors.
Me too, please try xorg.conf without the additional entries for extra monitors
Code:
Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "X.org Configured"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
    ModulePath   "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/local"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/TTF"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/OTF"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/Type1"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/misc"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/CID"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/cyrillic"
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load  "glx"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier  "Keyboard0"
    Driver      "kbd"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier  "Mouse0"
    Driver      "mouse"
    Option        "Protocol" "auto"
    Option        "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
    Option        "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier   "Monitor0"
    VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"
    ModelName    "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
        ### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz",
        ### <percent>: "<f>%"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option     "PrintVGARegs"           # [<bool>]
        #Option     "PrintTVRegs"            # [<bool>]
        #Option     "I2CScan"                # [<bool>]
        #Option     "VBEModes"               # [<bool>]
        #Option     "NoAccel"                # [<bool>]
        #Option     "AccelMethod"            # <str>
        #Option     "ExaNoComposite"         # [<bool>]
        Option     "ExaScratchSize"         "8192"
        Option     "SWCursor"               "true"
        #Option     "ShadowFB"               # [<bool>]
        #Option     "RotationType"           # [<str>]
        #Option     "Rotate"                 # [<str>]
        #Option     "VideoRAM"               # <i>
        #Option     "ActiveDevice"           # [<str>]
        #Option     "TVDotCrawl"             # [<bool>]
        #Option     "TVDeflicker"            # <i>
        #Option     "TVType"                 # [<str>]
        #Option     "TVOutput"               # [<str>]
        #Option     "TVPort"                 # [<str>]
        #Option     "DisableVQ"              # [<bool>]
        #Option     "DisableIRQ"             # [<bool>]
        Option     "EnableAGPDMA"           "true"
        #Option     "NoAGPFor2D"             # [<bool>]
        #Option     "NoXVDMA"                # [<bool>]
        #Option     "VbeSaveRestore"         # [<bool>]
        #Option     "DisableXvBWCheck"       # [<bool>]
        #Option     "ModeSwitchMethod"       # [<str>]
        Option     "MaxDRIMem"              "16384"
        #Option     "AGPMem"                 # <i>
        #Option     "I2CDevices"             # [<str>]
    Identifier  "Card0"
    Driver      "openchrome"
    BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "Screen0"
    Device     "Card0"
    Monitor    "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth 24
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     1
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     4
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     8
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     15
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     16
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Last edited by keefaz; 12-16-2017 at 07:16 PM.
 
Old 12-17-2017, 07:30 AM   #7
gillespiea
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I copied and pasted your code there and made a new xorg.conf and backed up the old one.
Still the same. I've done a good bit of googleing and can't seem to find anything similar.
 
Old 12-17-2017, 10:28 AM   #8
keefaz
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At this point, I would be tempted to remove xorg.conf
Code:
# cd /etc/X11
# mv xorg.conf xorg.conf.bak

# cd xorg.conf.d
# cat > 10.video.conf
Section "Device"
  Identifier  "Card0"
  Driver      "openchrome"
EndSection
<ctrl+d>
(basically create 10.video.conf file in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d with the suggested content)

Also may worth a visit:
https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Ope...oubleshooting/
 
Old 12-17-2017, 11:26 AM   #9
gillespiea
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Thanks for all your help so far! you're a star. I'll give it a shot.

I downloaded and burned a copy of DSL and ran it on the laptop.
Worked just fine. I went into the X11 folder to find it had no xorg.conf, neither does my main machine. It seems I need to do quite a bit more reading into how X11 works.
Again, thanks for your time!
 
Old 12-17-2017, 12:26 PM   #10
keefaz
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If removing the xorg.conf file solves the problem, the issue is from a configuration element.
But I would compare the video driver (driver name & driver version) in the working and non working setup
 
Old 12-17-2017, 12:30 PM   #11
gillespiea
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that didn't work unfortunately.
I'm going to load another linux with a live CD and see if there are xorg.conf files running on them (I think I have an ubuntu 9.04 somewhere already burned).
I'm going to investigate it a bit more.

After looking over the page you linked me to and following some of it, the computer seems to have a via vt3314 chip. not sure if that makes any difference. I don't understand what each chip does. I'm only pointing it out as the manufacturers website stated that it was a vn800.
 
Old 12-17-2017, 12:38 PM   #12
keefaz
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The page has some basic troubleshooting commands that could also help in comparing the working and non working environment.
 
Old 12-17-2017, 01:39 PM   #13
gillespiea
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Just an update. It looks like it's the driver that's at fault here.
I changed it to use "vesa" as the driver instead, and that has gotten rid of the screen defects.
I am sure that this is now going to be using a driver that is not quite right for the chip, and might run a bit slower. Or not to the same ability. BUT I'll give it a go and see how it works.

Many thanks for your help keefaz.
 
  


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