Hello!
eariler today I attempted to install DVDrip using rpmi. During the installation, I noticed that one of the programs it installed was an updated version of XFree86, along with alot of other important looking files.

I didn't notice that anything was wrong until I attempted to run Wolfenstein ET, which never loaded, just hung. I used ctl-alt-backspace to drop down to the command line. I rebooted but I cannot get the X server to start. When I enter
'startx' at the command line I get scary error messages like

(EE) Unable to open /usr/blahblah/extensions/libglx.so
(EE) Failed to load module "/usr/blahblah/extensions/libglx.so" (open failed, 2)
(EE) Failed to load module "nvidia" (module does not exist, 0)
(EE) No devices detected

Fatal screen error:
no screens found

XIO: fatal IO error 104 (Connection reset by peer) on X server ":0.0"
after 0 requests (0 known processed) with 0 events remaining.

Of course, I can't be sure it was installing DVDrip that f****ked up my video setup, but I haven't changed anything else on the system today.

Please help, if I have to reinstall linux again I may decide instead to give up on the whole experiment,

doug

Hi,
i don't know what rpmi is but:
looks like you must have upgraded your kernel
now you just have to reinstall nvidia driver
no problem -- bet you still got the file laying around there.
3 minutes and you are back in buisness

Yeppers, any time you upgrade your X-server
you will need to re-install the nVidia driver!!

Hello!
The problem is, I don't know how to reinstall the nvidia drivers! I tried to do so for a couple of years (unsuccessfully) starting with SuSE 8. The only way I could get them installed correctly was by going out and *purchasing* a copy of Mandrake, since the purchased version of the distribution installs the drivers as part of the OS installation.

That is how I traditionally fix driver problems-- reinstallation. But now I have had this system running for almost a year with no windows dual boot and I really, really don't want to lose what I have.

Is there any difference between installing a driver and re-installing a driver? While I was never successful installing a driver, maybe re-installing one is easier....

regards,
doug