I have a brand new HP a1330n Multimedia Desktop computer and there are some issues I need help with. First of all, my specs are AMD 3800+ Athlon 64 processor, 1GB memory. I'm running Simply Mepis 3.3.2test03 along with the 2.6.14.3 kernel CBlue compiled and offered on the Mepis Lover's site. My video card is an ATI Radeon Express 200g.

There is no 3D acceleration. When I run "glxgears" in a terminal, my output is between 499.600 and 636.400 FPS. That doesn't seem to be quite right, does it? During the install, I had to use "xdrvr=vesa" in order to make things work. I would love to install the right drivers for my new computer, but don't know which ones to install, and don't know how to install them.

My main problem right now is this: neither the internet nor Synaptic will function properly unless I am physically moving the mouse around. That's strange, don't you think? As long as there's movement, I can surf, receive e-mail and even download from the repositories, but let the mouse stop, and the downloads slow to a crawl and will eventually time out.

Not know what you need, I've included the results of lspci:
ron@1[~]$ lspci
0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 Host Bridge (rev 10)
0000:00:01.0 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc: Unknown device 5a3f
0000:00:12.0 IDE interface: ATI Technologies Inc ATI 4379 Serial ATA Controller
0000:00:13.0 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 USB Host Controller
0000:00:13.1 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 USB Host Controller
0000:00:13.2 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 USB2 Host Controller
0000:00:14.0 SMBus: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 SMBus Controller (rev 11)
0000:00:14.1 IDE interface: ATI Technologies Inc Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller ATI
0000:00:14.3 ISA bridge: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 PCI-ISA Bridge
0000:00:14.4 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 PCI-PCI Bridge
0000:00:14.5 Multimedia audio controller: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 02)
0000:01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 [Radeon Xpress 200G Series]
0000:02:03.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10)
0000:02:05.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): VIA Technologies, Inc. IEEE 1394 Host Controller (rev 80)
0000:02:09.0 Communication controller: Conexant HSF 56k Data/Fax Modem

I've tried several other kernels, too, but this one seems to be the best so far. If this issue could get straightened out, then I would be well pleased. My experience has been that the kernel that came with this install was pretty good with sound, but not with internet. 2.6.13.3 is good with internet, but horrible with sound. This kernel is good with sound, but internet works if the mouse is moving. Please help, as this is very annoying. I've got a brand new computer and Linux is acting up.

Pastor Ron

pray about it?

lol, just kidding paster

have you tried popping a livecd in to see if the problem occurs still?

this will help determine if it is software related.

i have a feeling your irq /io with the mouse and some other hardware feature are crossed somehow.

good luck.

Thanks for the reply, halvy. Yes, I did try surfing from the LiveCD, but the results weren't good, either. I've only had good surfing results with kernel 2.6.13.3, and even that wasn't optimal. I don't like comparing that OTHER OS, but I get very good results there.

What you say makes perfectly good sense to me, but how do I go about resolving the issue? I wonder if switching the mouse to a different port and rerunning "fglrxconfig" to give me a new xorg.conf file will help. Admittedly, my knowledge here is somewhat limited.

Pastor Ron

ok your hardware is not broke at least (since it works in win).

synaptic and the net are obviously the same issue.

try your idea of switching ports.

and what exactly were your results from using another linux distro (ie knoppix live)?

and what do you consider 'optimul'... because with live cds, usually performance is nothing close to what a regular os would be.

let us know how you progress.

Okay, I used the Ubuntu LiveCD Version 4.10, and surfing was actually pretty good. That's why I believe the problem to be in a setting somewhere. It is strange to me that I can surf with downloads in the high 30kbs without moving my cursor while using the 2.6.13.3 kernel, but sound is horrible. The kernel I'm using right now is giving me wonderful sound, and I can get my surfing to work very well, and downloads can jump up to the low 60kbs range, as long as the mouse is moving. Very strange. Will it help if I give you more information, say from lshw or kudzu? This is certainly aggravating, to say the least.

BTW, I moved the mouse to a different port, and ran "fglrxconfig" again to get a different "xorg.conf" file. I don't think my mouse was set up differently than before, though. What else?

Pastor Ron

maybe a mephis forum (i don't know if linuxquestions has a specific area for mephis users) can help beyond this.

it may very well be a glitch in their system.

good luck.

uhh halvy, this IS the MEPIS forum of linuxquestions.org...


anyways, you could always compile alsa, that sounds like a bug in the network driver from that kernel.

mos, it's been aloooong day

paster, mos's advice sounds like it might be a winner.

compiling is a scary word, but is only 3 commands.

it will not only point out discrepencies that might be your problem, it will help 'tune up' your app so it is the best it can be for your unique system.

again, good luck.

Mos, I really don't know exactly what to do here. Would you please tell me, in steps, how I should preceed? It would really be appreciated.

Pastor Ron

i know this sounds lame but if you can get dsl service (it's around the same price for dialed up now for the lower speed version) you will save yourself alot of heartache.

ethernet is usually an absolute breeze with linux.

let us know..

Halvy, I'm already using DSL, as the download speeds would indicate. It's just that in Linux, you couldn't tell it. On the other side (XP), my download speeds are quite good. There's a glitch somewhere, but I just don't know where.

Pastor Ron

there are some more things you can do still:

- try mepis irc (depending on the time of day you may have to wait for an answer.

- go to different places on the net to test your actual dsl speeds

- don't confuse kb with kB (different people use different interpretations of this--

the 'understood' (but not strict meaning) is b = bits and B = bytes. a good way is make sure you are either using the same formula.. and not using b for bits in one test, and b for Bytes in another :\

- make sure your mtu is set for auto or the correct # in your gateway (modem/router) or you will be bottle necking your speeds possibly.

hang in there..

Well, it's finally fixed. Whew! Now, that was certainly strange, but a $1.00 PCI nic corrected the problem.

I was on the mepis irc last week and someone mentioned trying a new card and gave me a link for one that would work well. Went to some stores locally to see if it was available, but it wasn't. There's a computer repair shop less than a block from the house, so I walked down there and the owner gave me a card - he had bought several of them for $1.00 each and gladly gave me one.

Popped the card in, fired it up and the problem was solved. My only complaint is that the card on the motherboard wasn't recognized. Oh well, it's fixed and my surfing and downloading speeds are great.

Pastor Ron

great paster... i knew our prayers would be answered..

Hello shortblock: glad to hear that you got that pesky problem solved, I always use pci LAN cards, they seem to be more reliable than "onboard" cards, at least that has been my experience. That being said, might I also offer another suggestion, pci video card also. The reason for this is my experience with trying to help a friend repair a HP computer with onboard video. The video went out on this computer, and the fix should have been a new pci video card, but, the only way to make one of those work with HP is to disable onboard video in the bios. No video = no bios=useless computer. To this day we haven't found a fix for an otherwise still good computer. Inexpensive pci video is about $40.Or even a good used one from that same repair shop for $10.