Abit NF-M2S with Onboard GeForce 6100
 

I just got this new mobo/cpu combo and install Ubuntu 6.10 on it. The video is very choppy and the sound doesn't work. I searched in this forum for this and found this link for the display driver:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux_d..._1.0-8174.html

Will this work for Ubuntu also? Sorry, I am kinda new to Linux.

Also, I read in another thread that the correct audio driver for this board was found at this link:
http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/...etDown=false#2

I downloaded this file but don't know the SUDO command to install it. I think I should put it in the /sys/devices folder? But thru X I don't have root permissions.

Any help is appreciated.

Hi there :)
The nvidia drivers from nvidia.com do work in ubuntu, and are quite an improvement over the stock ones. If the 8174 is the one which matches your video device, then it should work just fine..
They usually must be installed in runlevel 3 (to get there, either login to the terminal as root and type 'telinit 3' OR open a console window, get root priveleges, and type 'telinit 3')

I am not sure about your audio drivers. What device is it? Is it an AC97 ? If so, support should be inside the kernel already. Please give some more info on your audio device. I could certainly be wrong, but i wouldn't think you normally should have to download something to get a realtek audio-chipset to work.
You *may* however have to use the ALSA-Mixer tool, or ALSA-conf tool, to un-mute the volume on your system. This is the case with some systems using ALSA.

Hope this helps you; if you need further info, just ask!

All my mobo book says is "Realtek HD 7.1 Audio Codec" I guess I could go into the BIOS and look for a model, but I would have to reboot and can't right now. Is there a cmd in Linux that will tell me what is installed?

So to install this NVIDIA driver, from a Terminal window, it tells me I can't do it while X is running. Can I use CTRL-ALT-F1? Or if not, how I do exit X to a cmd line without shutting down?

enter a console window, su to root, and type 'telinit 3'

I assume by "Konsole" you mean "Terminal" because I am not running KDE.

I typed 'Telinit 3' from a Terminal window, nothing happened.

By "console" yes, I mean a console, terminal, or shell window. The desktop manager doesn't matter.
OK, most systems with X displays run in INIT level 4 or 5, when running the X environment. The command 'telinit 3' when entered into a root-permissions "console" window, tells INIT to quit X and quit init-level 4 or 5, and to switch to level 3. The intention here is to get to a multi-user run level without X running. Init 1 will not work, it is single-user mode.
Ultimately ANY multi-user run-level will probably work, just not the run-level where you use X. Try 'telinit 2' or 'telinit 4', and see what happens. It won't hurt anything. :)

All 3 of those seem to be 'accepted' commands, in the fact that they come back to a cmd prompt without any errors, but don't show to be doing anything. I understand (kinda) what you are saying about the levels though

I tried all 3 of them (telinit 2,3,4) and afterwards typed
according to these instructions:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux_d..._1.0-8174.html

Each time I try this, it starts to run, brings up another window, and tells me that I am "running X and must exit in order to run this command.

I also tried doing it from CTRL-ALT-F1 and it still told me that X was running. :confused:

Hmm.. OK, use CTRL ALT F1, and login as root (if it is not logged in) and type:
'telinit 1'
That's gotta do something. If it doesn't, try 'init 1' or 'init 3'
If telinit 1 works, THEN login and type telinit 3.
When Going to init 1, the machine will basically reset, and land at single user mode, at the login prompt.
If none of this works, then you could use the Boot: prompt, assuming you have access to one when you start your machine, and at the boot prompt, enter your kernel name to boot, followed by 'init 3'. Then it will boot up and NOT start X.
If this can't be done, then edit the file /etc/inittab and do the following to it:

id:4:initdefault:
Change the above line to read:
id:3:initdefault:
save the file and reboot.

How do I get back to X after doing CTRL-ALT-F1? I have tried several commands, but always end up rebooting, because I can't seem to get X to come back up from that page.

When I reboot, it starts X automatically, I never get to a prompt...not sure if the option ever comes up, it boots REALLY fast, so if it does, I don't see it.

After CTRL-ALT-Fx , assuming you haven't killed X or changed the runlevel, you can just hit CTRL-ALT-F7 to get back to the desktop where X is.
(NOTE: I don't know of a system that uses a key other than F7 for X, but it probably exists. if CTRL-ALT-F7 does not do it, try the other function keys.)

NOTE - The above instructions for editing /etc/inittab, should make X not start after reboot.

Or you can just use System-> Administration-> Synaptic Package Manager. Once running, use search to find nvidia-glx and apply/install. No muss, no fuss, no CLI.

But someone told me earlier in this thread that the drives on nvidia's website were more up-to-date and better than the one that's in Synaptic. :confused:

I installed the nvidia-glx pkg from Synaptic. I am about to reboot to see how it worked.

CTRL-ALT-F1 Results:
telinit 1 did put the machine into level 1 mode and when I tried to run the "sh" command listed above, it told me that running this cmd in level 1 was not advisable and it wanted me to stop the installation, which I did.

CTRL-ALT-F7 DID bring me back to the X view, so I typed CTRL-ALT-F1 again and got back to the root prompt. When I type telinit 1, then telinit 3, it takes me back to the X login screen.

Hmmm.. In this thread? Where did someone say that? :) I remember you asking "..will this particular driver work..." to which I replied that it would. And yes, it IS better than the opensource 'nv' driver included with most distributions. If nvidia makes available the exact same driver that Synaptic can get you, then it makes no difference in functionality; merely where you get it.
I apologize for any confusion I may have caused you. :)

I took this to mean the ones in Ubuntu, maybe I was wrong.

After the reboot, the desktop looked better, but the video is still choppy when I move windows around or scroll down a webpage. I don't think this worked 100% of what I was trying to accomplish.

Well in any event, you did get the driver installed successfully, yes? :)
Is the display excessively choppy. or just a little bit?
Type that into a console, and see what it returns. It should say Yes, Direct Rendering Enabled.
If it is, perhaps we should look at the xorg.conf file next, and see if there's anything obvious in there misconfigured?.

It's pretty darn choppy....not at all like I would expect to see a new GeForce 6100 graphics driver to be.

Results of your command:

Ugx..OK, make sure the Modules Section (of /etc/X11/xorg.conf) looks like this (note the GLX item; v4l is optional, only if you use any Video 4 Linux devices):

GLX is there, but not much else...

For one, the nvidia drivers do their own DRI, so you shouldn't need DRI in there.
When you edit the file, you should know you must restart X for any changes to take effect, in case you didn't know..
OK, if it is still all choppy and stuff, post the xorg.conf file. Let's have a look. Also, post the output of 'lspci' from a root console.

You want the entire xorg.conf file?

Here is lspci:

Well, the whole file shouldn't be humungous, provided it isn't like 90% comments :) and depending on how it's laid out, it's usually best to see the whole thing.
BTW, when you now do 'glxinfo | grep direct' what does it say?
So yes, post the file in {code} tags.

GLX didn't change...


xorg file

Sure a newer driver may well work with an older card but I question if it will make a noticeable difference in performance. The GPU itself and associated hardware determine the performance. What I can say with certainty that the safest most trouble free driver will be provided by the the distribution developers. If you were to review all the Nvidia driver trouble posts you will see that the bulk of these users went to the command line and didn't use the nvidia-glx provided by Ubuntu. There have been issues on occasion when the kernel gets updated but those problems are solved in a day or to. If you roll your own, every kernel upgrade will be a problem and require special handling by the user. I'm certain that all help offered on the forums is well meaning but that hardly means well informed and thought out.

Well, I have been trying to get this driver installed that I DL'd from Nvidia's site, but I can't figure out how to get our of X to install it.

To attampt to correct the '...RGB GLX...' error in the above glxinfo output, try the following in the Screen section:
Now, your Device section says 'vesa' for a driver. The driver should be "nvidia".
And finally, as Mentioned before, you should not have the DRI section at the bottom. :) The rest looks well enough to work, even if it may benefit from some fine tuning or other options; these changes should make it work.
And, in case you or anyone is wondering, I have the entire nvidia proprietary drivers tutorial here, which is what I reference when trying to help people with nvidia driver issues. Many people do not seem to have it handy, and it has been invaluable on many occasions. It covers a wide variety of cards and motherboards.
Auto config tools are great, when they work, but in my experience, nvidia's auto-config tool did/does not make my card work, nor many others very well, and ATI's auto-config-tool is much much worse..

EDIT: This post assumes you have at least gotten the driver built and installed..
EDIT2 - this link http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=299456 indicates that /etc/init.d/gdm stop is how to exit X in Ubuntu. It likely has to be entered as root.

Just add the "Option" line anywhere in here? Incidentally, this monitor is a Dell P1110 21" and when I setup an older box with Ubuntu as a test box, using this same monitor, about a month ago, it recognized it. This new system with the Abit mobo and the GeForece 6100 isn't recognizing it. Shouldn't I change the "Generic Video Card" and the "Generic Montitor" options here as well?

Remove this section completely? I missed you saying that before.

And I change the "vesa" part to read "nvidia" now. :)

Yup, the 'Option' entries, I usually have them right under the 'DefaultDepth' entry.
And yes, the Section "DRI", Mode 0666, and EndSection, are not needed for nvidia.
And yes, the vesa driver will give you no pleasure :) so it gets changed to 'nvidia'

As for the names of the monitor and device, it isn't too important. Just make sure you type it & spell it exactly the same way, in each reference to it.

I changed the "vesa" to "nvidia" and I removed the last section about "DRI" and I placed that Option line where you told me to. I don't know which one hosed it, but now it won't even boot into X. I am typing this post from one of my XP boxes. I tried rebooting and choosing "recovery mode" from the GRUB menu, and still nothing. When it tries to load X, the whole screen goes black and nothing happens.

How can I find and edit the xorg.conf file from a cmd prompt?

Does Ubuntu have Midnight Commander? My Ubuntu does. If so, click to an empty console, log in as root, and type 'mc' to use Midnight Commander.
If there's no mc, then log in as root in the empty console and type 'vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf' to edit the file.
You could also use Vim, or whatever other console text editor you prefer.

Alternately, boot another system or the LiveCD and mount the root partition of your system, chroot into it, and edit the file with whatever editor you like.
To learn what the exact problem is/was, check the log at /var/log/xorg.0.log for information.
Remember, if you need to kill X, ues the command in the previous page, to kill gdm. :)

mc doesn't work

vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf opens the file and tells me to be cautious editing it, but it won't let me type anywhere on the screen to change anything

Have you tried nano, or Pico ? nano comes with Ubuntu also.

I don't know what those are.

I am trying to boot from the LiveCD now, going into "Limited Graphics" mode or something like that, and trying to mount the HDD, but it isn't seeing it.

Nano is a text editor. you would use it just like the vi command above.

Why isn't it seeing the drive? Golly, considering how easy my ubuntu installed and ran on nvidia hardware, and your first older installation, this one is acting like Fedora :D
'sudo mount /dev/hdd /media/<somewhere>' should have no problem mounting the drive.. Long as it is actually /hdd and not some other device. And make sure the mount point (folder) exists before trying to mount it.

I got nano to open the file and I changed it back from "nvidia" to "vesh" saved, and rebooted. The loading of the X server failed because it says that it couldn't find a driver for Vesh.

I know what you mean...this is the 4th box that I have installed Ubuntu on and never on the other 3 have I had any of these problems. I assumed it was because this mobo/cpu combo I have with the integrated GeForce 6100 is brand new....I bought it a week ago.

I am gonna try to run this now:

lol @ vesh :)
Well, if it runs with VESA driver but not with NVIDIA and/or other nvidia options, there's a good chance the driver package is not/did not install properly.

The problems *sure could* be that the hardware is brand spanking new, so to speak.
Good luck with the sudo-reconfig, definitely let me know if/how it works, and if it works, what it put into the file.
Also, are you TOTALLY sure that you have the correct nvidia driver package for that card?

I'm going to venture a guess here.. Take it only for what it is (speculation), because the compatibility lists on the nvidia site are not known for their clarity:
The NEWEST driver binary package is the 9755, which was released January 2007.
The one you are using is a Legacy version, released in 2005.
I wonder, why would the brand new driver not work on your device?

:newbie: <--------- tarded

Yes, VESA is now working :D

NVIDIA does not work. I ran that dpkg reconfig cmd from the root prompt and chose VESA the 2nd time after NVIDIA didn't work.

I guess the NVIDIA drivers that Synaptic installed aren't working. And I still haven't been able to get this one installed that I downloaded directly from Nvidia's site. I try it from the telinit 1 setting and it tells me that it isn't advisable to run this file in level 1 and tells me to try level 3. So I type telinit 3 in, and it relaunches X.

So what I really need to know is how to get this accomplished...
http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux_d..._1.0-8174.html

After running the reconfigure again, here is what my xorg.conf file looks like now...

LOL...... LOLOL.. OK, back to sqaure one huh? :D
OKaaayyyy... Well, once again, the file looks just fine, except for the fact that as you say, this nvidia driver does not seem to be the correct one, OR you havent been able to install it..

SO - back up a few steps here.
You need to:
1 - Enter console.
2 - get root permission.
3 - Use the command given on the other page, something like /etc/gdm kill or whatever it was.
4 - Now, you shouldn't be in the console anymore, so you will likely have to either log in again, or CTRL-ALT over to another console, and log in.
5 - NOW.. Does EVERY runlevel start X ?? if so, then since you have just killed X in step 4, try installing the driver from here, by navigating to the file's location, and type like:
...and follow the instructions from there.
The last step may ask you if you want it to reconfigure the X file. I choose NO, and do it myself, because it only changes the driver name (from vesa to nvidia) and you *may* want to do it yourself.

AGAIN--- IS THAT THE RIGHT DRIVER FOR YOU?? Are you sure?

I haven't the slightest clue. :confused: This is a link that I found in another thread on THIS forum when I did a search for GeForce 6100.

This is the mobo I am using:
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/...es=1&model=332

It has the built-in, integrated GeForce 6100 graphics driver on the board. The integrated sound card is also NOT working on this same box. Again, out of the 4 Ubuntu installs I have done, this is the only one that didn't detect all my hardware and I just attributed it to it being so new. So this is new ground for me.

Google this...
geforce 6100 drivers for linux

OK, I did google that, and the very first thing I cam upon is the same driver you found.
However, I continue checking out more results on the page, and I come across problems.
That claims to be a 'non-newbie' high-tech motherboard.. I'm still looking, and will post some links here for you to look at in a few minutes.

Well, I have been building computers and working with hardware for 12 years. I am only a newbie to Linux. If this were windows, I would have had it running a week ago...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...item=457&num=1 <-- A bunch of nvidia drivers & betas
http://tweakers.net/meuktracker/product/127127 <---8756 driver
http://www.fedoraforum.org/forum/arc...p/t-87488.html <----Problems
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/foru...aysprune=&f=14 <-- nvidia linux forum


Yes, I agree, with windows it would *probably* work pretty well out of the box.. I too have been using and working on computers and electronics for almost 20 years; nvidia hardware for over 3 years, and I am also new to linux. Fun stuff this Linux.. I love it, in fact, but it can be pesky LOL. Everything is different with Linux.

Also, it's probably not useful, but for brevity, I should mention that despite the fact that Ubuntu 6.10 worked flawlessly for me as installed out of the box, it was a different story with the Slackware that I now use.
Nvidia's website told me (at least the way I read it) that I should use the 97xx driver. The problem, as I mentioned earlier, is that the product compatibility list does not break down into groups of drivers vs. hardware. Anyways, I ended up downloading 3 different nvidia drivers from their website before finally landing on the correct one that worked under slackware.
It happens to be the x86-9631 version.
I don't know what driver the Ubuntu was using, but it seemed to work well, with the exception that my screen resolution was so huge, like almost 1800x 1600 or something ridiculous like that..

I guess I will check that nvidia linux forum. I guess I just need to know which driver is best.

Recovery mode doesn't load X and places you at the command line. At the command line:

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

This is a simple editor without mouse support and all of its commands are shown at the bottom of the display.

I used Nano fine, thanks.

If I just used the driver listed at that site and it doesn't work, I can just do a reconfigure, so might do that. Too bad that one in Synaptic didn't work.:mad:

I talked to people on 2 other sites and they both said that this driver is the one that I need to use.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux_d..._1.0-8174.html