[Bug 481569] New: X segfaults in VIA driver when the "-configure" option is used
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=481569 Summary: X segfaults in VIA driver when the "-configure" option is used Classification: openSUSE Product: openSUSE 11.2 Version: Factory Platform: Other OS/Version: Other Status: NEW Severity: Major Priority: P5 - None Component: X.Org AssignedTo: bnc-team-xorg-bugs@forge.provo.novell.com ReportedBy: jdluhos@novell.com QAContact: xorg-maintainer-bugs@forge.provo.novell.com Found By: --- The "-configure" option of the X.org driver is unusable in openSUSE, as it always tries to load all drivers, and it segfaults when it touches the VIA driver. (Possibly it might succeed on VIA gfx cards.) This is a serious problem for slightly advanced users because it prevents them from using this feature completely. A seasoned hacker simply renames the VIA driver, of course. Proposal: the VIA driver should be fixed to behave more politely when it does not find its hardware; or, if it is too broken, it should be expelled into its own package so it can be picked by users who know they have this card. -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=481569
Mark Gray
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User jdluhos@novell.com added comment
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=481569#c1
--- Comment #1 from Jiri Dluhos
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=481569
Stefan Dirsch
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=481569
Stefan Dirsch
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=481569
User markgray+to-suse@puck.nac.net added comment
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=481569#c2
--- Comment #2 from Mark Gray
Ummm... are you really, 100%, sure that fixing a crash in X server (one that prevents standardized automatic configuration) is just an *enhancement*?
It is a feature which has been broken for some time due to "bit-rot" and nobody has missed it. It is doubtful that it ever actually worked very well since DDC is only recently starting to work, and does not work on quite a lot of hardware even today. It duplicates functionality which SaX2 will always perform much better. Apart from a brief mention on the Xfree86 4.01 wiki it is undocumented ("X -help" does not list it as an option, nor does "man xserver"). While i overstepped my brief as a screener by opining that it was an ENHANCEMENT, not a major bug hampering the release of 11.2, I have to ask: Once you removed the via driver, did "X -configure" actually produce a particularly usable xorg.conf? -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
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User jdluhos@novell.com added comment
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=481569#c3
--- Comment #3 from Jiri Dluhos
It is a feature which has been broken for some time due to "bit-rot" and nobody has missed it.
I don't think this feature is useless. Yes, it is not needed in normal installation course which configures X server automatically. However, there are at least two cases when it is very useful: 1) Changing the graphics card in the computer to a type that needs another driver. In this case, X will not start on boot, and you can either manually rewrite the SaX-generated xorg.conf (which is quite complex and difficult to read), or use the autoconfiguration to give you a start. 2) When the SaX setup during the installation fails. This is almost 100% if you have more than one monitor (quite common in laptops connected to an external monitor) or more than one gfx card (increasingly common in laptops with dual powersave/performance hardware) and also with some new gfx cards; I had a laptop where SaX left the user with a black screen.
It duplicates functionality which SaX2 will always perform much better.
I am sorry to say that, according to my experience, the reverse is true; SaX fails in many cases (see above) and the xorg.conf file produced by SaX is quite oldschool (it contains lots of stuff that gets completely ignored and only makes the conf file difficult to read) :-(
I have to ask: Once you removed the via driver, did "X -configure" actually produce a particularly usable xorg.conf?
Yes, it did :-) -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
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User libv@skynet.be added comment
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=481569#c4
--- Comment #4 from Luc Verhaegen
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User markgray+to-suse@puck.nac.net added comment
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=481569#c5
--- Comment #5 from Mark Gray
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User sndirsch@novell.com added comment
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=481569#c7
--- Comment #7 from Stefan Dirsch
1) Changing the graphics card in the computer to a type that needs another driver. In this case, X will not start on boot, and you can either manually rewrite the SaX-generated xorg.conf (which is quite complex and difficult to read), or use the autoconfiguration to give you a start.
Or boot into failsafe for a fbdev/vesa driver base X configuration. On top of it run YaST/SaX to reconfigure your new graphics hardware.
2) When the SaX setup during the installation fails. This is almost 100% if you have more than one monitor (quite common in laptops connected to an external monitor) or more than one gfx card (increasingly common in laptops with dual powersave/performance hardware) and also with some new gfx cards; I had a laptop where SaX left the user with a black screen.
SaX2 has been improved to always only create a configuration for the primary graphics card.
I am sorry to say that, according to my experience, the reverse is true; SaX fails in many cases (see above) and the xorg.conf file produced by SaX is quite oldschool (it contains lots of stuff that gets completely ignored and only makes the conf file difficult to read) :-(
SaX2 is doing to much. This is correct. See also Bug #441404, Bug #440973, that we're aware of this. But as you might know the X team has been downsized as well. :-( -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
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User sndirsch@novell.com added comment
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=481569#c8
--- Comment #8 from Stefan Dirsch
Proposal: the VIA driver should be fixed to behave more politely when it does not find its hardware; or, if it is too broken, it should be expelled into its own package so it can be picked by users who know they have this card.
The unichrome driver is already in its seperate package. What I could do is removing the requires to xorg-x11-driver-video-unichrome from xorg-x11-driver-video and add Supplements for 0x1106#0x3122#VT3122: CLE266 0x1106#0x7205#VT7205: KM400, KM400A, KN400, P4M800 0x1106#0x3108#VT3108: K8M800, K8N800, K8N800A to xorg-x11-driver-video-unichrome, so YaST autoselects it for installation if the appropriate hardware has been detected. -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
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User sndirsch@novell.com added comment
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=481569#c9
--- Comment #9 from Stefan Dirsch
The unichrome driver is already in its seperate package. What I could do is removing the requires to xorg-x11-driver-video-unichrome from xorg-x11-driver-video and add Supplements for
0x1106#0x3122#VT3122: CLE266 0x1106#0x7205#VT7205: KM400, KM400A, KN400, P4M800 0x1106#0x3108#VT3108: K8M800, K8N800, K8N800A
to xorg-x11-driver-video-unichrome, so YaST autoselects it for installation if the appropriate hardware has been detected.
done for Factory. -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
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Stefan Dirsch
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