Hi, I posted this question a month ago but had to go to London and didn't resolve the issue, but I hope you will bare with me on this one. Over this last month I have been trying, but no solution. I have a new AMD64 laptop from TPG, but TPG are very secretive about the contents of the box and refuse to discuss Linux (though it makes no sense to sell a 64 bit machine with XP ! ) However, XP tells me that the screen resolution is 1280 x 800 at 60 Hz and the adapter is an SiS, model: 651_661FX_741_760_760GX_M661FX_M661MX_M741_M on PCI bus 1, device 0, function 0 64 MB of the main RAM appears to be used for the video The problem is that 1. SuSE 9.1 install starts properly (full screen, good quality graphics with menus, edit boxes etc. 2. internet connects and tests correctly 3. downloads latest SuSE updates automatically 4. lots of software appears to be correctly installed 5. system reboots from hard disk 6. requests, and achieves, setup for root and for a user 7. system reboots and requests loggin 8. system then says that it cannot determine monitor characters, and asks if I want to configure manually? Note: up until this point the system has had zero problem with displaying windows, graphics etc. Something in the initial SuSE code "gets it right". 8.(cont) If I configure manually or not the system then jumps into some ridiculous mode of 0 x 0 pixels. Thus, it appears that the SuSE programmer requests the screen dimensions, and receives 0 x 0 and fails to check the values, and simply attempts to use 0 x 0, thereby sending the system into convoltions. I can only switch off the electricty at this point. When I try to reboot from the hard disc everything goes well until the system gets to the loggin screen whereby the screen promptly jumps into convoltions again. Booting with F2 setting the screen dimensions does not help. How can the initial part of the SuSE code get the screen perfectly correct while the latter part stuffs it up? Any ideas on how to interrupt the boot process and set the screen parameters? Any ideas on how to get SuSE to fix this bug? Regards, Colin
Sounds like your SIS woes are as annoying as mine. I had to use the generic VESA driver to get it to comply and keep it down to 16bit. Mind you I have the Sharp PC-AL27. My only suggestions as I an still fairly new with linux. Is to try CTRL+ALT+F1 to get to the text login screen, logging in as root and "Init 3" to switch to turn off Graphics Mode. Then open up SAX2 and try kicking your resolution settings around. And also figure out which driver works for you. Genaric Framebuffer or what ever it is called works fine at lower color depth, so try that and just tinker and figure out which one will cooperate. The VIA/SIS Unichrome Pro Video chip I think suffers the same issues that I have heard from other users on other message boards. The downloading, making and implementing of new drivers is worse then bathing a Cat. Now if anyone else out there can give me dummy proof step-by-step Process in installing the VIA Drivers, please correct me and let me know. Id love to get 3D Drivers working. A1C Dominck A. Obermeyer Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan ----- Original Message ----- From: "Colin Carter" <colincarter@exemail.com.au> To: <suse-amd64@suse.com> Sent: Monday, August 01, 2005 00:24 Subject: [suse-amd64] screen config problem
Hi, I posted this question a month ago but had to go to London and didn't resolve the issue, but I hope you will bare with me on this one. Over this last month I have been trying, but no solution.
I have a new AMD64 laptop from TPG, but TPG are very secretive about the contents of the box and refuse to discuss Linux (though it makes no sense to sell a 64 bit machine with XP ! )
However, XP tells me that the screen resolution is 1280 x 800 at 60 Hz and the adapter is an SiS, model: 651_661FX_741_760_760GX_M661FX_M661MX_M741_M on PCI bus 1, device 0, function 0 64 MB of the main RAM appears to be used for the video
The problem is that 1. SuSE 9.1 install starts properly (full screen, good quality graphics with menus, edit boxes etc. 2. internet connects and tests correctly 3. downloads latest SuSE updates automatically 4. lots of software appears to be correctly installed 5. system reboots from hard disk 6. requests, and achieves, setup for root and for a user 7. system reboots and requests loggin 8. system then says that it cannot determine monitor characters, and asks if I want to configure manually? Note: up until this point the system has had zero problem with displaying windows, graphics etc. Something in the initial SuSE code "gets it right".
8.(cont) If I configure manually or not the system then jumps into some ridiculous mode of 0 x 0 pixels.
Thus, it appears that the SuSE programmer requests the screen dimensions, and receives 0 x 0 and fails to check the values, and simply attempts to use 0 x 0, thereby sending the system into convoltions. I can only switch off the electricty at this point.
When I try to reboot from the hard disc everything goes well until the system gets to the loggin screen whereby the screen promptly jumps into convoltions again. Booting with F2 setting the screen dimensions does not help.
How can the initial part of the SuSE code get the screen perfectly correct while the latter part stuffs it up?
Any ideas on how to interrupt the boot process and set the screen parameters? Any ideas on how to get SuSE to fix this bug?
Regards, Colin
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On Sunday 31 July 2005 08:24 am, Colin Carter wrote:
Any ideas on how to interrupt the boot process and set the screen parameters? Any ideas on how to get SuSE to fix this bug?
Sounds like you just don't have the monitor setup properly. On the initial boot screen (while counting down) type a 3 and hit enter. This boots you to runlevel 3 (before X). Then you can use sax to configure your monitor. Be careful. You should either enter in the dimensions for you monitor (in mm the actual size of the screen) or choose a generic flat panel (This is what I do). B-)
Oh, ya. To get your widescreen working properly, You need a proper modeline. B-) On Monday 01 August 2005 08:21 am, Brad Bourn wrote:
On Sunday 31 July 2005 08:24 am, Colin Carter wrote:
Any ideas on how to interrupt the boot process and set the screen parameters? Any ideas on how to get SuSE to fix this bug?
Sounds like you just don't have the monitor setup properly. On the initial boot screen (while counting down) type a 3 and hit enter. This boots you to runlevel 3 (before X). Then you can use sax to configure your monitor. Be careful. You should either enter in the dimensions for you monitor (in mm the actual size of the screen) or choose a generic flat panel (This is what I do).
B-)
Thanks Dominick and Brad for your suggestions. Dominick, I am not 'Linux mature' enough to identify and configure drivers by myself, but a college at work will help me with you ideas. On Tuesday 02 August 2005 00:29, Brad Bourn wrote:
Oh, ya. To get your widescreen working properly, You need a proper modeline. "Widescreen" ! Yes, I suppose it is. I did think that the resolution was strange; in fact it is not offered as an option/choice by SuSE installation. I'll have to look up your word 'modeline'. clc B-)
On Monday 01 August 2005 08:21 am, Brad Bourn wrote:
On Sunday 31 July 2005 08:24 am, Colin Carter wrote:
Any ideas on how to interrupt the boot process and set the screen parameters? Any ideas on how to get SuSE to fix this bug?
Sounds like you just don't have the monitor setup properly. On the initial boot screen (while counting down) type a 3 and hit enter. This boots you to runlevel 3 (before X). Then you can use sax to configure your monitor. Be careful. You should either enter in the dimensions for you monitor (in mm the actual size of the screen) or choose a generic flat panel (This is what I do).
B-)
Thanks for the runlevel 3 information: valuable to me. I tried the generic flap panel - no luck, I tried booting with / without setting the resolution by F2 - no luck During installation SuSE does give me the option to enter the screen size in mm; I did try that, but it didn't work. I don't understand the idea of entering mm - because then code would need to know the dpi value - true? And X Window code uses pixels for window dimensions, not mm! It must be a bug in the SuSE code because SuSE uses the correct size for windows (no windows fall out of the screen etc) for over an hour of downloading updates and installation of the OS and the software. When the system starts after final reboot it gives me, in a correctly formatted window, the option of a manual configuration of the window. After selecting 'Yes' SuSE presents me with a list of dimensions as width X height with refresh frequencies - none of which match my screen. There is an option of entering my own dimensions, but no provision to enter frequency(s). But anyway, it then promptly jumps into flicker mode. I really don't think that there is a problem with the hardware as XP manages quite well, and DSL (Damned Small Linux) boots up with zero problems. So it must be a bug in SuSE. Perhaps it is better in 9.3 but I have already purchased 9.1 because 9.0 failed to install on my main PC. ( I believe in paying for my software but not over and over again because the damned stuff fails!) I'll keep trying, I might just need the exact steps to fool the software, but it is going to cost me many bloody sleepless nights! So I'd appreciate any more 'try this' suggestions. Regards, Colin
A proper modeline is the most important for widescreen. Here is an example I used to get my laptop running widescreen. <sample> Now the following steps adds the 1280x800 screen resolution. Change the Monitor and the screen section within xorg.conf Section "Monitor" Identifier "Monitor0" VendorName "Monitor Vendor" ModelName "LCD Panel 1280x800" # different from original file HorizSync 31.5 - 100.0 # different from original file VertRefresh 30.0 - 100.0 # different from original file Option "dpms" UseModes "16:10" # insert new line EndSection # notice many lines changed Section "Screen" Identifier "Screen0" Device "Videocard0" Monitor "Monitor0" DefaultDepth 16 SubSection "Display" Viewport 0 0 Depth 16 Modes "1280x800" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection SubSection "Display" Viewport 0 0 Depth 24 Modes "1280x800" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection Now create a new section and insert it anywhere after any of the EndSection statments in the xorg.conf file. Section "Modes" Identifier "16:10" Modeline "1280x800" 107.21 1280 1360 1496 1712 800 801 804 835 EndSection </sample> B-) On Tuesday 02 August 2005 09:40 am, Colin Carter wrote:
Thanks Dominick and Brad for your suggestions. Dominick, I am not 'Linux mature' enough to identify and configure drivers by myself, but a college at work will help me with you ideas.
On Tuesday 02 August 2005 00:29, Brad Bourn wrote:
Oh, ya. To get your widescreen working properly, You need a proper modeline.
"Widescreen" ! Yes, I suppose it is. I did think that the resolution was strange; in fact it is not offered as an option/choice by SuSE installation. I'll have to look up your word 'modeline'. clc
B-)
On Monday 01 August 2005 08:21 am, Brad Bourn wrote:
On Sunday 31 July 2005 08:24 am, Colin Carter wrote:
Any ideas on how to interrupt the boot process and set the screen parameters? Any ideas on how to get SuSE to fix this bug?
Sounds like you just don't have the monitor setup properly. On the initial boot screen (while counting down) type a 3 and hit enter. This boots you to runlevel 3 (before X). Then you can use sax to configure your monitor. Be careful. You should either enter in the dimensions for you monitor (in mm the actual size of the screen) or choose a generic flat panel (This is what I do).
B-)
Thanks for the runlevel 3 information: valuable to me. I tried the generic flap panel - no luck, I tried booting with / without setting the resolution by F2 - no luck During installation SuSE does give me the option to enter the screen size in mm; I did try that, but it didn't work. I don't understand the idea of entering mm - because then code would need to know the dpi value - true? And X Window code uses pixels for window dimensions, not mm! It must be a bug in the SuSE code because SuSE uses the correct size for windows (no windows fall out of the screen etc) for over an hour of downloading updates and installation of the OS and the software.
When the system starts after final reboot it gives me, in a correctly formatted window, the option of a manual configuration of the window. After selecting 'Yes' SuSE presents me with a list of dimensions as width X height with refresh frequencies - none of which match my screen. There is an option of entering my own dimensions, but no provision to enter frequency(s). But anyway, it then promptly jumps into flicker mode.
I really don't think that there is a problem with the hardware as XP manages quite well, and DSL (Damned Small Linux) boots up with zero problems. So it must be a bug in SuSE.
Perhaps it is better in 9.3 but I have already purchased 9.1 because 9.0 failed to install on my main PC. ( I believe in paying for my software but not over and over again because the damned stuff fails!)
I'll keep trying, I might just need the exact steps to fool the software, but it is going to cost me many bloody sleepless nights! So I'd appreciate any more 'try this' suggestions.
Regards, Colin
Ah dont worry about it. I am still fairly new at it myself. I have learned from blowing up linux tons of times. And reading the readme files. Hope you can get things resolved though. :) Dominick ----- Original Message ----- From: "Colin Carter" <colincarter@exemail.com.au> To: <suse-amd64@suse.com>; <brad@summitrd.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 01:40 Subject: Re: [suse-amd64] screen config problem
Thanks Dominick and Brad for your suggestions. Dominick, I am not 'Linux mature' enough to identify and configure drivers by myself, but a college at work will help me with you ideas.
On Tuesday 02 August 2005 00:29, Brad Bourn wrote:
Oh, ya. To get your widescreen working properly, You need a proper modeline. "Widescreen" ! Yes, I suppose it is. I did think that the resolution was strange; in fact it is not offered as an option/choice by SuSE installation. I'll have to look up your word 'modeline'. clc B-)
On Monday 01 August 2005 08:21 am, Brad Bourn wrote:
On Sunday 31 July 2005 08:24 am, Colin Carter wrote:
Any ideas on how to interrupt the boot process and set the screen parameters? Any ideas on how to get SuSE to fix this bug?
Sounds like you just don't have the monitor setup properly. On the initial boot screen (while counting down) type a 3 and hit enter. This boots you to runlevel 3 (before X). Then you can use sax to configure your monitor. Be careful. You should either enter in the dimensions for you monitor (in mm the actual size of the screen) or choose a generic flat panel (This is what I do).
B-)
Thanks for the runlevel 3 information: valuable to me. I tried the generic flap panel - no luck, I tried booting with / without setting the resolution by F2 - no luck During installation SuSE does give me the option to enter the screen size in mm; I did try that, but it didn't work. I don't understand the idea of entering mm - because then code would need to know the dpi value - true? And X Window code uses pixels for window dimensions, not mm! It must be a bug in the SuSE code because SuSE uses the correct size for windows (no windows fall out of the screen etc) for over an hour of downloading updates and installation of the OS and the software.
When the system starts after final reboot it gives me, in a correctly formatted window, the option of a manual configuration of the window. After selecting 'Yes' SuSE presents me with a list of dimensions as width X height with refresh frequencies - none of which match my screen. There is an option of entering my own dimensions, but no provision to enter frequency(s). But anyway, it then promptly jumps into flicker mode.
I really don't think that there is a problem with the hardware as XP manages quite well, and DSL (Damned Small Linux) boots up with zero problems. So it must be a bug in SuSE.
Perhaps it is better in 9.3 but I have already purchased 9.1 because 9.0 failed to install on my main PC. ( I believe in paying for my software but not over and over again because the damned stuff fails!)
I'll keep trying, I might just need the exact steps to fool the software, but it is going to cost me many bloody sleepless nights! So I'd appreciate any more 'try this' suggestions.
Regards, Colin
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participants (3)
-
A1C Dominick A. Obermeyer -
Brad Bourn -
Colin Carter