Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 11:22:55 +0100 From: Karel Joop Bosschaart <karelj@wop21.wop.wtb.tue.nl> To: apri7@geocities.com, freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Problems with configuring XServer Message-ID: <19991111112255.A30535@wop21.wop.wtb.tue.nl> In-Reply-To: <382A4D78.AA4B4F3F@glasnet.ru> References: <382A4D78.AA4B4F3F@glasnet.ru>
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On Thu, Nov 11, 1999 at 08:00:40AM +0300, Alexander Prikhod'ko wrote: > Dear developers and users of FreeBSD. > > I have very big difficulties configuring > XFree86 with Diamond Viper VLB video-card > on a 486-machine. > Could you advise who can I ask about it? > Possibly a list/group related to XFree86... this list is not primarily aimed at XFree, though a lot of people will have some experience. I'll give it a try. > Installing FreeBSD on 486-computer > (VLB/ISA motherboard, 32M RAM, IDE HDD) > with "Diamond Viper VLB" card I encountered > strange difficulties configuring XServer. > > First, while making installation I trie > to run the graphical utility XF86Setup > and the system die, I see only a white > rectangle on the screen. By the way, > the same happens when I try to use > VGA16-server. > > Further, I launch the text utility xf86config > which asks, after usual questions, the type > of the video card and propose to use > the P9000-server, and this is quite reasonable. In case of trouble with XFree setup, you need to know the *exact* chipset you have on your card. Some ways that might be successfull to determine the chipset: 1) Lookup the manual of the card if you have it, 2) During boot, often a message displays the chipset and version. However it's only there for a second so might be difficult to catch. 3) If you have Windows on the PC, watch the system configuration. It probably mentions the chipset. 4) Personally I prefer opening the PC and looking on the card. The largest chip carries a mark/ number saying what chip it is. The fact that it is a Diamond card is not relevant, the chipset matters. > But when I try to start XServer I see black screen > and, as it seems to me, the system does not try > to launch KDE. Though, in contrast to the situation > described above, server respond properly > to Ctrl-Alt-Del. > > Generally, is it possible to run SVGA-server > (as I do on a Pentium machine with Viper-550) > with such a video card using some "generic" device? Hmmm, I think that the Viper-550 is a *totally* different card from the above mentioned VLB card. Viper-550 is PCI isn't it? Again, the chipset determines what X-server you need, not the name it carries on the box. I think Diamond has not enough inspiration for inventing new names. Diamond Speedstar A50 for instance is a totally different thing as the older Speedstar VLB... > Note that earlier I had no troubles with my Viper > running Windows, though FreeBSD is > much more appropriate to this machine. > > I would be much obliged if you help me > understand how to overcome this problem. > What colordepth did you configure? I suggest to start with 8bpp, as 16bpp might be problematic on a VLB card, due to limitations in the XFree server, especially when you have > 14MB RAM. If you still have problems, you have to play with the options in the XF86config file. To sum up I suggest you to do the following: 1) Determine what chipset you have *exactly*. (eerm, see PS below... probably all Viper VLB's have the same chipset) 2) Go to www.xfree86.org and read the relevant section(s) for your chipset. Here you'll also find if more than 8bpp is supported. Hope it helps, Karel. PS: Just fired up netscape and went to www.xfree86.org; in the card list Viper VLB is listed to use the P9000 server indeed. The notes say that you might need to put chipset "vipervlb" into your config as the probe may detect the card as pci... Look up http://www.xfree86.org/3.3.5/P90002.html#3 and http://www.xfree86.org/3.3.5/P9000.html (Ah, more than 8bpp seems to be supported :-) To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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