XFree86 problem

[Qu!z]

hi, I installed freebsd 4.7 but can't get x server to work. My box have an on-board video card.
Still can't get x to work. Should I buy a video card? or should I install the new release of xfree86?

Any help or suggestion would greatly be appreciated.

[SirDice]

I'm running 4.7 with X4.3.0. What seems to be the problem?

You could try running XFree86 -configure as root.

from XFree86(1):

-configure
When this option is specified, the X server loads all video
driver modules, probes for available hardware, and writes out
an initial XF86Config(5) file based on what was detected. This
option currently has some problems on some platforms, but in
most cases it is a good way to bootstrap the configuration pro-
cess. This option is only available when the server is run as
root (i.e, with real-uid 0).

[Quad]

A little more information would be helpful don't you think...Like Make/Model of your onbord card. Distro of OS, version of X server. Error messages, etc.

[SirDice]

Originally posted here by Quad
A little more information would be helpful don't you think...Like Make/Model of your onbord card. Distro of OS, version of X server. Error messages, etc.

I believe Distro of OS would be freebsd 4.7 but the rest would definitly help

[PuReExcTacy]

Try the latest releast of the xfree86 server, I had a similar problem with Red Hat, and that seemed to fix my problem. For the longest time, there was no hardware support for my video card, updating to the latest release made everything easy, as it auto detected my card and I was on my way. Good luck!



PuRe

[EaseZE]

I have had this problem on slackware linux with onboard video also. My gigabyte k7 triton motherboard does not support linux and even with default vga configuration i could not get it to work correctly. It is onboard savagepro 4 and is listed but does not work. If i figure out a way to get mine running ill let you know and maybe what i have learned can help you.

[the_JinX]

did you try enabeling a framebuffer device..

This generic interface should work with nearly all video cards (although
not every card will support every resolution).  To use the Linux framebuffer
console, you need to enable these kernel options:
Using 'make menuconfig', in 'console drivers', enable:[*] VGA text console[*] Video mode selection support[*] Support for frame buffer devices (EXPERIMENTAL)[*] VESA VGA graphics console[*] Advanced low level driver options
  <*> 8 bpp packed pixels support
  <*> 16 bpp packed pixels support
  <*> 24 bpp packed pixels support
  <*> 32 bpp packed pixels support
  <*> VGA characters/attributes support[*] Select compiled-in fonts[*]   VGA 8x8 font[*]   VGA 8x16 font

If you have a Matrox or ATI Mach64, you might try enabling the options having
to do with those cards as well.  However, if the card is VESA compliant, you
don't really need to (and it might cause problems, possibly)

Next, if this file is not already named /etc/X11/XF86Config, make a copy
with that name.  This file ships with the name XF86Config-fbdev to avoid
overwriting an existing config file.

To get the kernel to start in VESA framebuffer mode, you need to pass it
a vga= init string at boot time.  For example, if you use LILO you'll
probably find a vga=normal string in your /etc/lilo.conf.  If you edit that
to one of the values in this table:

   Colours   640x480 800x600 1024x768 1280x1024 1600x1200
  --------+---------------------------------------------
  256     |   769     771      773      775       796
  32,768  |   784     787      790      793       797
  65,536  |   785     788      791      794       798
  16.8M   |   786     789      792      795       799


...such as this for 1024x768x64k:
vga = 791
and then reinstall LILO by running 'lilo' as root, then at the next boot
Linux should start in a VESA framebuffer console mode.

For more information on how to activate the Linux frame buffer, see
/usr/src/linux/Documentation/fb/vesafb.txt.

from slackware /etc/X11/XF86Config-fbdev

[sweet_angel]

My box have an on-board video card.

My old comp have on-board video card (S3 SAVAGE4) but I didn't get good X configuration even I've got S3 SAVAGE4 on the list of FreeBSD and what I did is I used "VESA" as video card. And this trick works for me somehow.

Logged in as root :
#xf86config

And then when you have to choose video card ..pick "VESA" and choose your modes (800x600,1024x768,etc) save configuration and typed "startx"

I hope this helps

[SirDice]

Originally posted here by sweet_angel
My old comp have on-board video card (S3 SAVAGE4) but I didn't get good X configuration even I've got S3 SAVAGE4 on the list of FreeBSD and what I did is I used "VESA" as video card. And this trick works for me somehow.

Logged in as root :
#xf86config

And then when you have to choose video card ..pick "VESA" and choose your modes (800x600,1024x768,etc) save configuration and typed "startx"

I hope this helps

This should work fine for X3. Fbsd 4.7 installs X4 by default. xf86config still works but will create a X3 config instead of an X4 config. X4 should be able to use an X3 config. But it's better to run XFree86 -configure instead.

[spurious_inode]

XFree86 kicks a lot of noob's butt because they don't know these crucial things:

- Vertical and Horizontal refresh rate their monitor is capable of,
e.g. 30-70 Hz Horizontal, 50-160 Hz Vertical

- The exact video chipset of your video card

- How much video RAM your video card has

- What display resolutions your monitor/video card are capable of

- What kind of mouse you have,

e.g. If you are running Linux, and you have a scrollwheel mouse, you want to
have an entry like this in /etc/X11/XF86Config for your mouse:

Option 'Device' '/dev/psaux'
Option 'Protocol 'imps/2'
Option 'Emulate3Buttons' 'true'
Option 'ZAxisMapping' '4 5'

(Replace single quotes with double quotes, keyboard mapping of double quote character
seems to be goofed when I am on this site)

Don't know if that helps anybody, but this has to be one of the most frequently asked
questions about XFree86/UNIX on the internet.