XFree86 server problem

I encountered an interesting problem with a new installation of RH9.

The XFree86 Server starts up, but the display does nothing.

I am running a 1.1Ghz AMD, with a Radeon 7500 video card. All hardware except the sound card is in the compatibility list. The X Server is configured correctly, and works. The problem is, the monitor shuts down due to lack of output from the video card, as far as I can tell. What I need to know is: Is it possible that the X server isn't starting the window manager (GNOME or KDE), therreby causing the system to hang?

When the problem first came up, I immediately suspected that the video card wasn't configured correctly, so I re configured it, and ran XFree86 in test mode, the server started up fine and I was able to move the mouse all over the wonderfully bland desktop it created.

I would like your thoughts. I am not exactly a newbie to Linux, but I'm still weak in some areas. I checked through all the forums, RedHat.com, and a few other places. I even RTFM.

Thanks

Could be. I'm throwing out something I suspected you tried but figured ask anyways: xf86config

Is it possible still that something could be set too high??

The server is configured correctly. I'm fairly certain of that. I even set it to run 640x480 at 256, and told it the Radeon had 32 RAM (It has 64)

One thing that just came to mind is that during installation, the XConfig part didn't ask If I wanted Gnome or KDE as default...

Have you checked to see if any of the Gnome or KDE libraries are installed?

Brand new install, Gnome, KDE, everything is there. That's why this is confusing. THe install went perfectly. All hardware was on the HCL, everything was autodetected. One thing I might mention is that it's RH9 publisher's edition, although that shouldn't affect anything. I set this one up exactly the same as my laptop (other than hardware settings of course) which runs fine.

You know, I've found publisher's editions pure crap. Their versions tend to be hugely broken in one way or another. I have a friend who's having problems right now because the publisher's edition doesn't seem to allow him to compile necessary drivers. Well, gee, it forgot to put the kernel in.. =P

Personally, I'd find a way to get the full ISOs and try a re-install that way. Also, might want to try getting drivers and install those rather than relying on the publisher's edition's version. May not be "accurate".

I know Publisher's Edition sucks in general, but I've never had a problem until now. Thanks for trying. I'm just going to keep hacking away. I'll try to pick up the box set when I can afford it (I'm really broke), but I'm always open to suggestions to get this working. One thing I thought about is formatting everything, then installing 7.2 which I have the "real version", I can then upgrade to 9 through the publisher's edition.

I did that for 7.1 to 7.3 and seemed to be ok but not great. You may find some things working weird. Might want to see if someone has a burner who could download 9 and burn it for you. Cheaper than the box set. :D

The only person I know (I don't get out much) who has a burner is my neighbor Darren. He won't even talk to me if I mention Linux. He's obsessed with Windows. But I'll keep an eye out.

Thanx.

I might even go out and buy the damn burner. They're cheap enough now.

I had a lot of issues but I was using an NVIDIA Driver. I assume you have the correct drivers. Do you have an XF86Config file? My advice is to install RH in text mode and do not configure X. Boot up into command and install the drivers and such. This way, if X does not work you can still fix it. Also, when you it starts the install what kind of graphics card does it say you have. It should be right after the...

Quote:

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Starting anaconda....

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stuff.
Hope that had some insight. :)

-Sam-

It's a Radeon 7500. I know that there are problems with the NVIDIA chipset, that's why I went with the Radeon. I'll try that. I might see if I can post the config file later on. Unfortunately, I have to get internet access through the college right now. My home connection died. I had a laptop on what I would call "life-support". It was the machine I used for internet. I'm suprised it lasted this long.

It is possible to mount an ISO-file like any other mountable volume (harddisk partition, for example: /dev/hda1):

mount /pathto/file.iso /mnt/mountpoint/ -o loop

(you need "block devices" / "loopback device support" compiled in your kernel, or as module)

This way you can get the RH9 full edition, without having to burn the ISO's to CD. You need a running linux-environment to mount the ISO's.

Maybe, another posibility is to install RH using the FTP-server as source for the install. (I know it exist for Suse, but I'm not sure if it is posible for RH) The procedure is fairly simple : create a bootdisk, reboot your PC with the bootdisk, configure your network card and select the FTP-server + path to the RH9(install)-files. The rest of the install is equal to installing from CD-ROM.
(Again, I'm not sure if this is possible with RH, you might consider trying SuSE instead).

Greets,

ruleant

I spent some time tinkering with the XFree86 config file, corrected a few small errors, and got further than before. Now it's telling me that there were no screens found. As I mentioned earlier, it's a Radeon 7500 video card attached to both my TV and a some weird monitor. Everything is fully supported. What the hell does it mean "No screens found?".

The config has everything ist supposed to have and everything is correct.

I even RTFM. It didn't have any mention of this type of problem.

I figured I'd let y'all know how it turned out. I threw a different video card in there (S3 Virge) and it worked fine. The problem apparently was that the X server couldn't find any screens. I think it had something to do with the Radeon 7500's multiple outlets. It has standard monitor hookup, tv out, plus one of them fancy ports for the new "high-tech" monitors. X86 was sending the video and trying to detect the monitor on the wrong port.

Thanks everyone for the help.