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gsfgf Veteran
Joined: 08 May 2002 Posts: 1266
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Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2003 10:33 pm Post subject: How to get xdirectfb working |
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How to get xdirectfb working
I finally got xdirectfb working on my laptop and everything feels so much smoother.
1. Kernel Stuff
First you need to build in framebuffer support to the kernel.
Go to Console drivers > Framebuffer Support
enable Code: |
[*] Support for frame buffer devices (EXPERIMENTAL)
[*] VESA VGA graphics console
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You can also select the framebuffer driver for your video card. I haven't tried it w/ the card specific module since ny NeoMagic card isn't an accelerator or anything special. I'll try later and update. However you may wat to try it w/ just vesa vga enabled so you have fewer things to go wrong.
Then rebuild the kernel.
1.1 GRUB confguration
edit menu.lst to add vga=791as a kernel option as in:
Code: |
title=Gentoo 2.4.19
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/bzImage.2.4.19 root=/dev/hda3 vga=791
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791 corresponds to 1024x768x16bit color in grub.
The otehr modes are as follows:
Code: |
color depth | 640x480 800x600 1024x768 1280x1024
256 (8bit)| 769 771 773 775
32000 (15bit)| 784 787 790 793
65000 (16bit)| 785 788 791 794
16.7 Mil. (24bit)| 786 789 792 795 |
and in lilo
Code: |
Colours 640x400 640x480 800x600 1024x768 1152x864 1280x1024 1600x1200
--------+--------------------------------------------------------------
4 bits | ? ? 0x302 ? ? ? ?
8 bits | 0x300 0x301 0x303 0x305 0x161 0x307 0x31C
15 bits | ? 0x310 0x313 0x316 0x162 0x319 0x31D
16 bits | ? 0x311 0x314 0x317 0x163 0x31A 0x31E
24 bits | ? 0x312 0x315 0x318 ? 0x31B 0x31F
32 bits | ? ? ? ? 0x164 ? |
2. Emerging
At this point go ahead and add the fbcon USE var.
then
Code: |
# ACCEPT_HEYWORDS="~x86" emerge xdirectfb
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I'm not sure what otehr apps need to be rebuilt with the fbcon var. I rebuilt fluxbox but that may have not been necessary. All my other apps worked fine.
3. Config files
the xdirectfb server reads xinit like the normal x server. However it also has its own config file, /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xinit/dfbserverrc.
Edit this file so it reads
Code: |
#!/bin/bash
exec /usr/X11R6/bin/XDirectFB -enableRoot
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You will start all other apps in xinit as usual.
If x starts in an undesired resolution edit /etc/fb.modes.
You now have a working x framebuffer server.
4. Other stuff
Howto that isn't good for much more then lilo video modes: http://en.tldp.org/HOWTO/Framebuffer-HOWTO.html
The thread that got me in buisness: https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=13912&highlight=xdirectfb
And for grub video modes: http://sdb.suselinux.hu/en/sdb/html/wessels_easy_fbdev.html
If anyone has experiance w/ the framebuffer, check out this thread: https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=31562&highlight=
This is where i ask questiosn that i have yet to resolve and will add to this thread as soon as they are resolved. Most of these pertain to using the framebuffer on a high-end system. |
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VisualPhoenix Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 26 Sep 2002 Posts: 135 Location: (CT v NJ)
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2003 3:22 pm Post subject: |
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Thank Aries it works!! |
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CoronaLover Retired Dev
Joined: 20 Jun 2002 Posts: 163 Location: Rosh-ha'ayin, Israel
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2003 5:27 pm Post subject: |
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Also add "video=vesa:mtrr,ywrap" to menu.lst's kernel line.
This will speed up things a little. |
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heijs Apprentice
Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 174 Location: Groningen
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Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 8:35 am Post subject: |
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What does ywrap do exactly? |
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CoronaLover Retired Dev
Joined: 20 Jun 2002 Posts: 163 Location: Rosh-ha'ayin, Israel
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Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 9:32 am Post subject: |
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Taken from /usr/src/linux/Documentation/fb/vesafb.txt :
Quote: | ypan enable display panning using the VESA protected mode
interface. The visible screen is just a window of the
video memory, console scrolling is done by changing the
start of the window.
pro: * scrolling (fullscreen) is fast, because there is
no need to copy around data.
* You'll get scrollback (the Shift-PgUp thing),
the video memory can be used as scrollback buffer
kontra: * scrolling only parts of the screen causes some
ugly flicker effects (boot logo flickers for
example).
ywrap Same as ypan, but assumes your gfx board can wrap-around
the video memory (i.e. starts reading from top if it
reaches the end of video memory). Faster than ypan.
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heijs Apprentice
Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 174 Location: Groningen
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Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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OK, thanks for the info, but it wasn't applicable to me.
I've got the XDirectFB running now on a Matrox G400 card (using matrox fb).
It looks really great and feels quite fast |
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heijs Apprentice
Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 174 Location: Groningen
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Kumba Developer
Joined: 16 Jul 2002 Posts: 393 Location: Sigma 957
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Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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Curious, is XDirectFB faster than X-Windows? Any any idea if this will work on an UltraSPARC system running ATI Hardware offhand?
--Kumba _________________ "The past tempts us, the present confuses us, the future frightens us. And our lives slip away, moment by moment, lost in that vast, terrible in-between."
--Emperor Turhan, Centauri Republic |
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yngwin Retired Dev
Joined: 19 Dec 2002 Posts: 4572 Location: Suzhou, China
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Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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I got it sorta working with matroxfb. Mozilla looks fine, but I get strange coloured dots in the corners, the cursor is vague and when I right-click I don't get the menu. I'm using freshly emerged XFree 4.2.99.4, XDirectFB and waimea. I'm switching back to normal X for now, but I'd like to get this working properly. I love the easy config, just comment out the unwanted resolutions in /etc/fb.modes... (The harder part is of course the kernel and grub configs, for those not used to that.) _________________ "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves." - Abraham Lincoln
Free Culture | Defective by Design | EFF |
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watersb Apprentice
Joined: 04 Sep 2002 Posts: 297 Location: take a left turn in Tesuque
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Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 9:21 pm Post subject: no power management with nVidia |
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I tried using the framebuffer (mostly for neato console stuff), but this woke up my nVidia card just enough to mess up power management on my laptop.
That is, the machine would not suspend if I used fb console.
The lack of power management for nVidia's closed-source X drivers is well-known, but I was not aware of this problem using the (text, not X) fb console in high-resolution modes.
At the moment, I just use the XFree "nv" driver and power management is fine (well, with the most recent Dell BIOS it's somewhat messy, but that's another story... anyhow, the laptop will go to sleep when I close it).
Anyone else have any luck with nVidia cards and fb?
Anyone else using nVidia cards with XDirectFB? How about power management? |
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gsfgf Veteran
Joined: 08 May 2002 Posts: 1266
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Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 11:42 pm Post subject: Re: no power management with nVidia |
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watersb wrote: |
Anyone else have any luck with nVidia cards and fb?
Anyone else using nVidia cards with XDirectFB? How about power management? |
I can run Xdirectfb on my GF3. It runs fine, but unaccelerated. I'm still using X on that box b/c i use dual displays and need accelerated drivers. |
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TheJabberwokk Apprentice
Joined: 13 Aug 2002 Posts: 196 Location: Gloucester
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2003 3:41 pm Post subject: FB with ati radeon AIW |
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When I run X I get garbage:
I set on my grub settings to:
Code: | kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda3 idebus=69 hdd=ide-scsi pci=bios,biosirq vga=792 video=vesa:mtrr,ywrap |
when I run fbset I get this:
Code: | acohen@jabberwokk acohen $ fbset
mode "1024x768-76"
# D: 78.653 MHz, H: 59.949 kHz, V: 75.694 Hz
geometry 1024 768 1024 10922 24
timings 12714 128 32 16 4 128 4
rgba 8/16,8/8,8/0,0/0
endmode
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is there anyway to get 32 bit color and what do I set my timings to? |
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gsfgf Veteran
Joined: 08 May 2002 Posts: 1266
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2003 5:29 pm Post subject: Re: FB with ati radeon AIW |
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TheJabberwokk wrote: | is there anyway to get 32 bit color and what do I set my timings to? |
in X, all you can have is 24 bit. It's the same as 23bit, but not quite or some such. As long as you have 24bit you're running max colors. |
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Lockup Guru
Joined: 25 Jul 2002 Posts: 430
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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2003 1:24 am Post subject: |
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finally got off my arse and made xdfb work
few problems though:
-as im typing this, it takes about 10 seconds per char i type to appear in anything(moz, eterm, etc)
-eterm is very slow at displaying stuff, im not sure if 2 transparancies together might be the prob(eterm trans + xdfb trans...)
-the cursor is all blurry
-the cursor leaves a black trail behind it, as if i was selecting stuff in a term(i mean for the "style" of the black crap it leaves....vertical rectangles the size of an eterm char buffer)
questions:
-could i get hardware accel in xdfb if i use the nvidia/riva fb modules instead of the vesa?(using vesa at the mo)
(mostly for games such as q2 etc)
thats all for now, thanks for the info |
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Swishy Guru
Joined: 06 Jun 2002 Posts: 491 Location: NZ
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2003 9:54 am Post subject: Re: no power management with nVidia |
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gsfgf wrote: | watersb wrote: |
Anyone else have any luck with nVidia cards and fb?
Anyone else using nVidia cards with XDirectFB? How about power management? |
I can run Xdirectfb on my GF3. It runs fine, but unaccelerated. I'm still using X on that box b/c i use dual displays and need accelerated drivers. |
have you tried using rivafb and adding video=riva:foo instead of video=vesa:foo ???
Cheers
Dale. _________________ Theres no substitute for C.I. |
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mr_andy_main n00b
Joined: 31 Dec 2002 Posts: 24
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2003 1:06 pm Post subject: Should I be doing something different? |
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what do I have to do to get Xdirectfb to start in place of X on boot. Should it be in the xdm script or something as xdm is in my default runlevel? I have passed the video=foo option to my kernel.
thanks, andy. |
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puddpunk l33t
Joined: 20 Jul 2002 Posts: 681 Location: New Zealand
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2003 11:19 pm Post subject: |
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Does anyone know if this works with KDE?? |
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gsfgf Veteran
Joined: 08 May 2002 Posts: 1266
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2003 2:11 am Post subject: |
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puddpunk wrote: | Does anyone know if this works with KDE?? |
I don't use KDE, but there is absolutely no reason why it shouldn't. |
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CoronaLover Retired Dev
Joined: 20 Jun 2002 Posts: 163 Location: Rosh-ha'ayin, Israel
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2003 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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IIRC, KDE wont work but QT only apps work great. |
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puddpunk l33t
Joined: 20 Jul 2002 Posts: 681 Location: New Zealand
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2003 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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Well, I messed with this for a while, and this is what I came up with:
I started using fluxbox, very nice Then I tried loading up KDE. KSplash crashed immediately, but thats ok, it doesn't do jack schitt. Then KWin, and KMix crashed as well.
The problem with KWin was that I had an OpenGL enhanced screensaver selected, and the XDirectFB X server didn't have any GLX extentions on it (yes, that means you can't play games, even under say a rive accelerated FB until somebody comes out with some GLX extentions for XDirectFB). So I changed the screensaver, and KWin loaded fine. Everything looked fine, except most of the icons wouldn't load (I couldn't decided if the unloaded ones were PNG, SVG or some other type).
I couldn't fix KMix or KSplash, but the initial experiance with KDE & XDirectFB was very impressive. Smooth, Fast and very responsive. XFree is a bit of a slouch! |
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Lockup Guru
Joined: 25 Jul 2002 Posts: 430
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2003 10:39 pm Post subject: |
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what about my cursor problem though? *raises fist* |
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hhaamu Apprentice
Joined: 23 Aug 2002 Posts: 253 Location: Finland
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Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2003 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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I think I have it working, but it only gives me a 1600x1200 blue screen (no, not of death, but normal blue) with no window manager. How do I start one (which file do I put it in)?
EDIT: Never mind, I just had to wait a bit for my .xinitrc to execute |
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Lockup Guru
Joined: 25 Jul 2002 Posts: 430
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Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2003 9:08 pm Post subject: |
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hmm my mouse stopped being weird after i tested with rivafb instead of vesa.. now i have a strange prob though.... the background screen is just weirdly distorted(kinda like when TV cable goes out...), and enlightenment menus make the screen "reset" over and over again
hrm... |
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rb338 n00b
Joined: 03 Oct 2002 Posts: 40 Location: Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2003 7:45 pm Post subject: |
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I have XDirectFB running perfectly now, but is there any (easy?) way to get new modelines?
I'm currently using 1280x1024 @ 77 Hz, but I really want it at 85 Hz because 77 Hz is giving me headaches.
I got this one from fbset:
mode "1280x1024-77"
# D: 131.096 MHz, H: 80.328 kHz, V: 76.649 Hz
geometry 1280 1024 1280 1024 16
timings 7628 160 32 16 4 160 4
rgba 5/11,6/5,5/0,0/0
endmode
Which is 77 Hz |
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rb338 n00b
Joined: 03 Oct 2002 Posts: 40 Location: Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2003 11:32 am Post subject: |
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Found some things, I'm rather clueless at the moment.
I'm still trying to get 1280x1024 at 85Hz, with no luck.
My kernel bootline looks like this now:
kernel /bzImage root=/dev/hda10 video=vesa:1280x1024-16@85,mtrr,ywrap hdb=ide-scsi initrd=/initrd
As you see, I don't have a vga=foo line. I had it before though, but while I was searching for answers I read that the framebuffer doesn't use it and thus it isn't needed. If this is correct, I don't know.
What I do know is that the video=foo line appears to be completely ignored. My framebuffer is now on 640x480 4bit 60Hz.
I've tried both vesa and riva framebuffer drivers, no luck. I tried entering a default mode from fb.modes, no luck. I tried adding my own fb.modes entry by converting a (perfectly working) XFree86 modeline, no luck
What could be the problem here?
The modeline from XFree86 is:
Modeline "test" 157.5 1280 1344 1504 1728 1024 1025 1028 1072 +HSync +VSync
With 'modeline2fb -d 16' I get:
mode "test"
geometry 1280 1024 1280 38 16
timings 6349 224 64 44 1 160 3
hsync high
vsync high
endmode
I might be wrong, but I tried using this mode by using:
video=riva:test,mtrr,ywrap (also tried vesa instead of riva)
Help? |
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