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VinzC
Watchman
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 5098
Location: Dark side of the mood
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 Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 2:36 pm Post subject: Dell Inspiron 9400 |
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Hi.
I decided to start a new support thread for that specific laptop so as we, gentle owners of that bleeding-edge technology representative can share our thoughts, experience and woes (there shouldn't be too many  ).
Since Dell laptops configuration can differ a lot (especially on the video card), there will be as many chapters in this post. I'll update this post as soon as I have a little time and I get feedback. I'll start with the main things I've done and that gave me plain satisfaction.
Hardware description
This laptop features the new ICH7(M) chipset, Centrino Solo or Duo and HD audio. The graphics card may be nVidia 7800Go or Intel GMA950. The screen may be 1440x900 or 1920x1200.
Here's my lspci listing:
| Code: | # lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PCI Express Graphics Port (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 01)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 01)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 01)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI #1 (rev 01)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI #2 (rev 01)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI #3 (rev 01)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI #4 (rev 01)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 01)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e1)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 01)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) Serial ATA Storage Controllers cc=IDE (rev 01)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 01)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0098 (rev a1)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX (rev 02)03:01.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd Unknown device 0832
03:01.1 Class 0805: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 19)
03:01.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd Unknown device 0843 (rev 01)
03:01.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 0a)
03:01.4 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev 05)
0c:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG (rev 02) |
On mine there is a 1920x1200 widescreen with an nVidia 7800Go. (It could have been worse I admit...) Note I got the full definition on the Wireless LAN from lspci for I edited /usr/share/misc/pci.ids and added the following line:
| Code: | # diff -u /usr/share/misc/pci.ids.old /usr/share/misc/pci.ids
--- /usr/share/misc/pci.ids.old 2006-02-23 13:53:09.000000000 +0100
+++ /usr/share/misc/pci.ids 2006-02-12 12:00:30.000000000 +0100
@@ -10705,6 +10705,7 @@
359e E7525 Memory Controller Hub
1028 0169 Precision 470
4220 PRO/Wireless 2200BG
+ 4222 PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
4223 PRO/Wireless 2915ABG MiniPCI Adapter
4224 PRO/Wireless 2915ABG MiniPCI Adapter
5200 EtherExpress PRO/100 Intelligent Server |
Just for the fun.
Status
As I had an Inspiron 6000 before I just plain copied the whole system onto the new laptop, changing here and there only a few kernel options. I also added/removed some packages. Though both laptops don't even share the same hardware, there are only a few changes that must be made to Gentoo and the kernel. Cloning was at least an easy, nice and cool experience here  .
26th February: I've now produced a set of three ebuilds for ipw3945 from the Intel drivers and packages. I have tested them on my system and they seem to work properly. See my post in ipw3945 wireless drivers for a complete installation guide.
Until now the remaining problem is about the Audio jack: sound is not cut off when a jack is inserted.
11th May: Mute bug is now fixed and sound quality much better with module parameter options snd-hda-intel position_fix=1.
I did never get success out of Suspend2 so I've dropped it from my configuration. I never tried Software Suspend either though it has been reported to work better then Suspend2. I'll try if I feel like I should .
But... wait, what about the SD Card Reader? Hehe... see below... 
General setup
Here are the packages I used:
- Gentoo Sources 2.6.15-r5
- udev-079-r1
- baselayout-1.12.0_pre13-r1
- netplug-1.2.9-r1
- acpid-1.0.4-r3
- cpufreqd-2.0.0
- cpufrequtils-0.4
- xorg-x11-6.8.2-r6 (reverted from xorg-x11-6.8.99.15-r4)
- synaptics-0.14.4-r2
I removed i8kutils even though I enabled Dell Laptop features. Control over the fans seems to be better accomplished by the BIOS.
As you know Gentoo now uses GCC 3.4. If you haven't migrated yet, well, you should as it has been enhanced for Pentium-M support and is now stable.
CPU - Centrino Duo
Nothing special here, in Processor type and features:
| Code: | Subarchitecture Type (PC-compatible) --->
Processor family (Pentium M) --->
[*] Symmetric multi-processing support
(2) Maximum number of CPUs (2-255)
Preemption Model (Voluntary Kernel Preemption (Desktop)) --->
<*> Dell laptop support
High Memory Support (4GB) --->
[*] MTRR (Memory Type Range Register) support
[*] kexec system call (EXPERIMENTAL) |
Note you will have to enable kexec system call with unmasked versions of baselayout (1.12.xxx). If you have 1 GB memory or more you'll also have to enable 4GB High Memory Support.
CPU speed control
I've reused my Dell i6k CPU frequency scaling. Here's my related kernel config in Power management options (ACPI, APM) > CPU Frequency scaling:
| Code: | [*] CPU Frequency scaling
<*> CPU frequency translation statistics
Default CPUFreq governor (performance) --->
<*> 'powersave' governor
<*> 'userspace' governor for userspace frequency scaling
<*> 'ondemand' cpufreq policy governor
<*> 'conservative' cpufreq governor
<*> ACPI Processor P-States driver
<*> Intel Enhanced SpeedStep
[*] Use ACPI tables to decode valid frequency/voltage pairs
[*] Built-in tables for Banias CPUs
<*> Intel Speedstep on ICH-M chipsets (ioport interface) |
You can also use ondemand governor instead of kernel's default (performance) by adding the following lines to /etc/conf.d/local.start (thanks @ dob):
| Code: | # cat /etc/conf.d/local.start
echo -n ondemand > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor
echo -n ondemand > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu1/cpufreq/scaling_governor |
Wireless card
See my post in ipw3945 wireless drivers for a complete installation guide.
11th May: ipw3945-1.0.2 is now in portage!
Wired ethernet
The Ethernet adapter is again a Broadcom 440x family. Still nothing special in Device Drivers > Network device support > Ethernet (10 or 100 Mbit):
| Code: | [*] Ethernet (10 or 100Mbit)
<*> Generic Media Independent Interface device support
[*] EISA, VLB, PCI and on board controllers
<M> Broadcom 4400 ethernet support (EXPERIMENTAL) |
Emerge netplug if you want net.eth0 to be brought up when you plug the cable in. It works with baselayout-1.12.0_pre13-r1 without adding net.eth0 to any runlevel.
Hard Disk and CD/DVD Writer
My hard disk is a FUJITSU MHV2080BH. Here are the kernel options I selected in Device Drivers > ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support:
| Code: | | < > ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support |
and Device Drivers > SCSI device support:
| Code: | [*] legacy /proc/scsi/ support
<*> SCSI disk support
<*> SCSI CDROM support
<*> SCSI generic support
SCSI low-level drivers --->
<*> Serial ATA (SATA) support
<*> AHCI SATA support
<*> Intel PIIX/ICH SATA support |
| Code: | # ls -ld /dev/cd*
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 3 Feb 23 09:48 /dev/cdrom -> sr0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 3 Feb 23 09:48 /dev/cdrw -> sr0 |
| Code: | # ls -ld /dev/dvd*
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 3 Feb 23 09:48 /dev/dvd -> sr0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 3 Feb 23 09:48 /dev/dvdrw -> sr0 |
| Code: | # ls -ld /dev/s[rg]*
crw-rw---- 1 root root 21, 0 Feb 23 09:48 /dev/sg0
crw-rw---- 1 root cdrom 21, 1 Feb 23 09:48 /dev/sg1
brw-rw---- 1 root cdrom 11, 0 Feb 23 09:48 /dev/sr0 |
High Definition Audio
Update
At first sound with the built-in driver was either poor or produced background noise. With recent kernels this problem does not happen anymore. You have to use Alsa driver from portage however to get the latest fixes on HD Audio bugs.
| Code: | lspci -v
...
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)
Subsystem: Dell Unknown device 01cd
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 20
Memory at dfffc000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2
Capabilities: [60] Message Signalled Interrupts: 64bit+ Queue=0/0 Enable-
Capabilities: [70] Express Unknown type IRQ 0
Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel
Capabilities: [130] Unknown (5)
... |
Don't use kernel built-in Alsa support:
| Code: | | < > Advanced Linux Sound Architecture |
rather emerge alsa-driver from portage. The module gets loaded automatically at boot by coldplug. You must have alsa-driver-1.0.11 or later to fix the headphones/mute bug.
Add the following line to /etc/modules.d/snd_hda_intel:
| Code: | # cat /etc/modules.d/snd_hda_intel
options snd-hda-intel position_fix=1 |
Don't forget modules-update...
Pending issues are:
- Microphone doesn't work.
- No control over the beep volume of the internal "buzzer". Module pcspkr blacklisted for now.
SD Card Reader
It works. No lie, it does. You'll however have to manually patch your kernel. The patches are available at http://list.drzeus.cx/pipermail/sdhci-devel/2006-February/000426.html. See Dell Inspiron 6000 forum for more details. You must use the driver built-in and not as a module however.
Note: with 2.6.16 kernel series patches might appear not to be applied. You can check this web site (disgruntledgoat.com) for any help on how to apply patches for these kernel series. It's about Gentoo Linux on a Dell Inspiron 630m but the hardware is almost identical.
Frame buffer consoles
Ok, you'll probably cry rivers on that one. All I could do so far was to get the 1400x1050-32@60 VESA default mode. I'm using VESA-TNG for the frame buffer console (I wish I had more); vbetest only shows resolutions like 1400x1050 or 1600x1200 at best, which means I've got a crappy BIOS as usual... In short: forget about widescreen resolutions on framebuffer consoles for the moment - until someone sheds some light on it.
Video under Xorg (nVidia 7800)
Emerge the latest drivers from nVidia as they will support the new 7800 Go. Then run xorgconfig as you would normally. Then edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf and change the Screen section:
| Code: | Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen 1"
Device "nVidia7800Go"
Monitor "DellLFP"
DefaultDepth 24
Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
EndSection |
All you have to do is add the missing resolutions; the nVidia driver will take care of the rest. It should then look like
| Code: | Section "Screen"
...
Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1920x1200" "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1920x1200" "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1920x1200" "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
EndSection |
Don't forget to edit the appropriate Device section and change the driver name from nv (or whatever) to nvidia:
| Code: | Section "Device"
Identifier "nVidia7800Go"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "nVidia"
BoardName "nVidia GeForce 7800 Go"
Option "NoLogo" "1"
EndSection |
Synaptics touchpad
Dell Inspiron 6000 had an Alps Glidepoint. This one has a true Synaptics. Don't forget the Event interface in your kernel config. Put the module name in /etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6.
| Code: | | <M> Event interface |
Then it's pure manual cooking. Go edit your xorg.conf file and add the following line to the Module section:
Then add this InputDevice section:
| Code: | Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Touchpad"
Driver "synaptics"
Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mouse0"
Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
Option "LeftEdge" "1700"
Option "RightEdge" "5300"
Option "TopEdge" "1700"
Option "BottomEdge" "4200"
Option "FingerLow" "25"
Option "FingerHigh" "30"
Option "MaxTapTime" "180"
Option "MaxTapMove" "220"
Option "VertScrollDelta" "100"
Option "HorizScrollDelta" "100"
Option "MinSpeed" "0.09"
Option "MaxSpeed" "0.18"
Option "AccelFactor" "0.15"
Option "EdgeMotionMinZ" "17"
Option "EdgeMotionMaxZ" "21"
Option "EdgeMotionMinSpeed" "30"
Option "EdgeMotionMaxSpeed" "35"
Option "LeftRightScrolling" "1"
Option "UpDownScrolling" "1"
Option "EmulateMidButtonTime" "75"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "SHMConfig" "on"
EndSection |
Finally add the following line to the ServerLayout section:
| Code: | | InputDevice "Touchpad" "AlwaysCore" |
I personnally find the mouse goes a little too fast with the touchpad but I can accomodate.
Final notes
If you want to get CD/DVD burning work, you must have udev-070-r1 or later. It eliminates the need for custom rules to create nodes for the CD/DVD writer.
DMA seems to work as I can play DVD without screaming at sluggishness .
I found leaving the BIOS control the fans gave me better satisfaction than using i8kutils. Otherwise the left fan happened to run for one second, pause for one second, run for one second, pause for two... At least now it stays quiet for longer periods and is triggered only when necessary. I've also added Gnome Sensors Applet to my Gnome Desktop and therefore can watch the temperature. I've got rid of the fan speed indicators as they just gave me silly speeds (more than 100,000 rpm  ). Hence I dropped them.
Updates
- CPU frequency scaling does seem to work. I've powered my laptop while on batteries and Gnome CPU speed applet shows 1GHz instead of the nominal frequency (2.66 I think).
- Feb. 26th: The ebuild set is now ready. Enjoy it!
- Feb. 26th: Reverted to xorg-x11-6.8.2-r6.
- May 11th: Updates on HD Audio, SD card reader and CPU frequency scaling.
- IDE/SATA confusion removed.
TODO
- Framebuffer consoles work in native resolutions
- Try a working software suspend
Oh and, why not
- Dual screen
- S-video output
- Freevo as a media station.
Comments welcome.
_________________
Gentoo addict: tomorrow I quit, I promise!... Just one more emerge...
1739!
Last edited by VinzC on Tue May 23, 2006 7:32 am; edited 8 times in total |
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flywheelbot
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Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 12
Location: United States
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| Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 6:02 pm Post subject: Problems with Intel GMA 945GM Card... |
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Thanks for getting this thread started. I'm helping a friend [trautenberg] with a Gentoo Install on his 9400, and am pulling my hair out over the video card configuration. He opted for (quoting the Dell Invoice) something inbetween a Intel Media Accelerator 900-950. So it's a toss up.
Checking the video BIOS with the 915resolution video hack yeilds:
| Code: | Intel 800/900 Series VBIOS Hack : version 0.5.2
Chipset: 945GM
BIOS: TYPE 1
Mode Table Offset: $C0000 + $269
Mode Table Entries: 36
|
So it's definetly a 945GM -- if the BIOS is to be trusted.
Following the steps at http://gentoo-wiki.com/HARDWARE_Intel_945G, I'm able to see something about the videocard now is lspci:
| Code: | 00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Class 0403: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 01)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 01)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 01)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI #1 (rev 01)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI #2 (rev 01)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI #3 (rev 01)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI #4 (rev 01)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 01)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e1)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 01)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) Serial ATA Storage Controllers cc=IDE (rev 01)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 01)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX (rev 02)
03:01.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd Unknown device 0832
03:01.1 Class 0805: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 19)
03:01.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd Unknown device 0843 (rev 01)
03:01.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 0a)
03:01.4 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev 05)
0c:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Unknown device 4222 (rev 02)
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But when I try to run X with a conf like this...
| Code: |
Section "Device"
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "i810"
VendorName "Intel Corp."
BoardName "gma900"
BusID "PCI:00:02:0"
VideoRam 131072
EndSection
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I get some error in the X log like
| Code: |
...
compiled for 6.8.99.15, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 0.4
(II) LoadModule: "synaptics"
(II) Reloading /usr/lib/modules/input/synaptics_drv.so
(II) I810: Driver for Intel Integrated Graphics Chipsets: i810, i810-dc100,
i810e, i815, i830M, 845G, 852GM/855GM, 865G, 915G, E7221 (i915),
915GM, 945G
(II) Primary Device is: PCI 00:02:0
(WW) I810: No matching Device section for instance (BusID PCI:0:2:1) found
(EE) No devices detected.
Fatal server error:
no screens found
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Of course VESA works fine, but doesn't operate at our desired resolution--just sticks with a streched 1024x768. Has anyone else sucessfully setup this video card at 1440x900? (or higher?)
[Note - Thanks VinzC--I did drop a * in my code]
Last edited by flywheelbot on Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:31 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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VinzC
Watchman
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 5098
Location: Dark side of the mood
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| Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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It looks like you accidentally dropped a star (*) in a [code] bbCode instead of the closing slash...
_________________
Gentoo addict: tomorrow I quit, I promise!... Just one more emerge...
1739! |
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VinzC
Watchman
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 5098
Location: Dark side of the mood
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| Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 6:53 pm Post subject: Re: Problems with Intel GMA 945GM Card... |
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| flywheelbot wrote: | | ... He opted for (quoting the Dell Invoice) something inbetween a Intel Media Accelerator 900-950. So it's a toss up. |
He must use the latest kernels (probably unmasked versions of Vanilla Sources for a start). I think support for i945 has been put in 2.6.15 and later kernels.
_________________
Gentoo addict: tomorrow I quit, I promise!... Just one more emerge...
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Razzloss
n00b
Joined: 23 Feb 2006
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 6:57 pm Post subject: Re: Problems with Intel GMA 945GM Card... |
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Well, I don't have a Dell machine, but...
| flywheelbot wrote: | Thanks for getting this thread started. I'm helping a friend [trautenberg] with a Gentoo Install on his 9400, and am pulling my hair out over the video card configuration. He opted for (quoting the Dell Invoice) something inbetween a Intel Media Accelerator 900-950. So it's a toss up.
--snip--
But when I try to run X with a conf like this...
| Code: |
Section "Device"
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "i810"
VendorName "Intel Corp."
BoardName "gma900"
BusID "PCI:00:02:0"
VideoRam 131072
EndSection
|
I get some error in the X log like
| Code: |
...
compiled for 6.8.99.15, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 0.4
(II) LoadModule: "synaptics"
(II) Reloading /usr/lib/modules/input/synaptics_drv.so
(II) I810: Driver for Intel Integrated Graphics Chipsets: i810, i810-dc100,
i810e, i815, i830M, 845G, 852GM/855GM, 865G, 915G, E7221 (i915),
915GM, 945G
(II) Primary Device is: PCI 00:02:0
(WW) I810: No matching Device section for instance (BusID PCI:0:2:1) found
(EE) No devices detected.
Fatal server error:
no screens found
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Support for 945GM isn't in portage yet. (or atleast not in the modular X.org which I'm using). The driver available in portage is 1.4.1.3 and the 945GM is supported by versions >=1.5.0.0.
| flywheelbot wrote: |
Of course VESA works fine, but doesn't operate at our desired resolution--just sticks with a streched 1024x768. Has anyone else sucessfully setup this video card at 1440x900? (or higher?) |
I'm guessing the 1440x900 resolution isn't available. I had to use 915resolution to setup 1280x800 resolution, because it wasn't listed as available and therefore vesa driver worked only at 1024x768. But with 915resolution I replaced one of the modes with 1280x800 32bpp and after that the VESA driver worked fine.
But with VESA driver xv isn't available and I have to use cvs versions of x.org server and i810-video driver. (i810 driver alone wouldn't work so I had to compile cvs version of the server also). And for some reason with the i810 driver I'm limited to 16bpp depth, but atleast xv works.
edit: Oh, yes, and I'm using 2.6.16-rc4 vanilla kernel, support for 945GM AGP came in rc2 or rc3. |
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flywheelbot
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Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 12
Location: United States
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| Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Right--Thanks very much for the speedy response. Will try the vanilla sources, and post results. |
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mahler
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Joined: 06 Oct 2004
Posts: 22
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:27 am Post subject: |
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Hi VinzC,
How did you determine the timings for the monitor? My 9400 came without any technical specs.
thanks
Daniel |
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Jobbe
n00b
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 29
Location: Darmstadt (Germany)
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:03 pm Post subject: |
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| You might wanna check http://ipw3945.sourceforge.net/ for 3945ABG support - apparently it's beeing developed right now and there seems to be a dev version. |
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VinzC
Watchman
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 5098
Location: Dark side of the mood
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Jobbe wrote: | | You might wanna check http://ipw3945.sourceforge.net/ for 3945ABG support - apparently it's beeing developed right now and there seems to be a dev version. |
Right! I forgot the link to SourceForge. In fact I know http://sourceforge.net/projects/ipw3945/ which download section was void... until yesterday  .
There seems to be a downloadable package. Look, I'll check it and probably make an ebuild if I can and there's none in portage.
_________________
Gentoo addict: tomorrow I quit, I promise!... Just one more emerge...
1739! |
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VinzC
Watchman
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 5098
Location: Dark side of the mood
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:44 pm Post subject: |
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| mahler wrote: | | How did you determine the timings for the monitor? My 9400 came without any technical specs. |
In fact I didn't. I just ran xorgconfig and selected a screen that could do 1280x1024 at 60 hertz. Then I edited xorg.conf. The nVidia drivers seem to ignore sync rates.
But I know there is a way to get the refresh rates. It should be somewhere in the Dell Inspiron 6000 thread or i915 and xorg how? by Klavs, I don't remember exactly.
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shazza
n00b
Joined: 18 Oct 2003
Posts: 71
Location: Marburg, Germany
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| Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:29 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the input. I got my 9400 just this week and I've been compiling whole day long
Anyways, I can conform the crackling sound output - which wasnt fixed with the module option you mentioned.
I also have another problem: I couldn't resist and also ordered the gargantuan Dell 24" LCD (800 euros - who could say no?  ) which I want to use as an external monitor when I'm at home. This works fine, if - and only if - I use the Fn-key to switch to the external display before X comes up. If I make the switch later (or if I'm trying to switch back to the notebook screen) I suddenly get a virtual desktop at VGA resolution.
Anyone with ideas on that? Both screens use the same resolution (1920x1200) and according to the Nvidia readme file, the Fn-key switching is fully supported (if TwinView is inactive).
BTW: I'm currently trying to find out which modules can be used for hardware monitoring - if I'm able to find something out, I'll let you guys know. |
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VinzC
Watchman
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 5098
Location: Dark side of the mood
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| Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 12:51 pm Post subject: |
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Good news guys! I've successfully created the ebuild set and know what? They work. The only evidence is I'm currently writing this post from my laptop under Gentoo . YESSSSSSSSSSSS!
I'll post the ebuilds as a tar file I think, so that you can unpack them in your favorite portage overlay directory. The ebuild set is made of three packages:- the main driver module
- the microcode
- a regulatory daemon binary.
The set differs from the usual ipw2xxx in that there is a binary file to run after the module has been loaded.
Also you *must* remove kernel built-in support for ieee802.11 and use portage's instead. But I'll explain it in my howto above.
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shazza
n00b
Joined: 18 Oct 2003
Posts: 71
Location: Marburg, Germany
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| Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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I think I got the sound device working properly with position_fix. Problem now is: The notebook speakers won't deactivate, even with headphones plugged in.
Anyone have an idea on how to fix this?
Also: Has anyone tried using an external monitor? |
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GreJackgor
n00b
Joined: 06 Mar 2006
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 6:42 am Post subject: Laptops |
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| I have been looking at buying a laptop recently. |
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VinzC
Watchman
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 5098
Location: Dark side of the mood
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| Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:43 am Post subject: Re: Laptops |
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| GreJackgor wrote: | | I have been looking at buying a laptop recently. |
Cool. What's up there?
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Wonkey_Donkey
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 14 Oct 2003
Posts: 93
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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You'll be pleased to know I think there is a solution to the native framebuffer console. At least for the 7800GTX and 1920x1200 resolution anyway.
I have the same setup and have just (about 5 minutes ago) managed to get it running. And boy, does it look sweet 
I will post info on how I managed this shortly, onto this thread. |
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VinzC
Watchman
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 5098
Location: Dark side of the mood
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Wonkey_Donkey wrote: | You'll be pleased to know I think there is a solution to the native framebuffer console. At least for the 7800GTX and 1920x1200 resolution anyway.
I have the same setup and have just (about 5 minutes ago) managed to get it running. And boy, does it look sweet
I will post info on how I managed this shortly, onto this thread. |
C'mon! c'mon! c'mon!
Hope it'll work for me too... Thanks so much anyways.
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Wonkey_Donkey
Tux's lil' helper
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:07 pm Post subject: |
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Well it seems, partial success but with a sticking point.
In my kernel config, I enabled 'nVidia Framebuffer Support' option, under 'Device Drivers', 'Graphics Support'.
On reboot, this detects the native resolution of the 7800GTX and puts the screen into 1920x1200 @60 resolution. This is the correct setting for the panel and the framebuffer works perfectly.
However, when I tried to emerge nvidia-glx, which obviously includes nvidia-kernel, it fails on the nvidia-kernel build like so:
Your kernel was configured to include nvidiafb support!
The nvidiafb driver conflicts with the NVIDIA driver, please
reconfigure your kernel and *disable* nvidiafb support, then
try installing the NVIDIA kernel modules again.
***Failed nvidiafb sanity check. Bailing out! ***
So it seems you can have native panel resolution, but not the option to use the nvidia drivers as well. |
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djtreble
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Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 39
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:48 pm Post subject: |
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Anyone else getting the
| Code: | | azx_get_response timeout |
message?
I get once about every 4 reboots.
Seems to be a documented bug with the Intel HD driver.
I have it compiled into the kernel and haven't tried any of the suggested fixes yet. |
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VinzC
Watchman
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 5098
Location: Dark side of the mood
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Wonkey_Donkey wrote: | However, when I tried to emerge nvidia-glx, which obviously includes nvidia-kernel, it fails on the nvidia-kernel build like so:
Your kernel was configured to include nvidiafb support!
The nvidiafb driver conflicts with the NVIDIA driver, please
reconfigure your kernel and *disable* nvidiafb support, then
try installing the NVIDIA kernel modules again.
***Failed nvidiafb sanity check. Bailing out! ***
So it seems you can have native panel resolution, but not the option to use the nvidia drivers as well. |
But this means X will be unusable, then, am I right? Or it'll use only VESA for graphics ... I'd rather sacrify framebuffer consoles than X.
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Wonkey_Donkey
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 14 Oct 2003
Posts: 93
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:04 pm Post subject: |
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Yes VinzC, thats correct.
We should probably start a new topic in one of the other boards however, as this one is now inappropriate. |
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VinzC
Watchman
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 5098
Location: Dark side of the mood
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Wonkey_Donkey wrote: | Yes VinzC, thats correct.
We should probably start a new topic in one of the other boards however, as this one is now inappropriate. |
Don't worry, we can still discuss it here, the Dell Inspiron 6000 for instance went far beyond the scope of just installing Gentoo .
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Wonkey_Donkey
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 14 Oct 2003
Posts: 93
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:20 pm Post subject: |
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Well you can use the other video drivers, but I only got around 1000fps in glxgears. Changing back to the nvidia one gives me around 13800. BIG difference.
I suppose one option could be to have 2 different kernels compiled, one with nvidiafb, then change to vesafb and compile it with the nvidia drivers and all. But thats an awful lot of work. |
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VinzC
Watchman
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 5098
Location: Dark side of the mood
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 4:04 pm Post subject: |
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Note there would be a little trick: turn on screen expansion. Framebuffer consoles look ugly only if screen expansion is turned off *and* the screen ratio is 4/3. Unfortunately my (hell of a crappy) BIOS lists only resolutions that have a 4/3 screen ratio  .
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shazza
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Joined: 18 Oct 2003
Posts: 71
Location: Marburg, Germany
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| Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Just a note: It's a Geforce Go 7800, not a 7800 GTX. |
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