Screen resolution Dell Inspiron 8100 Laptop NVidia [SOLVED] - Page 2

Eino · posted: 2014-04-14 15:09

thriftee wrote: I wonder why they got rid of the nv driver and the 96.43 legacy drivers? There are so many machines with these cards that have no way to upgrade the video hardware...

It's called planned obsolescence. That's how they get people to buy new.

SamK · posted: 2014-04-14 15:26

thriftee wrote:I'll give it a try after a fresh reinstall of 13.2.
[...]
I downloaded the NVIDIA file, and then needed to install development stuff, but in the end, it still complained that the compiler was the wrong version. I suppose I can give it one last try telling it to ignore the compiler version, and see what happens, but I'm not optimistic at this point.

If you are using antiX-13.2 as shipped are you hitting the following problem?

The kernel shipped with the antiX-13.2-Full-Stable ISO had a bug which prevented the building of a new video driver. To address this follow the upgrade advice from anticapitalista in this topic:
new-bug-fix-kernels-available-t4692.html

thriftee · posted: 2014-04-14 15:40

Thanks, Sam, I will look at that post...

I think the main problem is that this program expects a machine setup to do development, ie witth compiler, headers, make, etc, and I don't think antiX installs that and it isn't specified what needs to be installed in what sequence, so I am just guessing at what to install as I hit errors, without really knowing what is right.

I keep getting a message from the nvidia-installer that i may need to specify the location where the kernel sources were installed with the SYSSRC environment variable or equivalent nvidia-installer command line option, but I have no idea about either

thriftee · 14 Apr 2014, 16:12 #19 2014-04-14 16:12

Sam,

I looked for the files anticapitalista specified, but they are not there, and there is not a higher version of 3.7.10 there that i could find when i looked via aptitude. i have the"testing" repository specified.

So I looked at the other ones there, and see that 3.14.0 is there and doesnt have missing firmware, and installed the images and headers via apt-get, and that went ok, and then did the update-grub, and that looked to work ok, but when i rebooted, 3.14.0 is a ways down on the list, and won't boot basically saying it cant find the disk drive, i think. The 1st option is 3.7.10 and it still works.

Not sure what to try next?

Any ideas?

SamK · posted: 2014-04-14 16:38

thriftee wrote: i have the"testing" repository specified.

We are not using like-for-like. I only use the Stable repos to reduce the possibility of hitting a currently unresolved bug in the Unstable repos.

thriftee wrote:3.14.0 is there and doesnt have missing firmware, and installed the images and headers via apt-get, and that went ok...

I don't use a kernel as new as this so don't have any experience of it's suitability. You should research it to ensure it is appropriate for your kit and circumstances.

thriftee wrote:...and then did the update-grub, and that looked to work ok, but when i rebooted, 3.14.0 is a ways down on the list, and won't boot basically saying it cant find the disk drive

This may be due to an incorrect identification in your GRUB menu.lst. In the Control Center-->Edit Config files-->menu.lst, compare the working entry with the non-working one to identify the differences.

thriftee · posted: 2014-04-14 17:05

Sam,

Thanks for the help. Yes, looks like its time to do another reinstall of 13.2 with stable. Luckily its not a 3 hr install like jessie is.

I just wish I had a list of what I need to install to be able to build things so I'm not just guessing.

SamK · posted: 2014-04-14 18:20

thriftee wrote:I just wish I had a list of what I need to install to be able to build things so I'm not just guessing.

If I had experienced the lack of success you have had I would would be looking towards one of the two following routes

Try to install the driver for your system from a known position using a known good method
Try to install a more generic driver such as xserver-xorg-video-vesa

The first route goes along theses lines

Start from a fresh install to eliminate any potentailly leftover experimental configuration
Install the upgrade kernel + updates
Boot the installed antiX using the option init 3 to a console (if possible) rather than a GUI
As root run smxi or sgfxi. smxi holds your hand through a step-by-step update and upgrade procedure including the video driver. sgfxi dives straight into installing a new video driver.
Once done reboot in GUI mode (hopefully)

From my fallible recall doing it this way smxi installs the required dependencies for you.

The second route follows this post
build-your-own-t4438.html
which I have also had success with. This is a catholic type of approach, potentially at the expense of the highest level of performance your video is capable of. Depending on the type of tasks you conduct the difference might not be significant.

thriftee · posted: 2014-04-14 19:33

Thanks, Sam, yes, I know I'm floundering, LOL. I've had complete success with Jessie and Manjaro, but neither is"trim" enough for this limited machine. Anyway, I appreciate the help trying to fight thru it. And yes, choosing testing, probably wasn't wise that last go round, but I was hoping maybe that whatever it was causing my display not to work in stable, might have been fixed in testing.

- Try to install the driver for your system from a known position using a known good method

The problem there is that I can't find anything with enough detail to just follow it, and what I can find is not oriented to antix or even debian and something requiring the 96.43 drivers, and with nv driver gone, only nouveau and vesa remain, and neither work, and none of what I could find on the nvidia stuff was detailed enough to just follow. For example, nobody mentioned needing to install build-essential in any of those places, so I'm sitting here getting errors that lead me on wild goose chases, LOL.

I tried the sgfxi route, but it said I had the wrong kernel. I was trying to just find a"simple" answer, but I guess there is none.

- Try to install a more generic driver such as xserver-xorg-video-vesa
Thats what i'm using now and about 1/2 of the screen is unavailable because it maxes out at 1024x768 from what I read, so it allows me to install and have limited functionality, but isn't a long term answer.

I will try your suggested first route. I have reinstalled again and will give it another go.

Thanks for taking the time to give me a list...

anticapitalista · posted: 2014-04-14 19:42

Firstly, upgrade the kernel as mentioned here:

========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"http://antix.mepis.org/index.php?title=Main_Page"
linktext was:"http://antix.mepis.org/index.php?title=Main_Page"
====================================

apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-3.7.10-antix.7-486-smp linux-headers-3.7.10-antix.7-486-smp

followed by

update-grub

Reboot and choose the newer kernel. Note the kernel number is slightly different.

Then, pressCtr; Alt F1, login as root, type sgfxi

thriftee · posted: 2014-04-14 20:26

Hi there anticapitalista,

I JUST finished the first part and ran smxi and told it to go ahead a minute ago. I bet sgfxi would have been simpler, but anyway, it looks like its running, so hopefully it will finish and work.

I'm AMAZED how much more efficient antiX is compared to any of the other distros that have good user functionality. It flies when they just crawl.

Thanks for checking on me __{{emoticon}}__

thriftee · posted: 2014-04-14 21:44

Well, thanks for helping, but, it didn't work. I probably goofed it, so I'm running a fresh reinstall now. Two questions...

1. Do I still need to add testing to my source list as shown in the documents linked before updating the kernel? I did NOT add testing to my sources list. Maybe I should have?

2. When I run sgfxi, what driver choice should work for my old 96.43.23 GeForce 2 Go card? I tried the nouveau, but it didn't work again, giving me the same device problems that I had before. I then tried the antique one, but it says my kernel is too new, and somewhere I read that sgfxi only works for those cards up to 3.5, but in aptitude, I don't see any kernels that are older.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

thriftee · posted: 2014-04-15 05:33

Ok, I did a fresh reinstall of 13.2 with stable.

I then went into synaptic, added the testing repository, reloaded, installed the headers and image 3.7.10-antix.7-486-smp, and then took the testing repository out, reloaded, installed build-essential.

then i went to terminal, su to root, and ran update-grub

then rebooted, went to .7 line, added nomodeset and pressed enter to boot. at login screen, did ctl-alt-f1 to console, logged in as root. Without the nomode set I get the corrupted screen and can't see anything.

ran sgfxi
it shows nvidia card info (with wrong amt of memory), and then prompts to install nvidia driver 96.43.23.
i press enter to install it.

it says ERROR: (234) The driver 96.43.23 does not support the 3.7 kernel.
You are running the 3.7.10-antix.7-486-smp kernel. Unable to install your 96.43.23 driver.

You can override this test with -! 6 option......

At this point, I think I got everything correct this time. LOL, its like the movie"Groundhog Day" where the guy relives things over and over till he finally gets it right __{{emoticon}}__

Any ideas? Please don't be mad at me, I'm trying hard, here. All I'm trying to do is get 1600 x 1200 X screen. Any driver that works would be great __{{emoticon}}__

anticapitalista · posted: 2014-04-15 08:02

try sgfxi -! 6

SamK · posted: 2014-04-15 08:03

thriftee wrote:Ok, I did a fresh reinstall of 13.2 with stable.

I then went into synaptic, added the testing repository, reloaded, installed the headers and image 3.7.10-antix.7-486-smp, and then took the testing repository out...

Not sure why you did this as both files are available in the Stable repo.

On this system that has only the Stable repo enabled

Code: Select all

apt-cache search linux-image-3.7.10-antix.7-486-smp
linux-image-3.7.10-antix.7-486-smp - Linux kernel, version 3.7.10-antix.7-486-smp

$ apt-cache search linux-headers-3.7.10-antix.7-486-smp
linux-headers-3.7.10-antix.7-486-smp - Linux kernel headers for 3.7.10-antix.7-486-smp on i386

thriftee wrote:Please don't be mad at me, I'm trying hard, here.

The antiX forum is one of the most friendly around. The folks here are usually polite, considerate, and encouraging.

It is to your credit that you are willing to put in the effort and did not fall at the first hurdle.

Plenty of people are trying to"pitch in" to help resolve your problem. Because we don't have the same hardware as you we can't replicate the problem in order to investigate the path to resolving it. This limits the amount of specific advice than can be given and relies upon a diagnosis, test, and feedback process.

thriftee · posted: 2014-04-15 10:31

Thanks again guys. I have a T shirt that says on it"Never Surrender". I'm the type that will sit there 24 hrs at a time if that's what it takes to get something to work. The problem in this case is that this isn't in my realm of expertise, so I feel more like an"end user", lol.

anti, I tried the sgfxi -! 6, and it looked like it was running well for about 5 min, the last things it did was:

Code: Select all

update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-3.7.10-antix.7-486-smp
cryptsetup: WARNING: failed to detect canonical device of /dev/sda2
Running driver installer for 96.43.23 (this might take a while)...
ERROR: (245) The nvidia installer exited with the error: 1
A copy of this driver installer error log is also here: /var/log/sgfxi/sgfxi.log

When I go look at the nvidia-installer.log file, I find that same error message that I was running into when I was trying to install the nvidia package directly...

It says

Code: Select all

Using built in stream user interface
-> License accepted by command line option.
-> Installing NVIDIA driver version 96.43.23.
-> Not probing for precompiled kernel interfaces.
-> Performing CC sanity check with CC="/usr/bin/gcc-4.7".
-> Kernel source path: '/lib/modules/3/7/10-antix.7-486-smp/build'
-> Kernel output path: '/lib/modules/3/7/10-antix.7-486-smp/build'
ERROR: If you are running a Linux 2.4 kernel, please make sure you either have configured kernel sources matching your kernel or the correct set of kernel headers installed on your system.

If you are running a Linux 2.6 kernel, please make sure you have configured kernel sources matching your kernel or the correct set of kernel headers installed on your system.  If you specified a separate output directory using either the"KBUILD_OUTPUT" or the"O" KBUILD parameter, make sure to specify this directory with the SYSOUT environment variable or with the equivalent nvidia-installer command line option.

Depending on where and how the kernel sources (or the kernel headers) were installed, you may need to specify their location with the SYSSRC environment variable or equivalent nvidia-installer command line option.

I notice up in the text, the kernel include path, kernel source path, kernel output path and kernel install path are all (not specified). Lower in the log, I see its using for both kernel source and output paths '/lib/modules/3/7/10-antix.7-486-smp/build' but nothing is mentioned about the kernel include path... But then again, we are VERY out of my area of expertise here...

Any ideas? And thanks for the help __{{emoticon}}__