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Debian Help w/ X Please--fixed...but only by using bf24

C

calpha

Golden Member
OK.....I'm lost.

I'm on the woody build of Debian.....and have used *nix for a while, but this is my first go round @ Debian.

I've sucessfully been able to get Slack, Suse, and Redhat on this box w/ X running no problems. In Slack I just used xf86config to get it up.....and RH and Suse were automated.

The problem I'm running into is b/c of my chipset----intel 810 integrated agp slot.

Which, when I do a google search, most references point to older kernels needing a kernel refresh of agpgart...and the kernel referenced is 2.1 or 2.2.

I've tried two different ways of getting X up and running----one with the standard install wizard, and two with xf86config. When I run xf86config I can choose the i810 chipset----

Here's two links for you:
1 MY XF86Config4 File
2 MY X Error Log

I'm no wizard with X-----and I don't know where to go from here. I've been to a bunch of diff't web pages and the only possible advice I found was that for the i810 the device wasn't properly created, and the command "mknod agpgart c 10 175" needed to be run under root in the /etc directory......
 
Did you try 'XFree86 -configure'?

Try 'modprobe agpgart', I don't know if the default Debian kernel comes with AGP support compiled static or modular.

Also what kernel are you using, by default Debian uses a 2.2 kernel.
 
OK.....starting to make a little more sense now.

I don't understand why XFree86 -configure didn't pull my already changed settings for my mouse----I specified in my /etc/X11/XFree86-4 file b/c the first error was a mouse detection error----which I changed the device from mouse to /dev/psaux.

That is unless XFree86 - configure is a way to just "test" settings, which would make sense.

2ndly---modprobe returns no modules for agpgart, which would mean that either I have to update to a newer kernel or compile it in myself. The only references I've been able to find so far regarding the i810 chipset are for older RH (pre 7.0)---but I'm still looking.

I'm coming from the RPM/build it *nix background, and am still new to apt-get. In the past, I've never really messed around with recompiling my kernel b/c I never had too. Well, I did once for a Xircom card in RH 5 or so....but that was it. Too long ago to remember........

So, finally getting to the point---is this something where I should be looking under apt-get for an updated kernel with agp support, or is agpgart a part of another package?

Lastly----is there a sservice similar to rpmfind for deb packages available from apt-get?

The part about agp support not being compiled in might make more sense now-----b/c when I go through xf86config from the cmd line-----(not from the deb install).....and I list hardware manufacturers for the grx card.......you know there's two columns listed. Manufacturer/Driver, and then more info on the right column. Well, with the right column in Debian----it's listed as "NULL"....and that WAS not the case after my Slack install.

I realize that's a lot of questions----but thanks for any direction. I'm not trying to get you to do the work for me-----just point me, or prod me along the way. I just never learned jack about X other then I shouldn't be using an i810 chipset w/ debian 😉
 
Originally posted by: calpha
...and the command "mknod agpgart c 10 175" needed to be run under root in the /etc directory......
Click to expand...
That had better be the /dev directory, not /etc. Though I'd guess that /dev/agpgart already exists, and the kernel lacks support for it, as Nothinman suggested. If it does exist, and "modprobe agpgart" doesn't help, it looks like you'll need to recompile the kernel.
 
I guess it's better to check the mouth of the horse.

Although this refers to kernel 2.2 & X pre 4.0----
http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/intel810/Release_Notes_1.htm

I'm taking a gd break from this stuff right now as I'm a bit proturbed at myself for #1, not trying a generic X driver, and #2 for not looking under INtel's site first. But then again....seeing as how I installed Slack, and RH on it w/ no problem, I guess I was confused by my own befuddlement that Debian didn't work out of the box. I've just heard so many recommend Debian-----it was time to try it, but I guess I picked a doozie to get it up and running on.

But....as I've already learned......APT-Get beats the hell out of RPM hell. Although, it's not near as seamless---the mandrake update service ---used to be rpmdrake and mandrakeupdate but that was 8.1----as long as you have the sources configured properly works with the same idea....but is not near as nice as apt-get by any stretch.

So----I'm gonna look into that site when I get back and see if I can get it up. Thx for the help----

and thx bbwf for apt-cache 😉
 
You can do 'apt-cache search kernel-image' and install one of those images if you don't want to build your own.
 
Those release notes are way out of date, though. You don't use the "svga" driver in X 4.x - you use "i810" just as you had in the config. "vesa" should work to get you started, though. Figure out the accelerated stuff later if you just want to get the display working.
 
Hmm, AGP support is used as a kernel module, so its quite possible that the problem here is that module hasn't been loaded yet. Either that or you're not a user in the "video" group, which isn't very likely since I'll make a wild guess that you tried to get X working as root. I didn't have any problems at all getting debian to run X on my i810 system, but then that was quite a while ago.... Use modconf to take a look at the video and agp related modules and make sure that the right ones are being loaded for your system.

EDIT: modconf
 
Well, the long and the short of it is I couldn't get it to work on the standard install kernel (2.2)---it definitely had something to do with agpgart. I used apt to download that package afterwards, and still a no go.

So, I went a little more complex route and went with the 2.4 (bf24 image install based) and although there were more drivers to specify, it did let me include agpgart as a module for installation. I don't know why installing this post-install under 2.2 didn't work......but it just didn't. But, moving to 2.4 got everything working fine in X. Now I have to figure out the AC97 thing, and my system will be up and running.

I really wish I knew more about Debian....but for me, I'm happy with just being able to make it work. I can't explain why the default install fialed other then the obvioius chioce of agpgart----but I don't know why installing that post-install from root didn't do the trick.

THanks for the help. Debian has quickly become one of my favorite distros...and when I learn it----I can safely say, I see why there's all the hubub about debian. RH Bluecurve is pretty----I like the font system too.....but I just like Debian more. Apt is a big reason. I'm still having problems finding .deb packages...but I gues that'll just take time.
 
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