On Wed, Feb 19, 2003 at 11:53:21AM +0100, ?lvaro Castro wrote:
> My name is ?lvaro and I'm new to the world of Debian
> (and also relatively to linux). I've been having some
> problems with my nvidia card and I've been trying to
> solve them for many weeks alone and asking in
> linuxquestions.org and I got nothing...
>
> maybe any of you know this problem and could help
> me...
>
> I'm using a Nvidia Geforce 2 GTS with a LG flatron 774
> ft monitor (hsync 30-70, vsync 50-160), and I I'm
> using the "nv" drivers with 16 bits of color. But now,
> as a my use of linux is mainly graphic, I need 24 and
> 3d acceleration... that's the reason I need the
> "nvidia" drivers... but when I installed them I
> downloaded them from the NVIDIA's web page (I didn't
> know you had them in the apt-database).
> Maybe that is the problem it doesn't work, but now
> they are installed!
>
> How can I uninstall them and install debian version?
>
> Anyway... I followed the instructions and it should
> work. Maybe with the attached log file you can help
> me...
Hello,
[This is a form letter.]
You recently sent an off-charter message to the debian-x mailing list.
First, I will offer an explanation of what this mailing list's purpose is;
I will then suggest some alternative forums for your message or concern.
The full charter of the mailing list follows.
This list is for the discussion and support of the X Window System within
Debian. Issues of maintenance and porting of Debian's XFree86 packages are
germane here, as are discussions of possible Debian policy mechanisms for
ensuring the smooth interoperation of packages that use the X Window
System, particularly widget sets, desktop environments, window managers,
display managers, and packages that provide fonts for the X Window System.
In particular, individuals involved with building official Debian XFree86
packages for any architecture are invited to join, as are those with
various graphics hardware who seek to reproduce and/or fix bugs in the X
server. This is not a user support list; this list is intended for those
who deal with the source code of any of the X Window System components
mentioned above.
If you are experiencing a problem, the first thing to check is the Debian X
FAQ. This FAQ is readable on any Debian system that has the
"xfree86-common" package installed.
You can use the command "dpkg --status xfree86-common" at a shell prompt to
determine whether you have the xfree86-common package installed (this
technique works with any other package name as well). For instance, when I
run this command I see the following:
$ dpkg --status xfree86-common
Package: xfree86-common
Status: install ok installed
(followed by additional information about the package)
If xfree86-common is installed, you can view the Debian X FAQ in a variety of
ways, since it is a gzipped (compressed) text file. The path to the FAQ is
/usr/share/doc/xfree86-common/FAQ.gz. Here's one method for viewing it:
$ zmore /usr/share/doc/xfree86-common/FAQ.gz
Debian X Window System Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) List
Copyright 1998-2002 Branden Robinson. This document is licensed under the
GNU General Public License, version 2 (see /usr/share/common-licenses/GPL).
By its nature, this document is not complete. If your question is not
answered here, try /usr/share/doc/<packagename>/README.Debian (and other files
in the package's doc directory), manual pages, and the debian-user mailing
list. See http://www.debian.org/ for more information about the Debian
mailing lists.
(followed by the rest of the FAQ)
If the FAQ does not satisfactorily answer your question, the primary Debian
users' support forum is the debian-user mailing list. You can learn more about
this list at:
http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/
If you have already tried that mailing list, and/or your machine does *NOT*
use an Intel-x86 compatible CPU (such as a Pentium or AMD Athlon chip), you
may also want to peruse one of Debian's architecture-specific mailing
lists:
http://lists.debian.org/debian-alpha/
http://lists.debian.org/debian-arm/
http://lists.debian.org/debian-hppa/
http://lists.debian.org/debian-ia64/
http://lists.debian.org/debian-m68k/
http://lists.debian.org/debian-mips/
http://lists.debian.org/debian-powerpc/
http://lists.debian.org/debian-sparc/
http://lists.debian.org/debian-superh/
Before sending a message to one of the mailing lists, it's wise to try
using the search interface; in many cases, your problem has been
experienced before by other people, and a solution, workaround, or
explanation may already be available!
http://lists.debian.org/search.html
If the search engine turns up nothing, you should know whether or not
you're subscribed to a mailing list before sending a message to it. If you
are not subscribed, make *certain* that you ask for private copies of
replies to your message. Debian's standard practice is to reply only to
mailing lists (this cuts down on Internet traffic and annoying bounce
messages). If you want people to deviate from this standard practice you
should ask them to do so. (Advanced mail users should set a
Mail-Followup-To header that includes both the list address and their own
address.)
Finally, if you have found a problem in Debian's XFree86 packages (and
especially if Debian experts on one or more of the above mailing lists
agree), you should file a bug report with the Debian Bug Tracking System.
One of the best ways to do this is with the "reportbug" package and command
of the same name. One way to install reportbug is with "apt-get"; for
example:
$ apt-get install reportbug
The "reportbug" command has a few different modes that cater to different
levels of user expertise. If this message has contained a lot of jargon
that is unfamiliar to you, you likely want to use reportbug's "novice"
mode; here's one way to do that.
$ reportbug --mode=novice
Please enter the name of the package in which you have found a problem,
or type 'other' to report a more general problem.
>
If you're more sophisticated, or if you are not using the released version
of Debian ("stable"), but instead Debian "testing" or "unstable", you
should use reportbug's standard mode.
$ reportbug
Please enter the name of the package in which you have found a problem,
or type 'other' to report a more general problem.
>
The reportbug command is extensively documented in its usage message and
manual page. Commands to view these pieces of documentation are:
$ reportbug --help | more
$ man reportbug
(The output of the above commands has been omitted from this message.)
Please do *not* send private messages to Debian developers (including me)
asking for help; Debian developers are volunteers, and often busy ones.
Additionally, you're more likely to get a rapid reply if you mail one of
the support lists enumerated above, because that way many people can see
your message instead of just one.
Thanks for using the Debian system!
***
You may also be interested in a recent addition to the Debian X FAQ:
*) I just upgraded the X server and it doesn't work; also, I'm using Matrox's
proprietary "mga_hal" driver module or NVidia's proprietary "nvidia" driver
module; what's going on?
Debian cannot officially support proprietary XFree86 driver modules such as
these for a few reasons:
1) we don't ship them;
2) they're not part of XFree86, but third-party add-ons;
3) (most importantly) we don't have the source code, so we cannot find and
fix bugs in them -- neither can (in general) the authors of XFree86
itself.
That said, one common problem with these proprietary modules is that you're
using a newer version of the XFree86 X server than the module was compiled
for. Take a look at your XFree86 log file, which is in the /var/log
directory. The file name is often "/var/log/XFree86.0.log" (the number
will be be different if the X server with a different server number, e.g.
XFree86.1.log for "DISPLAY=:1".)
Here's an example of server/driver version mismatch:
$ more /var/log/XFree86.0.log
[...]
XFree86 Version 4.2.1.1 (Debian 4.2.1-5 20030122074040 buildd@cyberhq.internal.cyberhqz.com) / X Window System
[...]
(II) LoadModule: "nvidia"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.o
(II) Module nvidia: vendor="NVIDIA Corporation"
compiled for 4.0.2, module version = 1.0.4191
Module class: XFree86 Video Driver
In the above, we see that the module was compiled for XFree86 4.0.2, but
the user is running XFree86 4.2.1.1, which is somewhat more recent. There
are roughly three courses of action a user with the above problem can
take:
1) downgrade the xserver-xfree86 package to a version compatible with the
driver (this may not be possible depending on what is available on the
Debian mirror network);
2) contact the technical support service of the company distributing the
proprietary server module, such as Matrox or NVidia, and request a
newer version of the module;
3) remove the proprietary server module and use free alternatives, such as
the "mga" or "nv" drivers that ship as part of the xserver-xfree86
package -- you may need to use the "dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86"
command or edit the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file to instruct the X server
to use the free modules.
--
G. Branden Robinson | You could wire up a dead rat to a
Debian GNU/Linux | DIMM socket and the PC BIOS memory
branden@debian.org | test would pass it just fine.
http://people.debian.org/~branden/ | -- Ethan Benson
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