On Sun, Mar 02, 2003 at 08:28:30PM +0100, Alex Fitterling wrote:
> unfortunately I cannot start the X-Server anymore after upgrading. I
> use Debian GNU/Linux 3.0. The upgrade repository was the apt-source:
> http://people.debian.org/~blade/woody/i386/ (from 4.1 to current)
You should probably contact <blade@debian.org> for support with packages
he maintains.
> I append the log and my config to this mail.
>
> Hopefully someone could report back. So far I couldn't fix it because
> I didn't find any posting in groups in particular.
This is a 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using a newer version of the XFree86 X server than the module was compiled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proprietary server module, such as Matrox or NVidia, and request a
newer version of the module;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 |
Debian GNU/Linux | kernel panic -- causal failure
branden@debian.org | universe will now reboot
http://people.debian.org/~branden/ |
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