Running X on a Power Mac clone...
Hello all,
I have successfully installed and configured my machine so that all the
console stuff works. However, I have yet to get X working properly.
I posted my full machine description to this list about two weeks ago when
I was having trouble with my machine freezing up. The problem turned out
to be caused by overclocking my CPU too much. That problem is now fixed.
In case you missed the message or don't want to go back searching for it,
here's my machine information from the original post (plus updates):
* PowerComputing PowerCenter Pro 210
- XLR8 MACh Carrier ZIF w/ 366 MHz G3 (overclocked to ~390 MHz)
- 1 MB backside cache running at ~195 MHz (x1/2 multiplier)
- ~60 MHz system bus speed (PCP rated at 60 MHz) (x6.5 multiplier)
- No L2 cache (removed from motherboard)
- 128 MB RAM (two 64 MB DIMMs)
- Built-in ATI Rage II+ (4 MB) video (connected via VGA port)
- Built-in SCSI-2 bus (internal & external used)
. 4.2 GB Quantum 7200 rpm drive - Mac OS 8.6
. 2.1 GB Western Digital 7200 rpm drive - empty
. 16x TEAC CD-ROM drive
. 6x4x16x Yamaha CD-RW drive (external)
- PCI Adaptec 2930U Ultra SCSI-2 bus (only internal used)
. 9.1 GB DEC (Quantum?) 7200 rpm drive - Debian GNU/Linux
- Built-in 10Base-T Ethernet
* Extended keyboard (ADB)
* Kensington TurboMouse 5 (ADB)
* Princeton Graphics EO75 17" Monitor (using 5 BNC to VGA cabling)
* Mac OS 8.6 US
* Debian GNU/Linux 2.2r0a Official PowerPC
The problem I'm having is with getting X set up properly. I have the
'fbdev' X server driver and (afaik) the proper X packages installed
(including XF86, window managers like blackbox and wmaker, xcommon, xbase,
etc). I try to run X using startx and having my .xinitrc file setup to
run a window manager (exec wmaker) with the fbdev default XF86Config
file. I get a white background with a Mac OS-like cursor that jumps
around the screen when I move it, sometimes showing some text from the
console in an odd color, like blue. When I click, I get what appears to
be some text from the window manager menu but can't select anything since
nothing is highlighted or selects properly. To get out of it, I have to
shutdown X forcefully. This is the only X that I get.
I've tried to create a XF86Config file using anXious but there have been
multiple problems with doing so: anXious creates the Screen section with
a Driver line of "accel" instead of "fbdev". I change the Driver to
"fbdev" then try running X again. X now says that it is deleting all the
"invalid modes" from the XF86Config file because the frequencies are out
of range, eventually deleting all the modes and exiting out of X.
Here are the monitor refresh rates according to my monitor manufacturer:
It is 30-95KHz Horiz, 50-120Hz
The refresh ranges on the EO75
640 x 480: 60-120hz
800 x 600: 60-120hz
1024 x 768:60-115hz
1152 x 864:60-100hz
1280 x 1024:60-85hz
1600 x 1200:60-75hz
I entered the above rates into anXious when asked to do so. I have 32 bpp
set as my default bit depth and 1024 x 768 set as my default resolution.
When I boot into Debian using BootX, I have the kernel arguments:
video=atyfb:vmode:17,cmode:32
(I also tried to run X without specifying any kernel args but doing so
didn't fix the problem.)
So, according to vmode 17, I should be running 1024 x 768 at 75 Hz, 32
bits per pixel (millions/billions), which I can partially confirm
with my monitor's settings. Now, in Mac OS, I run 1024 x 768 at
85 Hz, millions of colors all the time so I know that both my built-in
video and monitor can handle it.
My questions are:
Can I run the fbdev driver with my hardware?
If so, what can I do to get fbdev to work?
If not, should I use the Xpmac driver instead? How?
According to the default 'fbdev' XF86Config file, one should avoid using
24 bpp if possible, is this true?
I can send out the exact messages I'm getting if need be.
- Matt
--
Matt Christian - mattc@visi.com
http://www.visi.com/~mattc/
ftp://ftp.visi.com/users/mattc/
Learn to love and love to learn.
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