On Mon, 2025-09-08 at 21:15 -0600, Stan Johnson wrote:
On 9/8/25 6:45 PM, Cedar Maxwell wrote:
> On Sun, 2025-09-07 at 13:16 -0600, Stan Johnson wrote:
> > On 9/5/25 6:27 PM, Cedar Maxwell wrote:
> > > ...
> > >
> > > Would you send your xorg.conf, etc., please? I can only seem
> > > to
> > > get
> > > Xorg to launch by passing in video=ofonly. I can't get it to
> > > work
> > > with
> > > fbdev either.
> > > ...
> >
> >
> > I've been testing kernels on my Wallstreet using a current Gentoo
> > distribution.
> >
> > I noticed this morning that mainline kernel v6.1, compiled using
> > the
> > attached .config file, works in Gentoo, but not in Debian SID.
> >
> > In Debian, I can see the X11 login screen, but the keyboard and
> > mouse
> > don't respond. In Gentoo, everything works as expected.
> >
> > In Debian SID, I'm using Xfce, sysvinit-core instead of systemd,
> > and
> > wdm
> > instead of lightdm.
> >
> > In Gentoo, I noticed elogind was installed; elogind was not
> > installed
> > in
> > Debian. Using "apt-get install elogind" to install elogind,
> > systemd
> > was
> > removed, as well as xserver-org and some X11-related files, so of
> > course
> > X11 doesn't work at all now, and I'll need to restore from a
> > backup.
> > Interestingly, I'm not having similar issues with PB Lombard or
> > Pismo.
> >
> > My BootX configuration is as follows (working X11 in 6.1.0 in
> > Gentoo):
> > Kernel: vmlinux-6.1.0-pmac (custom kernel, no modules)
> > Boot Device: /dev/sda13 (Gentoo partition)
> > More kernel arguments:
> > video=atyfb:vmode:14,cmode:32,mclk:71
> > No video driver: checked
> > Options:
> > Force SCSI ON: checked
> > Force video settings: checked
> > Use specified RAM disk: not checked
>
> Checking "No video driver" appears to pass in video=ofonly. How is
> your performance with this configuration? Mine is borderline
> unusable.
> mclk:71 makes everything green.
As a test, I installed the latest Debian SID on a Pismo, so I get
systemd and all of the badness that it has for slow, memory-
constrained
systems (my Pismo has 512 MiB memory).
Interestingly, I don't pass "video=aty128fs:1024x768" to the kernel
(via
yaboot) as I have in the past, yet it still works, though about twice
as
slowly as using sysvinit (or rcinit in Gentoo). So I guess it must be
using "video=ofonly".
In your Xorg.log it should say which "video=" option you are using.
My intention is to copy my Debian SID and Gentoo root filesystems
from
my Pismo to my Wallstreet, but to do this I need to have at least
dump
version 0.4b49 to reliably dump and restore filesystems on powerpc.
So
I'm having to update Gentoo now on Pismo to update dump.
# dump --version
...
dump 0.4b47 ...
I think checking "No video driver" but also specifying
"video=atyfb..."
will pass "video=atyfb..." to the kernel. Unfortunately, a kernel
regression seems to have broken previously working X11 on the
Wallstreet
(I haven't heard back from the developer yet).
Maybe you or I bump the email to that developer on Friday? 7 days
seems like a reasonable window to expect a response.
I tried installing Debian
SID 08/29/2025 directly on the Wallstreet by booting into the
installtion vmlinux and initrd.gz, but I couldn't get it to work,
even
using a serial console. If my tests are accurate, the Wallstreet
should
eventually work with the Debian rootfs that I installed on my Pismo
(except for X11).
Same experience here, though I don't have any adapters to test out the
WallStreet's serial (GeoPort?). Is Linux actually capable of
outputting serial data via this? Are you using a Mini-DIN-9 to DB-9
adapter? Just want to confirm before I buy anything.
On the Pismo, I had to install wdm and specify it as my display
manager
instead of lightdm in Debian SID 08/29/2025, otherwise I would only
get
a text login. It also took me a while to install everything that's
useful that Debian doesn't include, such as telnet, telnetd, ftp,
vsftpd, ifconfig, netstat, dump, etc. For now I'm leaving systemd
installed in Debian on the Pismo and running Debian's default kernel
and
initrd (vmlinux-6.16.3+deb14-powerpc and
initrd.img-6.16.3+deb14-powerpc). I'll replace systemd with sysvinit
and
try a custom kernel after I copy the Debian rootfs to the Wallstreet.
On the Pismo, X11 in Gentoo (with just a clock and two xterms
running)
is mostly usable and about twice as fast as using Xfce in Debian SID.
The same setup is also usable (but just barely) in Gentoo on the
Wallstreet, with kernel 6.1.
I tried xdm, wdm, lightdm, sddm, lxdm, none work. Xorg always
complains "No screens found".
Xorg.log with no xorg conf files:
[ 155.890]
X.Org X Server 1.21.1.18
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
[ 155.892] Current Operating System: Linux wallstreet 6.1.0-9-powerpc
#1 Debian 6.1.27-1 (2023-05-08) ppc
[ 155.892] Kernel command line: ramdisk_size=8192 root=/dev/sda8
video=atyfb:vmode:14:cmode:32
[ 155.893] xorg-server 2:21.1.18-2 (https://www.debian.org/support)
[ 155.893] Current version of pixman: 0.44.0
[ 155.894] Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.x.org
to make sure that you have the latest version.
[ 155.894] Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default
setting,
(++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
[ 155.897] (==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Sat Sep 6
19:43:03 2025
[ 155.906] (==) Using system config directory
"/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d"
[ 155.920] (==) No Layout section. Using the first Screen section.
[ 155.921] (==) No screen section available. Using defaults.
[ 155.921] (**) |-->Screen "Default Screen Section" (0)
[ 155.921] (**) | |-->Monitor "<default monitor>"
[ 155.925] (==) No monitor specified for screen "Default Screen
Section".
Using a default monitor configuration.
[ 155.925] (**) Allowing byte-swapped clients
[ 155.926] (==) Automatically adding devices
[ 155.926] (==) Automatically enabling devices
[ 155.926] (==) Automatically adding GPU devices
[ 155.926] (==) Automatically binding GPU devices
[ 155.927] (==) Max clients allowed: 256, resource mask: 0x1fffff
[ 155.963] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic" does
not exist.
[ 155.964] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 155.980] (==) FontPath set to:
/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc,
/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled,
/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled,
/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1,
/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi,
/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi,
built-ins
[ 155.981] (==) ModulePath set to "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
[ 155.981] (II) The server relies on udev to provide the list of
input devices.
If no devices become available, reconfigure udev or disable
AutoAddDevices.
[ 155.983] (II) Loader magic: 0xb207a8
[ 155.984] (II) Module ABI versions:
[ 155.984] X.Org ANSI C Emulation: 0.4
[ 155.984] X.Org Video Driver: 25.2
[ 155.984] X.Org XInput driver : 24.4
[ 155.984] X.Org Server Extension : 10.0
[ 156.000] (++) using VT number 1
[ 156.039] (II) systemd-logind: took control of session
/org/freedesktop/login1/session/_35
[ 156.061] (--) PCI:*(0@0:17:0) 1002:4c50:0000:0000 rev 220, Mem @
0x82000000/16777216, 0xfd020000/4096, I/O @ 0x00000400/256, BIOS @
0x????????/131072
[ 156.067] (II) LoadModule: "glx"
[ 156.092] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so
[ 156.240] (II) Module glx: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 156.241] compiled for 1.21.1.18, module version = 1.0.0
[ 156.241] ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 10.0
[ 156.242] (==) Matched ati as autoconfigured driver 0
[ 156.242] (==) Matched modesetting as autoconfigured driver 1
[ 156.242] (==) Matched fbdev as autoconfigured driver 2
[ 156.242] (==) Assigned the driver to the xf86ConfigLayout
[ 156.242] (II) LoadModule: "ati"
[ 156.244] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/ati_drv.so
[ 156.253] (II) Module ati: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 156.253] compiled for 1.21.1.9, module version = 22.0.0
[ 156.253] Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[ 156.253] ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 25.2
[ 156.254] (II) LoadModule: "mach64"
[ 156.255] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/mach64_drv.so
[ 156.273] (II) Module mach64: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 156.273] compiled for 1.21.1.16, module version = 6.10.0
[ 156.273] Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[ 156.274] ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 25.2
[ 156.274] (II) LoadModule: "modesetting"
[ 156.275] (II) Loading
/usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/modesetting_drv.so
[ 156.291] (II) Module modesetting: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 156.291] compiled for 1.21.1.18, module version = 1.21.1
[ 156.292] Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[ 156.292] ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 25.2
[ 156.292] (II) LoadModule: "fbdev"
[ 156.294] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/fbdev_drv.so
[ 156.306] (II) Module fbdev: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 156.307] compiled for 1.21.1.3, module version = 0.5.0
[ 156.307] Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[ 156.307] ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 25.2
[ 156.308] (II) MACH64: Driver for ATI Mach64 chipsets
[ 156.308] (II) modesetting: Driver for Modesetting Kernel Drivers:
kms
[ 156.308] (II) FBDEV: driver for framebuffer: fbdev
[ 156.311] (WW) Falling back to old probe method for modesetting
[ 156.311] (EE) open /dev/dri/card0: No such file or directory
[ 156.314] (WW) Falling back to old probe method for fbdev
[ 156.314] (II) Loading sub module "fbdevhw"
[ 156.314] (II) LoadModule: "fbdevhw"
[ 156.317] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libfbdevhw.so
[ 156.326] (II) Module fbdevhw: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 156.326] compiled for 1.21.1.18, module version = 0.0.2
[ 156.326] ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 25.2
[ 156.330] (II) MACH64(0): Creating default Display subsection in
Screen section
"Default Screen Section" for depth/fbbpp 24/32
[ 156.330] (==) MACH64(0): Depth 24, (--) framebuffer bpp 32
[ 156.331] (==) MACH64(0): Using EXA acceleration architecture
[ 156.333] (EE) Unable to map mmio aperture. Invalid argument (22)
[ 156.333] (WW) MACH64: Mach64 in slot 0:17:0 could not be detected!
[ 156.333] (II) UnloadModule: "mach64"
[ 156.334] (EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable
configuration.
[ 156.334] (EE)
Fatal server error:
[ 156.334] (EE) no screens found(EE)
[ 156.335] (EE)
Please consult the The X.Org Foundation support
at http://wiki.x.org
for help.
[ 156.337] (EE) Please also check the log file at
"/var/log/Xorg.0.log" for additional information.
[ 156.338] (EE)
[ 156.407] (EE) Server terminated with error (1). Closing log file.
Tried with this xorg.conf:
Section "Device"
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "fbdev"
Option "fbdev" "/dev/fb0"
Option "ShadowFB" "true"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
HorizSync 30-70
VertRefresh 50-120
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 16
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Then this is my Xorg.log:
[ 866.823]
X.Org X Server 1.21.1.18
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
[ 866.839] Current Operating System: Linux wallstreet 6.1.0-9-powerpc
#1 Debian 6.1.27-1 (2023-05-08) ppc
[ 866.840] Kernel command line: ramdisk_size=8192 root=/dev/sda8
video=atyfb:vmode:14:cmode:16
[ 866.851] xorg-server 2:21.1.18-2 (https://www.debian.org/support)
[ 866.856] Current version of pixman: 0.44.0
[ 866.866] Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.x.org
to make sure that you have the latest version.
[ 866.867] Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default
setting,
(++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
[ 866.890] (==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Sat Sep 6
20:08:03 2025
[ 866.898] (==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf"
[ 866.903] (==) Using system config directory
"/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d"
[ 866.908] (==) ServerLayout "Layout0"
[ 866.909] (**) |-->Screen "Screen0" (0)
[ 866.909] (**) | |-->Monitor "Monitor0"
[ 866.912] (**) | |-->Device "Card0"
[ 866.913] (**) |-->Input Device "Keyboard0"
[ 866.913] (**) |-->Input Device "Mouse0"
[ 866.913] (**) Allowing byte-swapped clients
[ 866.913] (==) Automatically adding devices
[ 866.913] (==) Automatically enabling devices
[ 866.914] (==) Automatically adding GPU devices
[ 866.914] (==) Automatically binding GPU devices
[ 866.914] (==) Max clients allowed: 256, resource mask: 0x1fffff
[ 866.915] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic" does
not exist.
[ 866.915] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 866.915] (==) FontPath set to:
/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc,
/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled,
/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled,
/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1,
/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi,
/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi,
built-ins
[ 866.916] (**) ModulePath set to "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
[ 866.916] (WW) Hotplugging is on, devices using drivers 'kbd',
'mouse' or 'vmmouse' will be disabled.
[ 866.916] (WW) Disabling Keyboard0
[ 866.916] (WW) Disabling Mouse0
[ 866.916] (II) Loader magic: 0xc307a8
[ 866.917] (II) Module ABI versions:
[ 866.917] X.Org ANSI C Emulation: 0.4
[ 866.917] X.Org Video Driver: 25.2
[ 866.917] X.Org XInput driver : 24.4
[ 866.917] X.Org Server Extension : 10.0
[ 866.933] (++) using VT number 1
[ 866.973] (II) systemd-logind: took control of session
/org/freedesktop/login1/session/_31
[ 866.992] (--) PCI:*(0@0:17:0) 1002:4c50:0000:0000 rev 220, Mem @
0x82000000/16777216, 0xfd020000/4096, I/O @ 0x00000400/256, BIOS @
0x????????/131072
[ 866.993] (II) "glx" will be loaded by default.
[ 866.994] (II) LoadModule: "fbdevhw"
[ 866.997] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libfbdevhw.so
[ 867.000] (II) Module fbdevhw: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 867.000] compiled for 1.21.1.18, module version = 0.0.2
[ 867.000] ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 25.2
[ 867.001] (II) LoadModule: "dbe"
[ 867.001] (II) Module "dbe" already built-in
[ 867.001] (II) LoadModule: "extmod"
[ 867.001] (II) Module "extmod" already built-in
[ 867.002] (II) LoadModule: "glx"
[ 867.003] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so
[ 867.026] (II) Module glx: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 867.027] compiled for 1.21.1.18, module version = 1.0.0
[ 867.028] ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 10.0
[ 867.028] (II) LoadModule: "fbdev"
[ 867.030] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/fbdev_drv.so
[ 867.032] (II) Module fbdev: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 867.032] compiled for 1.21.1.3, module version = 0.5.0
[ 867.033] Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[ 867.033] ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 25.2
[ 867.033] (II) FBDEV: driver for framebuffer: fbdev
[ 867.034] (WW) Falling back to old probe method for fbdev
[ 867.035] (II) Loading sub module "fbdevhw"
[ 867.035] (II) LoadModule: "fbdevhw"
[ 867.037] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libfbdevhw.so
[ 867.037] (II) Module fbdevhw: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 867.037] compiled for 1.21.1.18, module version = 0.0.2
[ 867.038] ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 25.2
[ 867.040] (WW) Falling back to old probe method for fbdev
[ 867.040] (II) Loading sub module "fbdevhw"
[ 867.040] (II) LoadModule: "fbdevhw"
[ 867.042] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libfbdevhw.so
[ 867.042] (II) Module fbdevhw: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 867.043] compiled for 1.21.1.18, module version = 0.0.2
[ 867.043] ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 25.2
[ 867.044] (EE) No devices detected.
[ 867.045] (EE)
Fatal server error:
[ 867.045] (EE) no screens found(EE)
[ 867.046] (EE)
Please consult the The X.Org Foundation support
at http://wiki.x.org
for help.
[ 867.046] (EE) Please also check the log file at
"/var/log/Xorg.0.log" for additional information.
[ 867.047] (EE)
[ 867.125] (EE) Server terminated with error (1). Closing log file.
Please advise.
>
> >
> > I'll probably end up using whatever .config file the developer
> > who
> > investigates the possible kernel regressions recommends.
> >
> > I'm not using an xorg.conf file in either Debian SID or Gentoo (I
> > haven't needed to use an xorg.conf file since Debian 7.8 in
> > Sparc64).
> >
> > For now I'll be sticking with Gentoo for these particular kernel
> > regression tests.