debian2.2r4 and MatroxMillenniumG450
2002-04-24
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Messieurs,
This is a little complaint from a rather disappointed guy, who thought that
Debian 2.2r4 would be THE distribution to run (but is now happily using
another distro instead).
For time reasons, I won't dig deeper into the issues (or the info that I
might have missed), but just give you an overview of my problems and some
constructive suggestions. I also send this same text to 3 addresses in the
Debian project.
It's all about the installation: I bought the 6 official 2.2r4 CDs (and my
system is an 8 months old Athlon PC), and the problems began in the small
scale when the marks '*' showing what I had chosen didn't appear when the
mouse and graphic resolution, monitor values etc should be given. I had to
make those choices rather 'blindly', due to some bug in the anXious script I
guess ? (And why isn't anXious capable of detecting a very normal modern
Logitech PS/2 3-button mouse, and configuring the system for it ?)
Then followed some packages choices, and then, after having chosen VGA16 as
X server (didn't get much info about this, and other decisions), the
server should be started, and no graphic picture could be opened, obviously,
and I was sent into the less amazing tty environment, with the terrible
elvis-tiny etc. to battle with ... Now, I happened to have some months of
Linux experience, so it wasn't totally impossible for me to slowly explore
these problems, but what could a real newbie have done ? (maybe you don't
want them around in the first place ...). BUT: and this to me is the really
remarkable fact, even after let's say FIVE full evenings of digging into
these X server problems, I still hadn't got a better graphic environment
than the VGA16 picture with its 16 colours and 640x480 pixels !! Even if I
gather that you consider Debian to be an intelligent and well maintained
distribution, I cannot call the installation support your programs gave me
especially intelligent ...
The problem seems to have been my Matrox Millennium G450 video card versus
your old XFree86 3.3 version (and versus your installation programs ).
I ought to mention, too, that I didn't want just then to go out on the net
and search more information, ask questions, etc, and that I really expected
to find all the info needed for a smooth setup in the enormous amount of
files on your official CDs.
After these really annoying Debian sessions my suggestions are:
1. Fix the supposed bugs in the anXious mouse etc selections part, and try
to autodetect more things, please
2. IMPORTANT!!: If the XF86Config file plus the X server don't function
together with the hardware, either go back to a rather safe video mode (as
the one already used in the XF86Setup program ! ), and/or let the user do
this by pressing Esc if he doesn't see a good picture after some seconds
3. Write some good information for the poor Millennium G450 users (am I the
only one to have met these problems ??), maybe also suggest an XF86Config
file that could be tried, and tuned ...
4. Put all your possible efforts on enabling the 4.0 version of XFree86 into
your Debian system (which would solve the Matrox problems, too, I guess )
Maybe you have already worked on some of these issues, I don't know now, but
wish you all luck, your basic approach and principles are quite OK, I think !
L-E Gustavsson Stockholm, Sweden
--
LEG leguz@glocalnet.net
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