Re: Getting X to work in Dell OptiPlex

[Seth Cohn <scohn@clipper.net>]

> The Dell OptiPlex GX110 is using i810e chipset.
>  I think it's best to 
> describe what I went through.

Been there, done that.  Complained to Branden, because at the time, he
didn't even HAVE the link he'd promised in the docs, on the website.
He fixed that though. :)  He doesn't include the module built because of
the need to build against the right kernel...

> 1.  Initially I accessed the Intel site to see if they have the module for 
> downloading.  Unfortunately, they only have the rpm package, and running 
> alien and installing from them didn't seem to work.

Nope, the .tgz is worth getting though.  unpacking that, it works... just
'make' in the directory then 'make install'

> 4.  I then went through XF86Setup and xf86config trying to see if there's 
> an option for i810.  However, there's no such hardware list in the 
> configuration files.

Nope, neither supports i810. :(  You need to configure a simple SVGA card
and then hand hack the config to fit... see below for the lines....

> 5.  I then type "locate i810" and I found that XFCom_i810 is indeed 
> installed in my system.  I figure that it's just a matter of telling X 
> configuration tools that I have this sort of driver.

You don't need the XFCom_i810.... the current (well... 3.3.6) SVGA driver
works fine... BUT you need to add the config lines telling it is an 810

> 6.  I did some modification on /etc/X11/XF86Config hoping that it would get 
> things working, but I cannot get X to run.

> Now, has anyone have similar experience?  How did you configure X?

1) make sure your MEM size in lilo is set 2-4 megs low - i810's use
onboard ram, so you need to reserve that....  read the docs for lilo.  If
you get weird lockups, you might be having memory conflicts.

2) load agppart, unless you are set to autoload....  I find that with most
systems, just having the agpgart.o module in the misc section of your
modules is fine. Make sure you make the device node per the instructions
in the INSTALL file...

3)
the important lines from XF86Config:

# **********************************************************************
# Graphics device section
# **********************************************************************

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "i810"
EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Screen sections
# **********************************************************************
Section "Screen"
    Driver "svga"
    Device      "i810"
    Monitor     "your monitor here"
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes "1024x768" "640x480" "800x600" "1152x864" "1280x1024" "1600x1200"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
EndSection