Problems with X-server display Old Laptop
Forum: X and Fluxbox
Topic: Problems with X-server display Old Laptop
started by: gigi1234
Posted by gigi1234 on Sep. 07 2006,23:29
Hi All,After much to-do, I finally got a graphical mode of DSL running on an old laptop (Pentium 1, 40MB RAM, Gateway Solo). But the display is weird and I can't figure it out.
I have a monitor that is 600 x 800, 256 colors (8 bit) and I chose these options in the XVESA setup.
And I get a display, but it is very dark. For instance, I start up Dillo and go to Google and instead of having a white background it is black, like everything is reversed.
Does anyone how an idea what is causing this and how it can be fixed?
Thanks!
Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on Sep. 08 2006,13:31
Try the other options in xsetup. What happens when you use 640x480x8 or xfbdev?What about booting with those vga= and fb#x# codes?
You could also try using the XFree86 extensions.
Posted by gigi1234 on Sep. 08 2006,21:16
I have pretty much tried everything possible in the boot options and in xsetup.What are these Xfree86 extensions?
How difficult is it to switch to Xfree86?
One problem I have is not knowing much about my hardware. I know the resolution and color setting (800 x 600, 8-bit) but that is it. No sync rates, don't know what chip I have etc.
It is usable as is, but very funky, like a reverse image!!
Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on Sep. 08 2006,21:58
Did you try a combination of booting with those cheatcodes and in xsetup at the same time?I was referring to myDSL's XFree86.dsl/.unc
It shouldn't be too hard to use the full xf86, though some users have some trouble due to their particular hardware.
The standard vrefresh rate is 60Hz.
I wonder if you used like a failsafe or acpi=off apm=off (power issue?)
Use lspci -v or System stats to find out more about your hardware.
Posted by rja on Sep. 09 2006,02:37
This might give you a hint about the hardware in your Solo laptop:< http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/gateway.html >
Posted by slong on Sep. 23 2006,10:34
Go for the Xfree. You have to configure it, but there is a script to get you started. Actually, it might run OK after you do the Xfreeconfig script. My old laptop didn't, but after a few tweaks it was fine.One nice feature is that you can restart with xsetup and go back to the original dsl xserver and try again if it messes up the first few boots.
I added a user that used XFree86, and kept the dsl account on the old xserver, till XF86 was stable.
Keep trying, it will feel great when you succeed!
Peace, Steve
Posted by spmcg on Oct. 05 2006,07:48
I had a similar problem with my Compaq Armada 1520, cirrus video card. The problem is that the xvesa driver can only offer 800x600x8 accelerated and doesn't allow you to unaccelerate (AFAIK). Hence the crap screen.Xfree can help, you may need to set option 'noaccel' under "Device" and play around with the settings under "Screen" at the bottom of the xfree86 config-4 file. Basically you want to comment everything out except under "Display", keep "Depth" 16, "Modes" 800x600. (though in your case Depth might have to be 8 if that's all the screen can do).
I ended up with 800x600x16 unaccelerated working OK, though my video card messes up the bottom few lines of the screen. This is a cirrus problem I am told, but your notebook is likely a bit more modern so xfree should work for you. Look around web, you'll find oodles of xconfig files that relate to your machine. Good luck!
Posted by andrewb on Oct. 06 2006,00:15
You may not need the full Xfree (though now it is a UNC it isn't so memory hungry). Have you checked out:vga=xxx
Another option is to use the xf86_svga server from Xfree v3 - NOT v4 as in the UNC. v3 has more support for older chipsets (e.g. WD90C24, etc). Follow the instructiuons in:
< http://damnsmalllinux.org/cgi-bin....86_svga >
This was the ONLY way I could get X working on an old Thinkpad. The xf86_svga server isn't in the v4 version of X. Once you've got the server you need to find a valid xf86config file for your machine - try Google.
Posted by Ran_Talbott on Dec. 14 2006,12:55
I had what I think is the same problem on a Fujitsu Point1600 when I mistakenly set it up with "vga=771" (800x600, 8-bit). When I switched to 16-bit mode (vga=788) it worked fine.I used the framebuffer driver in both cases: trying to use the VESA driver didn't work with the Fujitsu. The display came up, but with an ugly color palette that made the LCD unreadable.
I wonder if the default color scheme has problems if it's used on systems with limited color depth? I have some old tablets with grayscale screens that I've been thinking of trying DSL on, so I'm also interested in what the "real" solution is.
Ran
Posted by Juanito on Dec. 14 2006,13:19
You could try looking at < http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/Vga%3Dxxx > under the additional modes section and use the dsl 2 boot option followed by Xvesa-listmodes.This might throw some light on what your hardware is capable of.