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  • From: sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>
  • To: baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [BL] XF86Config for 1024 res normal X server in BL3
  • Date: Fri, 13 May 2005 01:06:47 +0000 (UTC)

On Thu, 12 May 2005, David Moberg wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: "sindi keesan" <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>

The Modelines were copied over from a computer that was working
with a 1600 res monitor and xsvga driver with SiS and S3 Virge. I
did not copy anything for 1600 or the higher hsyncs for other
modes. I hope this will work on all monitors at their highest
resolution (up to 1280). Start with the lowest hsync for each
resolution. Mine worked with the first one that was not interlaced
but not with the next one up (black screen). In theory using too
high hsync (or is it vsync? I left that at the minimum) can damage
a monitor.

Modern monitors will not try to display modes which they cannot handle.
Older monitors can be fried.

A good reason to use the lowest settings for your resolution.

For the Compaq 486 laptop with Chips and Technologies I changed the Mode line to "640x480" (no "800x600") and commented out all but the 640x400 and 640x480 modelines. I changed HorizSync to 31.5 and VertRefresh to 50. I changed to PS/2 mouse (all based on Steven's XF86Config for 800 resolution, not my config file for 1024). Before installing no-xvesa.tgz I copied startx to startxvesa (not that Xvesa works here either).

I copied over the xsvga.tgz and no-xvesa.tgz files via plip. First I set up the parport zip disk linux with xsvga at 1024 on the pentium and it works fine there, if a bit slowly, in svga X. I then tried to boot it on the Compaq 486 and discovered that the zimage on the floppy disk is for pentium only. So I substituted zimage.4dx from BL3 and was told that imm thinks the block size is 512 bytes and the disk size is 1GB. I have a 100MB parport zip disk. I tried using the zip disk from regular ext2 BL3 and when I did insmod imm.o I got the same error message. So David appears to have included something in the kernel (not specific to imm, his kernel was originally for ppa.o) which lets something know that the zip disk is 100MB. What do I need to add when I insmod imm.o in order to use it with a regular linux, rather than from the zip drive? Maybe the package I downloaded from Iomega for linux has the answer, but it is still not going to let me boot parport zip linux on a 486 with this kernel.

David, if you have time, you could change this kernel to one that works
with 386 and 486, so it could be used for file transfers to old laptops.
Or to show friends with old laptops that they can run linux on them.

I tried copying the packages via floppy disk but this computer will only read floppy disks that it has formatted and I did not want to bother formatting a disk in it (I don't even know how to do that in linux, just in DOS) so I plugged in the parallel transfer cable and plip worked.

The result of all this was that xsvga is not working.


SVGA: WD (three lines about this - I have a WD video chip)
SVGA: chipset wd90c24 (it detected this)
clocks : 28.32 28.32 .. (two lines of this)
Using 8 bpp, Depth 8, Color weight: 666
Maximum allowed dot-clock: 90.000 Mhz
There is no mode definition named "640x480"

Fatal server error: No valid modes found.

Did I do something obviously wrong, besides not using xf86config?

I just attempted to run it and there is no /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/Cards card database to look at. So I chose XF86_SVGA server (will try plain VGA next, it beats having only 4 colors). It asks how much video memory I have and when I tried to run X it said 1024. I set it to do only 640x480 in 8-32 bit color (but I think svga driver only does 8-bit color).

I typed startx and got exactly the same result as before except instead of
There is no mode definition named "640x480" I got
There is no defined dot-clock macthing mode "640x480".

I had answered n to probing for dot-clocks. Will try again with y.
X -probeonly call failed. No Clocks line inserted.

I just tried again with xvg16.tgz and got:
There is no defined dot-clock matching mode "640x480"
Same for xmono.tgz.

Sorry about this bad news to the other two of you with 486 Compaqs that won't do Xvesa. But I could actually get Xvesa working in 4-color mode if I did not use a config file. I have an alias
X = 'Xvesa -screen 640x480x2 -2button &rxvt -e icewm'
(It needs updating but it does work, in 4 colors, for those who prefer to run programs in an rxvt).

In theory, it should also work with any other computers to
eliminate the problems people are having with Xvesa and MS-DOS 6 or
7 himem.sys or other things in config.sys (was it smartdrv that
also caused problems?). There are no guarantees that you won't
damage your monitor, but if you want to take a chance try it with
the lowest setting for your highest resolution, and you should not
have to puzzle out xf86config to set things up. Would someone else
please try it (on an older 1024 monitor) and report back?

I don't think mine qualifies as "older". 1998, and it is very tolerant
of strange video modes.

Surely someone else has a monitor that goes to only 1024 and is early 90s like ours. It should be one that does no higher than 1024.

I was able to switch between the three resolutions (starting with
1024) with Ctrl-Alt-+ (?I think that was it) which gave me
magnified partial screens at 800 and 640. How do I move around in
this sort of screen? I forget how to set this for a virtual screen
at 1600 or larger - someone please remind me and I can add that to
the config file too.

Look a few days back in this thread for my post on this. You can find
Steven's original message about this on Apr 14, 2003.

Thanks, I will use google to search on virtual screen and basiclinux.

xf86config actually asks whether to set something up for you and it is getting easier - just don't look at the card base, choose svga server, and it will tell you what chip it detects and then you can decide whether to use another server later. It also detects video ram for you.

David


Sindi




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