boatman9

I installed mandriva-linux-free-2010-spring-dual from the 700MB CD onto a 64 bit computer. During the install I selected KDE4 as the desktop, but it seems KDE4 was not installed, there was no desktop to boot into. Does the 700MB free version include any desktops?

I don't have access to my friend's computer at the present time, however I tried nomodeset on my laptop, this is what I did; First I looked at the modes xrandr showed and noted there were 10 video modes including one at 640x480 59.4 Hz. I edited xorg.conf to remove all 640x480 modes, then rebooted and at the grub menu I pressed F3 and added nomodeset=1 to the end of the kernel boot line (later in a separate test I tried nomodeset without any =1). After rebooting I checked xrandr output again and the 640x480 59.4 Hz mode still appeared, obviously did not come from my xorg.conf.

Two of the modes in my laptop's xorg.conf are 768x576, one is 79 Hz, the other is 100 Hz. Neither of the 768x576 modes appear in xrandr output, seems that xrandr shows only modes that are near 60 Hz vertical refresh rate, maybe because my laptop's display works only at 60 Hz.

Apparently, with or without nomodeset, the ModeLine settings in xorg.conf do not affect which video modes are available.

Was /etc/X11/xorg.conf existing from the initial install or was something like system-config-display (Fedora) used to create it?

On my friend's computer with the 1360x768 TV, xorg.conf was created during installation using an analog VGA monitor, later an AGP video card was added and the monitor was replaced by the 1360x768 TV.

The introduction of the xorg.conf man page states;

Xorg supports several mechanisms for supplying/obtaining configuration and run-time parameters: command line options, environment variables, the xorg.conf configuration file, auto-detection, and fallback defaults. When the same information is supplied in more than one way, the highest precedence mechanism is used.

After reading that, I suspect the xorg.conf file has a fairly low priority for supplying/obtaining configuration and run-time parameters, relative to the other mechanisms mentioned in the man page. I've already looked at the man pages for xserver and xorg. Do you know where to find details about how to change the priorities of the configuration mechanisms mentioned?

Well, I worked on this problem again for a couple hours today. The problem is still affecting my friend's computer, stuck at 800x600, and seems to be due to the fact that none of the ModeLine modes under Section "Monitor" (in xorg.conf) actually work, meaning they don't appear as mode choices when I run xrandr. To make matters worse the TV's EDID data seems to be invalid; I used "get-edid | parse-edid" to read the EDID data and got some message that said not to trust the data, also the data looked like it was incorrect.

I have two computers of my own, a laptop and a desktop. My laptop acts the same as my friend's machine, meaning ModeLines added under Section "Monitor" don't appear in xrandr output. In my desktop I can add modes by adding ModeLine statements under Section "Monitor", the modes then appear as mode choices in xrandr. I suspect the later situation is the way it's supposed to work.

Anyone know how I can make ModeLine statements work as they should? This seems like a big bug in the Xorg package, or maybe there's something I've overlooked.

Thanks to both of you for your advice and the research you've done on this problem. I have been studying the xorg.conf documentation and will try creating a custom xorg.conf file. I will post here when I find a working solution.

I am familiar with xrandr but can't use it to any benefit in this case because the display output devices (such as VGA-0, DVI-0, S-video, etc.) have not been created. Compare the output of xrandr in my first post with that from your computer. The only output created is 'default' (800x600+0+0 0mm x 0mm).

Something has gone wrong in the process of creating VGA-0, DVI-0, S-video, etc. The graphics cards is an nvidia with DVI and S-video outputs, and is supposed to support at least two monitors, either 2 DVI or 2 VGA, or one of each, so xrandr should show at least VGA-0, VGA-1, DVI-0, DVI-1, S-video outputs.

I used 'Xorg -configure' to create xorg.conf.new (attached), copied it to /etc/X11/xorg.conf an rebooted. X did not start, there was an error message:

Fatal server error:

no screens found

After running Mandriva's X configuration tool I was able to recover to the 800x600 screen but still very much where I began, and still not seeing the usual screens when I run xrandr.

xorg.zip

Check to see if xorg.conf exists in /etc/X11 directory. If so, rename it to xorg.conf.old and reboot. Xorg doesn't need an xorg.conf nowadays, so maybe there is one there just a bit strangely configured.

I deleted /etc/X11/xorg.conf and rebooted but did it did not even get to graphical mode. I will try the 'Xorg -configure' command next time I get to that computer, it's not at my usual location, I get there about every two days.

Another symptom that may be a helpful clue; at the grub menu where 'Help' 'Language' 'Kernel Option' should be displayed at the lower edge of the screen, those three choices are so low they are not visible, or maybe just the top of the letters can be seen. A similar problem exists at the top of the display as well as both right and left sides when in text mode. I don't see any way to solve that problem with xorg.conf because xorg.conf isn't run until after the grub menu has been displayed.

What about replacing the nvidia card with another brand? Do you think an ATI card might work OK?

I'm working with a Magnavox 32MF339B/F7 TV/monitor attached to a computer running 2010.0 The video card is "nVidia Corporation NV18 [GeForce4 MX 440 AGP 8x] (rev a2)" with DVI and svideo outputs, using the nvidia proprietary driver. The monitor is capable of 1360x768 and works fine at that resolution in Windows, however in Linux the resolution seems to be stuck at 800x600. I want to change the display mode to 1360x768, have tried doing that using "Set up the graphical server" in MLCC but it remains in 800x600 mode.

Another strange thing is that xrandr does not show the usually outputs such as DVI-0, but instead shows the following:

Screen 0: minimum 800 x 600, current 800 x 600, maximum 800 x 600
default connected 800x600+0+0 0mm x 0mm
  800x600        60.0*

How should I begin to solve this problem? Is it all about changing settings in xorg.conf?

BenganG,

Thanks for the script, it works great!

When I connect my OnAir USB TV receiver I get the following 6 lines in dmesg.

usb 2-3.3: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 3
usb 2-3.3: New USB device found, idVendor=11ba, idProduct=1101
usb 2-3.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
usb 2-3.3: Product: USB HDTV-GT(1.1)
usb 2-3.3: Manufacturer: OnAirSolution
usb 2-3.3: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice

A kernel module is supposed to load after those 6 lines from the USB stack, problem is it's not loading. The module that's supposed to load is

/lib/modules/2.6.31.12-desktop586-1mnb/kernel/drivers/media/video/pvrusb2/pvrusb2.ko.gz

Where should I begin to debug this problem?

By the way, are Mandriva's kernel modules normally in .gz form when on disk?

Recently I connected a Hauppauge WinTV HVR 850 usb stick to my computer. Sound works fine when using Kaffeine to watch digital TV (ATSC), however sound does not work when using TVtime to watch analog channels (NTSC).

/usr/sbin/lsof | grep \/dev\/snd

shows the following when sound is working with Kaffeine.

pulseaudi  1129 user  mem       CHR     116,48                7229 /dev/snd/pcmC1D0p
pulseaudi  1129 user   20u      CHR      116,0      0t0       3030 /dev/snd/controlC0
pulseaudi  1129 user   28u      CHR     116,48      0t0       7229 /dev/snd/pcmC1D0p
pulseaudi  1129 user   36u      CHR     116,32      0t0       7233 /dev/snd/controlC1
pulseaudi  1129 user   42u      CHR     116,32      0t0       7233 /dev/snd/controlC1

When using TVtime (sound not working)

/usr/sbin/lsof | grep \/dev\/snd

shows:

pulseaudi  1129 user   20u      CHR      116,0      0t0       3030 /dev/snd/controlC0
pulseaudi  1129 user   36u      CHR     116,32      0t0       7233 /dev/snd/controlC1
pulseaudi  1129 user   42u      CHR     116,32      0t0       7233 /dev/snd/controlC1

Why is sound not working in TVtime? Does TVtime not work with pulse audio?

I got this receiver to work, but want to advise everyone that there is some required firmware missing from the Mandriva repository. Apparently this firmware is needed for any USB TV receiver which uses xc3028 tuner.

There are some bug reports about it, so I expect this issue will be fixed. I found the firmware, thanks to linuxtv.org.

http://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Xceive_XC3028/XC2028#How_to_Obtain_the_Firmware

I have a WinTV HVR-850 (usb TV receiver) connected and it was recognized by my computer. (BTW I am in North America in case that matters for TV viewing) I have briefly tried MythTV and TVtime but no success at first try, but I can probably get them both working later. In MythTV didn't get past database configuration, (I don't know why a database is needed to watch TV). Attached is the output from dmesg showing the HVR-850 was installed as /dev/video0 and /dev/vbi0, as well as activation of v4l2 driver.

Anyone have any suggestions for me? What software should I use to view TV programs and change channels?

Thanks!

win-tv-850-dmesg.txt

What is the procedure to format a blank floppy disk in a USB floppy drive? I am using Mandriva 2010.0. I have some floppy disks which have been magnetically bulk erased, so they need the low level format as well as the file system format. I'd like to format them as msdos FAT12 using a command line.

While searching the web I found a program called "ufiformat" which is supposed to do the job, however ufiformat does not seem to be in the Mandriva repositories.

After installing the new AGP video card I booted the computer. As expected, X failed to load, but I had the option to make some configuration changes, apparently using XFdrake. I wonder if there's a console mode version of the entire MLCC?

I plan to install a different AGP video card in my desktop because I want a card with s-video output as well as output for my monitor. The new card is from ATI and will need a different driver than my current nvidea card. I'm guessing I won't have any X11 capability until I have configured X11 for the new card. Is there some console mode tool I can use to identify the new card and configure X11?

I purchased and tried InstantOn which has recently become available in the Mandriva store. In seems to use Gnome but I did not find any way to add packages. I see that the minimum hardware requirements for InstantOn are 256MB RAM, 1.4GB drive storage. Most netbooks come with drive storage 8MB or more, which is large enough to load one of the Mandriva editions with a full desktop such as LXDE or maybe Gnome.

I am wondering when, if ever, would InstantOn be a good choice for use on a netbook? Is it good only for the few netbooks with drive storage larger than 1.4GB but less than what's needed to run a full Mandriva edition?

My mistake, I tested a short stack of live CDs, Mandriva One 2010.0 can in fact play a youtube videos. None of the other distros I tested would play youtube videos. The others I tested are listed below, followed by the date of the iso file used to burn the live CD.

Debian live 502, 4-Sep-2009

Kubuntu 9.10, 28-Oct-2009

Suse 11.2, 2-Nov-2009

Fedora 12, 8-Nov-2009

Knoppix 6.2, 17-Nov-2009 (Because this is a recent version I suspect it can handle youtube, but it froze my computer before fully booting.)

I was not able to play youtube videos with the Mandriva 2010.0 kde4 live CD. Which Linux distro CD (if any) can handle youtube without adding any packages?

Thanks for the advice. I am using Gnome but probably will be using KDE4 soon.

I had put my xrandr commands in .bash_profile where it seems to be doing OK. I would prefer not to have the script in user's space, but someplace that will apply to all users, as it does in the Debian example.

The problem has been solved! While messing with my dual monitor issue I happened to turn off "3D hardware acceleration". The next time I loaded the graphical server there was no unusual latency in my display. The option I changed is found in MLCC / Hardware / Set up the graphical server / Options / 3D hardware acceleration /.

According to this tutorial for Debian, scripts in /etc/X11/Xsession.d/ will be run when X starts. I tried this with Mandriva but it didn't work. Where in Mandriva 2010.0 should I place a script to be run when X starts?

My 2.4 GHz laptop computer is still running slowly with Mandriva 2010.0 Gnome. I may have to get another laptop because of this problem. It's strange that Mandriva 2010.0 runs fairly well on my 700 MHz desktop but is slow on my 2.4 GHz laptop. I wonder if the slowness is something to do with the video card driver, slowness seems to be related to updating the video display, whether it's in Firefox or paging up/down in a text editor.

I don't know a lot about this, but I have an idea that may help. In MLCC (Configure Your Computer) there is a section called "Network Sharing". Maybe one of the tools there will do the job. If the printer needs to be configured separately look for the printer configuration tool in the Hardware section. If you don't see the printer configuration tool make sure you have this package installed: system-config-printer