XServer wiped out

[rockybalboa]

Since installing MDK 9.2 I have not had the Xserver run while being used for more than 5 minutes. Every desktop locks up solid. No keyboard response or anything, completely locked.

-I thought it was bad NVidia generic driver. I updated and got a whole new mess of problems on top of old ones.

-I have run XFdrake about 100 times and tried all options available, including going from XFree 3.xx to 4.xx and back.

-Thought it could be my USB mouse, swapped to PS2 mouse, no change.

-Have been unable to reinstall the NVidia drivers because the thing crashes before I can get it done, and I can't work well enough at the command line to do it.

-I have tried KDE,Gnome, IceWM, WindowMaker and whatever else came with this release of MDK. All lock up the same. Mozilla seems to work longer than anything, konqueror crashes as soon as it's opened.

-Command line functions all seem to work, but I don't work deep enough to really stress test things.

-I've read and reread XFree86.x.log.x and seem to have standard faults, kernel module wasn't installed at first, then fail init GLX extension.

-Modified config file manually about 5 times.

 

I'm now wondering if there was a problem with my install, although it went easier than I had anticipated.

Are there crash logs anywhere? Aside from the XFree86.x.x.x bunch?

Is there a way to completely delete X and all things associated for a fresh reinstall? Would complete reinstall of MDK be better.

 

I will skip posting my XFree logs because my errors have been duplicated numerous times elsewhere, but their fixes don't seem to help me. Sorry for being so long winded, it's Saturday and I put in 7 hours trying to fix this and have not progress.

I'm open to any possible solution. Next I will jump over a cliff with my MDK box tightly in hand.

Thanks,

Dan

P.S. Not sure if this is affecting it at all but, I've never gotten sound to work yet. I always see some ALSA fault but haven't tried a fix yet.

Edited April 25, 2004 by rockybalboa

[bvc]

-I thought it was bad NVidia generic driver. I updated and got a whole new mess of problems on top of old ones.

 

-Have been unable to reinstall the NVidia drivers because the thing crashes before I can get it done, and I can't work well enough at the command line to do it.

generic? You mean XFree86's nv driver? What driver did you use to update it? Did you try older one's from nvidia (pre kernel-2.6)?

 

Installation of the nvidia driver is suppose to be done 'outside' of X (X not running). It has been done in X successfully but until you've done it correctly.......

[bvc]

This was probably the most stable/widely used nvidia driver, ever. They were still being used by many when the 2.6 kernel was released.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux_display...y_1.0-3123.html

http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-3123/README

http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-...0-3123.i386.rpm

http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-...dk81up.i386.rpm

Edited April 25, 2004 by bvc

[rockybalboa]

The sh*t just keeps getting deeper.

I followed your instructions and this is what I got.

When running the first rpm NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-3123.mdk81up.i386.rpm I got this:

kernel=2.4.8.26mdk is needed for installation

And then the install dropped back to the prompt.

I'm not entirely sure how to identify what kernel I'm running, but at the prompt when I log into shell only (no GUI) it says kernel 2.4.22-10.

I will say that I downloaded my MDK 9.2 ISOs off an Asian server about two weeks ago, is there a possibility that I have been doing all this with an outdated kernel or something?

Anyway, I'm out of ideas for now. I was going to go out and look for other NVIDIA rpms but thought better of it. Also, I was running the "nv" driver all along. However I did try the XFree86 4.x.x GeForce3 (generic) driver at one point and got the same results so I switched back to the "nv"

Dan

P.S. The NVIDIA rpms require that the basic driver and the GLX be installed seperately. However this was not the case with the tars I loaded the other night, or I did it wrong from the beginning.

Remember though that I originally started trying to update to cure the same problem I have now (lockups).

[rockybalboa]

bvc,

That first line wasn't directed at you. Without your help, I would have formatted the partitions long ago and resigned myself to M$ and their chaos.

Thanks

Dan

[rockybalboa]

Learned a new lesson-How to identify what kernel I have. Not real big lesson but new nonetheless.

Now I need to find out if kernels are backward compatible.

If I update to 2.6, or what ever is out there, will the NVidia quit complaining for 2.4.x.x ?

Or should I keep the kernel I have and find different drivers?

Are some kernels less stable?

Of course I'm starting at -1 in terms of stability so I guess I can only go up.

[Qchem]

To find what kernel you're running do a uname -a from a command prompt.

 

You also need to install the kernel source to correctly install the nvidia drivers - you need the source that matches the current kernel you are running. The kernel source rpm should be on your local mandrake mirror.

[rockybalboa]

OK to demonstrate my newbie-ness I'll ask the following.

Would you recommend I stay with the kernel I currently have? (2.4.22-10)

-what does the -10 mean?

Since I can't keep the GUI up, can you tell me the exact commands to get the source code. Also I'm not sure how automatic the process is, but the only time my MDK mirrors were updated was when I did the post install updates, will these be sufficient places to get the code? Sounds to me like I should follow Qchem's directions first and follow with the ones from bvc.

Hopefully I'll get this cured. I want to run MDK, but without success I've been looking at Gentoo. I'm not asking anyone to sell me on 'drake. I picked it after a little study.

We'll see, thanks for all the advice, I'll share the results.

[Qchem]

That kernel should be ok to use for now, certainly until you're a little more comfortable with Linux. 2.4.22-10 means the 2.4.22 kernel / the 10th Mandrake build of it.

 

If you've got a net connection configured in Mandrake, from the commad line do:

 

wget http://www.mirror.ac.uk/sites/sunsite.uio....-10mdk.i586.rpm

 

or somehow get this file into your home dir. To install then do:

 

rpm -Uvh kernel-source-2.4.22-10mdk.i586.rpm

 

(as root) and you should now be able to build the nvidia binaries.

 

 

HTH

[rockybalboa]

OK I followed your instructions for the kernel source code and it was probably the easiest thing I've done since loading MDK.

The NVIDIA driver problem seems to be getting uglier.

I ran the NVIDIA RPMs and the system couldn't find them, even though I stored them in the root directory and was logged in as root. So I tried to access them from the webpage, guess the urpmi system doesn't work that way cause it couldn't access the page (I verified the address, but I was trying to access the standard http: downloads).

I finally got them (the ones I previously downloaded while in the GUI) to run by logging into my user account (in the shell).

Surprise! "NVIDIA cannot install..yak..yak.. installation will terminate" because it cannot find right kernel. I was using (trying) the drivers bvc suggested. I'm sure of my kernel and it's source. If the NV drivers are the ones that should work, should I try to trigger a force mode type install? Or am I still doing something wrong?

I'm open to any suggestions at this point, the tearing sound you might hear is the hair being shredded from my scalp.

Thanks to all those who care to comment.

[plati]

Surprise! "NVIDIA cannot install..yak..yak.. installation will terminate" because it cannot find right kernel.

What exactly did the error say? I remember when I installed these drivers on a friend's computer it was reporting that the kernel-headers were not found. If this is the case you can "urpmi kernel-headers" from root before the install.

 

aru wrote a guide here which may help you with the install.

 

Hope this helps :)

 

plati

[rockybalboa]

OK I ran urpmi kernel-headers and response was "already installed". Then I ran the rpm pkg and response was

"Failed dependencies: Kernel=2.4.8-26mdk is needed by NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-3123.mdk81.up"

Tried to run the run files (in home/* directory) to make the pkg and it said the file didn't exist, even though I was logged as root.

How do I update the dependencies or is it possible? If this NV driver set has worked with others kernel of the same number why doesn't mine?

I'm about to throw in the towel on this fight. It surprises me that I could have such a big problem getting this fixed compared to most users.

Thanks for the help, I haven't given up yet. But there comes a time when continuing becomes foolish. I'd installl MDK 10 if I thought I would get a solid setup, but I'm afraid this problem would follow me.

Dan

[Qchem]

I'd say ditch the rpm versions of the nvidia drivers and try again from the new shell script type. It appears that the rpm's were built for a previous version of Mandrake and hence are expecting a different kernel.

 

wget http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x...0-5336-pkg1.run

 

then type

 

sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-5336-pkg1.run

 

 

You then need to make changes to your XF86Config file (may be XF86Config-4 on Mandrake), which should be in /etc/X11.

 

Ensure you have

 

Load "glx"

 

in your modules section, and ensure Load "dri" is commented out (with a #) in the same section.

 

You also need to change

 

Driver "nv"

 

to

 

Driver "nvidia"

 

and that should about do it......