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help me start X - S3 chip


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ok, ive just installed mandrake 9.2 and it will only boot up into the commandline shell. if i try to wun the gui by typing "X", it has a screnn of junk and near the bottom it says "no screens found". well, not junk but i havent a clue. ive run drakxconf and set up the display, but is i test, it tells me to change some parameters. i have tried every possible variation of my graphics card(within the same s3 trio selection) and it wont have it. iv'e tried every resolution there is and i need to get it to work. i can't use the command shell on anything well(except the amiga) and i need my internet access back asap. PLEEEEESE HELP ME :( :help:

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Can you give us a bit more on your system? I noticed you did mention the s3 Trio graphics chipset. Just as a note, every time I've gotten that error it was because I had an incorrect video driver being called. Might be the case for you, but I want to be sure. Can you post your system specs?

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bvc,

 

don't know if it's new, but there is definitely a command called 'X' out there. I tried it and I seem to remember it did about the same as "startx" (booting into GUI and directly launching the KDE desktop [i'm using autologin]), no idea what's the difference though.

Edited by Darkelve
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Sounds like the problems I had with an older S3 ViRGE GX (385) card --- I never had any luck running with the newer XFree86 version 4 --- I always had to use the older 3.3.6 version.

 

And I just checked --- there is a specially made Xfree 3.3.6 just for S3 chips on the install CD's.

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as root try;

rpm -qa | grep XFree86

and write down exactly which pkgs are installed.

 

then

urpmi XFree86-3.3.6

or

urpmi XFree86

 

it'll either give you a list of available rpm's, or tell you everything is already installed. If it list 3.3.6 pkgs choose them by doing;

urpmi XFree86-3.3.6 XFree86-libs-3.3.6 XFree86-server-3.3.6

until you have listed the same that is installed, if possible, and hit enter.

 

It may be required or easier to get urpmi to do more for you by doing;

rpm -e --nodeps XFree86*

 

I prefer to list them so that I know all are being uninstalled.

rpm -qa | grep XFree86

and

rpm -e --nodeps XFree86-4.2.1 XFree86-libs-4.2.1 XFree86-server-4.2.1

 

I know this is rough being new and all but give it a shot. Your other option is to reinstall or do an upgrade and change the XFree86 version then. Where or how? I don't know, never had to, but someone could tell ya.

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*** i installed it in VMWare from WindowsXP Pr o***

 

i used to have the same problem, try to config your monitor to "Custom", enter vertical and horizontal frequency rate of your monitor (find in your monitor's manual - **wrong setting might harm your monitor!!!**) then select the generic video card.

 

then click on TEST button

 

above advices are working for me,

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  • 1 month later...
."And I just checked --- there is a specially made Xfree 3.3.6 just for S3 chips on the install CD's"

 

                So  like  Where the hell is it?? 1,2 or 3?

OK kids. here's the why.

http://www.xfree86.org/current/Status29.html#29

NOW I know why I haven't been able to upgrade to 9.1

It's taken me trying to install Mandy9.1, RH9, FreeBSD4.6 and Debian to figure this one out.

(((And all this time I thought it was because I was stupid!!))) :wall:

 

Edit: I found it!

Now I'll give upgrading a try but how does one choose that particular RPM when it isn't in the install choices??

Edited by Lagrosse
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Just commenting on the command

X

 

This just starts X without any window manager/desktop environment.

 

Quite handy, I use it like this, from the real console:

X :1&

(ctrl-alt-F[1-6] to get back to the console, if you're not running this from a script)

export DISPLAY=:1

icewm &

(or any other wm/de of your liking: startkde, gnome-session or whatever)

 

Without any wm, you can run stuff like starcraft via wine, on a 640x480 desktop, instead of icewm & just do:

wine /mnt/win_c/Program\ Files/StarCraft/StarCraft.exe

 

 

Sorry for messing up this topic a bit...

 

To answer the last question:

if you put the rpm in a place where you can find it, you can just install it from the command line:

just 'cd' to the location of the rpm and do

urpmi [namehere.rpm]

or just do

urpmi /path/to/location/on/disk/of/package.rpm

 

You don't need any graphical stuff for something as simple as this, and after that you can do with running the graphical setup program -- of which I inconveniently can't remember the name..

If no one else knows, you can always start mcc on the command line, it still works... thanks to ncurses.

 

[edit] seems the command to setup xfree is:

xfdrake

Edited by aRTee
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Just as an update for the morbidly curious:

At first I thought to try upgrading from Mandy8.1 to 9.1.

No go; not enough space. but lucky me as it turned out.

I decided to use the experimental section of my hda and made a clean install of 9.1Even selected XFree 3.3.6. S3

Got a server failure, no starty

Installed 3.3.6 again. nope

So I got this billiant idea to install XFree from the 8.1 disks; even had to replace the lib. files. Same story.

My conclusion?

 

Considering how easy 9.1 has gone into two other machines I have here, I'll just wait and get the other box I have coming in to install it on. Might have something to do with the proprietary bios I have but I'm so ignorant I'll have to solve this mystery another day. I guess the "designed for windoze" sticker Does means something sometimes.

later

Edited by Lagrosse
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