ATI driver help

[buddhadakid]

I have an ATI Radeon 4890 card and openSUSE 11.1 64-bit kernel-default.
I can't get the ATI drivers to work any way i try it. I followed the instructions here: ATI - openSUSE this just added a new option to my grub menu: debug-openSUSE. When i try to boot into that, i have no mouse or keyboard at all. The hard way does nothing at all to my system but install fglrx.
Does anyone know a way to install this driver? any help is welcome and if you need more info just tell me.

[swerdna]

I was in your shoes. Didn't matter what I tried. Finally this worked and maybe it will for you:

Uninstall the fglrx RPMs

If you can't get a gUI then do this to uninstall them: Boot to runlevel 3 and run command as root: yast
That gives the ncurses graphics screen for yast. Open software management and uninstall the fglrx RPMs.

Once they're uninstalled, run sax2 to get a new GUI using whatever system sax2 chooses (probably vesa).

Get your online updates up to date.
Then add the Community ATI Repo
Then add the two fglrxG01 RPMs

Then open a console, su to root and run this command

aticonfig --initial --input=/etc/X11/xorg.conf

Reboot.

[buddhadakid]

aticonfig returns no acceptable hardware or display. I tried to reboot and now when my computer turns on all you see is the word Grub on a black screen and nothing else

[whych]

Try as root:
/usr/bin/aticonfig --initial
(you probably need the path)

[swerdna]

Originally Posted by buddhadakid

aticonfig returns no acceptable hardware or display. I tried to reboot and now when my computer turns on all you see is the word Grub on a black screen and nothing else

Don't run aticonfig until you've successfully removed the fglrx RPMs, then successfully run sax2 to create a new low resolution xorg.conf file, then successfully reinstalled fglrx RPMs, then run aticonfig with the special syntax, all strictly in that sequence. (but maybe you did that, in which case you have a larger problem).

But it looks like you have a different problem now, a broken bootloader. For that you should read this tutorial to get back to openSUSE, including read the appendix on how to repair grub once you're in openSUSE: HowTo Boot into openSUSE when it won't Boot from the Grub Code on the Hard Drive

[buddhadakid]

Okay fixed the bootloader.
I did it in that exact order but i think i know what happened. I was using a 42' HD tv as a monitor (got a 20' lcd now) and suse was saying it wasnt supported so i had to pick a display resolution and type before it finished booting.
Because of that i think sax2 didnt work properly. I will try again with my new monitor.

[cmcgrath5035]

Swerdna, please clarify - you say to add the "Community ATI REPO", but the ATI REPO does not show on the "Community" list in YAST (NVIDIA Repo does).
Do you mean add http://www2.ati.com/suse/11.x/ ?

[swerdna]

Originally Posted by cmcgrath5035

Swerdna, please clarify - you say to add the "Community ATI REPO", but the ATI REPO does not show on the "Community" list in YAST (NVIDIA Repo does).
Do you mean add http://www2.ati.com/suse/11.x/ ?

Yes that's the one

[cmcgrath5035]

OK, I followed your procedure, deleting the fglrx repos, then getting a GUI via the radeon module.
Reloaded the fglrx01 RPMs, ran the aticonfig and rebooted.

I got a login screen, but X crashes part way thru the KDE4.1 startup, bringing me back to login screen

Any thoughts?

[swerdna]

You said you deleted the fglrx repos. What was needed was to uninstall the fglrx RPMs, not delete the repo.

Then you said you got a GUI back by using the radeon module. The plan was to get the GUI back by using sax2.

Give it another run, from the beginning, and follow this carefully:

remove/uninstall fglrx RPMs (not the repo)
reboot and run sax2 to create a new low resolution xorg.conf file
reinstall fglrx RPMs
run this:

aticonfig --initial --input=/etc/X11/xorg.conf

What you seem to have done was simply to run the radeon module in some fashion, not to really re-initialize the video from the bottom up. This may fix it or it may not, but give it a run and see.