For those who need or want to install the latest ATI proprietary driver (Catalyst 11.2) right after a fresh 11.4 install - and might not look for solutions in the development subforum - here’s a quick and - not so dirty way (you need internet access at this point) :
Exit X or boot in runlevel 3
login as root in the console
Type the following:
cd /tmp
wget http://www.unixversal.com/linux/openSUSE/atiupgrade
chmod 755 atiupgrade
./atiupgrade
Be patient. It might take some time.
Answer yes when prompted to install fglrx64_xpic_SUSE113
reboot (using nomodeset in the boot options if you need to).
In order to compile the module, I installed the kernel sources and the pattern devel_basis. I normally use most packages in this pattern, so I install it by default from other scripts. While running atiupgrade on a fresh install, I was surprised by the number of packages getting installed with that pattern. You certainly won’t need them all but don’t be afraid though! They don’t bite.
Please report if it doesn’t work. (like aticonfig --initial failed to add a fglrx section for some reason).
Take a look at the atiupgrade thread in the development forum: Upgrading ATI driver with atiupgrade. The latest version of the script is always in the last post.
Oh… I think that would be because wget wasn’t installed then. I tried the script on a fresh install but the only thing I didn’t try might have been to download it with wget in the first place. The script itself uses wget to download the ATI installer. So it looks for wget and installs it if it’s missing:
# make sure wget is installed
which wget > /dev/null 2>&1 || zypper in wget
It’s also possible that wget is installed or not depending on the type of install you did (live CD, DVD or net install). I’ll check the next time. In any case you just have to install wget first. That would only add one command to this method. If wget is already installed, you’ll just get a short message ending with “Nothing to do”.
zypper in wget
cd /tmp
wget http://www.unixversal.com/linux/openSUSE/atiupgrade
chmod 755 atiupgrade
./atiupgrade
I meant the hint (!) re development pattern, since I do compile every now and then…with the result of error msg re missing libs etc. That should now solve most of the problems.
Hi. I have just done a fresh install of 11.4 and followed you above instructions which i found to be very clear and easy to follow, however I still have not had any win. All looked good until I had to reboot.
When I reboot with NOMODESET i just get a blank screen.
If i just allow it to boot normally i get a command line login.
And if i boot in failsafe mode i get a command line login.
I found your link after trying the methods here :- SDB:ATI drivers - openSUSE
I had no win with any of these methods either.
nomodeset is normally only needed with the open source driver radeonhd. As I don’t know how far you have been in running the script and how many steps completed successfully, I would suggest to boot in runlevel 3 first, as shown in this post: Doubts in installing the property ATI driver. This is not the same as failsafe. Don’t use nomodeset for now. Log in as root in the console and
Show us if the fglrx package is installed:
rpm -qa | grep fglrx
show us the content of xorg.conf:
cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Also show us the model of your graphic card and which driver it is using now:
fglrx is properly installed and configured.
I’m not sure about the BusID since you have 2 graphic cards.
Please post the output of the command:
lspci
The onboard Intel Graphic card is causing the problem. You should disable it in the BIOS (if possible) or blacklist the i915 module. I don’t have Intel Graphics. So I can’t help with this issue. From the ATI point of view, everything looks fine, except maybe the BusID. If it refers to the Intel device, it cannot work.
an/or
I doesn’t look like i can disable in bios, will readup on how to blacklist this, I thankyou very much for the time you have given me looking at this problem.
Stupid question: Is the monitor plugged in in the right socket?
Not a stupid question, my fault for not specifying that it is a laptop HP dv6 and i am not using an external display.
Hmm … laptop with 2 graphic devices. Could it be that the ATI one is for an external monitor (only)? Is there a way to switch the graphic devices priority in the BIOS?
I have no idea. I suggest you start a new thread in the laptop subforum since it is a different problem.
Someone has the same machine and reported the same problem in the french forum: Hp Pavillon DV6 / Opensuse 11.4 - Ecran noir. If you create a new thread, you won’t be the only one interested in the solution.
@Djorev78,
can you confirm that the Intel card can not be disabled in the BIOS?
@the_enduser
You should rerun atiupgrade and specify the version of the driver to install the latest one. I haven’t changed the script yet but you can specify the version on the command line:
I’ve read some laptops have a BIOS setting with a name that is not so obvious to be switching graphic drivers:
For Intel
, set graphics controller to “Switchable” in BIOS - For AMD
, set graphics controller to “Discrete” in BIOS
Of course if one has no ‘graphics controller’ BIOS entry then there is no way to make such a setting !
On the Fedora forums, one user noted a case where Fedora on their PC always would boot to the Radeon driver and they wanted to try the Intel driver. What purportedly worked for some users with Fedora was a Fedora kernel boot code (which may or may not be enabled for openSUSE, but I think it is with recent openSUSE kernels) :
radeon.modeset=0
where this applies the modesetting only to the Radeon driver. I assume, … no, … “speculate” is a better word, that in this case it is important one does NOT have the proprietary Catalyst fglrx driver loaded.
If that ‘modeset’ boot code is a way to do this (to stop the radeon driver from loading), then that begs the question, will the following boot code work to stop the Intel driver from loading ??
i915.modeset=0
Please accept this as the speculation it is in trying to help. I don’t know the solution, … but rather I am only offering the various speculations I would consider if I had this situation.
We really need someone who has thrashed all this out already to write a guide.
From my experience (with dedicated intel grahics hardware), issuing ‘i915.modeset=0’ at the grub boot prompt does not stop the i915 from loading. It just disables KMS, and causes the 3D acceleration to be disabled. I would be surprised if it had any effect on disabling the intel graphics chipset (or switching the active graphics chipset). That is ACPI-related.
don’t know why and did not bother to find out.
