ati and 11.1

English Install/Boot/Login
#1

Hi all, i just installed 11.1beta4, tried to run desktop effects with my ati x1200 graphic, they worked but when i am moving windows (wobbly) there are lines flickering across the monitor, i didnt install any drivers because i read that there is no need to install ati drivers, compiz will work by default without fglrx drivers… when i type glxinfo there is only DRI driver listed, in yast, graphic card and monitor, there is ati radeon 1200 graphic card, also in Xorg.conf there is something with ati and radeon… how can i properly use desktop effects with ATi drivers installed??? i also tried repository and one click install, but some errors with kernel came out

#2

I have found with version 11.0 that using the driver downloaded from here (Drivers & Software) gives the best results. So far I have noticed that a new driver appears monthly on this site.
With desktop effects enabled there is too much flickering and flashing going on with MPlayer and Google Earth. I found it was possible to use Mplayer with desktop effects by selecting a different video output, but have not been able to get Google Earth displaying properly with Desktop effects enabled.
I’m using an ATI Radeon 4850 with the 64 bit flavour of OpenSuse. Running glxgears returns this:
48043 frames in 5.0 seconds = 9608.502 FPS
53461 frames in 5.0 seconds = 10692.091 FPS
54438 frames in 5.0 seconds = 10887.476 FPS
53304 frames in 5.0 seconds = 10660.652 FPS
When I do run Desktop effects, the desktop effects part of it all are fine and all work as expected.
I just follow the instructions when installing the driver, there are links to FAQ’s etc from the driver download page.
Cheers, Peter.

#3

Also have a look here : ATI - openSUSE

There is an option that generally needs to be set in /etc/X11/xorg.conf when using ATI x1xxx chipsets.

Option “XaaNoOffscreenPixmaps”

Don’t know if this will work with the default driver you are using now.
As Peter already suggested, the proprietary driver can fix the performance lag. Do make a backup of your current xorg.conf file, just in case.

Cheers,
Wj

#4

thanks for replies, i would try to download the driver from that site but i dont see my x1200 card there… is it the same as x1250??

#5

It’s supported, look under “Integrated/Motherboard” (unless your X1250 is a separate card and not an on-board GPU).

#6

Ye the X1200 and X1250 are just about the same (Both are the RS690 chipset).
The way AMD packages the ATI drivers on linux though you could download it from any of the sections and it would work as it uses a single installer for the last year or so.

#7

after downloading the install script from ATI and running the install shell I found that the current disto suse11.1 beta 4.6 isn’t supported
sofglrx is absent on my machine radeon m200
fglrx didn’t come on line for suse 11.0 untill the release candidates so expect the same
this time

Why does fglrx not work for my kernel?

The development process of the fglrx driver and the Linux kernel are not on the same level. The fglrx driver requires some special interactions with the kernel memory API and these tend to change between kernel versions.
There is also an 11-12 week cycle required to develop, validate and test each release of an ATI driver [1]](http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Frequently_Asked_Questions#_note-0). ATI will only look to support the latest kernel that is officially out (no -rc or -git releases are supported) at the time they release a driver. Example: fglrx version A comes out Monday, but kernel version B comes out Tuesday. Kernel version B is not supported by fglrx version A. (but might be able to work anyway by doing a ‘modprobe -f fglrx’ in a shell)
The binary part of ATI’s kernel module has no explicit dependency on the Linux kernel. There are a set of source files that provide the glue to the kernel. This is where the dependency to different kernels exist. As a result, user contributed patches for newer kernels can often be found by searching Bugzilla.
Note: That’s why an opensource hardware driver is necessary. Hopefully, AMD will continue releasing more documentation and we will be able to code our own maintainable and free driver, thus freeing ourselves from this dependency on AMD’s good will.
**edit] **

#8

thanks for these replies, yeah, i will wait for next release candidate and see what happens, hopefully fglrx will be there

#9

It will probably be in the ati repository keep looking at Additional YaST Package Repositories - openSUSE
to see if version 11.1 shows up or see if the ati repo shows upin the community repositories. I too am impatiently waiting.

#10

This from hardware
New ATI and Nvidia Drivers Released Nov. 12th - openSUSE Forums

There is a new fglrx driver for the newer suse 11.1 kernel only I keep getting a bad checksum maybe it will showin the repos soon

#11

hi, thanks for news, i am just downloadin beta5, gonna put it on tomorrow so am gonna try it, I will post my experiences…

#12

ok, so i downloaded 8.11, installed it via the Hard Way in wiki BUT nothing changed except i end up with black screen on boot and had to reinstall opensuse!! i run the installer, graphical installator came up, i used custom method bla bla, it said driver installed, reboot, and than 5 times splash screen flickered and i ended up with tty1 i think… i run aticonfig initial -f but nope!! i will probably wait for repo drivers…

and also, i installed two weeks ago new ubuntu interpid, i think it has the same new kernel version, fglrx was there and it was running like a charm!! except it has not a great support for my wifi card!!

#13

I got the black screen too. Recovered by inserting init 3 in the startup screen and running sax2 as root. then init 5

https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206/0/www2.ati.com/drivers/linux/catalyst_811_linux.pdf

has a list of known issues but it might be wise to wait for the repo drivers

#14

After a few ties I got the ati driver to work
make sure you have kernel sources and gcc installed. The installer cannot make the
kernel modules without them

#15

hi, i installed kernel source and gcc but no way, still black screen and i cant fix that even with running sax in init 3!! i tried to build a rpm package from the installer i downloaded (8.11) but it said package built failed!! so i dont know where is the problem!!! are you using 11.1 beta 5??? whats your graphic card?? did you install anything else than kernel source and gcc?

#16

Have a look at /usr/share/ati/fglrx-install log here is mine
[Message] Kernel Module : Trying to install a precompiled kernel module.
[Message] Kernel Module : Precompiled kernel module version mismatched.
[Message] Kernel Module : Found kernel module build environment, generating kernel module now.
ATI module generator V 2.0

initializing…
doing Makefile based build for kernel 2.6.x and higher
rm -rf *.c *.h *.o .ko .GCC .?? *.symvers
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.27.5-2-default/build SUBDIRS=/lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x modules
make[1]: Entering directory /usr/src/linux-2.6.27.5-2-obj/i386/default' make -C ../../../linux-2.6.27.5-2 O=/usr/src/linux-2.6.27.5-2-obj/i386/default/. modules CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/firegl_public.o /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/firegl_public.c: In function ‘__ke_vm_phys_addr_str’: /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/firegl_public.c:3206: warning: return makes pointer from integer without a cast /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/firegl_public.c:3207: warning: return makes pointer from integer without a cast /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/firegl_public.c:3208: warning: return makes pointer from integer without a cast /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/firegl_public.c:3210: warning: return makes pointer from integer without a cast CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_acpi.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_agp.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_debug.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_ioctl.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_io.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_pci.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_str.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_wait.o LD [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/fglrx.o Building modules, stage 2. MODPOST 1 modules CC /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/fglrx.mod.o LD [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/fglrx.ko make[1]: Leaving directory /usr/src/linux-2.6.27.5-2-obj/i386/default’
build succeeded with return value 0
duplicating results into driver repository…
done.
You must change your working directory to /lib/modules/fglrx
and then call ./make_install.sh in order to install the built module.

  • recreating module dependency list
  • trying a sample load of the kernel modules
    done.

My cardis a radeon m200
and I did change my kernel to default from pae because I didn’t see source for the pae kernel

#17

ok, i am now installing suse again, but, as i can see in your log you are usin 32-bit suse no?? i am using 64 so maybe thats the problem

#18

OK, so i downloaded all libraries, packages and so. tried to install the driver one more time and finally i didnt get black screen… BUT, for example, 3d desktop effects are not working, when i type into terminal glxinfo this will show:

name of display: :0.0
X Error of failed request: BadRequest (invalid request code or no such operation)
Major opcode of failed request: 144 (GLX)
Minor opcode of failed request: 19 (X_GLXQueryServerString)
Serial number of failed request: 13
Current serial number in output stream: 13

it seems like it is installed but needs to be configured, i also have ati catalyst control center in aplications…

this is my fglrx install log:

[Message] Kernel Module : Trying to install a precompiled kernel module.
[Message] Kernel Module : Precompiled kernel module version mismatched.
[Message] Kernel Module : Found kernel module build environment, generating kernel module now.
ATI module generator V 2.0

initializing…
doing Makefile based build for kernel 2.6.x and higher
rm -rf *.c *.h *.o .ko .GCC .?? *.symvers
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.27.5-2-default/build SUBDIRS=/lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x modules
make[1]: Entering directory /usr/src/linux-2.6.27.5-2-obj/x86_64/default' make -C ../../../linux-2.6.27.5-2 O=/usr/src/linux-2.6.27.5-2-obj/x86_64/default/. modules CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/firegl_public.o /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/firegl_public.c: In function ‘__ke_vm_phys_addr_str’: /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/firegl_public.c:3206: warning: return makes pointer from integer without a cast /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/firegl_public.c:3207: warning: return makes pointer from integer without a cast /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/firegl_public.c:3208: warning: return makes pointer from integer without a cast /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/firegl_public.c:3210: warning: return makes pointer from integer without a cast CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_acpi.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_agp.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_debug.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_ioctl.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_io.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_pci.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_str.o CC [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/kcl_wait.o LD [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/fglrx.o Building modules, stage 2. MODPOST 1 modules CC /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/fglrx.mod.o LD [M] /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/fglrx.ko make[1]: Leaving directory /usr/src/linux-2.6.27.5-2-obj/x86_64/default’
build succeeded with return value 0
duplicating results into driver repository…
done.
You must change your working directory to /lib/modules/fglrx
and then call ./make_install.sh in order to install the built module.

  • recreating module dependency list
  • trying a sample load of the kernel modules
    failed.
    [Error] Kernel Module : Failed to install compiled kernel module - please consult readme.
    **
    and this is my Xorg.conf:**

/…/

SaX generated X11 config file

Created on: 2008-11-16T06:40:06+0100.

Version: 8.1

Contact: Marcus Schaefer <sax@suse.de>, 2005

Contact: SaX-User list <https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/sax-users>

Automatically generated by [ISaX] (8.1)

PLEASE DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE!

Section “ServerLayout”
Identifier “Layout[all]”
Screen 0 “aticonfig-Screen[0]-0” 0 0
InputDevice “Keyboard[0]” “CoreKeyboard”
InputDevice “Mouse[1]” “CorePointer”
InputDevice “Mouse[3]” “SendCoreEvents”
Option “Clone” “off”
Option “Xinerama” “off”
EndSection

Section “Files”
InputDevices “/dev/gpmdata”
InputDevices “/dev/input/mice”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/misc:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/local”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/75dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/100dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/Type1”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/URW”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/Speedo”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/PEX”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/cyrillic”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/latin2/misc:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/latin2/75dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/latin2/100dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/latin2/Type1”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/latin7/75dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/baekmuk:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/japanese:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/kwintv”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/truetype”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/uni:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/CID”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/ucs/misc:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/ucs/75dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/ucs/100dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/hellas/misc:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/hellas/75dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/hellas/100dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/hellas/Type1”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/misc/sgi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/xtest”
FontPath “/opt/kde3/share/fonts”
EndSection

Section “Module”
Load “dri”
Load “dbe”
Load “freetype”
Load “extmod”
Load “glx”
EndSection

Section “ServerFlags”
Option “AllowMouseOpenFail” “on”
Option “ZapWarning” “on”
EndSection

Section “InputDevice”
Identifier “Keyboard[0]”
Driver “kbd”
Option “Protocol” “Standard”
Option “XkbLayout” “us”
Option “XkbModel” “microsoftpro”
Option “XkbRules” “xfree86”
EndSection

Section “InputDevice”
Identifier “Mouse[1]”
Driver “mouse”
Option “Buttons” “5”
Option “Device” “/dev/input/mice”
Option “Name” “KYE Optical Mouse”
Option “Protocol” “explorerps/2”
Option “Vendor” “Sysp”
Option “ZAxisMapping” “4 5”
EndSection

Section “InputDevice”
Identifier “Mouse[3]”
Driver “synaptics”
Option “Buttons” “5”
Option “Device” “/dev/input/mice”
Option “Emulate3Buttons” “on”
Option “HorizScrollDelta” “0”
Option “InputFashion” “Mouse”
Option “Name” “Synaptics;Touchpad”
Option “Protocol” “explorerps/2”
Option “SHMConfig” “on”
Option “Vendor” “Sysp”
Option “ZAxisMapping” “4 5”
EndSection

Section “Modes”
Identifier “Modes[0]”
ModeLine “1280x800” 83.5 1280 1344 1480 1680 800 801 804 828
ModeLine “1280x800” 69.8 1280 1328 1360 1440 800 803 809 823 +hsync -vsync
EndSection

Section “Monitor”
Identifier “aticonfig-Monitor[0]-0”
Option “VendorName” “ATI Proprietary Driver”
Option “ModelName” “Generic Autodetecting Monitor”
Option “DPMS” “true”
EndSection

Section “Device”
Identifier “aticonfig-Device[0]-0”
Driver “fglrx”
BusID “PCI:1:5:0”
EndSection

Section “Screen”
Identifier “aticonfig-Screen[0]-0”
Device “aticonfig-Device[0]-0”
Monitor “aticonfig-Monitor[0]-0”
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection “Display”
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section “DRI”
Group “video”
Mode 0660
EndSection

#19

^^
I spent the entire weekend trying to find a way around the X Error of failed request: BadRequest (invalid request code or no such operation) message. The solution turned out to be so simple I could cry.

I’m using opensuse 11.1 x86_64 - I assume you’re using the same. The error was because the i386 dri module was being loaded. So, remove /usr/lib/dri/fglrx_dri.so and replace it with a simlink to its 64 bit counterpart:

ln -s /usr/lib64/dri/fglrx_dri.so /usr/lib/dri/fglrx_dri.so

#20

WHAT THE…

IT WORKS!!! ITS AMAZING!!! glxinfo shows my ATI x1200… such a simple solution, yeah, its a crying solution!!! desktop effects are running like a charm… thanks to everyone especially coomac…

PS: when i go to yast, graphic card and monitor, while opening this option an error comes, something like can not deactivate all displays!!! than i can go into this option!!! and also, 3d option there is always checked and grayed out… but, at least its working!!!