ATI driver installation problems - once more

English Hardware
1

Problems with ATI drivers have been mentioned many times here in the forum. Unfortuatelly no discussion helped me. :frowning:

On my PC I have OpenSuSE 11.0 with kernel 2.6.25.18-0.2-pae
and an ATI Radeon 3650 board.

When I installed SuSE last week I always got a black screen prior the login screen. Since adding the option x11failsafe to the bootline, at least the XServer works.
One bad side effect is that I always start with an english keyboard layout and not with my preferred german layout (which is set in SAX).
This could be easily switched using SAX. Not nice - but this can only be a workaround for a while.

Then I downloaded the newest ATI driver package ati-driver-(installer-8-11-x86.x86_64.run) and installed it.

But booting without x11failsafe still leads to a black screen.

fglrxinfo gives
display: :0.0 screen: 0
OpenGL vendor string: Mesa project: Mesa Home Page
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa GLX Indirect
OpenGL version string: 1.4 (2.1 Mesa 7.0.3)

So nothing with ATI only the VESA driver

There are no errors in Xorg.0.log
lsmod | grep fglrx gives no output

fgl_glxgears
gives:
Using GLX_SGIX_pbuffer
segementation fault

Do I have to change something in the xorg.conf file ( in /var/lib/sax)?

Here is (a part) the file:

# /.../

Section "Files"
  InputDevices "/dev/gpmdata"
  InputDevices "/dev/input/mice"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
  Option       "AllowMouseOpenFail" "on"
  Option       "ZapWarning" "on"
EndSection

Section "Module"
  Load         "extmod"
  Load         "type1"
  Load         "glx"
  Load         "freetype"
  Load         "dbe"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
  Driver       "kbd"
  Identifier   "Keyboard[0]"
  Option       "Protocol" "Standard"
  Option       "XkbLayout" "de,de"
  Option       "XkbModel" "microsoftpro"
  Option       "XkbOptions" "grp:alt_shift_toggle"
  Option       "XkbRules" "xfree86"
  Option       "XkbVariant" "basic,"
EndSection


Section "InputDevice"
  Driver       "mouse"
  Identifier   "Mouse[1]"
  Option       "Buttons" "9"
  Option       "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
  Option       "Name" "ImExPS/2 Logitech Explorer Mouse"
  Option       "Protocol" "explorerps/2"
  Option       "Vendor" "Sysp"
  Option       "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection


Section "Monitor"
  DisplaySize  380 290
  HorizSync    27-110
  Identifier   "Monitor[0]"
  ModelName    "VISION MASTER PRO 450"
  Option       "DPMS"
  Option       "PreferredMode" "1024x768"
  VendorName   "IIYAMA"
  VertRefresh  50-150
  UseModes     "Modes[0]"
EndSection


Section "Modes"
  Identifier   "Modes[0]"
EndSection


Section "Screen"
  DefaultDepth 24
  SubSection "Display"
    Depth      15
    Modes      "1024x768" "1024x600" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480" 
  EndSubSection
  SubSection "Display"
    Depth      16
    Modes      "1024x768" "1024x600" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480" 
  EndSubSection
  SubSection "Display"
    Depth      24
    Modes      "1024x768" "1024x600" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480" 
  EndSubSection
  SubSection "Display"
    Depth      8
    Modes      "1024x768" "1024x600" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480" 
  EndSubSection
  Device       "Device[0]"
  Identifier   "Screen[0]"
  Monitor      "Monitor[0]"
EndSection


Section "Device"
  BoardName    "ATI Radeon HD 3670"
  BusID        "1:0:0"
  Driver       "radeonhd"
  Identifier   "Device[0]"
  Option       "monitor-DVI-I_1/analog" "Monitor[0]"
  Screen       0
  VendorName   "ATI"
EndSection



Section "ServerLayout"
  Identifier   "Layout[all]"
  InputDevice  "Keyboard[0]" "CoreKeyboard"
  InputDevice  "Mouse[1]" "CorePointer"
  Option       "Clone" "off"
  Option       "Xinerama" "off"
  Screen       "Screen[0]"
EndSection


Section "DRI"
    Group      "video"
    Mode       0660
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
EndSection

Are there more files I could check for wrong settings or errors?

Any help is appreciated.

regards
Horst

2

A Good Day,

You have almost the same problem as me.
Starting opensuse normal gives a Black Screen.
Only the safemode will startup.

When you go to the screen settings. It gives an error:
There has to be one screen active.

So somewhere there went something wrong with the installation
of the new driver.

I can’t help you, but you are not the only one having this problem.

gr.

3

I don’t see either of you mention installing the dependencies for the ATI driver, so I thought I would mention that, in case either of you might have neglected to do that:

System Recommendations

For best performance and ease of use, AMD recommends the following:

* Kernel module build environment - should include the following:
      o Kernel source code: Either the Kernel Source or Kernel Headers packages 
* ISSE Support enabled in your Linux Kernel
      o Applies to Intel Pentium III and later CPUs only
      o Enabled by default on version 2.4 and later kernels 
* The rpm utility should be installed and configured correctly on your system, if you intend to install via RPM packages

The following packages must be installed in order for the Catalyst™ Linux driver to install and work properly:

* XFree86-Mesa-libGL
* libstdc++
* libgcc
* XFree86-libs
* fontconfig
* freetype
* zlib
* gcc

This is a common problem, and can cause many strange things to happen, not the least of which is that the driver fails to work.

More info here:

https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206/0/www2.ati.com/drivers/linux/linux_cat89-inst.html

4

@10milaan,
yes I suppose we are not the only ones with this problem.
I received the warning There has to be one screen active, too.
After setting the identifier variable in the Screen section and the Screen variable in the ServerLayout section to the same string I got no warning anymore.

@foresthill
Thanks for your help.
Except the XFree86 packages which are not part of the SuSE online repository I have all of the packages you mentioned installed. So I hope the necessary packages are installed.

Besides The new ATI driver package is not an rpm. No idea what the installer exactly does. At least lots of the hints on the opensuse ATI_driver_installation page do not apply any more.

Still got stuck :frowning:

kind regards
Horst

5

If you look at the instructions, it explains how you can use the installer to generate an Open Suse RPM. Sometimes that is worth trying, if the other method fails to work.

Also, I have to ask, when the installer finished, did you run this command in the terminal, while still logged in as superuser:

aticonfig --initial -f

This is a must, because the driver won’t work otherwise.

But if you ran this command, and you had all the dependencies installed prior to running the installer, about the only thing left would be to try another method, such as going to YAST / Software Mangement and searching for “fglrx” and downloading whatever driver is in the repo and seeing if that works.

6

Hello foresthill,
yes I had the dependencies before installing the driver
and ran
aticonfig --initial -f
after the installation - no changes except that I have to edit the Monitor and the Screen sections in the Xorg.conf file …

There are 2 more drivers in the repository:
ati-fglrxG01-kmp-debug and ati-fglrxG01-kmp-default

I don’t think installing them will help.

thank you and kind regards
Horst

7

Did you try running the uninstall script and re-installing?

If the ATI Proprietary Linux Graphics Driver was installed using either the Automatic or Custom options, then do the following:

  1. Launch the Terminal Application/Window and navigate to the /usr/share/ati folder.
  2. With super user permissions, enter the command “sh ./fglrx-uninstall.sh”

You have now successfully uninstalled the ATI Linux Proprietary Graphics Driver.

I heard of some people getting corrupt downloads of this driver, so that is a possibility. Did you try the previous version of the driver?

If you are serious about getting this driver working, you have to try a “shotgun” approach and try as many different driver versions and installation methods as possible, and generally one of them will eventually work for you, unless your card is unsupported.

If I were you, I would run the uninstall script and then try the repo driver. I see nothing lost by doing this, and you’ll know in couple of minutes whether it worked or not.

Then at that point, try the previous version of the installer.

8

Hello foresthill,
thanks for the advice.
Yes I tried an older ATI driver version before. At first I suppose a SuSE repository driver was installed, when I installed SuSe.
Every time the same effect black screen when booting without x11failsafe option and wrong keyboard layout. At the moment fglrxinfo returns ‘command not found’
Actually, how do I know which driver exactly is installed.
The hardware information just says fglrx. And I do not know how to install a driver from the repository now.
The xorg.conf says ‘radeonhd’ now, but the PC is in x11failsafe mode now.
This looks rather odd to me …:\

kind regards
Horst

9

If you go into Yast / Software Management and do a search for “fglrx” it should bring up a couple of files which are the ATI repo driver. I don’t know if you have any repo driver installed or not, but that’s how you check.

If you just want to go back to your original “stock” driver that comes with Open Suse (but does not support 3d) run these commands:

Go to terminal and type “su” enter root password and then enter this command:

init 3

Screen will go blank as you exit the x-server. Log in as root and enter this command:

sax2 -r -m 0=radeon

Sax2 will start, and you can set and test your resolution there. When you exit, save settings and when you get back to the terminal enter this command:

reboot

When you restart, you should have your desktop back.

Then you can continue your search for a driver that works, or just stick with this one. Good luck and don’t give up, some method or hack will eventually succeed.

NOTE: The “radeon” driver is the open source driver that comes with Open Suse when you first install the OS, but it does not support 3d, IIRC.

10

I had the same problem and X refused to start when trying to configure it. What I did after installation was to login as root, start yast2 and added the ATI repo (under repositories|community repos).
Go to add sofware in yast and choose the ATI repo and select the file.
After installing the ATI drivers, sax 2 will run and allow you to configure the X server.

11

Hey whych!

Thanks for the advice about adding the ATI repo, I had forgotten it had to be added manually before you could get the ATI driver through YAST.

12

I also had the same problem. To solve the problem I had to install all of the “linux kernel development” packages.
For some reason the ati propietery driver cant do what it needs to the linux kernel without those packages installed.
And try installing the linux kernel-source, as it may need that as well.
Hope this helps.

13

Also make sure the kernel source matches your running kernel I didnt see source for
the pae kernel so I installed the default kernel and that was the last thing I did
and everything swoking pretty much ok now even got a clone to a television

14

Well, I’m glad the driver is working for someone. I was beginning to think that no one got this version to work. lol!

15

well I got it to work on suse 11.1 beta 5 kernel 26.27.5-2 default. It took a few attempts
before I got it right. Reading the documentation and error messages helped a lot

16

Impressive!

It’s good to know that this ATI driver will work in 11.1, hopefully it was not too difficult to get running.

17

Hello guys!
I am new in linux, i have the same graphic card and problem. Just FileSafe is working. The screen was all black after grub, now i added to yast the ATI repository, search for fglx* and install the files. I run a console as root and type aticonfig --initial -f and restar my system, now after GRUB, a continue having a black screen but started appearing one message saying “Out of range”, what that mean? Thanks

18

I solved my problem:P!
I enter in FileSafe and go to SAX2, in my monitor options i notice that sax have chose my the screen size wrong, i have a 19" screen and he chose a 18" screen, after correct that reboot my system and now opensuse is running ok.