On my openSUSE 11.0/KDE 3.5 system I installed the ATi driver from the ATI Repository to get a PNY Radeon HD3450 PCIe graphic card working. However, this driver made Google Earth hang on start and consequently crashed the whole KDE session. Repeatedly & version independent.
Solution:
- go to AMD/ATi website (Video Cards | Graphics Cards | ATI Products and Technology), find your graphic card, and download the Catalyst Linux Edition for it;
- also download the Linux Installer Note and R-E-A-D I-T F-I-R-S-T !! :P;
- uninstall any installed ATi driver using YaST Software Management;
- EITHER: make a neat openSUSE RPM package and install that using YaST Software Management (need to add a Local Directory in the Repository Manager first, of course);
- OR: install the ATi driver using the built-in installer;
- finally reboot your computer (sorry for this Windoze ending, but the kernel module needs to be loaded to make the driver work).
Finishing touch:
- add an entry for Catalyst Control Center to your KDE Menu, using kmenuedit (the command for Catalyst Control Center is amdcccle, and an icon can be found under ‘Others’)
Result:
- suddenly graphics run much smoother & nicer;
- Catalyst Control Center enables easy configuration;
- Google Earth works!