Desktop effects in opensuse 11.3

English Multimedia
1

Hello everybody,

i just installed opensuse 11.3 (after being on Mint for couple of years) and really impressed with stability compared to latest Mint 9/Ubuntu10.04.
the only issue I have now is I can’t turn on desktop effects neither in KDE nor in Gnome.
In gnome i can’t change compiz seetings at all - the windows freezes after i try to click on ‘Enable desktop effects’, and that’s it. It worked fairly well in ubuntu though.
Can anybody advise how to fix that?

I have intel 855GM chipset in my laptop, using intel driver.

2

If you downloaded the proprietary drivers, try uninstalling them, and see if the STOCK opensuse drivers are capable first.

3

I do not believe there is a fix at this time, although you could try the Intel driver in the xorg-x11-driver-video-intel-legacy-2.9.1-1.9.i586.rpm (version number may be different).

Actually, you are one of the fortunate i855GM graphic users, as for many 855GM users the Intel graphics don’t work at all. Note these threads:

I wrote a bug report on openSUSE’s use of the Intel driver for the i855GM chipset on openSUSE-11.3, but for the moment we are waiting for a possible fix to make it through testing (by the Linux community - and not just openSUSE) and then have it sent upstream to Linus Git Tree for implementation in the Kernel. Hopefully once it makes it to the Kernel upstream, a patch will be applied by the SuSE-GmbH kernel packagers … but thats just a hope on my part.

4

Thanks a lot!

If you downloaded the proprietary drivers, try uninstalling them, and see if the STOCK opensuse drivers are capable first.

I am using fresh install without any changes.

I do not believe there is a fix at this time

let’s hope it gets fixed. It will be a shame if we need to buy a new system to make linux work.
At least it doesn’t lockup on 11.3 every now and then as it did on mint9, and I can connect TV as a second monitor without a problem.

5

openSUSE-11.1 runs EXCELLENT with the i855GM. You can still download 11.1 from here: software.opensuse.org: Download openSUSE 11.1 … and then if you are bold you can choose the KDE4 stable repository and update KDE-4.1.3 (on 11.1) to KDE-4.4.4 which is on openSUSE-11.3.

Its not ideal, and support for 11.1 is going to be stopped very soon, but still, it is very functional and works great.

The problem is a fix to the kernel (upstream) after the 2.6.27 kernel broke the Intel graphic driver graphics for ALL Linux distributions for many i855GM implementations to a lessor or greater extent. This regression still has NOT been fixed as of the 2.6.34 kernel.

6

[QUOTE=oldcpu;2193043]I do not believe there is a fix at this time, although you could try the Intel driver in the xorg-x11-driver-video-intel-legacy-2.9.1-1.9.i586.rpm (version number may be different).

Yes, it seems to be the best alternative at this time.

Workaround for all Users with an i855GM chipset:

change in sysconfig/kernel the NO_KMS_IN_INITRD=“no” to: “yes” :slight_smile:

and …

And enter the legacy driver in your /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/50-device.conf like this:

Section "Device"
  Identifier "Default Device"
  Driver "intellegacy"
  #Driver "radeon"

  ## Required magic for radeon/radeonhd drivers; output name
  ## (here: "DVI-0") can be figured out via 'xrandr -q'
  #Option "monitor-DVI-0" "Default Monitor"

EndSection

bye … Peedy

7

Thanks Peedy! it actually works in kde!
not in gnome, though… (cannot check “enable desktop effects” - the window just freezes and doesn’t respond)

8

Was this driver issue with the 855GM chipset ever resolved?

9

11.2 also works. why using 11.1 when you could use at least 11.2?
i have it installed on ibm thinkpad with intel 855gm chipset on which ubuntu 10.4 doesn’t work at all but opensuse 11.2 does though.

10

No it is not fixed on all laptops. Apparently there are different 855GM implementations, and some work, and some do not work. My Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo 7400M with the 855GM chipset does NOT work with any kernel after the 2.6.27 kernel on ANY of the major distributions.

I’ve been tracking the upstream work that is being done, and there is work toward getting a fix that is not yet complete, and the developer of that possible fix (in the works) does not want to submit it to Linus GIT tree yet, as the fix still has some problems, and the developer feels the code is messy.

Hence we may still have more waiting on this.

11

How do I change sysconfig/kernel the NO_KMS_IN_INITRD=“no” to: “yes” ? Permission denied. Can someone help? I am using 11.3 and Gnome. My desktop effects worked in 11.2, so far not in 11.3

12

Hi
You need to do it via YaST -> System -> /etc/sysconfig editor then under System->Kernel->NO_KMS_IN_INITRD

13

malcolmlewis, thank you. I am now set to ‘yes’ and still no desktop effects. I thought I would give it a whirl. Should I change it back to ‘no’? Please advise.

14

With nomodest set to YES on an Intel 855GM what graphic driver are you using now ? Intel or FBDEV ?

15

oldcpu…how do I check for intel or fbdev?

btw, I never put it back to NO. sysconfig/kernel the NO_KMS_IN_INITRD=“no” to: “yes”

16

Does your openSUSE-11.3 have a “My Computer” icon on its desktop ? If so, check there.

If not, look inside the /var/log/Xorg.0.log file with an editor. If it is using the Intel driver you will see many lines starting with “Intel”. If using the FBDEV you will see many lines starting with “FBDEV”.