OpenSUSE 12.2 Installation and NVIDIA GeForce 6200 LE graphic card

English Hardware
#1

Over the weekend, I updated my openSUSE installation on my machine from 11.1 to the actual 12.2 release. After
a few trials I completed the installation, so that the computer is running again. But I have a problem, that the X windows system will not start. I don’t know exactly the name of my graphic card. But the command

hwinfo --gfxcard

showed following output:

22: PCI 100.0: 0300 VGA compatible controller (VGA)
[Created at pci.319]
Unique ID: VCu0.21dQsGtTJe4
Parent ID: vSkL.sZ6zPhO70X3
SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.0/0000:01:00.0
SysFS BusID: 0000:01:00.0
Hardware Class: graphics card
Model: “nVidia GeForce 6200 LE”
Vendor: pci 0x10de “nVidia Corporation”
Device: pci 0x0163 “GeForce 6200 LE”
SubVendor: pci 0x1458 “Giga-byte Technology”
SubDevice: pci 0x3400
Revision: 0xa1
Driver: “nvidia”
Driver Modules: “nvidia”
Memory Range: 0xe0000000-0xe0ffffff (rw,non-prefetchable)
Memory Range: 0xd0000000-0xdfffffff (ro,non-prefetchable)
Memory Range: 0xe1000000-0xe1ffffff (rw,non-prefetchable)
Memory Range: 0xf0200000-0xf021ffff (ro,non-prefetchable,disabled)
IRQ: 16 (4795 events)
I/O Ports: 0x3c0-0x3df (rw)
Module Alias: “pci:v000010DEd00000163sv00001458sd00003400bc03sc00i00”
Driver Info #0:
XFree86 v4 Server Module: nv
Config Status: cfg=no, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown
Attached to: #10 (PCI bridge)

Primary display adapter: #22

My first impression is, that my computer contains a NVIDIA GeForce 6200 graphic card.

After some browsing in the internet, I decided to download the software from nvidia:

zypper addrepo -f ftp://download.nvidia.com/opensuse/12.2 nvidia

After that, I installed the driver for GeForce 6.

zypper install x11-vidio-nvidiaG02

and rebooted.

But the windows system could not be started.

After that I tried to install a older driver with

zypper install-video-nvidia

But the installer did not work.
I also removed the new x11-video-nvidiaG02 driver with

zypper remove x11-video-nvidiaG02

and I try to install the driver again

zypper install x11-vidio-nvidia

but nothing happened.

After that I tried to install the driver manually. I downloaded the driver with

curl -O ftp://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/304.32/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.32.run

. I started the installation with bash NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.32.run
But the installation failed and the script complained that the package kernel_devel and eventually
kernel_basis is missing. I downloaded and installed these package with

zypper install patterns-openSUSE-devel_kernel.

After that, I tried again to install the driver. Now the command

bash NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.32.run

completed.

After rebooting the X windows system startet. But then I logged in there appears a window with the message

Warning: Cannot open ConsoleKitsession. Unable to open session: Did not receive a reply. Possible cause include: the remote application did not send a reply, the message bus security policy blocked the reply. The
reply timeout expired, or the network connection was broken.

The system tried a view initialization steps, but finally I received the message

Could not start ksmserver. Check your installation.

I afterthat I tried to install an older driver.

curl -O ftp://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/290.10/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-290.10.run

But the installation failed.
I also set the environment variable

SYSSRC=/usr/src/linux

. I received the following message in /var/log/nvidia-installer.log

nvidia-installer log file ‘/var/log/nvidia-installer.log’
creation time: Tue Sep 11 17:40:16 2012
installer version: 290.10

PATH: /sbin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local/sbin:/root/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/X11R6/bin:/usr/games:/opt/kde3/bin:/usr/lib/mit/bin:/usr/lib/mit/sbin

nvidia-installer command line:
./nvidia-installer

Using: nvidia-installer ncurses user interface
→ License accepted.
→ Installing NVIDIA driver version 290.10.
→ There appears to already be a driver installed on your system (version: 304.32). As part of installing this driver (version: 290.10), the existing driver will be uninstalled. Are you sure you want to continue? (‘no’ will abort installation) (Answer: Yes)
→ Running distribution scripts
executing: ‘/usr/lib/nvidia/pre-install’…
→ done.
→ Performing CC sanity check with CC=“cc”.
→ Performing CC version check with CC=“cc”.
→ Using the kernel source path ‘/usr/src/linux’, as specified by the SYSSRC environment variable.
ERROR: The kernel header file ‘/usr/src/linux/include/linux/version.h’ does not exist. The most likely reason for this is that the kernel source files in ‘/usr/src/linux’ have not been configured.
ERROR: Installation has failed. Please see the file ‘/var/log/nvidia-installer.log’ for details. You may find suggestions on fixing installation problems in the README available on the Linux driver download page at World Leader in Visual Computing Technologies | NVIDIA.

The situation now is, that I can login in the system, but the windows system could not start.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

Martin

#2

What is the highest number Nvidia driver that worked with your card? On a slightly older, FX 5200, I had to go back to the legacy driver 173.xx. So, you can find the last driver that worked and reinstall that one. Oddly, on another card, the nvidia updates stopped working for me months ago but the latest one (304.xx?) works on my 7600GS. Also, the nouveau driver was looking ok on these older cards and that should work until you get the driver that fits.

#3

That was correct. I don’t know if there are special issues with GeForce 6200 LE, but you said that you updated from 11.1 to 12.2? Are you sure it was from 11.1? Anyway it would be interesting to have a look at your /etc/X11/xorg.conf.

That command does nothing. It could have been

zypper install x11-vidio-nvidia

which is unlikely to work

or

zypper install x11-vidio-nvidiaG01

which is the one you need for FX models and might also works with some GeForce 6x.

#4

84028Martin wrote:

> After that, I installed the driver for GeForce 6.
>
> zypper install x11-vidio-nvidiaG02
>
> and rebooted.

As a last stab at it, try doing a full shutdown, let it set for a couple of
minutes, then power up and try booting. You may need to use the “Failsafe”
boot until you get sorted. I’ve got 6100, 6150LE and 6200 Nvidia sets
working here but at least one machine seems to do something with the initial
BIOS setup of the 6150LE and it retains some previous settings unless you do
a cold boot just to get to the correct initial settings. That one winds up
with some screwy IRQ assignments if I don’t do a cold boot after the initial
Nvidia software install. A simple reboot doesn’t do something right
(Compaq/HP machine and BIOS).

–
Will Honea

#5

The following text includes my /etx/X11/xorg.conf

SaX generated X11 config file

Created on: 2009-01-18T17:30:31+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 “Screen[0]” 0 0
InputDevice “Keyboard[0]” “CoreKeyboard”
InputDevice “Mouse[1]” “CorePointer”
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 “dbe”
Load “freetype”
Load “extmod”
Load “glx”
EndSection

Section “ServerFlags”

Uncomment the following option to reenable kbd/mouse driver input sections.

Otherwise evdev driver is used.

#Option “AutoAddDevices” “off”
Option “AllowMouseOpenFail” “on”
Option “ZapWarning” “on”
EndSection

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

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

Section “Modes”
Identifier “Modes[0]”
ModeLine “1280x1024” 108 1280 1328 1440 1688 1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync
EndSection

Section “Monitor”
Identifier “Monitor[0]”
VendorName “ACI”
ModelName “ASUS VB191”
UseModes “Modes[0]”
DisplaySize 340 270
HorizSync 30.0 - 83.0
VertRefresh 43.0 - 75.0
Option “CalcAlgorithm” “XServerPool”
Option “DPMS”
Option “PreferredMode” “1280x1024”
EndSection

Section “Device”
Identifier “Device[0]”
Driver “nvidia”
VendorName “NVidia”
BoardName “GeForce 6200 LE”
EndSection

Section “Screen”
Identifier “Screen[0]”
Device “Device[0]”
Monitor “Monitor[0]”
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection “Display”
Depth 15
Modes “1280x1024” “1152x864” “1024x768” “800x600”
EndSubSection
SubSection “Display”
Depth 16
Modes “1280x1024” “1152x864” “1024x768” “800x600”
EndSubSection
SubSection “Display”
Depth 24
Modes “1280x1024” “1152x864” “1024x768” “800x600”
EndSubSection
SubSection “Display”
Depth 8
Modes “1280x1024” “1152x864” “1024x768” “800x600”
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section “Extensions”
Option “Composite” “off”
EndSection

I tried to install the nvidiaG01 driver with

zypper install x11-video-nvidiaG01

.

But afterward the computer could not start the window system at the very beginning.

Therefore I removed the driver with

zypper remove x11-video-nvidiaG01

The command

zypper se -si x11

shows again


S | Name                 | Type    | Version     | Arch   | Repository       
--+----------------------+---------+-------------+--------+------------------
i | libX11-6             | package | 1.5.0-2.1.2 | x86_64 | openSUSE-12.2-Oss
i | libX11-6             | package | 1.5.0-2.1.2 | x86_64 | openSUSE-12.2-1.6
i | libX11-6-32bit       | package | 1.5.0-2.1.2 | x86_64 | openSUSE-12.2-Oss
i | libX11-6-32bit       | package | 1.5.0-2.1.2 | x86_64 | openSUSE-12.2-1.6
i | libX11-data          | package | 1.5.0-2.1.2 | noarch | openSUSE-12.2-Oss
i | libX11-data          | package | 1.5.0-2.1.2 | noarch | openSUSE-12.2-1.6
i | libX11-devel         | package | 1.5.0-2.1.2 | x86_64 | openSUSE-12.2-Oss
i | libX11-devel         | package | 1.5.0-2.1.2 | x86_64 | openSUSE-12.2-1.6
i | libX11-xcb1          | package | 1.5.0-2.1.2 | x86_64 | openSUSE-12.2-Oss
i | libX11-xcb1          | package | 1.5.0-2.1.2 | x86_64 | openSUSE-12.2-1.6
i | x11-tools            | package | 0.1-189.1.1 | noarch | openSUSE-12.2-Oss
i | x11-tools            | package | 0.1-189.1.1 | noarch | openSUSE-12.2-1.6
i | xorg-x11-proto-devel | package | 7.6-32.1.2  | x86_64 | openSUSE-12.2-Oss
i | xorg-x11-proto-devel | package | 7.6-32.1.2  | x86_64 | openSUSE-12.2-1.6

The last thing I did was:

bash NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.32.run

But I have eventually the sad situation before. The computer could not start the window system after logging.

#6

As a last stab at it, try doing a full shutdown, let it set for a couple of
minutes, then power up and try booting. You may need to use the “Failsafe”
boot until you get sorted. I’ve got 6100, 6150LE and 6200 Nvidia sets
working here but at least one machine seems to do something with the initial
BIOS setup of the 6150LE and it retains some previous settings unless you do
a cold boot just to get to the correct initial settings. That one winds up
with some screwy IRQ assignments if I don’t do a cold boot after the initial
Nvidia software install. A simple reboot doesn’t do something right
(Compaq/HP machine and BIOS).

For my computer it makes no difference, to boot after a couple of time in the “Failsafe” boot. I this case, no x11 system could start anyway.

Martin

#7

Try the following:

  • rename /etc/X11/xorg.conf
  • Uninstall/reinstall x11-video-nvidiaG02
  • reboot

It is true that sometimes a cold restart might be needed to load the nvidia module when you booted with nouveau (and KMS enable) before.

#8

I have tried it. But if I restart the machine. no X windows system will be started anyway. I don’t come to the point, where I can login. Therefore I removed the x11-video-nvidiaG02 package and compiled with


bash NVIDIA.Linux-x86_64-304.32.run.

Once again, the situation is, that there appears two message windows. The first contains


Warning: Cannot open ConsoleKit session. Unable to open session. Did not receive a reply. Possible causes
include: the remove application did not send a reply, the message bus security policy blocked the reply.
The reply timeout expired, or the network connection was broken

The second box contain following message:


Could not start ksmserver. Check your installation.
#9

The nvidia driver is not - or not the only - problem you have with this installation. Removing the driver from repo and trying to compile the driver yourself with such an old graphics card will help nothing … on the contrary. If you really updated the system from 11.1 (!) to 12.2, the issues you have are not surprising and quite unsolvable. All you can do is a fresh install (you don’t have to reformat your home partition, but take another username and move your data later to your new home directory). It will save you time IMO.