I have Fedora 12 running on an older computer. That computer started to get flakey so I put the hard drive into a newer computer as my boot drive. Now Linux wont recognize the new video card (which is built in on the motherboard). I dont know what the video card is to find out what driver I need.
Is there a command I can do to find out what the video 'card' is so I can install the correct driver?
I tried system-config-display but it fails to start X server. I also tried 'X -configure' with no luck.
I dont get why 'they' just dont fix system-config-display so it will do what the setup does during the first install (revert back to whatever video mode works) so you can select the proper driver/mode/screen etc.
As a side note, when it boots, it sure knows how to use the video because its in a graphics mode showing the text there.
I dont get it. Ive had many problems over the years with this exact issue between machines.
Bob wrote: > I have Fedora 12 running on an older computer. That > computer started to get flakey so I put the hard drive > into a newer computer > as my boot drive. Now Linux wont recognize the new video > card > (which is built in on the motherboard). I dont know what > the video card is to find out what driver I need.
> Is there a command I can do to find out what the video > 'card' is so I can install the correct driver?
> I tried system-config-display but it fails to start X > server. I also tried 'X -configure' with no luck.
> I dont get why 'they' just dont fix system-config-display > so it will do what the setup does during the first install > (revert back to whatever video mode works) so you can > select the proper driver/mode/screen etc.
> As a side note, when it boots, it sure knows how to use > the video because its in a graphics mode showing the text > there.
> I dont get it. Ive had many problems over the years with > this exact issue between machines.
> Thanks for your help
Does your install include /etc/X11/xorg.conf ? If so, rename it to get it out of the way and then do startx. For some time, xorg has been good at probing hardware installing the right stuff ... but it defers to what you said in xorg.conf. And that was for the other box.
Bob wrote: > I have Fedora 12 running on an older computer. That computer > started to get flakey so I put the hard drive into a newer computer > as my boot drive. Now Linux wont recognize the new video card > (which is built in on the motherboard). I dont know what the video > card is to find out what driver I need.
> Is there a command I can do to find out what the video 'card' > is so I can install the correct driver?
> I tried system-config-display but it fails to start X server. > I also tried 'X -configure' with no luck.
> I dont get why 'they' just dont fix system-config-display so > it will do what the setup does during the first install (revert > back to whatever video mode works) so you can select > the proper driver/mode/screen etc.
> As a side note, when it boots, it sure knows how to use the > video because its in a graphics mode showing the text there.
> I dont get it. Ive had many problems over the years with this > exact issue between machines.
> Thanks for your help
lspci -v could give hints of the hardware.
My favourite way to set up a X server is to boot the Knoppix CD on the computer, and get the X configuration file from it to e.g. an USB stick.
Bob <j...@rahul.net> wrote: > I have Fedora 12 running on an older computer. That computer > started to get flakey so I put the hard drive into a newer computer > as my boot drive. Now Linux wont recognize the new video card > (which is built in on the motherboard). I dont know what the video > card is to find out what driver I need.
Do you know what motherboard it is?
Try running lspci. Maybe this will give us a clue.
If not. You may have to open the machine and look for some markings on the motherboard.
> Does your install include /etc/X11/xorg.conf ? If so, > rename it to get it out of the way and then do startx. > For some time, xorg has been good at probing hardware > installing the right stuff ... but it defers to what > you said in xorg.conf. And that was for the other box.
Thanks, that worked! Dont know why its so hard for system-config-display to try that if all else fails.
>> Does your install include /etc/X11/xorg.conf ? If so, >> rename it to get it out of the way and then do startx. >> For some time, xorg has been good at probing hardware >> installing the right stuff ... but it defers to what >> you said in xorg.conf. And that was for the other box.
> Thanks, that worked! Dont know why its so hard for > system-config-display to try that if all else fails.
The only rough edge to allowing xorg to probe rather than follow a preordained video setup shows itself when you boot before powering up the monitor. xorg does the best it can and sets up too-low resolution.
> > Does your install include /etc/X11/xorg.conf ? If so, > > rename it to get it out of the way and then do startx. > > For some time, xorg has been good at probing hardware > > installing the right stuff ... but it defers to what > > you said in xorg.conf. And that was for the other box.
> Thanks, that worked! Dont know why its so hard for > system-config-display to try that if all else fails.
Submit that as a bug report or feature request to Fedora! Seriously: configuring X has been an amazing adventure over the years, and tends to suffer from the "look at this exciting thing I can show off!" rather than providing simple options for "Aunt Tillie" to be able to set up her system. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, look up the "Luxury of Ignorance" by Eric Raymond.)
Bob wrote: > I have Fedora 12 running on an older computer. That computer > started to get flakey so I put the hard drive into a newer computer > as my boot drive. Now Linux wont recognize the new video card > (which is built in on the motherboard). I dont know what the video > card is to find out what driver I need.
> Is there a command I can do to find out what the video 'card' > is so I can install the correct driver?
> I tried system-config-display but it fails to start X server. > I also tried 'X -configure' with no luck.
> I dont get why 'they' just dont fix system-config-display so > it will do what the setup does during the first install (revert > back to whatever video mode works) so you can select > the proper driver/mode/screen etc.
> As a side note, when it boots, it sure knows how to use the > video because its in a graphics mode showing the text there.
> I dont get it. Ive had many problems over the years with this > exact issue between machines.
If all else fails I have had luck "re-installing" the distribution but telling the installation routine that it was an upgrade rather than a new install. Everything I had customized was preserved and it did fix the issues.
-- After the attack by the underwear bomber the US added to underpants gnomes to the terrorist watchlist. -- The Iron Webmaster, 4218 http://www.giwersworld.org/holo3/ a12 Sun Feb 7 13:12:36 EST 2010
On 2010-02-07, Nico Kadel-Garcia <nka...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Feb 6, 5:26?pm, Bob <j...@rahul.net> wrote: >> > Does your install include /etc/X11/xorg.conf ? ?If so, >> > rename it to get it out of the way and then do startx. >> > For some time, xorg has been good at probing hardware >> > installing the right stuff ... but it defers to what >> > you said in xorg.conf. ?And that was for the other box.
>> Thanks, that worked! ?Dont know why its so hard for >> system-config-display to try that if all else fails.
Because the existence of /etc/X11/xorg.conf is a flag to the new xorg that it should NOT try to identify stuff itself, but that, for one reason or another, the users wants it to use a different setup from the default.
> Submit that as a bug report or feature request to Fedora! Seriously: > configuring X has been an amazing adventure over the years, and tends > to suffer from the "look at this exciting thing I can show off!" > rather than providing simple options for "Aunt Tillie" to be able to > set up her system. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, look up > the "Luxury of Ignorance" by Eric Raymond.)
It is already there. If xorg.conf does not exist, it tries to set it up on its own, without user input. That they give you the option of overriding that automatic process is a GOOD thing. Aunt Tillie can blithely ignore xorg.conf, until something goes wrong of course ( with thousands of different video cards, keyboards, mice, pads,... out there, something is bound to go wrong sometimes).
> On 2010-02-07, Nico Kadel-Garcia <nka...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Feb 6, 5:26?pm, Bob <j...@rahul.net> wrote: > >> > Does your install include /etc/X11/xorg.conf ? ?If so, > >> > rename it to get it out of the way and then do startx. > >> > For some time, xorg has been good at probing hardware > >> > installing the right stuff ... but it defers to what > >> > you said in xorg.conf. ?And that was for the other box.
> >> Thanks, that worked! ?Dont know why its so hard for > >> system-config-display to try that if all else fails.
> Because the existence of /etc/X11/xorg.conf is a flag to the new xorg > that it should NOT try to identify stuff itself, but that, for one > reason or another, the users wants it to use a different setup from the > default.
> > Submit that as a bug report or feature request to Fedora! Seriously: > > configuring X has been an amazing adventure over the years, and tends > > to suffer from the "look at this exciting thing I can show off!" > > rather than providing simple options for "Aunt Tillie" to be able to > > set up her system. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, look up > > the "Luxury of Ignorance" by Eric Raymond.)
> It is already there. If xorg.conf does not exist, it tries to set it up > on its own, without user input. That they give you the option of > overriding that automatic process is a GOOD thing. Aunt Tillie can > blithely ignore xorg.conf, until something goes wrong of course ( with > thousands of different video cards, keyboards, mice, pads,... out there, > something is bound to go wrong sometimes).
This is an old issue with GUI's and configuration files. Anytime you have to configure something from the the command line that cannot be configured from the GUI, there's something wrong with the system. Aunt Tillie should be offered the *option* to completely ignore the existing, possibly mishappen xorg.conf. There should be an option to *force* xorg.conf to be ignored entirely, at least in the command line argments for system-config-display.
John Hasler wrote: > Nico Kadel-Garcia writes: >> Aunt Tillie should be offered the *option* to completely >> ignore the existing, possibly mishappen xorg.conf.
> What existing xorg.conf? There won't be one unless the > admin creates it.
I'm not as helpless as you young whippersnappers think. I KNOW about Xorg -configure
> On Feb 7, 2:19?pm, unruh <un...@wormhole.physics.ubc.ca> wrote: >> On 2010-02-07, Nico Kadel-Garcia <nka...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> > On Feb 6, 5:26?pm, Bob <j...@rahul.net> wrote: >> >> > Does your install include /etc/X11/xorg.conf ? ?If so, >> >> > rename it to get it out of the way and then do startx. >> >> > For some time, xorg has been good at probing hardware >> >> > installing the right stuff ... but it defers to what >> >> > you said in xorg.conf. ?And that was for the other box.
>> >> Thanks, that worked! ?Dont know why its so hard for >> >> system-config-display to try that if all else fails.
>> Because the existence of /etc/X11/xorg.conf is a flag to the new xorg >> that it should NOT try to identify stuff itself, but that, for one >> reason or another, the users wants it to use a different setup from the >> default.
>> > Submit that as a bug report or feature request to Fedora! Seriously: >> > configuring X has been an amazing adventure over the years, and tends >> > to suffer from the "look at this exciting thing I can show off!" >> > rather than providing simple options for "Aunt Tillie" to be able to >> > set up her system. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, look up >> > the "Luxury of Ignorance" by Eric Raymond.)
>> It is already there. If xorg.conf does not exist, it tries to set it up >> on its own, without user input. That they give you the option of >> overriding that automatic process is a GOOD thing. Aunt Tillie can >> blithely ignore xorg.conf, until something goes wrong of course ( with >> thousands of different video cards, keyboards, mice, pads,... out there, >> something is bound to go wrong sometimes).
> This is an old issue with GUI's and configuration files. Anytime you > have to configure something from the the command line that cannot be > configured from the GUI, there's something wrong with the system. Aunt > Tillie should be offered the *option* to completely ignore the > existing, possibly mishappen xorg.conf. There should be an option to > *force* xorg.conf to be ignored entirely, at least in the command line > argments for system-config-display.
She is rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf :-) Why is a mishappen xorg.conf doing there? If she has enough knowledge to produce a mishappen xorg.conf, she has enough to remove it.
Ie, it is all there. You are just annoyed that you did something stupid but did not have the knowledge to fix it. That will ALWAYS be true for everyone. It is annoying, but sticking in an extra option into the config file is liable to cause trouble as often as it is helpful.
If you wanted, there could be sentence saying "/etc/xorg.conf exists and will be used for starting X"
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