[NCLUG] Mandrake and graphics card

[Bob Proulx]

Person Who Asked To Have Her Name Removed From The Internet wrote:
> PNY Verto ge-force FX 5200 AGP card 
> got it running on the windows partition but does not
> work in the Mandrake.

I always cringe when I read things like this.  Actually what is going
on is that your driver for your card is not working in XFree86 and it
probably has nothing to do with Mandrake.  Regardless of Microsoft
marketing the graphics subsystem is not the operating system.  This is
not distribution specific.

Sorry for my rant.

> Read the instructions on the website and tried to update
> XFree86 (version 4.1) ran the rpm for this,
> but all I get is the Nvidia logo coming up and

If the nvidia logo comes up then the nvidia driver for it is working!
That is really good news.  You are very close to being done at that
point.  The hard part is done.

> intermittently goes away, then fades back in.

That "intermittent" word makes me think that you have flakey hardware.
Software should not be intermittent.  It should do the same thing the
same way every time.  But many times people say things like that when
they really mean something else.

Look in your /var/log/XFree86.0.log for the output of XFree86 and see
what errors are logged there.

> I cannot access ctl-alt-f1 to get to a command prompt at all.

What is on the display at this time?  Did a graphics login come up?
Does it recognize any keys?  Does it recognize the mouse?

One example problem which matches could be that your keyboard is a USB
keyboard but that X is not configured for it.  That would leave you
without a usable keyboard once the graphics login starts up.  What
type of keyboard is attached?

There are many ways things can go wrong.  But usually only one way for
things to go right.  So it is hard to guess correctly.

> So then I went out and got the ATI Radeon 9200 card,
> but this one doesn't work either.

I assume you were using the "radeon" driver for the ATI card?

> Then I went looking for SuSe download, figuring maybe
> if I tried another OS it would work (i found somewhere
> that these graphics card should work for redhat and suse,
> and i dont wanna buy redhat so thought I'd try suse)

I really hate hearing that people think they need to reinstall the
operating system when some component of the system like X11 is not
working.  A lot of people have this misconception.  This is like
saying your windshield is broken and so you must buy a new car.  How
wasteful.  Fixing the windshield is usually the simpler, cheaper and
effective way to solve the problem.

> But I couldn't find an appropriate ISO image of each CD
> to download for my system (everything's either 64-bit or
> not an ISO)

SuSE is a for-profit company.  They are probably one of the better
ones but they are still in the business to make money.  They know
where their revenue comes from and are protective of it.  They really
want you to buy the box set.

> Any help would be much appreciated,

The best suggestion I can give is to check your /var/log/XFree86.0.log
file for errors.  Then check your driver, keyboard and mouse
configuration in the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 (or XF86Config) file and
make sure they are correct.

If you get completely stuck I seem to remember an Install Fest coming
up in the area in the near future.  I am sure that someone with hands
on your machine would have no trouble getting the final bits fixed up
for you.

Bob