Hello!
When I installed mandy91 my GeForce2 accelorator card was recognised and configured properly by the OS, so that I have been able to play return to wolfenstein, for example, without any problems in KDE.

Now, with no changes to any system settings (AFAIK), things have started to go awry. The first thing I noticed when I clicked logout was that I was dropped to the command line, rather than halting the computer ( I have it set, through the madrake control centre to automatically start/stop X before I login/out). Also, now when I start the computer I am confronted with a command line login, rather than the previous graphical one.

Another symptom I notice is that 3d-enabled games no longer work, although they used to. When I start return to wolfenstein, the screen goes blank for a second, then I am dumped to the desktop at a smaller screen resolution, perhaps 640x480. Nothing else happens.

When I attempt to start TuxRacer, the KDE "loading icon appears on the menu bar, but it never loads all the way.

Has anyone experienced anything similar?

thanks in advance,
doug

Just a quick question, have you installed the latest drivers from nvidia? Also, to get the graphical boot back, simply go back into MCC and change it back there. Not sure why it went away, though.

If you have installed the nvidia drivers, could you post the Device section from your /etx/X11/XF86Config-4 file?

Hello!

>> have you installed the latest drivers from nvidia?

Actually, I used the drivers installed automatically during the 9.1 installation. I was NEVER successful in installing functioning drivers on my own with man9.0, and am reluctant to go down that long road again. Especially since I now see the nvidia logo screen when I startx, something I never accomplished under man9.0. Plus they worked just fine til today!

The XF86Config-4 file reads:

Section "Files"
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
# By default, Mandrake 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
# the X server to render fonts.
FontPath "unix/:-1"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
#DontZap # disable <Crtl><Alt><BS> (server abort)
#DontZoom # disable <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching)
AllowMouseOpenFail # allows the server to start up even if the mouse doesn't work
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension
Load "v4l" # Video for Linux
Load "extmod"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.so"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "Keyboard"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
Option "XkbCompat" ""
Option "XkbOptions" ""
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "monitor1"
VendorName "Plug'n Play"
ModelName "Samsung SyncMaster 500b"
HorizSync 30-69
VertRefresh 50-160

# Sony Vaio C1(X,XS,VE,VN)?
# 1024x480 @ 85.6 Hz, 48 kHz hsync
ModeLine "1024x480" 65.00 1024 1032 1176 1344 480 488 494 563 -hsync -vsync

# TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output.
# 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 50.00 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630

# 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 63.07 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "device1"
VendorName "nVidia Corporation"
BoardName "NVIDIA GeForce2 DDR (generic)"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "screen1"
Device "device1"
Monitor "monitor1"
DefaultColorDepth 24

Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "layout1"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
Screen "screen1"
EndSection

thanks,
doug

The nvidia driver that came with 9.1? Do you have the powerpack?

In any case, I would still get the new drivers from Nvidia and install them. The made it a lot easier now than it has been in the past. Download this file: http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/L...-4496-pkg2.run from nvidia to somewhere you are going to remember. Then log out of X completely to a command prompt. su to root, change to the directory that you saved the file in and type sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg2.run (ot sh NV and hit the tab key for auto complete) Agree to the nvidia license and it will uninstall your old driver (if necessary) and install the new one. Once that is done, you will need to edit your XF86Config-4 file. Fire up a console editor (emacs or vim, I like emacs) by typing emacs /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 and hit enter.

Arrow down until you see this section and make sure the Driver says nvidia. If it doesn't, change it then press Ctrl-X, Ctrl-S (to save the file) and Ctrl-X, Ctrl-C to exit. If you use vim, press the Esc key then type :wq (write, quit) Then type exit to get back to your normal user and startx again and see how that works for you. I would be willing to bet that it will solve your problems.

Hello!
Thanks for your help, but I have taken all these steps in the past, over and over and over again, and I was never able to see more than a single cyan pixel in the upper left of my monitor.

With the current drivers which came with man9.1 the 3d accelerator card WAS working, and I could play 3d games. I can NO LONGER play 3d games, but I believe the drivers are still functioning since I can see the nvidia logo-screen when I startx.

Lets concentrate on one phenomenon: booting to a graphical login. According to DrakBoot in the Mandrake Control Centre, the graphical login screen is enabled. When I boot the computer, it takes me to a command line login. Where would I go to look at the boot log file? Or alternatively, where besides the Mandrake Control Centre can I go to turn graphical login onn/off? LInuxconf? A text file somewhere?

regards,
doug

Take a look at /etc/inittab. There should be a line that says
id:5:initdefault:
If the number is 3, then change it to 5. The number is the default runlevel. Usually, 3 is text console with network and such enablesd, and 5 is for X with graphical login. Also use drakxservices to see if the service 'dm' is set to start at boot. If it is not, you won't see the graphical login even if you boot to runlevel 5.

Hello!
inittab holds the correct information, and according to drakxservices (a tool I was previously unaware of) dm is set properly. Where would I go to see why these settings are being changed, presumably during boot?

regards,
doug

check the runlevel you're at when you're done booting. You can do this via the command (as root)
runlevel
The first number is the last runlelvel (it's N if there is no previous runlevel), the second the current one.

Also, can you start the login manager using
service dm start
again as root. If you can't get the login manager started, do you get error messages?

Hello!
the runlevel at login is 5. Typing 'service dm start' as root from the command line started ok. (I do notice that typing the command as root 'service dm stop' fails, though. Is that significant?)

Any ideas why the runlevel would show as 5 when, manifestly, it is not?

regards,
doug

why do you think the runlevel is not 5? You can be in runlelvel 5 even if the graphical login manager is not running. The way to think about is that there are various 'stages' that are defined by the boot scripts. When it gets to a certain runlevel, a bunch of things get executed or started. If it reaches runlevel 5 it will attempt to start the login manager (normally). If that fails for some reason, you'll still be in runlelvel 5. You can also run the login manager in runlelvel 3 if you want to.

When you say that 'service dm stop' fails what exacltly do you mean? It won't stop if it isn't running in the first place. Also, you might not be able to do it from inside a kde session. Can you do 'init 3' as root from inside a kde session and force X to shut down?

Hello!


>>When you say that 'service dm stop' fails what exacltly do you mean? It won't stop if it isn't running in the first place.

I mean that when, as root, I type 'service dm start' and hit return I receive the message
'starting display manager [OK]'

When I subsequently type 'service dm stop'
I receive the message
'Stopping display manager [FAILED]'

>>Can you do 'init 3' as root from inside a kde session and force X to shut down?

No, when I do this nothing happens. Which log file would I examine to see why the 'dm stop' command failed?

doug

Does it actually start, though? That is, if it really starts, then you should get to the graphical login screen. If you don't, the service is not starting properly.