XFree86 Frequently Asked Questions
Joe Moss
Posting-Frequency: monthly
URL: http://www.XFree86.org/FAQ
XFREE86 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
----------------------------------
This document is intended to provide answers to the questions most often
received by the XFree86[tm] Project's support team (which can be reached
at XFr...@XFree86.org). It is also a source of information more recent
than the documentation included with the latest release.
Generally, if the information is already available elsewhere, this
document will supply a pointer to the information rather than duplicate
it. If you don't have access to the World Wide Web, see the section
below entitled "Access via Email".
The XFree86 Project is making the information in this document available
free of charge in the hope that it will be of use. However, the authors
specifically disclaim any liability for any direct, indirect, or
consequential damages arising out of its use.
This document is intended to be a source of up-to-date info regarding
XFree86, and as such, may change frequently. Make sure you consult a
recent copy, before relying on any information contained herein.
Additionally, this FAQ generally assumes that you are using the latest
release and, unless otherwise specified, the information contained
herein is likely to not be applicable to other releases. If you are
having problems and are not running the latest release, then upgrading
is often the answer to your problems. Really. If you have a fairly new
card, it is especially important to make sure you are using the latest
server release.
The latest version of this document is always available from the XFree86
Web site (http://www.XFree86.org/) or one of its mirrors:
* http://www.au.xfree86.org/
* http://www.uni-paderborn.de/mirrors/xfree86/
* http://sunsite.mff.cuni.cz/XFree86/
* http://xfree86.gw.com/
* http://xfree86.mirror.aarnet.edu.au/
* http://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk/XFree86/
* http://www.noguska.net/linux/xfree86/
* http://www.kr.xfree86.org/
Last modified: Mon Nov 22 13:47:27 PST 1999
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
INDEX OF QUESTIONS:
SECTION A - GENERAL INFORMATION
* Q.A1- What is XFree86?
* Q.A2- What is the current release of XFree86?
* Q.A3- What is the current release of SuperProbe?
* Q.A4- How do I find out what version I have?
* Q.A5- Where do I get the latest releases?
* Q.A6- What files do I need to upgrade to the latest release?
* Q.A7- Where do I find the latest documentation?
* Q.A8- Where can I get RPMs for the latest release?
* Q.A9- When is the next release?
* Q.A10- Which card do you recommend that I buy?
* Q.A11- Which card is the fastest?
* Q.A12- Has XFree86 been ported to OS/2?
* Q.A13- How about a MS-DOS or MS-Windows port?
* Q.A14- But I heard X supports Windows NT.
* Q.A15- Can I use more than one video card in the same machine with
XFree86?
* Q.A16- Are Overlay Visuals available?
* Q.A17- How do I report a bug in XFree86?
* Q.A18- About this FAQ
* Q.A19- Access via Email
* Q.A20- Related Information
SECTION B - CONFIGURATION QUESTIONS
* Q.B1- Do you have the config file for ...?
* Q.B2- I got an XF86Config file from ..., but things still don't
work.
* Q.B3- How do I configure the server?
* Q.B4- How do I know which X server to use for my video card?
* Q.B5- My PC is PC98 compliant. Should I use the XF98 servers?
* Q.B6- My monitor isn't listed in the [ XF86Config | xf86setup ]
monitor database.
* Q.B7- What about "vgaset"?
* Q.B8- My card isn't on the list shown in XF86Setup. Is there a more
up-to-date list?
* Q.B9- Why does the server reject my mode lines?
* Q.B10- The preinst.sh script fails to run succesfully
SECTION C - KEYBOARD & MOUSE PROBLEMS
* Q.C1- The mouse cursor doesn't display in the right position
* Q.C2- Why don't menus work properly?
* Q.C3- How come, in Tk-based applications, the buttons highlight, but
can't be depressed?
* Q.C4- I've installed the latest release and now some of my keys no
longer work. Why?
* Q.C5- The mouse is moving erratically. What's wrong?
* Q.C6- New Microsoft serial mouse protocol 2.1A mice don't work.
* Q.C7- How can I swap mouse buttons? How do I get an XFree86 for
Left-Handers?
SECTION D - DISPLAY PROBLEMS
* Q.D1- Part of the Displayed Image is Wrapping-around or is
Duplicated on the Other Side of the Screen
* Q.D2- My screen is too large. How can I disable the virtual desktop?
* Q.D3- wrong colors or black and white images in 24bpp modes for
Netscape, xanim, WABI and others
* Q.D4- Why do I get a mostly black screen with my Diamond Speedstar
A50 (SiS 6326)?
SECTION E - MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS/QUESTIONS
* Q.E1- How do I get the server to scale vector fonts, but not bitmap
fonts?
* Q.E2- What can I do to keep the server from hanging while scaling
fonts?
* Q.E3- The system locks up when I start the S3 server. What can I do?
* Q.E4- I've got a Cirrus Logic GD546x based card and am experiencing
system lockups. What can I do?
* Q.E5- I get a "broken pipe" error while unpacking the ".tar.gz"
files. Is something wrong with them?
* Q.E6- Why does the server quit with the error "xf86OpenConsole:
cannot open /dev/console" on Linux?
* Q.E7- How do I get the server to display more than 256 colors?
* Q.E8- Why do I get display problems with my ATI PC2TV card?
* Q.E9- I've just installed XFree86 3.3.5 for Linux, but I get "No
such file or directory" whenever I try to run something.
* Q.E10- XFree86 crashes on Linux systems with GCC 2.8.x
* Q.E11- Why does the X server exit with an error message about a
SecurityPolicy file?
* Q.E12- Is XFree86 Year2000 compliant?
* Q.E13- I get an error "_X11TransSocketUNIXConnect: Can't connect:
errno = 111". What does it mean?
* Q.E14- What is Xwrapper and why can't startx or xinit find it?
* Q.E15- Running XFree86 on portable computers, laptops and LCD
screens
* Q.E16- Can TrueType fonts be used with XFree86?
* Q.E17- I'm using NetBSD-currnet and the `wscons' console code and my
X screen sometimes jumps.
* Q.E18- Slow or sluggish performance of XFree86 servers, jerky mouse
movement.
SECTION F - CHIPSET SUPPORT
* Q.F1- My card is currently not supported - what can I do?
* Q.F2- How do I find out the current status of a driver?
* Q.F3- Unsupported Clock Chips
* Q.F4- Do you have an alpha or beta server for my ... card?
* Q.F5- Matrox chips
* Q.F6- Alliance ProMotion chips
* Q.F7- Cirrus CL-GD754x chips
* Q.F8- Sierra Falcon chip
* Q.F9- ISA-bus Mach64 cards
* Q.F10- S3 911 and 924 Cards with 512KB RAM
* Q.F11- Is there a server for 3Dlabs GLINT or Permedia based cards?
* Q.F12- Is a server for Riva 128, 128zx or Riva TNT based cards
available?
* Q.F13- Is a server for Rendition chipsets available?
* Q.F14- What about AGP?
* Q.F15- Why don't you just make a VESA 2.0 driver so that all
compliant cards will work?
* Q.F16- Is a server for the Intel i740 chipset available?
* Q.F17- Is a server for the Mpact 2 chipset available?
* Q.F18- Is a server for the S3 Trio3D, Trio3D/2X or the S3 Savage3D
or the Savage4 available?
* Q.F19- S3 Trio3D/2X (86C362, 86C368) doesn't work or is awfully slow
* Q.F20- Is a server for SiS 530 or SiS 620 based motherboards with
integrated graphics available?
* Q.F21- Is a server for the Trident Blade3D chipset available?
* Q.F22- Is a server for the Voodoo Banshee or other 3Dfx chips
available?
* Q.F23- How do I get XFree86 to work with my new ATI card?
* Q.F24- Is there any other way I can get an unsupported card to work?
* Q.F25- Does XFree86 support the ATI Rage128?
* Q.F26- Does XFree86 support the SiS 540/630 or the SiS 300?
SECTION G - KNOWN PROBLEMS WITH XFREE86 3.3.5
* Q.G1- The tar files for Linux-ix86-glibc2 are too big / contain
additional stuff.
* Q.G2- I get an undefined symbol __deregister_frame_info with the
Linux-ix86-glibc2 binaries.
* Q.G3- My Trident TGUI9680 card has problems with fonts
* Q.G4- The "cyber_shadow" Option doesn't work on my Cyber 9382.
* Q.G5- Problems displaying resolutions above 640x480 on some Matrox
G100 cards.
* Q.G6- My Trident laptop goes glowing-white when I start the server.
* Q.G7- Display problems (streaking, shifted lines, tearing) at high
color depth on Matrox G100 cards.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A1- What is XFree86?
XFree86 is a trademark of The XFree86 Project, Inc., a non-profit
organization that provides X Window System servers (as well as some
supporting materials) for several operating systems on PCs and other
microcomputers. The X servers, client programs, documentation, etc.
supplied by the XFree86 Project, Inc., are collectively, also known as
XFree86. All programs are provided with source code, free of charge.
The XFree86 Project, Inc. is currently funded entirely by donations. If
you're interested in making a monetary or equipment donation, see
http://www.XFree86.org/donations.html or send Email to B...@XFree86.org.
A list of current sponsors is available at
http://www.XFree86.org/sponsors.html
For more information regarding The XFree86 Project, Inc., see
http://www.XFree86.org/corp_profile.html
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A2- What is the current release of XFree86?
The latest full release is XFree86 version 3.3.5. It is based on
X11R6.3pl2 and was released in August 1999. See the Release Notes for
more info.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A3- What is the current release of SuperProbe?
The newest available version of SuperProbe is 2.20. It is included with
the latest XFree86 release.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A4- How do I find out what version I have?
Both SuperProbe and the servers print the version when they start.
However, depending on how the server is started, its output may not
normally be visible.
The server will display its version number, if you simply type "X
-showconfig" at a shell prompt (even if you haven't configured it for
your card and monitor yet).
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A5- Where do I get the latest releases?
The primary site for both SuperProbe and the XFree86 servers and clients
is ftp.XFree86.org.
A list of mirror sites is available at:
http://www.XFree86.org/3.3.5/ftp.html
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A6- What files do I need to upgrade to the latest release?
Please read the README (or RELNOTES) file, in the directory
corresponding to your OS, on the XFree86 ftp site or one of its mirrors
(see the previous question). It contains a list of the filenames along
with their contents. It also lists which files are required and which
are optional.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A7- Where do I find the latest documentation?
The latest documentation can be found on http://www.XFree86.org/3.3.5/.
Many of the XFree86 specific man pages are also available at
http://www.XFree86.org/man/. The documentation is also available, in
ASCII form, from ftp://ftp.XFree86.org/pub/XFree86/3.3.5/doc/.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A8- Where can I get RPMs for the latest release?
If you need XFree86 binaries in RPM format (or any other vendor-specific
package format) you will need to contact your OS vendor. The XFree86
Project only supplies binaries in the vendor-independent ".tgz" (gzipped
tar) format (and ".zip" for OS/2).
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A9- When is the next release?
The 4.0 release, with significant changes, is being worked on. It is not
known at this point when it will be released. Work-in-progress snapshots
of this release are being made available from
http://www.XFree86.org/snapshots/
XFree86-3.3.6 is planned for the fourth quarter 1999.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A10- Which card do you recommend that I buy?
We don't recommend any particular board or manufacturer (although it
would be good to support our sponsors, see
http://www.XFree86.org/sponsors.html). In general, the S3 based boards
have been the best supported, followed by the ATI based cards, however
that is no guarantee that any specific board will work. It is probably
best to look through the various "README" files at
http://www.XFree86.org/3.3.5/ to see which boards are currently
supported and pick one of them.
It is also a good idea to buy from some place that has a liberal return
policy or will let you try before you buy. Especially since some
manufacturers will sometimes change what RAMDAC or other chips are used
on a board _without changing the name of the board_.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A11- Which card is the fastest?
We don't know. Benchmarks are just that. Useless numbers trying to
capture something that is far too complex to be captured in a number. We
may occasionally comment on the relative speed of different cards, but
that is usually the personal opinion of the one who writes the note. In
general, The XFree86 Project is not publishing benchmark comparisons,
because even if you think that a number like 'xstones' can capture the
performance of a card, it is incredibly hard to create fair and
comparable numbers.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A12- Has XFree86 been ported to OS/2?
Yes, the latest release is available for OS/2. This port runs in
parallel to the Presentation Manager desktop, similarly to a WinOS/2
fullscreen session (there is no equivalent to a seamless WinOS/2
configuration). See http://borneo.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86os2.html for more
information.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A13- How about a MS-DOS or MS-Windows port?
There is some work being done to create a free port of XFree86 to
Microsoft Windows. However, in the mean time, if you need to run X on
such a platform you'll need to use one of the available commercial
servers.
One of the commercial products, X Appeal, is from an XFree86 sponsor and
is a port of the XFree86 servers to MS-DOS. They also have a freely
available demo version.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A14- But I heard X supports Windows NT.
X11R6.3 does include some support for MicroSoft Windows NT. However, it
is only for building the libraries and some client programs. If you want
an X server, for now, you'll have to buy one. See the previous question.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A15- Can I use more than one video card in the same machine with
XFree86?
Although it is technically possible to use multiple PCI-based SVGA cards
in the same machine, none of the servers currently support this.
The VGA16 and Mono servers are both capable of running both a VGA
compatible card and a non-VGA compatible monochrome card in the same
machine.
For XFree86-4.0 we are working on true multi head support.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A16- Are Overlay Visuals available?
Some X servers offer multiple visuals as overlays (e.g., 8bpp
PseudoColor and 24bpp TrueColor). At this point XFree86 doesn't support
Overlays, but we are working on this feature for XFree86-4.0.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A17- How do I report a bug in XFree86?
Use the bug report form on our WWW server (http://www.XFree86.org/), or
send email to XFr...@XFree86.org. Before sending a bug report, make
sure you are using the current release of XFree86. *In the bug report,
include the full server output, details of the XFree86 version, server,
description of the problem, and some way of repeating it and most
importantly, the _full_ server startup output.* Oh, and you'll greatly
increase your chances of getting a useful response from us, if you
include the full output of the server.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A18- About this FAQ
In addition to being available from the XFree86 web site (as
http://www.XFree86.org/FAQ/), this FAQ will be posted at least monthly
to comp.windows.x.i386unix, comp.os.linux.x, comp.answers, and
news.answers.
It is also available from the XFree86 FTP site (and mirrors) as
ftp://ftp.XFree86.org/pub/XFree86/WWW/htdocs/FAQ/index.html - HTML
version and ftp://ftp.XFree86.org/pub/XFree86/WWW/htdocs/FAQ/faq.txt -
ASCII text version.
This document is maintained by Joe Moss (j...@XFree86.Org) with
contributions from other members of the XFree86 support and development
teams. Particular thanks go to David Dawes, Dirk Hohndel, and Koen
Gadeyne for their contributions.
If you have questions or comments regarding XFree86 do _not_ send them
directly to me. They should be Emailed to XFr...@XFree86.org (which
will cause a copy to be sent to me, as well as the rest of the XFree86
volunteer support team). If you have comments regarding this document
itself, then you may send them to me. In particular, if you find
incorrect or non-functional URLs or any typos herein, please let me
know.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A19- Access via Email
If you only have Email access to the net, you should get a copy of the
"Accessing the Internet by E-Mail FAQ".
If you're in North or South America, send a message to
mail-...@rtfm.mit.edu containing only the line:
send usenet/news.answers/internet-services/access-via-email
in the body of the message.
Elsewhere in the world, send mail to mail...@mailbase.ac.uk with only
this line in the message body:
send lis-iis e-access-inet.txt
This document explains how to retrieve stuff from the WWW, Usenet News,
etc. via Email. It also explains how to use ftpmail, which you can use
to get the latest version of XFree86.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.A20- Related Information
Many of our sponsors supply hardware, software, and services which may
be of interest to users of XFree86 servers. The list of our sponsors
(http:/www.XFree86.org/sponsors.html), points to the web sites of many
of them.
Here are some pointers to other documentation, regarding subjects
related to XFree86, that might be useful to readers of this document.
These are not published by the XFree86 Project, Inc. and are included
here only for reference. Questions or comments regarding any of these
items should be directed to their respective authors.
* X.Org Home Page (http://www.x.org/)
* X11 Applications FAQ
(http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/xapps/faq.html)
* Other X Window System FAQs
(http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/internet/news/faq/by_category.x-faq.html)
* X Window System and OSF/Motif WWW Sites
(http://www.rahul.net/kenton/xsites.framed.html)
* [Linux] XFree86 HOWTO
(http://sunsite.unc.edu/mdw/HOWTO/XFree86-HOWTO.html)
* Connecting X-Terminals to Linux Systems
(http://sunsite.unc.edu/mdw/HOWTO/mini/Xterminal)
* The 3 Button Mouse Page [getting third button to work]
(http://kipper.york.ac.uk/mouse.html)
* Mini-HOWTO About Running XFree86 on Notebooks [mostly WD specific]
(http://sunsite.unc.edu/mdw/HOWTO/mini/X-Notebook)
* How to Setup/Use Low-Bandwidth X
(ftp://ftp.wellfleet.com/netman/psmith/faqs/LBX-HOWTO)
* Setting up X Authentication [Tk specific, but the concepts are
generally applicable] (http://cr-toolkit.crd.ge.com/tkxauth/)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONFIGURATION QUESTIONS
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.B1- Do you have the config file for ...?
There is a no such thing as *THE* config file for a particular card or
monitor. The "XF86Config" file you should use is dependent on your card,
monitor, operating system, mouse, keyboard, individual preferences,
network setup, available fonts, etc.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.B2- I got an XF86Config file from ..., but things still don't
work.
It is *not* a good idea to exchange XF86Config files. While it may be
safe to use certain parts of another's config file, in general, you are
better off generating your own.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.B3- How do I configure the server?
All of the configuration information we have, is included with the
release. You should use one of the included configuration programs,
_XF86Setup_ or _xf86config_. This is explained in the QuickStart Guide.
For further information, you could also read the XFree86 configuration
guide (available from http://www.XFree86.org/3.3.5/Config.html), and the
manual pages XF86Config(4/5) and xvidtune(1).
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.B4- How do I know which X server to use for my video card?
A list of video cards and the X servers they require can be found at
http://www.xfree86.org/cardlist.html. If you don't find an entry for
your card or chipset in that list, check the Chipset Support section
below to see if it is mentioned there.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.B5- My PC is PC98 compliant. Should I use the XF98 servers? No.
The "XF98" servers and related utilities will _only_ work
with the Japanese PC98 architecture computers. This is a
Japanese computer standard that predates the Intel/Microsoft
PC98 specification, and the two are completely unrelated.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.B6- My monitor isn't listed in the [ XF86Config | xf86setup ]
monitor database.
Try looking for information on your monitor's capabilities on one of the
following Internet sites:
* http://hawks.ha.md.us/hardware/monitor.html
* http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Misc/monitors/o-z.html
* http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Misc/monitors/a-n.html
* http://www.monitorservice.com/
* http://www.mela-itg.com/
* http://www.restorstone.com/MonitorManu/SearchManINT.html
* http://www.nashville.net/~griffin/mondata.html
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.B7- What about "vgaset"?
Simple. Don't use it!
The "xvidtune" program, that is part of the 3.3.5 release, has more
capabilities and works properly with the server extension
("XFree86-VidModeExtension") included in the 3.3.5 servers.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.B8- My card isn't on the list shown in XF86Setup. Is there a
more up-to-date list?
Each release includes the most up-to-date list at the time of release.
If there are any updates after a release, they will be made available
as: ftp://ftp.XFree86.org/pub/XFree86/current/doc/Cards (if the file is
non-existent, i.e. this URL does not work, then there have not been any
updates to the Cards database since the last release). It should be
installed in "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/Cards".
If you still can't find your card listed, you should check if there is a
generic entry for cards using the same chipset as yours. If not, see the
Chipset Support section of this document to check on the current status
of drivers being written and what you can do if your card is
unsupported.
If after all of the above, you still are not sure what to do about
configuring your card, you can contact us about it.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.B9- Why does the server reject my mode lines?
This usually is due to incorrect parameters in the Monitor section of
the XF86Config file.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.B10- The preinst.sh script fails to run succesfully
If you install XFree86 using the description in the RELNOTES file, you
may see an error message from preinst.sh like this:
: command not found
or
var/tnp/preinst.sh systax error near unexpected token 'in
or a number of other strange errors.
In all cases, these could be traced back to downloading this file using
a MSWindows-based download program (MS Internet Explorer or any other
Windows FTP client).
These programs try to convert this script file to MSDOS text, which
breaks it completely. In most FTP clients you can force the program to
download in "image" or "binary" mode, which would solve this. Some
internet browsers don't allow this, so they can't be used for this.
The best solution is to use a UNIX Internet browser or FTP client: they
do the right thing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
KEYBOARD & MOUSE PROBLEMS
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.C1- The mouse cursor doesn't display in the right position
If the cursor appears to be horizontally offset by several pixels, it is
probably due to the same problems that cause the display to be wrapped
around. See item D1 below.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.C2- Why don't menus work properly?
If you are experiencing problems with menus not allowing you to select
items, try turning NumLock off.
In X11R6 (and newer), the NumLock key is a modifier. Many clients (X
programs) haven't yet been updated to the R6 way of doing things. They
need to ignore modifiers when looking for button click/release events.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.C3- How come, in Tk-based applications, the buttons highlight,
but can't be depressed?
See the answer to the previous question. You can also upgrade to Tk 4.x
which ignores modifiers by default.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.C4- I've installed the latest release and now some of my keys no
longer work. Why?
The 3.3.5 release is based on X11R6.3 which includes the XKB extension
and has it enabled by default. This may cause the mappings of some keys
on some keyboards to be different than they were in previous releases.
See the XF86Config man page and the sample XF86Config file for some
information on setting the key mappings to your liking.
Alternatively, you can disable the XKB extensions by starting the server
with the "-kb" option or by adding the keyword "XkbDisable" to your
XF86Config file.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.C5- The mouse is moving erratically. What's wrong?
Most likely, you've specified the wrong protocol for the mouse. Note
that newer Logitech mice do not use the "Logitech" protocol, but instead
use "Microsoft" (or "MouseMan") protocol.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.C6- New Microsoft serial mouse protocol 2.1A mice don't work.
This should not be a problem with XFree86 3.3.2 and later.
For earlier versions running under Linux, the solution is to get
gpm-1.13 (or later), run it as "gpm -t pnp -R", and configure XFree86
for "MouseSystems" Protocol with "/dev/gpmdata" as the device.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.C7- How can I swap mouse buttons? How do I get an XFree86 for
Left-Handers?
Run "xmodmap -e "pointer = 3 2 1"" in an xterm or put such a command
into your ".xinitrc" file.
See also the xmodmap(1) man page.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISPLAY PROBLEMS
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.D1- Part of the Displayed Image is Wrapping-around or is
Duplicated on the Other Side of the Screen
For Diamond Stealth Video VRAM: if the server is not recognizing your
card as a Diamond card, add this line to your "XF86Config":
Option "Diamond"
If the above does not work or you don't have a Diamond card, try running
the xvidtune program and adjusting various settings. In particular, if
you have a recent S3 based card, adjust the extra S3-specific settings
at the bottom.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.D2- My screen is too large. How can I disable the virtual
desktop?
Two things influence the virtual desktop size:
* In the Screen Section of your XF86Config file (normally near the end
of that file), you may see a "Virtual" keyword for every screen
depth in that section. Comment that line (prepend a "#") or remove
it. In the example below, the virtual size was 1280x1024, while the
largest mode is 1024x768, so even in that largest mode, you would
need to scroll around the display.
Section "Screen"
...
Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
# Virtual 1280 1024
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
...
* If not given in a "Virtual" line in the XF86Config file, XFree86
will automatically select the largest-resolution mode as your
virtual screen size. E.g.:
Section "Screen"
...
Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
...
This will set the virtual screen to 1024x768 in 8bpp mode. If you only
want 800x600, remove the "1024x768" Mode from the list above.
In some installations, the first mode in the "Modes" line is the
smallest one, as shown below:
...
Modes "640x480" "800x600" "1024x768"
...
In this case, the server will _still_ select 1024x768 as virtual size
(the largest mode in the list), but start up with 640x480 (the first
mode in the list). This will put you in a "scrolling" mode again. If you
want 640x480 without scrolling, remove all the larger modes. If you want
the bigger display without the scrolling, use "CTRL ALT +" or "CTRL ALT
-" to switch to the larger modes, or re-order the "Modes" line so that
the server starts up in the mode you want.
Note that there is such a "Display" Subsection for every color depth, so
you may have to repeat the same editing steps several times.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.D3- wrong colors or black and white images in 24bpp modes for
Netscape, xanim, WABI and others
This is a long-standing problem with all those client programs. It is
NOT a problem in XFree86.
Technical details: it is caused by a relatively new feature of XFree86
(24bpp modes with 24bpp pixmaps) that is very poorly understood by many
client authors: they assume 32bpp pixmaps instead of asking the XFree86
server for those details. Others (like Netscape) do ask for the pixmap
size, but since they don't support 24bpp pixmaps, they fall back to
using 1bpp (monochrome) pixmaps...
The current public versions of XFree86 can only support a 1:1 mapping
between the framebuffer depth and the pixmap depth. Some commercial
Xservers support 32bpp pixmaps in 24bpp modes, and hence they present an
interface to client programs that happens to match their assumptions.
XFree86 4.0 will also support this feature.
There are two possible solutions to this right now:
* do not use 24bpp modes, but rather 16bpp or 32 bpp modes. 32bpp is
best, but it requires more video memory than 24bpp.
* don't use broken X clients. There are patches for Netscape and even
compiled binaries on the net that fix this bug.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.D4- Why do I get a mostly black screen with my Diamond Speedstar
A50 (SiS 6326)?
If you have a card with 8MB of video memory, first try telling the X
server that there is only 4MB present by adding the following line to
the Device section of your config file:
Videoram 4096
If you have a 4MB card, or if the above line doesn't help, try adding
the following line to the Device section:
Option "nolinear"
A drawback with this option is that colour depths higher than 8bpp can't
be used, but that is better than nothing.
If you see problems when moving windows with KDE, try the following:
Option "no_pixmap_cache"
These problems should be fixed in the next release.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS/QUESTIONS
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E1- How do I get the server to scale vector fonts, but not
bitmap fonts?
In standard X11R6 (and later), in addition to the fonts in "scalable"
formats (i.e. Type1, Speedo), bitmap fonts are scaled. This can have the
undesirable effect of scaling a bitmap font, even though a Type1 font is
available (if the bitmap font is listed first in the path).
With the 3.2 and later releases of XFree86, you can add the text
":unscaled" to the end of any directory in the font path to turn off
scaling of the bitmap fonts in that directory. This works in both the
XF86Config file and the font server's config file.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E2- What can I do to keep the server from hanging while scaling
fonts?
While scaling fonts, the server can hang temporarily. If you are
requesting a particularly large font, the period during which the server
is unresponsive, can be quite noticeable. Font scaling uses floating
point math and the effect is particularly obvious, if you do not have a
floating point coprocessor (getting one would help immensely).
This problem can be avoided by running the font server (xfs) and
indicating in your XF86Config file that the X server should request
fonts from the font server. This workaround prevents the X server from
temporarily freezing, but doesn't really speed up the time necessary to
scale the fonts (so the application requesting the font will still have
to wait).
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E3- The system locks up when I start the S3 server. What can I
do?
This is most often caused by problems with directly accessing the linear
frame-buffer (this often happens with IBM ValuePoint systems, in
particular). Try adding "Option "nolinear"" to the Device section of
your XF86Config. If it still occurs, try "Option "nomemaccess"".
Lockups can also happen, with any server, if the system bus is
overclocked. Try some more conservative BIOS settings.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E4- I've got a Cirrus Logic GD546x based card and am
experiencing system lockups. What can I do?
Try adding
Option "xaa_no_color_exp"
to your XF86Config file (in the Device section).
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E5- I get a "broken pipe" error while unpacking the ".tar.gz"
files. Is something wrong with them?
No, this message is only a warning and can safely be ignored - assuming
it is the only error message.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E6- Why does the server quit with the error "xf86OpenConsole:
cannot open /dev/console" on Linux?
There is a problem with the /dev/console device file. As root, you can
run these commands to fix it:
cd /dev; ./MAKEDEV console
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E7- How do I get the server to display more than 256 colors?
As explained in the XFree86(1) man page, the "-bpp" option can be
specified on the command line when starting the server. You can specify
15 bpp, for 32768 colors, 16 bpp, for 65536 colors, or either 24 or 32
bpp, for 16.7 million colors.
However, the server is rarely started directly. The two most common ways
to start the server are with "startx" and "xdm". For example, to start
the server in 16 bpp mode from the command line:
startx -- -bpp 16
or to start the server from xdm in 32bpp mode, you would put a line like
the following in the _Xservers_ file (in the xdm library directory,
typically /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xdm):
:0 local /usr/X11R6/bin/X -bpp 32
All of the above is dependent on the server having support for your card
at higher than 8 bpp.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E8- Why do I get display problems with my ATI PC2TV card?
Make sure you don't have a TV cable connected to your card. The Mach64
server doesn't work properly when that cable is connected.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E9- I've just installed XFree86 3.3.5 for Linux, but I get "No
such file or directory" whenever I try to run something.
The most common reason for this is that you have installed the
Linux-ix86-glibc binaries when you don't have GNU libc 2 (aka libc 6).
The solution is to install the Linux-ix86 binaries, which are the
correct ones for most situations.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E10- XFree86 crashes on Linux systems with GCC 2.8.x If your
Linux kernel version is below than 2.1.79 (this includes
ALL 2.0.xx kernels), and is compiled with the new GCC
2.8.x, XFree86 will always crash and dump a core file. This
is NOT a problem with XFree86, but rather with the Linux
kernel. The problem is in the Linux kernel file
/usr/src/linux/arch/i386/kernel/ioport.c. This file is not
compiled correctly with GCC 2.8.0. There are a number
possible solutions:
* compile the entire Linux kernel with an older GCC.
* compile it with 2.8.0, but use an ioport.o file compiled with an
older GCC.
* replace ioport.c with the ioport.c file from linux kernel 2.1.79 or
later (this works for the 2.0.xx series kernels as well) and rebuild
your kernel. There have been reports that the same problem occurs
with some versions of egcs as well.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E11- Why does the X server exit with an error message about a
SecurityPolicy file?
If your installation of XFree86 3.3/3.3.3 is not complete you may see
the following error message when starting an X server:
error opening security policy file /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xserver/SecurityPolicy
This is a only a warning message, and is mostly harmless. If your server
is failing to startup, this is not the reason. Check the other messages.
The file being referred to is included in the Xlib.tgz part of the
XFree86 binary distributions produced by The XFree86 Project.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E12- Is XFree86 Year2000 compliant?
The X window system is not subject to year2000 problems. Neither is
XFree86. See the y2k statement from The Open Group for reference.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E13- I get an error "_X11TransSocketUNIXConnect: Can't connect:
errno = 111". What does it mean?
Whenever the XFree86 Xserver crashes, dies, ceases to exist or is
inaccessible for any reason, you will see this error message. It is a
message from an X-client (=any program running on your XFree86 Xserver,
for example the window manager) telling you that it tried to connect to
your Xserver, but failed to do something for "some" reason.
Quoting only this message in a bug report is therefore utterly useless.
Look in the server output for the real reason why the server died.
Normally you should see the real error message (=why the server stopped
working) a few lines before the "error 111" message.
If you still can't make head or tails of all those messages, make sure
to quote the *FULL* server output in your bug report. It is impossible
to provide you with any help, if you just mention the "error 111", as so
many people do.
Obtaining the full server output is normally accomplished by redirecting
both standard output and standard error to a file while starting the
server (eg, startx <& logfile.txt). On some systems this is done by
default.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E14- What is Xwrapper and why can't startx or xinit find it?
The XFree86 X servers require root privileges to access the video
hardware. In releases prior to 3.3.2 the X servers were installed
set-uid root so that normal users could run them with the required
privileges. This is a potential security problem, especially given how
large and complex the X servers are. One class of such security problems
is exploiting the set-uid program with carefully crafted user-supplied
data (either on the command line or in the environment). Starting with
the 3.3.2 release the XFree86 X servers are installed without the
set-uid bit set, and a small wrapper program ``Xwrapper'' which is
installed set-uid root is used to start the X server after checking the
command line and environment. This does not provide a 100% guarantee
that the X servers are not vulnerable to such exploits, but it does
reduce the chances of such exploits succeeding. Also, if vulnerabilities
are found in the future that the current Xwrapper doesn't catch, we can
easily supply an updated version. It is much easier to do that than to
provide updated versions of all the X server binaries.
The xinit command (which startx runs) provided with XFree86 3.3.2 and
later has been modified to look for an X server called ``Xwrapper''
instead of ``X''. If you don't have Xwrapper installed, you will get an
error message from xinit/startx when it tries to start the non-set-uid X
server without using the wrapper. The same thing will happen if you do
have Xwrapper installed but you have an xserverrc file (usually
$HOME/.xserverrc, but it can be any file pointed to by your XSERVERRC
environment variable) that references ``X'' instead of ``Xwrapper''. To
fix that, edit your xserverrc file and replace ``X'' with ``Xwrapper''.
If instead of X you have some other X server name (eg, XF86_SVGA) in
your xserverrc file, you will need to create a symbolic link from it to
/usr/X11R6/bin/X and replace it with ``Xwrapper'' in your xserverrc
file.
We strongly recommend against making the X servers set-uid root because
of the potential security implications of doing so. We also recommend
running xdm at boot time to handle starting the X server on a multi user
system.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E15- Running XFree86 on portable computers, laptops and LCD
screens
Computers using LC displays are more tricky to set up in XFree86 than
the ones with a normal (CRT) monitor. This is mainly due to the displays
themselves: LCDs basically have a fixed resolution, although some have
extra hardware built in that can cope with several different
resolutions.
Especially the modelines can be extremely tricky, and each new LCD seems
to need its own modeline. Refer to the Linux-laptop homepage for more
information and specific help for most common LCD-based computers:
http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kharker/linux-laptop
or one of the mirror sites, e.g.
http://physics.open.ac.uk/~rpblake/linux_laptop
Although this page is Linux-oriented, the information on using XFree86
(especially the XF86Config files) is mostly OS-independent.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E16- Can TrueType fonts be used with XFree86?
While XFree86 does not, at the time of writing, natively support
TrueType fonts, there is a number of third party solutions. Some
information about these options is included below. The XFree86 project
is not responsible for any of these; please send any inquiries about
them to relevant newsgroups or, eventually, to their authors.
XFree86 is planning to include native support for TrueType fonts in its
next major release.
CONVERSION TO BITMAPS
The FreeType library includes in it's `contrib' directory the `ttf2bdf'
utility, by Mark Leisher, which can be used to generate bitmap versions
of TrueType fonts at any size, resolution, and with any encoding. The
generated bitmaps can be used by any X server that supports the BDF
format (including XFree86), or converted to PCF.
The FreeType library is available from http://www.freetype.org.
XFSFT
Xfsft, by Mark Leisher and Juliusz Chroboczek, is a font backend based
on the FreeType library (see above). Xfsft can be used as a standalone
font server, or linked into the X server. Xfsft will automatically
reencode fonts to a number of encodings, and new encodings can be
provided by the user.
At the time of writing, Xfsft does not delay rasterisation; this makes
it unsuitable for fonts with a very large number of glyphs (such as
fonts for ideographic scripts).
More information of Xfsft can be found on
http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/jec/programs/xfsft/.
Xfsft (sources, binaries for Linux/Intel/libc5 and Solaris 2.6/Sparc)
can be found on Sunsite at UNC
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/X11/fonts/.
Additionally, you may want to check the additional Linux/Intel/libc6
binaries (including binaries of X servers) provided by Joerg Pomnitz, as
well as his supporting utilities (which includes a tool that creates
fonts.dir files for directories containing TrueType fonts):
http://www.darmstadt.gmd.de/~pommnitz/
and
http://www.darmstadt.gmd.de/~pommnitz/XF86-xfsft/index.html,
and the FreeBSD/Intel binaries provided by Stephen Montgomery-Smith:
http://math.missouri.edu/~stephen/software/.
When downloading, please note that you will need the source tarball,
which contains installation and usage instructions.
X-TRUETYPE
X-TrueType, by T. Shiozaki _et al_., is another backend based on
FreeType. It can be run as a standalone font server or linked into the X
server. It is, at the time of writing, the only backend that provides
delayed rasterisation of glyphs; this makes it particularly suitable for
use with ideographic scripts. It will reencode fonts to a fixed, albeit
large, set of encodings (new encodings cannot easily be added by the
user).
More information on X-TrueType may be found on:
http://hawk.ise.chuo-u.ac.jp/student/person/tshiozak/X-TT/index-eng.html
.
FreeBSD users will be interested to know that X-TrueType is part of the
`ports' collection.
XFSTT
Xfstt, by Herbert Duerr, is a standalone font server with support for
TrueType fonts that is not based either on the FreeType library nor on
the X11 Sample Implementation code. It is written in C++, but
notwithstanding this is more lightweight and easier to compile than the
alternatives. It is also very easy to use.
Xfstt reencodes fonts to a fixed set of encodings. It does not delay
rasterisation.
Please note that Xfstt only supports one connection at a time, and needs
to be recompiled in order to serve a machine with a different byte
order.
Some versions of Xfstt under some platforms are rumored to have memory
leaks. It is not known whether these rumours are rooted in reality.
Xfstt can be found all over the world, including packages for various
common operating systems. This includes Sunsite at UNC:
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/X11/fonts/.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E17- I'm using NetBSD-currnet and the `wscons' console code and
my X screen sometimes jumps.
The NetBSD `wscons' code had a bug where text would still be output to a
virtual terminal even if the VT was in graphics/X mode. Try leaving a VT
free (that is, not running a getty) for your X server, which should help
by allowing the X server to use a VT that nothing else is using.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.E18- Slow or sluggish performance of XFree86 servers, jerky
mouse movement.
The X server tends to be a critical process for the smooth operation of
a workstation, and as such has a good reason to operate at elevated
priority (negative nice value).
Running with the X server at a priority around -10 (on Linux) improves
overall system responsiveness vastly. This can be accomplished using the
"nice" command.
notes:
* this can only be done by the root user
* other processes may be affected, especially when the server gets a
lot of work from client programs (animation and benchmarks are good
examples)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHIPSET SUPPORT
The chipsets supported by XFree86 3.3.5 are listed in the README file.
The list is available via the WWW at:
http://www.XFree86.org/3.3.5/README3.html
This section contains some notes regarding various chips for which
support is not included in the current servers and other chipset/card
specific notes.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F1- My card is currently not supported - what can I do?
If you have a card which is not currently supported, you have these
options:
* Wait until it is supported. See the chipset specific items below to
get some indication, if support is forthcoming.
* Buy a commercial X server. The X on Intel-based Unix Frequently
Asked Questions document, which is posted regularly to
comp.windows.x.i386unix, contains a list of vendors of X servers.
* Try using the Mono or VGA16 servers. They should work with any VGA
compatible card (within limits - if you have a programmable clock
chip on the card, your available modes may be severely limited).
They just won't take full advantage of the card's capabilities.
Picking the "Unsupported Card" entry in XF86Setup will configure it
to work with the VGA16 server.
* Trade your card in for one that is supported.
* Write a driver yourself or find someone you know who is willing and
able to do it. If you choose this option, you should probably
contact us about joining the development team (and thus get access
to the latest source code) and about getting any code you write
integrated into the next release.
* If you are running a recent 2.1.x version of Linux, you can also use
the vesafb driver and the XF68_FBDev server. These are not supported
by XFree86, so don't ask us about any problems you may have using
them.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F2- How do I find out the current status of a driver?
Check this FAQ periodically. When there is a change in the status of a
driver that is under development, this FAQ will be updated to reflect
the change.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F3- Unsupported Clock Chips
If you are using a card that uses a programmable clock chip which is not
supported by the server, you may be able to get a separate program to
program the chip for useful clock frequencies.
Sometimes, others make clock programming programs available on the net
that can be called by the server. Also, you may be able to use a video
card's driver made for MS-Windows or OS/2 to program the clocks and then
warm boot the machine and run XFree86.
You should probably use a monitor that is smart enough to reject
frequencies that are beyond its specs, if you plan to try something like
this.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F4- Do you have an alpha or beta server for my ... card?
The XFree86 Project does *NOT* make any pre-release source code
available to anyone except members of the development team. Nor are
binaries generally available.
If you have access to some currently unsupported hardware, are willing
to actively participate in testing and perhaps debugging a server, and
would like to join the development team, then send an email message to
XFr...@XFree86.org listing your available hardware and software, as
well as any relevant skills you may have.
Often, when there is code being developed for a previously unsupported
chipset, a "Call for Beta Testers" will be issued (via a posting to
relevant Usenet groups).
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F5- Matrox chips
The 3.3.5 release includes a driver for the Matrox Millennium,
Millennium II, Mystique, Millennium G200, Mystique G200, Millennium
G400, and Productiva G100 cards. This driver is part of the XF86_SVGA
server. Do not attempt to use the XF98_MGA server unless you really do
have one of the Japanese PC98 architecture computers. If you want to
know why, see the PC98 question.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F6- Alliance ProMotion chips
The latest release includes some support for the ProMotion 6422, AT24,
AT25 and AT3D.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F7- Cirrus CL-GD754x chips
There is a driver for these chips in the current SVGA server, however it
has been reported not to work correctly on all systems. A possible
work-around is to treat it as another chip (such as "clgd5428", for a
CL-GD7543, or "clgd5436", for a CL-GD7548), using a Chipset line, in
which case should probably also disable acceleration (Option "noaccel").
Also, some people have reported success after modifying the 800x600
modeline to use a lower dot clock, or by decreasing some of the
horizontal timing parameters.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F8- Sierra Falcon chip
Boards based on this chip (such as the STB Horizon 64) are not
supported.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F9- ISA-bus Mach64 cards
The current version of the server needs to map the video memory aperture
into the system's address space. Since this requires 4MB of address
space and since ISA bus systems can only address a maximum of 16MB, the
Mach64 server can not be used on systems with more that 12MB of RAM. See
the Mach64 README files for more information regarding the current
capabilities of the server.
Until full support for ISA Mach64 cards is added to the Mach64 server
(if it ever is), the SVGA server can be used instead.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F10- S3 911 and 924 Cards with 512KB RAM
The S3 server does not work with 911 and 924 cards that only have .5MB
of RAM on the video card. Upgrade the card to 1MB.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F11- Is there a server for 3Dlabs GLINT or Permedia based cards?
An accelerated server supporting these chips is available as part of
XFree86-3.3.5. The bug in XFree86-3.3.3 that made your clock run slower
after using this server has been fixed. *Note:* it is necessary to
reboot between running the buggy version and the fixed version so that
the OS can reinitialise the timers.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F12- Is a server for Riva 128, 128zx or Riva TNT based cards
available? Support for all these NVIDIA chipsets is
included in XFree86-3.3.5. This server was partly
implemented by NVIDIA and now follows the Open Source
guidelines.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F13- Is a server for Rendition chipsets available?
An initial server supporting the V1000 and V2x00 chipsets is available
as part of XFree86-3.3.3. Work on acceleration is slowly making
progress, but not finished, yet.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F14- What about AGP?
At this point most AGP cards with supported chipsets are known to work.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F15- Why don't you just make a VESA 2.0 driver so that all
compliant cards will work?
All of the essential functions that would be needed to support an X
server can only be used while in the processor's real-mode. In other
words, VESA compliance is of no use when using a protected-mode
operating system.
Of course, the operating system itself can use the VESA BIOS while
booting before it switches into protected mode. This is what is done
with vesafb in recent Linux kernels. See below for details.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F16- Is a server for the Intel i740 chipset available?
Boards based on Intel i740 chips are now supported in XFree86 release
3.3.5.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F17- Is a server for the Mpact 2 chipset available?
No. XFree86 has no chipset documentation for this chipset. No one has
stepped up to try and develop such a driver, to begin with. There is no
projected timeframe for such a driver, but since development hasn't
started yet, it will be a long time before this changes.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F18- Is a server for the S3 Trio3D, Trio3D/2X or the S3 Savage3D
or the Savage4 available?
XFree86-3.3.5 supports all these chipsets as part of the SVGA server.
Please note that S3 Savage3D support was not tested and Savage4 support
is currently restricted to Linux and the Intel Platform.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F19- S3 Trio3D/2X (86C362, 86C368) doesn't work or is awfully
slow
as a quick workaround for XFree86 3.3.3.1 to 3.3.5 you can specify
ChipID 0x8a10
VideoRam 4096
in the device section or compile your own server from XFree86 3.3.5
sources using the following patch:
--- xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/vga256/drivers/s3v/regs3v.h~ Mon Sep 6 10:47:18 1999
+++ xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/vga256/drivers/s3v/regs3v.h Fri Sep 24 14:39:18 1999
@@ -421,7 +421,7 @@
/* Wait until Command FIFO is empty */
#define WaitCommandEmpty() do { int loop=0; mem_barrier(); \
- if (s3vPriv.chip == S3_ViRGE_GX2 || s3vPriv.chip == S3_ViRGE_MX || s3vPriv.chip == S3_ViRGE_MXP) \
+ if (S3_ViRGE_GX2_SERIES(s3vPriv.chip) || S3_ViRGE_MX_SERIES(s3vPriv.chip)) \
while ((!(((((mmtr)s3vMmioMem)->subsys_regs.regs.adv_func_cntl)) & 0x400)) && (loop++<MAXLOOP)); \
else if (S3_TRIO_3D_SERIES(s3vPriv.chip)) \
while (((IN_SUBSYS_STAT() & 0x5f00) != 0x5f00) && (loop++<MAXLOOP)); \
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F20- Is a server for SiS 530 or SiS 620 based motherboards with
integrated graphics available?
Boards based on those two chipsets are now supported in the current
XFree86 release 3.3.5.
For an improved server for those see below the question regarding newer
SiS chipsets.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F21- Is a server for the Trident Blade3D chipset available?
Support has been added in this release for the blade3d and cyberblade
chipset.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F22- Is a server for the Voodoo Banshee or other 3Dfx chips
available?
Support for some of the Voodoo boards has been added to the 3.3.5
release. The work of Daryll Strauss has been integrated in this release
but you might want to directly check his server at
http://glide.xxedgexx.com/3DfxRPMS_vb_glibc.html.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F23- How do I get XFree86 to work with my new ATI card?
First, you need to get the XFree86 3.3.5 Mach64 server if you don't
already have it. It should automatically detect the ATI chips available
up to the time of its release (July 1999), except for all Rage128 cards
(like the Fury). See below for Rage128 support. One exception from this
is the Rage Pro LT chipset, as the server doesn't support the LCD with
that chipset. A fix for this problem is known and will be included in
XFree86-3.3.5.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F24- Is there any other way I can get an unsupported card to
work?
Well, there is. If you are running Linux and the card is VBE-2.0
compliant in *hardware*. Unfortunately even today many new cards are
not. But if yours is, then you can setup a late version of the Linux
kernel (anything newer than 2.1.119 should do) with vesafb and use the
XF86_FBDev server with it. Anthony D'Amico has a nice introduction how
to do this at http://www.uno.edu/~adamico/banshee/, where he describes
how to get the Banshee to work. Note that the section there about
installing the XF68_FBDev X server can be omitted. Instead use the
XF86_FBDev that is provided as part of XFree86 3.3.5. This works in a
very similar way for other VBE-2.0 compliant cards as well.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F25- Does XFree86 support the ATI Rage128?
SuSE has made available a Linux binary of a Rage128 server called
*XFCom_Rage128*. You can get this server at the XSuSE website. As with
all previous XFCom servers, sources for this server will be included in
the next XFree86 release.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.F26- Does XFree86 support the SiS 540/630 or the SiS 300?
SuSE has made available a Linux binary of a SiSserver called
*XFCom_SiS*. You can get this server at the XSuSE website. As with all
previous XFCom servers, sources for this server will be included in the
next XFree86 release.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
KNOWN PROBLEMS WITH XFREE86 3.3.5
This section includes a list of problems found since the release of
XFree86 3.3.5.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.G1- The tar files for Linux-ix86-glibc2 are too big / contain
additional stuff.
Due to a small oops in the build process of the Linux-ix86-glibc2
binaries there were incorrect tar files available for download for about
the first 48 hours after the release of XFree86-3.3.5. The problem has
been rectified, now.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.G2- I get an undefined symbol __deregister_frame_info with the
Linux-ix86-glibc2 binaries.
there is a slight incompatibility between SuSE and some other
distributions. This has been fixed with glibc-2.1 based distributions,
but is still visible in glibc-2.0 binaries built on SuSE-6.1 (as are the
Linux-ix86-glibc2 binaries). As a workaround, please install the
following library on your system:
ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/6.1/a1/regframe.rpm
A copy of this is available as
"ftp://ftp.xfree86.org/XFree86/3.3.5/binaries/Linux-ix86-glibc/regframe.
rpm
Now edit (as root) the file /etc/ld.so.preload (or create it in case it
does not exist). The first line contains a (space separated) list of
libraries to pre-load before program execution. Add /lib/libregframe.so
to that list (or write /lib/libregframe.so in the first line in case you
are creating this file).
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.G3- My Trident TGUI9680 card has problems with fonts
These problems can usually be fixed by adding the Option
"xaa_no_color_exp" to the Device Section in the XF86Config file.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.G4- The "cyber_shadow" Option doesn't work on my Cyber 9382.
This is a known problem, but there's a workaround. If you explicitly set
the chipset to "cyber9382", the "cyber_shadow" option works again.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.G5- Problems displaying resolutions above 640x480 on some Matrox
G100 cards.
Check that you have a current BIOS version on your G100 card. Version
1.3 is said to have the problem, version 1.5 is said to fix the problem.
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.G6- My Trident laptop goes glowing-white when I start the
server.
Disable the "panel stretch" or "enlarge panel" or "panel extend" feature
in the Laptop BIOS. Do not use the vesafb Linux kernel module. With
these two changes the server should work ok (you might need Option
"cyber_shadow", too).
------------------
From: XFree86 FAQ
Subject: Q.G7- Display problems (streaking, shifted lines, tearing) at high
color depth on Matrox G100 cards.
This problem is not fatal: the flickering or streaking is only
transitional, i.e. while something changes on the display (moving
windows around for example).
The driver fails to prohibit video modes that are beyond the card's
capabilities. This happens at high color depths (24 and 32bpp) in
combination with high pixel clocks.
Your options:
* reduce the pixel clock for the modes that cause this flickering
* reduce the vertical refresh for these modes (basically the same as
the previous suggestion)
* reduce color depth (32 - 24 - 16 bpp)
* turn off acceleration (unacceptable to most people)
All of these options require changes to the XF86Config file. You can
also restart the configuration tool (XF86Setup or xf86config) and reduce
the vertical refresh limit of your monitor until XFree86 selects a mode
that is still OK, but that has some side-effects. It's better to just
throw out the modelines from the XF86Config file that cause problems.
Note that this is a hardware limitation of your video card that XFree86
just happens to ignore. A similar mode in any other operating system
would not work either (but is mostly not allowed by the drivers).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of FAQ
---
Joe Moss, UNIX Systems Programmer|"If you are not checking the Frequently Asked
Intel Microprocessor Division 6 |Questions documents before you ask questions
http://www.psg.com/~joem |you are taking longer to resolve problems, and
Not an official Intel statement |annoying more folk, than necessary" - L Virden