Very slow to start X and problems finding packages

jbrown96 · 2008-10-30 03:14:38

I'm trying Arch for the first time, although I've been using Linux for a few years. I installed all the basic stuff and followed the newbie guide, but I'm having problems with starting X. I don't want to use a graphical login program, so I'm using "startx" from a terminal. I modified my .xinitrc file so that it would automatically start KDE (4.1.2) with startx. I have a Nvidia Quadro FX 570M graphics card, using the proprietary drivers (177.80, current download from Nvidia), and the Nvidia tool reports that I'm using Xorg 1.4.2. The problem is that it takes 35-40 seconds for X to start; that is, it will not show anything (just black screen with the backlight on) for 35 seconds, powers off, and shows the Nvidia splash screen, and loads KDE. Obviously, the first time I start X after a reboot, there is a lot of disk reading happening, but the long load times happen even if I try it several times (there's no disk activity after the first time). It seems like X is hanging and waiting for something to time out, but I really have no idea.

The other problem that I'm having is finding packages. I have installed several using pacman, and I really like it, but I can't seem to find anything I'm used to. For example,

pacman -S amarok

returns nothing, and querying for it also returns nothing. Is there any way to find a list of packages? Specifically, I'm looking for the beta packages of Amarok 2.

Thanks for all the help.

Last edited by jbrown96 (2008-10-30 03:19:15)

SamC · 2008-10-30 03:21:51

You can use "pacman -Ss <packagename>" to search for packages. I can't help you with you first problem, though.

Xyne · 2008-10-30 03:27:07

Amarok is contained in the package "amarok-base". You can use pacman's search function to find packages:

pacman -Ss <search_term>

amarok-base comes up at the top of the list for "pacman -Ss amarok".

I don't think I can help you with the X delay, but whoever can will probably want to see your .xinitrc file and maybe your xorg config file (under /etc/X11/).

jbrown96 · 2008-10-30 03:39:28

Thanks SamC and Xyne for the help. I'll use that to search; I was using

pacman -Q amarok

Here are my .xinitrc

#!/bin/sh
#
# ~/.xinitrc
#
# Executed by startx (run your window manager from here)
#
# exec gnome-session
exec startkde
# exec startxfce4
# exec icewm
# exec openbox
# exec blackbox
# exec fluxbox
# exec ratpoison
# exec dwm
# ... or any other WM of your choosing ...

and xorg.conf

# nvidia-xconfig: X configuration file generated by nvidia-xconfig
# nvidia-xconfig: version 1.0 (buildmeister@builder58) Wed Oct 1 15:12:53 PDT 2008
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Layout0"
Screen 0 "Screen0"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Touchpad" "CorePointer"
EndSection
Section "Files"
EndSection
Section "Module"
Load "dbe"
Load "extmod"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx"
Load "synaptics"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
# generated from default
Identifier "Touchpad"
Driver "synaptics"
Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mouse0"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "Touchpad"
# Driver "synaptics"cat
# Option "Device" "/dev/input/mouse0"
# Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
# Option "LeftEdge" "1700"
# Option "RightEdge" "5300"
# Option "TopEdge" "1700"
# Option "BottomEdge" "4200"
# Option "FingerLow" "25"
# Option "FingerHigh" "30"
# Option "MaxTapTime" "180"
# Option "MaxTapMove" "220"
# Option "VertScrollDelta" "100"
# Option "MinSpeed" "0.06"
# Option "MaxSpeed" "0.12"
# Option "AccelFactor" "0.0010"
# Option "SHMConfig" "on"
# EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
# generated from default
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "kbd"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Unknown"
ModelName "Unknown"
HorizSync 30.0 - 110.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 150.0
Option "DPMS"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Device0"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "NVIDIA Corporation"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Device0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
EndSubSection
EndSection

pauldonnelly · 2008-10-30 05:24:22

jbrown96 wrote:

Thanks SamC and Xyne for the help. I'll use that to search; I was using
pacman -Q amarok

Take a look at pacman's man page for a full explanation of its commands. -Q alone just prints the named package's name and version if it is installed, and -S installs the named package if it is in the database. You'll often want to supply additional options, for example if you want to search, update your package list, upgrade your whole system, or do anything but install a package whose name you know/check whether a particular package is installed.

jbrown96 · 2008-10-30 06:21:27

pauldonnelly wrote:

jbrown96 wrote:
Thanks SamC and Xyne for the help. I'll use that to search; I was using
pacman -Q amarok
Take a look at pacman's man page for a full explanation of its commands. -Q alone just prints the named package's name and version if it is installed, and -S installs the named package if it is in the database. You'll often want to supply additional options, for example if you want to search, update your package list, upgrade your whole system, or do anything but install a package whose name you know/check whether a particular package is installed.

I figured after the earlier post. The funny thing is that I can't seem to find the proper man page package to firgure out how to find packages. Slightly frustrating, but I think I have the basics down.

Anyone have suggestions about the X server problem. Would upgrading to the newest version (I believe its 1.5.2) fix the problem? Where would that version be located, or is it not in the repos yet?

jbrown96 · 2008-10-30 19:55:22

I guess Arch doesn't like Wednesday nights; X is starting fine now - ~5 seconds, which is reasonable. Thanks everyone for the help

Xyne · 2008-10-30 20:52:01

Don't install anything manually. If you want something that's not in the repos yet, you can always take a look at how ABS works and build your own packages that you can install with pacman. If you install without using pacman, you will inevitably clutter your system with files that will lead to conflicts later.

You could try reinstalling xorg to see if that somehow resolves the problem. Run through the configuration again and check that you haven't made a syntax mistake somewhere. Also, check the nvidia configuration tool to see if there's something there that might have an effect.

EDIT
In case you're wondering why I posted this an hour after the last post, I had hit reply but then left to eat dinner. I just finished the post and hit submit when I got back.

Btw, jbrown96, welcome to Arch!

Last edited by Xyne (2008-10-30 20:54:49)

Arch Linux

#1 2008-10-30 03:14:38

Very slow to start X and problems finding packages

#2 2008-10-30 03:21:51

Re: Very slow to start X and problems finding packages

#3 2008-10-30 03:27:07

Re: Very slow to start X and problems finding packages

#4 2008-10-30 03:39:28

Re: Very slow to start X and problems finding packages

#5 2008-10-30 05:24:22

Re: Very slow to start X and problems finding packages

#6 2008-10-30 06:21:27

Re: Very slow to start X and problems finding packages

#7 2008-10-30 19:55:22

Re: Very slow to start X and problems finding packages

#8 2008-10-30 20:52:01

Re: Very slow to start X and problems finding packages

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