Can't get video drivers to work

Cromulent · 2013-09-02 02:53:42

I've used the same method to install Arch Linux since Windows 8 was released and it has worked perfectly in all that time. This is the method:

http://www.neuraladvance.com/dual-booti … g-lvm.html
http://www.neuraladvance.com/installing … linux.html

Now when I try and install Arch along with XFCE 4.10 I get a blank screen when SLiM is meant to run and I can't see anything else. I've tried both the open source ATI drivers as well as the catalyst drivers and nothing seems to make a difference. I'd really like to be able to get my Arch Linux system up and running again.

Does anyone have any hints about what steps may be missing from the above two articles? I'm using the latest install media which was released yesterday but nothing I have tried has helped.

Last edited by jasonwryan (2013-09-09 18:00:25)

jasonwryan · 2013-09-02 02:57:04

Why aren't you using the official installation documentation? Or the community-provided Beginners' Guide?

Cromulent · 2013-09-02 03:00:51

jasonwryan wrote:

Why aren't you using the official installation documentation? Or the community-provided Beginners' Guide?

Because I wrote those documents based on the official information offerred at the time I wrote them. From what I have seen neither has changed particularly much in relation to the documents that I have linked too.

henk · 2013-09-02 03:12:23

Hi,

it is something that is mentioned many times already, but the best way to install Arch is to use only the Beginners Guide.
The pages you linked to are -in relation to the present installation-very much outdated (november and december 2012).
Arch has changed during that time, so has the Beginners Guide/Installation Guide. The best hint I can give you is to check
your install method against the present Beginners Guide and related wiki pages, and (sorry if this may come across rude)
never use that method again in the future, to avoid these kind of problems.

EDIT: and missed the above posts......

Last edited by henk (2013-09-02 03:14:00)

Cromulent · 2013-09-02 03:17:05

henk wrote:

Hi,
it is something that is mentioned many times already, but the best way to install Arch is to use only the Beginners Guide.
The pages you linked to are -in relation to the present installation-very much outdated (november and december 2012).
Arch has changed during that time, so has the Beginners Guide/Installation Guide. The best hint I can give you is to check
your install method against the present Beginners Guide and related wiki pages, and (sorry if this may come across rude)
never use that method again in the future, to avoid these kind of problems.
EDIT: and missed the above posts......

Well I certainly re-read the official documentation and update the posts as required. The thing is the installation instructions in those posts does work. X simple stopped being able to boot about a month ago because all it showeed was a blank screen and the cursor. It never actually went on to display the desktop. This is really the problem I am trying to resolve. I find it hard to believe that no-one else who has an AMD graphics has not had similar problems yet I see very little information on the subject in the forums or on the wiki.

WonderWoofy · 2013-09-02 03:39:12

I think that you might not be able to find info because you don't seem to know specifically what the problem is. A blank screen is something that might be caused by a few things, and you really haven't indicated what the point the machine is still capable of booting to (if any). So I think you need to do some searching into how to debug your system, or at least how to gather info to try and isolate the cause of the problem.

Until then I fear your posts are just too generic to offer any real help.

jasonwryan · 2013-09-02 04:03:52

Cromulent wrote:

jasonwryan wrote:
Why aren't you using the official installation documentation? Or the community-provided Beginners' Guide?
Because I wrote those documents based on the official information offerred at the time I wrote them. From what I have seen neither has changed particularly much in relation to the documents that I have linked too.

It is not clear from your thread title or your initial post that you were the author of those blog posts and that they were provided as a means of validating your installation approach. You might want to edit your first post and choose a title that accurately reflects your issue, someting about your graphics card and X/Slim not working. Providing some information about your card, drivers and how you start X (plus any errors in X or Slim's logs) would also help.

Trilby · 2013-09-02 12:10:20

jasonwryan wrote:

You might want to edit your first post and choose a title that accurately reflects your issue

Indeed:

Cromulent wrote:

The thing is the installation instructions in those posts does work.

Title wrote:

Old instllation method no longer works

I checked in this thread thinking I might be able to help, but this seems to have nothing to do with that title.

ANOKNUSA · 2013-09-04 16:05:10

WonderWoofy wrote:

So I think you need to do some searching into how to debug your system, or at least how to gather info to try and isolate the cause of the problem.

Start by booting into multi-user.target and logging in as $USER. If that works, then the problem is SLiM, and you'll have a specific problem to work with. As a side note: In the future, rather than insisting your installation method should work and following it dogmatically, just follow the official method and start simple.

Cromulent · 2013-09-04 17:06:20

ANOKNUSA wrote:

WonderWoofy wrote:
So I think you need to do some searching into how to debug your system, or at least how to gather info to try and isolate the cause of the problem.
Start by booting into multi-user.target and logging in as $USER. If that works, then the problem is SLiM, and you'll have a specific problem to work with. As a side note: In the future, rather than insisting your installation method should work and following it dogmatically, just follow the official method and start simple.

You're right. I'll go through the installation guide again and update my process as required. I just find it strange that this problem suddenly popped up. I should mention that I had a working Arch Linux install and then upgraded the graphics drivers (xf86-video-ati) and was presented with this problem. Since I couldn't solve it I decided to try and do a re-install which lead to the current situation (i.e the original problem still not fixed).

Cromulent · 2013-09-09 16:06:19

Well I've had the free time to go through the official installation guide it it pretty much exactly matches my guide as written above (for the relevant parts, obviously the installation guide is missing the LVM specific stuff and the GRUB 2 UEFI bootloader configuration).

So the question is not why doesn't my install work? But why does my install break when I install a Window Manager and the xf86-video-ati drivers?

tomk · 2013-09-09 16:19:59

Stop saying the word "install". Stop talking about installation guides.

You have already identified the graphics driver upgrade as the most likely cause of your problems, so debug that. You have been asked to provide information related to that issue, but your fixation on install guides seems to have got in the way. People here may be able to help you, but you have to provide useful info for them to work with.

jasonwryan · 2013-09-09 18:01:21

jasonwryan wrote:

You might want to edit your first post and choose a title that accurately reflects your issue, someting about your graphics card and X/Slim not working.

Fixed it for you. I won't ask nicely again.

Also, moved to NC...

jrussell · 2013-09-09 19:07:52

see if you can boot into multi-user.target, change the target from chroot from install disc. Maybe you need intel drivers because you have two graphics cards?

Arch Linux

#1 2013-09-02 02:53:42

Can't get video drivers to work

#2 2013-09-02 02:57:04

Re: Can't get video drivers to work

#3 2013-09-02 03:00:51

Re: Can't get video drivers to work

#4 2013-09-02 03:12:23

Re: Can't get video drivers to work

#5 2013-09-02 03:17:05

Re: Can't get video drivers to work

#6 2013-09-02 03:39:12

Re: Can't get video drivers to work

#7 2013-09-02 04:03:52

Re: Can't get video drivers to work

#8 2013-09-02 12:10:20

Re: Can't get video drivers to work

#9 2013-09-04 16:05:10

Re: Can't get video drivers to work

#10 2013-09-04 17:06:20

Re: Can't get video drivers to work

#11 2013-09-09 16:06:19

Re: Can't get video drivers to work

#12 2013-09-09 16:19:59

Re: Can't get video drivers to work

#13 2013-09-09 18:01:21

Re: Can't get video drivers to work

#14 2013-09-09 19:07:52

Re: Can't get video drivers to work

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