Arch Linux

Lamprax

Member

Registered: 2007-07-26

Posts: 3

Arch linux on a old pc

Hello to all ...
I'm new to linux and I'm trying to set up archlinux at an old PC I have recently acquired.
I have managed to set up the basics from the newest arch via ftp but I'm stuck at the graphic environment .
I've installed xorg and the drivers for my graphics card (I think at least ) and the xfce4 but when i try startx or startxfce4 I get one of the following messages:
"Out of range 63,8KHz/98Hz" (this is of course from the monitor, and I quit X using Ctrl Alt Backspace)
or "(EE) No devices detected. Fatal server error: no screens found"

At the Xorg.0.log I get only the following warnings :
(WW) `fonts.dir' not found (or not valid) in "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi".
    Entry deleted from font path.
    (Run 'mkfontdir' on "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi").
(WW) `fonts.dir' not found (or not valid) in "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi".
    Entry deleted from font path.
    (Run 'mkfontdir' on "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi").
(WW) Open ACPI failed (/var/run/acpid.socket) (No such file or directory)

I get the "out of range" problem when there is no xorg.conf and the other after xorg.conf was created using "xorgconfig"

The PC's "visual" configuration is as follows :
VGA: S3 Trio 3D/2X 8MB
Monitor: LG L1717S

Live CD distros like Knoppix or Slax run just fine!

Any idea on how to fix this problem would be greatly appreciated.

Misfit138

Misfit Emeritus

From: USA

Registered: 2006-11-27

Posts: 4,189

Re: Arch linux on a old pc

That error seems to indicate you have not installed any fonts for xorg...have you done so? If not, try:

pacman -S ttf-ms-fonts ttf-dejavu ttf-bitstream-vera

I get the "out of range" problem when there is no xorg.conf

You absolutely need an xorg.conf, and there are a few ways of getting one.
If xorgconfig isn't giving you a workable one, you can also try

hwd -xa

Last edited by Misfit138 (2007-07-26 16:15:46)

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shining

Pacman Developer

Registered: 2006-05-10

Posts: 2,043

Re: Arch linux on a old pc

You don't need to install any of these fonts to get X running. That's not the problem at all, the fonts stuff is only a warning.
IIRC, you only need the fixed font to get X running, which is part of xorg-font-misc, which is required by xorg-server anyway.

As a general rule, you can ignore warnings (WW), but not errors (EE).

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Cogar

Member

Registered: 2007-07-22

Posts: 43

Re: Arch linux on a old pc

Although you installed some things, I cannot tell if you set up or even created an xorg.conf file, to which I believe Misfit138 was referring. The easiest way to do this is to run the following command as root:
xorgconfig

This will launch a utility to walk you through the process. To make the proper choices, you need to know the specifications of your monitor and graphics card in some detail, including horizontal sync rate, vertical sync rate, available resolutions, etc. Don't be afraid of using the "generic" VESA compatible drivers to get things going. Once you have a working system, you can go back later and tune up your settings.

Last edited by Cogar (2007-07-26 18:19:38)

Lamprax

Member

Registered: 2007-07-26

Posts: 3

Re: Arch linux on a old pc

Thank you all for the replies I had run both xorgconfig and hwd -xa  and still got the same problems ... anyway yesterday I took the pc to a friend of mine who knows more about linux than I do and we "fixed" it ... now it works ok (I don't quite remember what it was because there were a lot of thinks that I had left unconfigured (like time, location, languages .... e.t.c. ...)) now all that's left is to find and install the programs I want to use and I will have my first "real" linux installation (I'm starting to enjoy this )

btw can anyone suggest any office like applications? I have already installed open office but I think it's kinda on the heavy side

Lone_Wolf

Administrator

From: Netherlands, Europe

Registered: 2005-10-04

Posts: 13,146

Re: Arch linux on a old pc

Abiword is a good wordprocessor and can handle .doc format.
If you are using KDE Koffice is also good (it uses odf , the same as open office but is lighter)

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