Arch Linux

Roberth

Member

From: The Pale Blue Dot

Registered: 2007-01-12

Posts: 894

Issue with catalyst

Hello, after booting up arch I experience a black screen when the x-server and gdm is starting. I am using the catalyst driver with my Ati Radeon HD 3870.

Anybody know what can be the issue?

EDIT: may also add that none of the keys on my keyboard works when the black screen appears, it also happends when I just start X through startx, I also found out that it reacts to ctrl-alt-del if I press the combination fast several times.

Last edited by Roberth (2008-07-12 18:38:04)

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Use the Source, Luke!

tadada

Member

Registered: 2008-06-25

Posts: 15

Re: Issue with catalyst

This happened to me when I first tried to install Arch. Exact same symptoms.

I googled it for my second time and these are the instructions I got:
-use hwd -xa to create a starter xorg.conf
-rename/move the output of hwd to /etc/X11/xorg.conf
-then run aticonfig --initial --input=/etc/X11/xorg.conf (came with the catalyst driver I believe)
-then boot into X

I can't find the site with the origianl instructions...

Where I got these instructions recommended a restart after running aticonfig.
It worked like a charm. Rerunning aticonfig even reconfigured it for the new monitor I got today.
The catalyst driver (aka fglrx) also auto starts composite. I literally changed none of what aticonfig put in xorg.conf.

Hope it works for you as much as it did for me.

Roberth

Member

From: The Pale Blue Dot

Registered: 2007-01-12

Posts: 894

Re: Issue with catalyst

Okay, I created a new xorg.conf with hwd, and I compared it with my current one, the only difference was that the new one had this in the end:

Section "DRI"
    Mode         0666
EndSection

I added that to my new one, problem solved. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

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Use the Source, Luke!