Arch Linux

ugugii

Member

Registered: 2009-06-06

Posts: 8

Multiple issues with new installation

I have several issues with my fresh installation of arch (just got myself a free old-as laptop , thus trying out arch for the first time as I usually run gentoo), and I'm not sure where these should go. I figure that I may as well lump them all at once while I'm at it.

The laptop model is a Toshiba Dynabook TX/430DX Japanese laptop similar to a Tecra A2 afaik.

1. If I use stock ARCH kernel, when I load up x11 it seems to be using some wrong drivers or something. Tried with and without xorg.conf. The screen is all fuzzy etc. However, I compiled my own kernel (the Zen sources), took out a whole bunch of drivers I knew I wouldn't be using (etc. SATA/IDE/extra whatnot so that it would merely take 3 hours to compile the kernel), x11 works fine. HOWEVER with the zen sources, when I close x11 I can't exit to console. I get some sort of weird artefact from what happened to be on the screen, or it just goes black. It does actually seem to be in console as I can turn off the laptop with ctrl.alt.del and the capslock etc seems to work fine. I'm thinking of recompiling the zen sources with the stock arch kernel config when I have the time just to see what happens, but I'm not too sure it'd help.
The VGA device is an: Intel Corporation 82852/855GM Intergrated Graphics Device (rev 02), using the intelfb module.

2. In most consoles I've used, if you type in part of a command then press ctrl.up/down, it autocompletes with previous commands you've run matching what you've already entered. However, in my install it brings me to the very first command in my bash history. How do I make it autocomplete previous commands?

3. When I use wvdial (I have a mobile modem), I get odd characters as shown in the screenshot posted.
I don't think it's a unicode issue, as ncmpcpp displays properly. This displays itself both in the console and in x11 (screenshot).

4. If I'm using the stock kernel and I stop wvdial, I get a whole bunch of kernel error trace messages. After this, anything that goes to dmesg will be displayed to whatever terminal I'm on (but not actually echoed, it gets overwritten if I change screen etc). Wvdial is also prone to crashing, sometimes taking out the whole laptop. However, while using the zen kernel I do not suffer this issue at all.

Any help in helping me find the source of these issues would be greatly appreciated. They're not showstopping issues, but extremely irritating nonetheless.
Thanks in advance.

EDIT: I created a zen kernel based on the arch stock kernel. Unsurprisingly, I still suffer from the x11 video issue. However, I don't have issues with number 4.

Last edited by ugugii (2009-06-14 00:57:37)

deej

Member

Registered: 2008-02-08

Posts: 395

Re: Multiple issues with new installation

People are probably going to want to know the make/model of the lappy before they can
help.

Deej