No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

defreats · 2005-03-12 16:03:41

Hi guys,

Just set up my first install of Arch and I'm loving it. Just I have one Problem; I installed the Nvidia drivers as per the wiki for my nvidia 6800gt, but after changing my driver from "nv" to "nvidia" I no longer get any visual feedback from x; "Sync out of range" is shown on my monitor.

When I try to run glxgears I get the following error:

Xlib:  extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0".
glxgears: Error: couldn't get an RGB, Double-buffered visual.

The thing is, I load GLX and double buffer visual in my xorg.conf file.

I am using the 2.6.10 kernel on an Athlon 64, msi k8t neo board.

Thanks in Advance

skoal · 2005-03-12 16:25:19

For the "sync out of range", are you using the proper HorizSync and VertRefresh settings in your xorg.conf, for example:

Section "Monitor"
        Identifier   "Monitor0"
        VendorName   "Sony"
        ModelName    "G400"
        HorizSync    30.0 - 107.0
        VertRefresh  48.0 - 120.0
        Option       "dpms"
EndSection

Also, for Nvidia, you can use these 2 options to tell your video card to send only signals your monitor is capable of:

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "Ti-4600"
    [...]
    Option "UseEdidFreqs" "True"
    Option "IgnoreEDID" "False"
    [...]
EndSection

I'm confused in that you say you get "sync out of range" (and no visual feedback), then you say you get glxgears errors. How can you run glxgears with no visual feedback? I assume you meant you went back to just using the "nv" driver, in which case you would get that GLX error since you installed the binary driver (or Arch package), and therefore the "nv" driver (from X) is missing it's GLX components.

defreats · 2005-03-12 22:19:42

Yes, sorry My post was pretty rushed and indescriptive.

I can't find the main manual for my monitor and the manufacturer website isn't a huge amount of help. I realised it wasn't an out of range error it was "RGB no input signal" as soon as GDM loaded. Sounds were still going on in the background and I had to repeatedly kill GDM with CTRL + ALT + BACKSPACE until it realsied there was a problem, allowing me to switch back to the NV driver, which indeed is where I was getting the glx error.

My monitor is a BenQ FP783, the tech spec for which is shown here. http://benq.co.uk/Products/LCD/index.cf … ifications

THe lines:

    Option "UseEdidFreqs" "True"
    Option "IgnoreEDID" "False"

did not help matters; same error. Also, could it be to do with the fact I have two VGA sections. Originally I accidentally changed the driver on the first one (chipset = generic) which changed nothing, only changing the second one acticated the nvidia driver.

I am really silly because I rushed it can can't remember the original value of the first line.

defreats · 2005-03-12 22:31:54

UPDATE: I corrected my values using those from the PDF manual for my monitor, so my monitor section looks like this:

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier  "My Monitor"
    HorizSync   31.47-81.18
    VertRefresh 60-76
EndSection

And my GFX card section:

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "NVIDIA 6800GT"
    Driver      "nv"
    Option "UseEdidFreqs" "True"
    Option "IgnoreEDID" "False"
    #VideoRam    262144
    # Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
EndSection

What I don't understand is why I have this second VGA device present. THe screen section appears to use the correct VGA and monitor devices, with supported resolutions etc, but I still have the following monitor output when using nvidia driver:

No input signal

skoal · 2005-03-13 03:35:17

Hey, by the way, for that 'glxgears' error you mentioned above, I forgot about this. Read the bottom part.

Could that be part of the problem? Are you using composite extension?

* Personally, I removed any instance of multiple "Device" listings (like 'VGA') in mine and modified the "Server Layout" Section, as shown below.

Here are relevant (Section) snipets from my 'xorg.conf', if it helps:

Section "Module"

# This loads the DBE extension module.

    Load        "dbe"   # Double buffer extension

# This loads the miscellaneous extensions module, and disables
# initialisation of the XFree86-DGA extension within that module.
    SubSection  "extmod"
#      Option    "omit xfree86-dga"   # don't initialise the DGA extension
    EndSubSection

# This loads the font modules
    Load        "freetype"
    Load        "type1"
#    Load        "speedo"
#    Load        "xtt"

# This loads the GLX module
    Load        "glx"
# This loads the DRI module
#    Load       "dri"

EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "Ti-4600"
    Driver      "nvidia"
    #VideoRam    131072
    # Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
    Option "NvAGP" "3"
    Option "NoLogo" "False"
    Option "RenderAccel" "True"
    Option "NoFlip" "False"
    Option "SWCursor" "False"
    Option "HWCursor" "True"
    Option "CursorShadow" "True"
    Option "UseEdidFreqs" "False"
    Option "IgnoreEDID" "True"
    Option "AllowGLXWithComposite" "True"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier  "Screen 1"
    Device      "Ti-4600"
    Monitor     "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth 24

    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       8
        Modes       "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       16
        Modes       "800x600" "640x480"
#        Modes       "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes       "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
#        Modes       "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"

# The Identifier line must be present
    Identifier  "Simple Layout"

# Each Screen line specifies a Screen section name, and optionally
# the relative position of other screens.  The four names after
# primary screen name are the screens to the top, bottom, left and right
# of the primary screen.  In this example, screen 2 is located to the
# right of screen 1.

    Screen "Screen 1"

# Each InputDevice line specifies an InputDevice section name and
# optionally some options to specify the way the device is to be
# used.  Those options include "CorePointer", "CoreKeyboard" and
# "SendCoreEvents".

    InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
    InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"

EndSection

defreats · 2005-03-13 10:06:40

Unfortunately this hasn't helped. I wasn't using composite but I tried it anyway. I also noticed that the following line in your config was commented out so I tried it too:

    SubSection  "extmod"
#      Option    "omit xfree86-dga"   # don't initialise the DGA extension
    EndSubSection

Unfortunately this didn't help either. As soon as I switch to the nvidia driver, I get no display upon entering init level 5.

Here is the relevnt sections of my config if it helps:

Section "Module"

# This loads the DBE extension module.

    Load        "dbe"   # Double buffer extension

# This loads the miscellaneous extensions module, and disables
# initialisation of the XFree86-DGA extension within that module.
    SubSection  "extmod"
      Option    "omit xfree86-dga"   # don't initialise the DGA extension
    EndSubSection

# This loads the font modules
    Load        "type1"
#    Load        "speedo"
    Load        "freetype"
#    Load        "xtt"

# This loads the GLX module
    Load       "glx"
# This loads the DRI module
#    Load       "dri"

EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "NVIDIA 6800GT"
    Driver      "nv"
    Option "UseEdidFreqs" "True"
    Option "IgnoreEDID" "False"
    Option "AllowGLXWithComposite" "true"
    Option "RenderAccel"   "true"
    Option "CursorShadow" "True"
    #VideoRam    262144
    # Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier  "Screen 1"
    Device      "NVIDIA 6800GT"
    Monitor     "My Monitor"
    DefaultDepth 24

    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       8
        Modes       "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       16
        Modes       "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes       "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier  "Simple Layout"
    Screen "Screen 1"
    InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
    InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"

EndSection

defreats · 2005-03-13 10:58:58

I just retried "pacman -S nvidia" and it reminded me of something I saw when I originally installed it. THe following line appears before the "Installation STarts now" line:

>>You have to be in console mode to install nvidia driver else it won't install!
>>You have to rerun pacman -S nvidia.

Is this just a reminder, after it comes right after the license agreement line. Just to be clear, I entered console mode by typing "INIT 3", as I login graphically and don't know how to login to a terminal session

tpowa · 2005-03-13 15:08:46

stop your x-server else it cannot install
login ctrl+alt+F1
pacman -S nvidia
and all should be fine

skoal · 2005-03-13 16:02:34

I just looked at your monitor settings defreats. The nvidia driver (vs. the 'nv') driver is a lot more "cautious" in what it can and can't do with an attached monitor, for obvious reasons. Your monitor doesn't seem that "capable", if those settings are correct.

I've read of some people having difficulty over 1024 resolution using 'nvidia' driver. If you're still having problems (try any of the following):

1. Change your 'UseEdidFreqs' and 'IgnoreEDID' settings to match mine. I originally told you to use just the opposite of what I use. If you look at my settings for those 2, I actually do the opposite of what I recommended for you. The reason -> monitors lie about their capabilities and some drivers misinterpret them, so I tell my monitor to "shove it"...

2. Delete your 1280 resolutions and maybe start with just 800. Get 'nvidia' driver to work with those, then add '1024' and check again. Then, add '1280' and see what happens.

* At 80KHz x 75Hz = 1280, you're already at your monitor limits. It could run 1280 @ 60Hz easily, but maybe 'nvidia' driver has problems determing EDID from monitor.

3. Use 'nvidia' driver, start X, let it fail, go back to console and type: `cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep NVIDIA | less` to maybe help you figure out what's causing problems when using 'nvidia' driver.

defreats · 2005-03-13 20:42:52

I tried everything suggested but still no luck. THe log file showed no errors, simply said it was loading the nvidia driver/module.

No luck with changing EDID settings or resolutions either

My monitor is a few months old and was 370 quid, it has 12ms response time so techinically is very capable, but most LCD screens have low refresh rates etc. Maybe I've been stupid enough to use the wrong settings? COuld you be so kind as to check that URL to see if I've done something wrong?

Thanks for all the help and ideas so far.

PS The message still appeared about shutting down X even after using ctrl alt F1 so come out of X.

puntmuts · 2005-03-13 21:45:37

The message in the first post is caused by installing the nvidia drivers and not using the nvidia drivers, but the nv driver.
Uninstalling Xorg , reinstall Xorg , delete the conflicting files (those are the ones overwritten by the nvidia driver) , reinstall Xorg (the first time it failed due to conflicts) and your glxgears will be working again using the nv driver.

How did you configure X ? Did you use hwd or X -configure ? It will create a config with all kinds of resolutions that cannot be displayed on a LCD screen is my expierence. Could be that a few Ctrl Alt + will give you a viewable image.

z4ziggy · 2005-03-14 02:47:53

just to make sure - when u type "lsmod", do u see the nvidia module loaded?

skoal · 2005-03-14 03:19:31

defreats wrote:

My monitor is a few months old and was 370 quid, it has 12ms response time so techinically is very capable[...]

By 'capable' I mean the 'hsync/vsync' ranges. Those determine what resolutions/freq. you are capable of displaying. The wider the better.

The only other thing I would suggest is (if you know how) to recompile your kernel and set the statically linked 'agpgart' to a module instead. Then, you can set: Option "NvAGP" "1" in 'xorg.conf'. That way you can use NVIDIA's built in AGP support.

Other than that, I would use `Xorg -configure` as suggested above. Edit the file to use 'nvidia' and add/edit just the stuff needed to use the 'nvidia' driver. Save the original file, and move that new config to '/etc/X11/xorg.conf`.

Also, what does:

cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep 'Default mode'

tell you after running the 'nvidia' driver? Compare that with the resolution you requested and what your monitor is capable of. If you can't get a screen @ 640x480 and 8 bpp depth, then it's something unrelated to using the 'nvidia' driver.

/edit/ Ooops! I just checked that link to your monitor. I did not realize it was an LCD. I use a CRT. Sorry about that...

tmadhavan · 2005-03-14 09:16:53

I recently reinstalled Nvidia drivers too and had the same loss of GL extentions.

Turned out I had to turn off Composite extensions, but even after that I can't use NvAGP, only AGPART.

Not even sure what the difference is, but just for the record I thought I'd mention. All appears to be working fine now.

defreats · 2005-03-14 09:44:23

Just tried using CTRL ALT + a few times with no luck. THe log file gave me a variety of resolutions from :

Default mode "1024x768": 78.8MHz, 60.1KHz, 75.1HZ

all the way down to:

Default mode "320x240": 12.6MHz, 31.5KHz, 60.1HZ

Is there any way for me to copy the whole output as there was maybe 20 plus lines there?

By the way, I tried "midprobe nvidia" just to make sure it was loaded, and then ran "lsmod | grep nvidia" which showed it as running.

I will try reinstalling Xorg now (WIll that not mess up gnome?). WHat do you mean by deleting the conflicting files? I don't know which ones they are :?. Before, I used "xorgconfig" to configure X.

If I have no luck, will try recompiling my kernel. I did that contless times in GEntoo so should be able to figure it out in Arch

EDIT: Tried to pacman -R xorg but it wouldn'tr let me because it's required by most of my apps.

puntmuts · 2005-03-14 12:06:29

I had this exact message yesterday trying to install the nvidia drivers for my new pc. They crashed my Xorg so I decided to use the nv driver instead. I could not use glxgears after that, so I uninstalled Xorg and reinstalled it again. That refused because of some file conflicts caused by the installation of the nvidia drivers (mostly opengl libs) . So I removed the files that were displayed as conflict by pacman while trying to reinstall Xorg. It did not mess up anything on my machine but I do not use Gnome.

But this will not install your nvidia drivers, it will restore the situation before installation of the drivers. If you want to use the nvidia drivers instead forget about my posts.

defreats · 2005-03-14 13:54:40

So, have you resorted to using the basic NV driver? I have countless dependencies on Xorg, GIMP, Open Office etc... It's not practical to remove dependencies, is it not just possible to ignore them so the files are simply replaced with the new ones, keeping GIMP etc functionable?

I really want to get the NVidia driver going so I can play some games on my system. I've had enough of windows

defreats · 2005-03-14 14:05:32

I've just been filtering through the Gentoo forums and have found a topic folllowing a similar problem:

They could not see anything on their screen: until they switched to a VGA input for their monitor. THen everything works fine. There is a variable:

Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP"

That sets the monitor to use the DVI input, but that isn't helping them. My monitor is DVI and I dno't have it plugged into the VGA port, neither do I want it to be. I can'tn try this now as I'm at uni, but it did trigger something.

Nothing is wrong with the driver as I logged on blindly and could hear the startup sound, just no image.... I'll let you know if that option helps

EDIT: Just found another post, seems it maybe a kernel compatiibility issue with 2.6.10 and 2.6.11 kernels: http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-30 … nitor.html

They said they fixed it by reverting to different nvidia kernel versions using emerge (gentoo versino of pacman) Does pacman carry different NVIDIA versions so I can try this? I really don't want to have to use DVI :

I just reverted to media-video/nvidia-glx-1.0.6111-r1 and media-video/nvidia-kernel-1.0.6111-r3 and that fixed the problem for me. Hopefully nvidia fixes this in later driver versions...

soloport · 2005-03-14 15:30:43

Try:
* As root, enter "tellinit 3" (do you see a "login:" prompt?)
* login as root (type 'root' and return; then the root password when prompted)
* re-install nVidia drivers, "pacman -S nvidia"

I'm not sure if "Ctr-Alt-F1" actually kills Xorg -- "tellinit 3" will, for sure.

Next, from the root command-line prompt, play around with 'hwd' (install it if not found, "pacman -S hwd"). The hwd utility will show you all kinds of wonderful things about your video situation. Type 'hwd -h' and be amazed (thank you Markku!).

In fact, hwd can create an Xorg file for you: /etc/X11/xorg.conf.hwd Copy the file to /etc/X11/xorg.conf and edit the following lines:
* Load "GLcore" -- comment out
* Load "dri" -- comment out
* Load "glx" -- make sure is there
* Driver "nvidia" -- instead of "nv"

Comment out:
#Section "DRI"
# Mode 0666
#EndSection

Add the following lines (use hwd to determine geoetry):
Section "Monitor"
Option "CalcAlgorithm" "CheckDesktopGeometry" # add
DisplaySize 347 260 # add

For me, hwd was my savior. It kept putting the Sis chip info into the xorg.conf.hwd file, instead of finding my PCI-based nVidia card, explicitly. But it got me 80% of the way there.

[edit] Ok, kernel problem, eh? Ignore my contrib., then

defreats · 2005-03-14 18:53:35

I went through your whole process, using HWD etc still with no luck, then I simply did this:

Added the following line to my graphics card section of xorg.conf

Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP"

X started I saw things, oh they are so pretty! I couldn't believce it, checked to see if I had actuallyt loaded the nvidia driver YES! glxgears now works woohoo, and with this as a result:

51839 frames in 5.0 seconds = 10367.800 FPS
62204 frames in 5.0 seconds = 12440.800 FPS
61729 frames in 5.0 seconds = 12345.800 FPS
62082 frames in 5.0 seconds = 12416.400 FPS

SOLVED AT LAST! Thanks for all the help everyone.. to think one line would change things

Arch Linux

#1 2005-03-12 16:03:41

No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#2 2005-03-12 16:25:19

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#3 2005-03-12 22:19:42

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#4 2005-03-12 22:31:54

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#5 2005-03-13 03:35:17

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#6 2005-03-13 10:06:40

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#7 2005-03-13 10:58:58

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#8 2005-03-13 15:08:46

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#9 2005-03-13 16:02:34

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#10 2005-03-13 20:42:52

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#11 2005-03-13 21:45:37

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#12 2005-03-14 02:47:53

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#13 2005-03-14 03:19:31

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#14 2005-03-14 09:16:53

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#15 2005-03-14 09:44:23

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#16 2005-03-14 12:06:29

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#17 2005-03-14 13:54:40

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#18 2005-03-14 14:05:32

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#19 2005-03-14 15:30:43

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

#20 2005-03-14 18:53:35

Re: No display after nvidia driver install [SOLVED!]

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