Arch Linux

DSpider

Member

From: Romania

Registered: 2009-08-23

Posts: 2,273

Removed the video driver and now I can't get X to start.

I thought Xfce was a bit slow when minimizing/maximizing (and some screen tear when moving windows, probably due to a low refresh rate) and I thought maybe I should try a different driver so I did:

sudo pacman -R nvidia-96xx

Next I wanted to test:

sudo pacman -S xf86-video-nouveau
or:
sudo pacman -S xf86-video-nv

Do I need to delete /etc/X11/xorg.conf ? Which driver would you recommend for a Geforce 4 MX 440 graphics card ?

Would xf86-video-vesa work better ? I just want the window halos ("compositing"?) and that's about it...

Last edited by DSpider (2010-04-18 12:28:01)

---

"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).

hokasch

Member

Registered: 2007-09-23

Posts: 1,461

Re: Removed the video driver and now I can't get X to start.

video-nv is deprecated. Vesa will give you worse performance than drivers dedicated for your graphic chip. xorg.conf must be adjusted when using another driver.

I doubt that video-nouveau has better performance when it comes to 3D and desktop effects, check the wiki to see what is supported with your card and how to set it up.

I think Xfce has its own composite manager, if not you may install compiz (I would guess compiz to be more ressource-hungry). Also check the nvidia/nouveau wiki pages for tips about tweaking the driver. If your hardware is to old however, there is probably not much you can do about it.

karol

Archivist

Registered: 2009-05-06

Posts: 25,440

Re: Removed the video driver and now I can't get X to start.

Go to http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us and check what driver is needed for your card an install it w/ pacman. Pick "GeForce 4 MX Series" from the "Product Series:" field. Unfortunately, I get an error atm, so I'll try later.

hokasch

Member

Registered: 2007-09-23

Posts: 1,461

Re: Removed the video driver and now I can't get X to start.

Also don't miss Composite.

Last edited by hokasch (2010-04-18 13:03:42)

karol

Archivist

Registered: 2009-05-06

Posts: 25,440

Re: Removed the video driver and now I can't get X to start.

That's weird: that nvidia page doesn't seem to work w/ Firefox, but handles chromium just fine.
The drivers you had were ok, you should reinstall them: 'pacman -S nvidia-96xx nvidia-96xx-utils'.

DSpider

Member

From: Romania

Registered: 2009-08-23

Posts: 2,273

Re: Removed the video driver and now I can't get X to start.

So I shouldn't bother with "NVIDIA-Linux-x86-96.43.16-pkg1.run" (Release Date: 2010.02.11) ?

Then what explains the slight lag in Xfce ?

PS: Do I need to modify xorg.conf after the reinstall ?

Last edited by DSpider (2010-04-18 14:03:03)

---

"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).

hokasch

Member

Registered: 2007-09-23

Posts: 1,461

Re: Removed the video driver and now I can't get X to start.

So I shouldn't bother with "NVIDIA-Linux-x86-96.43.16-pkg1.run" (Release Date: 2010.02.11) ?

Tip: It is usually beneficial to install the NVIDIA driver through pacman rather than through the package provided by the NVIDIA site, this allows the driver to be updated when upgrading the system.

Then what explains the slight lag in Xfce ?

old hardware and/or misconfigured drivers

PS: Do I need to modify xorg.conf after the reinstall ?

why should you, if the driver is still the same? still, I would recommend deleting xorg.conf and generate a new one, with composite enabled. see the links above.

DSpider

Member

From: Romania

Registered: 2009-08-23

Posts: 2,273

Re: Removed the video driver and now I can't get X to start.

All right ! Here's what I did:

sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf
sudo pacman -S nvidia-96xx nvidia-96xx-utils
startx

But now all the options in Menu - System - NVIDIA X Server Settings are gone.

Should I remove it again but this time WITH dependencies and settings (using 'pacman -Rns nvidia-96xx nvidia-96xx-utils') ? Or is there something else left in /home ?

Last edited by DSpider (2010-04-18 14:58:52)

---

"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).

hokasch

Member

Registered: 2007-09-23

Posts: 1,461

Re: Removed the video driver and now I can't get X to start.

All right ! Here's what I did:

sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf
sudo pacman -S nvidia-96xx nvidia-96xx-utils
startx

I would recommend deleting xorg.conf and generate a new one, with composite enabled. see the links above.

DSpider

Member

From: Romania

Registered: 2009-08-23

Posts: 2,273

Re: Removed the video driver and now I can't get X to start.

Yes... that... solved it.

sudo nvidia-xconfig --composite --add-argb-glx-visuals
sudo pacman -S libgl
sudo pacman -S nvidia-96xx (which removes libgl because it conflicts with nvidia-96xx-utils)

Guess it just needed a reinstall or something. I still have no idea what I did.

However, it didn't solve the Xfce lag. Maybe I should open another thread:
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=95569

I was sure it was the graphics driver but if you guys say I should stick to nvidia-96xx.......

Last edited by DSpider (2010-04-18 15:50:57)

---

"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).