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- Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!faqserv
- From: jmoss@ichips.intel.com (Joe Moss)
- Newsgroups: comp.windows.x.i386unix,comp.os.linux.x,comp.answers,news.answers
- Subject: XFree86 Frequently Asked Questions
- Supersedes: <x-faq/xfree86_872501648@rtfm.mit.edu>
- Followup-To: poster
- Date: 26 Sep 1997 09:05:56 GMT
- Organization: The XFree86 Project, Inc.
- Lines: 1168
- Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU
- Distribution: world
- Expires: 10 Nov 1997 09:04:31 GMT
- Message-ID: <x-faq/xfree86_875264671@rtfm.mit.edu>
- Reply-To: jmoss@ichips.intel.com (Joe Moss (XFree86 FAQ Maintainer))
- NNTP-Posting-Host: penguin-lust.mit.edu
- Summary: Answers to common questions regarding the configuration and
- use of the X servers from the XFree86 Project, Inc.
- Keywords: FAQ XFree86
- X-Last-Updated: 1997/09/04
- Originator: faqserv@penguin-lust.MIT.EDU
- Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.windows.x.i386unix:27193 comp.os.linux.x:76127 comp.answers:28215 news.answers:113089
-
- Archive-name: x-faq/xfree86
- Posting-Frequency: monthly
- URL: http://www.XFree86.org/FAQ
-
- XFREE86 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- ----------------------------------
-
- This document is intended to provide answers to the questions most often
- received by the XFree86[tm] Project's support team (which can be reached
- at XFree86@XFree86.org). It is also a source of information more recent
- than the documentation included with the latest release.
-
- Generally, if the information is already available elsewhere, this
- document will supply a pointer to the information rather than duplicate
- it. If you don't have access to the World Wide Web, see the section
- below entitled "Access via Email".
-
- The XFree86 Project is making the information in this document available
- free of charge in the hope that it will be of use. However, the authors
- specifically disclaim any liability for any direct, indirect, or
- consequential damages arising out of its use.
-
- This document is intended to be a source of up-to-date info regarding
- XFree86, and as such, may change frequently. Make sure you consult a
- recent copy, before relying on any information contained herein.
-
- Additionally, this FAQ generally assumes that you are using the latest
- release and, unless otherwise specified, the information contained
- herein is likely to not be applicable to other releases. If you are
- having problems and are not running the latest release, then upgrading
- is often the answer to your problems. Really. If you have a fairly new
- card, it is especially important to make sure you are using the latest
- server release.
-
- The latest version of this document is always available from the XFree86
- Web site (http://www.XFree86.org/) or one of its mirrors:
- * http://XFree86.pacificrim.net/XFree86/
- * http://x.physics.usyd.edu.au/
- * http://www.uni-paderborn.de/mirrors/xfree86/
- * http://www.xtreme.it/xfree86/
- * http://sunsite.mff.cuni.cz/XFree86/
- * http://www.redhat.com/xfree86/
- * http://xfree86.gw.com/
-
- Last modified: Thu Sep 4 10:27:19 PDT 1997
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- INDEX OF QUESTIONS:
-
- SECTION A - GENERAL INFORMATION
- * Q.A1- What is XFree86?
- * Q.A2- What is the current release of XFree86?
- * Q.A3- What is the current release of SuperProbe?
- * Q.A4- How do I find out what version I have?
- * Q.A5- Where do I get the latest releases?
- * Q.A6- What files do I need to upgrade to the latest release?
- * Q.A7- Where do I find the latest documentation?
- * Q.A8- When is the next release?
- * Q.A9- Which card do you recommend that I buy?
- * Q.A10- Which card is the fastest?
- * Q.A11- Has XFree86 been ported to OS/2?
- * Q.A12- How about a MS-DOS or MS-Windows port?
- * Q.A13- But I heard X supports Windows NT.
- * Q.A14- Can I use more than one video card in the same machine with
- XFree86?
- * Q.A15- How do I report a bug in XFree86?
- * Q.A16- About this FAQ
- * Q.A17- Access via Email
- * Q.A18- Related Information
-
- SECTION B - CONFIGURATION QUESTIONS
- * Q.B1- Do you have the config file for ...?
- * Q.B2- I got an XF86Config file from ..., but things still don't
- work.
- * Q.B3- How do I configure the server?
- * Q.B4- What about "vgaset"?
- * Q.B5- My card isn't on the list shown in XF86Setup. Is there a more
- up-to-date list?
- * Q.B6- Why does the server reject my mode lines?
-
- SECTION C - KEYBOARD & MOUSE PROBLEMS
- * Q.C1- The mouse cursor doesn't display in the right position
- * Q.C2- Why don't menus work properly?
- * Q.C3- How come, in Tk-based applications, the buttons highlight, but
- can't be depressed?
- * Q.C4- I've installed the latest release and now some of my keys no
- longer work. Why?
- * Q.C5- The mouse is moving erratically. What's wrong?
-
- SECTION D - DISPLAY PROBLEMS
- * Q.D1- Part of the Displayed Image is Wrapping-around or is
- Duplicated on the Other Side of the Screen
-
- SECTION E - MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS/QUESTIONS
- * Q.E1- How do I get the server to scale vector fonts, but not bitmap
- fonts?
- * Q.E2- What can I do to keep the server from hanging while scaling
- fonts?
- * Q.E3- The system locks up when I start the S3 server. What can I do?
- * Q.E4- I get a "broken pipe" error while unpacking the ".tar.gz"
- files. Is something wrong with them?
- * Q.E5- Why does the server quit with the error "xf86OpenConsole:
- cannot open /dev/console" on Linux?
- * Q.E6- How do I get the server to display more than 256 colors?
- * Q.E7- Why do I get display problems with my ATI PC2TV card?
- * Q.E8- How do I get XFree86 to work with my new ATI card?
- * Q.E9- I've just installed XFree86 3.3.1 for Linux, but I get "No
- such file or directory" whenever I try to run something.
- * Q.E10- Why does the X server exit with an error message about a
- SecurityPolicy file?
-
- SECTION F - CHIPSET SUPPORT
- * Q.F1- My card is currently not supported - what can I do?
- * Q.F2- How do I find out the current status of a driver?
- * Q.F3- Unsupported Clock Chips
- * Q.F4- Do you have an alpha or beta server for my ... card?
- * Q.F5- Matrox chips
- * Q.F6- Weitek Power 9100
- * Q.F7- Nvidia NV1/SGS Thomson STG 2000
- * Q.F8- Alliance ProMotion chips
- * Q.F9- Cirrus CL-GD754x chips
- * Q.F10- NeoMagic chips
- * Q.F11- Sierra Falcon chip
- * Q.F12- S3 ViRGE chips
- * Q.F13- S3 Trio64UV+, Aurora64V+ and Trio64V2
- * Q.F14- Mach64 RAGE II
- * Q.F15- Mach64 VT3
- * Q.F16- ISA-bus Mach64 cards
- * Q.F17- S3 911 and 924 Cards with 512KB RAM
-
- SECTION G - KNOWN PROBLEMS WITH XFREE86 3.3
- * Q.G1- I128 Cursor not drawn correctly
- * Q.G2- Problems with I128 Series II, revision 2
- * Q.G3- ATI Rage II+, Rage Pro and VT3 chips not detected
- * Q.G4- ATI driver in the SVGA server
- * Q.G5- Clock limit incorrect for some Cirrus 5434 chips
- * Q.G6- Why won't the XFree86 3.3 S3 server startup when the 3.2 and
- 3.1.2 versions worked fine?
- * Q.G7- Screen instability with Millenniums when the HW cursor shape
- changes
- * Q.G8- MGA driver locks up machine on SVR4.0
- * Q.G9- Mystique locks up for no obvious reason
- * Q.G10- Problems with TGUI 9680 and 9685
- * Q.G11- The Chips and Technologies 65555 chip is not detected
- * Q.G12- Some servers crash at startup with SEGV on Solaris x86
- * Q.G13- Why won't the XFree86 3.3 xterm start?
- * Q.G14- Xterm termcap entry has problems with colour
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- GENERAL INFORMATION
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A1- What is XFree86?
-
- XFree86 is a trademark of The XFree86 Project, Inc., a non-profit
- organization that provides X Window System servers (as well as some
- supporting materials) for several operating systems on PCs and other
- microcomputers. The X servers, client programs, documentation, etc.
- supplied by the XFree86 Project, Inc., are collectively, also known as
- XFree86. All programs are provided with source code, free of charge.
-
- The XFree86 Project, Inc. is currently funded entirely by donations. If
- you're interested in making a monetary or equipment donation, see
- http://www.XFree86.org/donations.html or send Email to BOD@XFree86.org.
-
- A list of current sponsors is available at
- http://www.XFree86.org/sponsors.html
-
- For more information regarding The XFree86 Project, Inc., see
- http://www.XFree86.org/corp_profile.html
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A2- What is the current release of XFree86?
-
- The latest release is XFree86 version 3.3.1. It is based on X11R6.3pl2
- and was released in August 1997.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A3- What is the current release of SuperProbe?
-
- The newest available version of SuperProbe is 2.15. It is included with
- the latest XFree86 release.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A4- How do I find out what version I have?
-
- Both SuperProbe and the servers print the version when they start.
- However, depending on how the server is started, its output may not
- normally be visible.
-
- The server will display its version number, if you simply type "X
- -showconfig" at a shell prompt (even if you haven't configured it for
- your card and monitor yet).
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A5- Where do I get the latest releases?
-
- The primary site for both SuperProbe and the XFree86 servers and clients
- is ftp.XFree86.org.
-
- A list of mirror sites is available at:
- http://www.XFree86.org/3.3.1/ftp.html
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A6- What files do I need to upgrade to the latest release?
-
- Please read the README (or RELNOTES) file, in the directory
- corresponding to your OS, on the XFree86 ftp site or one of its mirrors
- (see the previous question). It contains a list of the filenames along
- with their contents. It also lists which files are required and which
- are optional.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A7- Where do I find the latest documentation?
-
- The latest documentation can be found on http://www.XFree86.org/3.3.1/.
- Many of the XFree86 specific man pages are also available at
- http://www.XFree86.org/man/. The documentation is also available, in
- ASCII form, from ftp://ftp.XFree86.org/pub/XFree86/3.3.1/doc/.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A8- When is the next release?
-
- The next release is expected to be 4.0. It is not known at this point
- when it will be released.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A9- Which card do you recommend that I buy?
-
- We don't recommend any particular board or manufacturer (although it
- would be good to support our sponsors, see
- http://www.XFree86.org/sponsors.html). In general, the S3 based boards
- have been the best supported, followed by the ATI based cards, however
- that is no guarantee that any specific board will work. It is probably
- best to look through the various "README" files at
- http://www.XFree86.org/3.3.1/ to see which boards are currently
- supported and pick one of them.
-
- It is also a good idea to buy from some place that has a liberal return
- policy or will let you try before you buy. Especially since some
- manufacturers will sometimes change what RAMDAC or other chips are used
- on a board _without changing the name of the board_.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A10- Which card is the fastest?
-
- We don't know. Benchmarks are just that. Useless numbers trying to
- capture something that is far to complex to be captured in a number. We
- may ocasionally comment on the relative speed of different cards, but
- that is usually the personal opinion of the one who writes the note. In
- general The XFree86 Project is not publishing benchmark comparisons
- because even if you think that a number like 'xstones' can capture the
- performance of a card it is incredibly hard to create fair and
- comparable numbers.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A11- Has XFree86 been ported to OS/2?
-
- Yes, the latest release is available for OS/2. This port runs in
- parallel to the Presentation Manager desktop, similarly to a WinOS/2
- fullscreen session (there is no equivalent to a seamless WinOS/2
- configuration). See http://borneo.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86os2.html for more
- information.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A12- How about a MS-DOS or MS-Windows port?
-
- No work is being done to create a free port of XFree86 to any version of
- DOS or Windows. If you need to run X on such a platform you'll need to
- use one of the available commercial servers.
-
- One of the commercial products, X Appeal, is from an XFree86 sponsor and
- is a port of the XFree86 servers to MS-DOS. They also have a freely
- available demo version.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A13- But I heard X supports Windows NT.
-
- X11R6.3 does include some support for MicroSoft Windows NT. However, it
- is only for building the libraries and some client programs. If you want
- an X server, you'll have to buy one.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A14- Can I use more than one video card in the same machine with
- XFree86?
-
- Although it is technically possible to use multiple PCI-based SVGA cards
- in the same machine, none of the servers currently support this.
-
- The VGA16 and Mono servers are both capable of running both a VGA
- compatible card and a non-VGA compatible monochrome card in the same
- machine.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A15- How do I report a bug in XFree86?
-
- Use the bug report form on our WWW server (http://www.XFree86.org/), or
- send email to XFree86@XFree86.org. Before sending a bug report, make
- sure you are using the current release of XFree86. In the bug report,
- include details of the XFree86 version, server, description of the
- problem, and some way of repeating it and most importantly, the _full_
- server startup output.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A16- About this FAQ
-
- In addition to being available from the XFree86 web site (as
- http://www.XFree86.org/FAQ/), this FAQ will be posted at least monthly
- to comp.windows.x.i386unix, comp.os.linux.x, comp.answers, and
- news.answers.
-
- It is also available from the XFree86 FTP site (and mirrors) as
- ftp://ftp.XFree86.org/pub/XFree86/WWW/htdocs/FAQ/index.html - HTML
- version and ftp://ftp.XFree86.org/pub/XFree86/WWW/htdocs/FAQ/faq.txt -
- ASCII text version.
-
- This document is maintained by Joe Moss (joe@XFree86.Org) with
- contributions from other members of the XFree86 support and beta teams.
- Particular thanks go to David Dawes for his contributions.
-
- If you have questions or comments regarding XFree86 do _not_ send them
- directly to me. They should be Emailed to XFree86@XFree86.org (which
- will cause a copy to be sent to me, as well as the rest of the XFree86
- support team). If you have comments regarding this document itself, then
- you may send them to me. In particular, if you find incorrect or
- non-functional URLs or any typos herein, please let me know.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A17- Access via Email
-
- If you only have Email access to the net, you should get a copy of the
- "Accessing the Internet by E-Mail FAQ".
-
- If you're in North or South America, send a message to
- mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu containing only the line:
-
- send usenet/news.answers/internet-services/access-via-email
-
- in the body of the message.
- Elsewhere in the world, send mail to mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk with only
- this line in the message body:
-
- send lis-iis e-access-inet.txt
-
- This document explains how to retrieve stuff from the WWW, Usenet News,
- etc. via Email. It also explains how to use ftpmail, which you can use
- to get the latest version of XFree86.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.A18- Related Information
-
- Many of our sponsors supply hardware, software, and services which may
- be of interest to users of XFree86 servers. The list of our sponsors
- (http:/www.XFree86.org/sponsors.html), points to the web sites of many
- of them.
-
- Here are some pointers to other documentation, regarding subjects
- related to XFree86, that might be useful to readers of this document.
- These are not published by the XFree86 Project, Inc. and are included
- here only for reference. Questions or comments regarding any of these
- items should be directed to their respective authors.
- * The X Consortium Home Page
- (http://www.opengroup.org/tech/desktop/x/)
- * Benchmark Results for Various Video Cards
- (http://www.goof.com/xbench/)
- * X11 Applications FAQ
- (http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/xapps/faq.html)
- * Other X Window System FAQs
- (http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/internet/news/faq/by_category.x-faq.html)
- * X Window System and OSF/Motif WWW Sites
- (http://www.rahul.net/kenton/xsites.framed.html)
- * [Linux] XFree86 HOWTO
- (http://sunsite.unc.edu/mdw/HOWTO/XFree86-HOWTO.html)
- * Connecting X-Terminals to Linux Systems
- (http://sunsite.unc.edu/mdw/HOWTO/mini/Xterminal)
- * The 3 Button Mouse Page [getting third button to work]
- (http://kipper.york.ac.uk/mouse.html)
- * Mini-HOWTO About Running XFree86 on Notebooks [mostly WD specific]
- (http://sunsite.unc.edu/mdw/HOWTO/mini/X-Notebook)
- * How to Setup/Use Low-Bandwidth X
- (ftp://ftp.wellfleet.com/netman/psmith/faqs/LBX-HOWTO)
- * Setting up X Authentication [Tk specific, but the concepts are
- generally applicable] (http://cr-toolkit.crd.ge.com/tkxauth/)
- * Freeware Central [Info Regarding Freeware]
- (http://www.ptf.com/free/)
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- CONFIGURATION QUESTIONS
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.B1- Do you have the config file for ...?
-
- There is a no such thing as *THE* config file for a particular card or
- monitor. The "XF86Config" file you should use is dependent on your card,
- monitor, operating system, mouse, keyboard, individual preferences,
- network setup, available fonts, etc.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.B2- I got an XF86Config file from ..., but things still don't
- work.
-
- It is *not* a good idea to exchange XF86Config files. While it may be
- safe to use certain parts of another's config file, in general, you are
- better off generating your own.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.B3- How do I configure the server?
-
- All of the configuration information we have, is included with the
- release. You should use one of the included configuration programs,
- _XF86Setup_ or _xf86config_. This is explained in the QuickStart Guide.
-
- For further information, you could also read the XFree86 configuration
- guide (available from http://www.XFree86.org/3.3.1/Config.html), and the
- manual pages XF86Config(4/5) and xvidtune(1).
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.B4- What about "vgaset"?
-
- Simple. Don't use it!
-
- The "xvidtune" program, that is part of the 3.3.1 release, has more
- capabilities and works properly with the server extension
- ("XFree86-VidModeExtension") included in the 3.3.1 servers.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.B5- My card isn't on the list shown in XF86Setup. Is there a
- more up-to-date list?
-
- Each release includes the most up-to-date list at the time of release.
- If there are any updates after a release, they will be made available as
- either: ftp://ftp.XFree86.org/pub/XFree86/current/doc/Cards (if the file
- is non-existent, then there have not been any updates to the Cards
- database since the last release). It should be installed in
- "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/Cards".
-
- If you still can't find your card listed, you should check if there is a
- generic entry for cards using the same chipset as yours. If not, see the
- Chipset Support section of this document to check on the current status
- of drivers being written and what you can do if your card is
- unsupported.
-
- If after all of the above, you still are not sure what to do about
- configuring your card, you can contact us about it.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.B6- Why does the server reject my mode lines?
-
- This usually is due to incorrect parameters in the Monitor section of
- the XF86Config file.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- KEYBOARD & MOUSE PROBLEMS
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.C1- The mouse cursor doesn't display in the right position
-
- If the cursor appears to be horizontally offset by several pixels, it is
- probably due to the same problems that cause the display to be wrapped
- around. See item D1 below.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.C2- Why don't menus work properly?
-
- If you are experiencing problems with menus not allowing you to select
- items, try turning NumLock off.
-
- In X11R6 (and newer), the NumLock key is a modifier. Many clients (X
- programs) haven't yet been updated to the R6 way of doing things. They
- need to ignore modifiers when looking for button click/release events.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.C3- How come, in Tk-based applications, the buttons highlight,
- but can't be depressed?
-
- See the answer to the previous question. You can also upgrade to Tk 4.x
- which ignores modifiers by default.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.C4- I've installed the latest release and now some of my keys no
- longer work. Why?
-
- The 3.3.1 release is based on X11R6.3 which includes the XKB extension
- and has it enabled by default. This may cause the mappings of some keys
- on some keyboards to be different than they were in previous releases.
-
- See the XF86Config man page and the sample XF86Config file for some
- information on setting the key mappings to your liking.
-
- Alternatively, you can disable the XKB extensions by starting the server
- with the "-kb" option or by adding the keyword "XkbDisable" to your
- XF86Config file.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.C5- The mouse is moving erratically. What's wrong?
-
- Most likely, you've specified the wrong protocol for the mouse. Note
- that newer Logitech mice do not use the "Logitech" protocol, but instead
- use "Microsoft" (or "MouseMan") protocol.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- DISPLAY PROBLEMS
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.D1- Part of the Displayed Image is Wrapping-around or is
- Duplicated on the Other Side of the Screen
-
- For Diamond Stealth Video VRAM: if the server is not recognizing your
- card as a Diamond card, add this line to your "XF86Config":
-
- Option "Diamond"
-
- If the above does not work or you don't have a Diamond card, try running
- the xvidtune program and adjusting various settings. In particular, if
- you have a recent S3 based card, adjust the extra S3-specific settings
- at the bottom.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS/QUESTIONS
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.E1- How do I get the server to scale vector fonts, but not
- bitmap fonts?
-
- In standard X11R6 (and later), in addition to the fonts in "scalable"
- formats (i.e. Type1, Speedo), bitmap fonts are scaled. This can have the
- undesirable effect of scaling a bitmap font, even though a Type1 font is
- available (if the bitmap font is listed first in the path).
-
- With the 3.2 and later releases of XFree86, you can add the text
- ":unscaled" to the end of any directory in the font path to turn off
- scaling of the bitmap fonts in that directory. This works in both the
- XF86Config file and the font server's config file.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.E2- What can I do to keep the server from hanging while scaling
- fonts?
-
- While scaling fonts, the server can hang temporarily. If you are
- requesting a particularly large font, the period during which the server
- is unresponsive, can be quite noticeable. Font scaling uses floating
- point math and the effect is particularly obvious, if you do not have a
- floating point coprocessor (getting one would help immensely).
-
- This problem can be avoided by running the font server (xfs) and
- indicating in your XF86Config file that the X server should request
- fonts from the font server. This workaround prevents the X server from
- temporarily freezing, but doesn't really speed up the time necessary to
- scale the fonts (so the application requesting the font will still have
- to wait).
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.E3- The system locks up when I start the S3 server. What can I
- do?
-
- This is most often caused by problems with directly accessing the linear
- frame-buffer (this often happens with IBM ValuePoint systems, in
- particular). Try adding "Option "nolinear"" to the Device section of
- your XF86Config. If it still occurs, try "Option "nomemaccess"".
-
- Lockups can also happen, with any server, if the system bus is
- overclocked. Try some more conservative BIOS settings.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.E4- I get a "broken pipe" error while unpacking the ".tar.gz"
- files. Is something wrong with them?
-
- No, this message is only a warning and can safely be ignored - assuming
- it is the only error message.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.E5- Why does the server quit with the error "xf86OpenConsole:
- cannot open /dev/console" on Linux?
-
- There is a problem with the /dev/console device file. As root, you can
- run these commands to fix it:
-
- cd /dev; ./MAKEDEV console
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.E6- How do I get the server to display more than 256 colors?
-
- As explained in the XFree86(1) man page, the "-bpp" option can be
- specified on the command line when starting the server. You can specify
- 15 bpp, for 32768 colors, 16 bpp, for 65536 colors, or either 24 or 32
- bpp, for 16.7 million colors.
-
- However, the server is rarely started directly. The two most common ways
- to start the server are with "startx" and "xdm". For example, to start
- the server in 16 bpp mode from the command line:
-
- startx -- -bpp 16
-
- or to start the server from xdm in 32bpp mode, you would put a line like
- the following in the _Xservers_ file (in the xdm library directory,
- typically /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xdm):
-
- :0 local /usr/X11R6/bin/X -bpp 32
-
- All of the above is dependent on the server having support for your card
- at higher than 8 bpp.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.E7- Why do I get display problems with my ATI PC2TV card?
-
- Make sure you don't have a TV cable connected to your card. The Mach64
- server doesn't work properly when that cable is connected.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.E8- How do I get XFree86 to work with my new ATI card?
-
- First, you need to get the XFree86 3.3.1 Mach64 server if you don't
- already have it. It should automatically detect the ATI chips available
- up to the time of its release (August 1997). There are some cards which
- don't work correctly with the current version of XFree86. We don't have
- a solution to that problem at this time.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.E9- I've just installed XFree86 3.3.1 for Linux, but I get "No
- such file or directory" whenever I try to run something.
-
- The most common reason for this is that you have installed the
- Linux-ix86-glibc binaries when you don't have GNU libc 2 (aka libc 6).
- The solution is to install the Linux-ix86 binaries, which are the
- correct ones for most situations.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.E10- Why does the X server exit with an error message about a
- SecurityPolicy file?
-
- If your installation of XFree86 3.3/3.3.1 is not complete you may see
- the following error message when starting an X server:
-
- error opening security policy file /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xserver/SecurityPolicy
-
- This is a only a warning message, and is mostly harmless. If your server
- is failing to startup, this is not the reason. Check the other messages.
- The file being referred to is included in the X33lib.tgz (or X331lib.tgz
- for XFree86 3.3.1) part of the XFree86 binary distributions produced by
- The XFree86 Project. It seems that some other binary distributions of
- XFree86 3.3 may be missing this file. If that is the case, please
- contact the originators of those distributions about it.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- CHIPSET SUPPORT
-
- The chipsets supported by XFree86 3.3.1 are listed in the README file.
- The list is available via the WWW at:
- http://www.XFree86.org/3.3.1/README3.html
-
- This section contains some notes regarding various chips for which
- support is not included in the current servers and other chipset/card
- specific notes.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F1- My card is currently not supported - what can I do?
-
- If you have a card which is not currently supported, you have these
- options:
- * Wait until it is supported. See the chipset specific items below to
- get some indication, if support is forthcoming.
- * Buy a commercial X server. The X on Intel-based Unix Frequently
- Asked Questions document, which is posted regularly to
- comp.windows.x.i386unix, contains a list of vendors of X servers.
- * Try using the Mono or VGA16 servers. They should work with any VGA
- compatible card (within limits - if you have a programmable clock
- chip on the card, your available modes may be severely limited).
- They just won't take full advantage of the card's capabilities.
- Picking the "Unsupported Card" entry in XF86Setup will configure it
- to work with the VGA16 server.
- * Trade your card in for one that is supported.
- * Write a driver yourself or find someone you know who is willing and
- able to do it. If you choose this option, you should probably
- contact us about joining the beta team (and thus get access to the
- latest source code) and about getting any code you write integrated
- into the next release.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F2- How do I find out the current status of a driver?
-
- Check this FAQ periodically. When there is a change in the status of a
- driver that is under development, this FAQ will be updated to reflect
- the change.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F3- Unsupported Clock Chips
-
- If you are using a card that uses a programmable clock chip which is not
- supported by the server, you may be able to get a separate program to
- program the chip for useful clock frequencies.
-
- Sometimes, others make clock programming programs available on the net
- that can be called by the server. Also, you may be able to use a video
- card's driver made for MS-Windows or OS/2 to program the clocks and then
- warm boot the machine and run XFree86.
-
- You should probably use a monitor that is smart enough to reject
- frequencies that are beyond its specs, if you plan to try something like
- this.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F4- Do you have an alpha or beta server for my ... card?
-
- The XFree86 Project does *NOT* make any pre-release source code
- available to anyone except members of the development team. Nor are
- binaries generally available.
-
- If you have access to some currently unsupported hardware, are willing
- to actively participate in testing and perhaps debugging a server, and
- would like to join the beta team, then send an email message to
- XFree86@XFree86.org listing your available hardware and software, as
- well as any relevant skills you may have.
-
- Often, when there is code being developed for a previously unsupported
- chipset, a "Call for Beta Testers" will be issued (via a posting to
- relevant Usenet groups).
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F5- Matrox chips
-
- The 3.3.1 release includes a driver for the Matrox Millenium and
- Mystique cards.
-
- See also http://www.bf.rmit.edu.au/~ajv/xf86-matrox.html for more
- information.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F6- Weitek Power 9100
-
- There is no support for this chipset presently.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F7- Nvidia NV1/SGS Thomson STG 2000
-
- A driver for these chips (used on the Diamond EDGE 3D 2000 & 3000
- Series) is included in the 3.3.1 release.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F8- Alliance ProMotion chips
-
- The latest release includes some support for the ProMotion 6422 and
- AT24. Support for other ProMotion chips is being worked on.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F9- Cirrus CL-GD754x chips
-
- There is a driver for these chips in the current SVGA server, however it
- has been reported not to work correctly on all systems. A possible
- work-around is to treat it as another chip (such as "clgd5428", for a
- CL-GD7543, or "clgd5436", for a CL-GD7548), using a Chipset line, in
- which case should probably also disable acceleration (Option "noaccel").
- Also, some people have reported success after modifying the 800x600
- modeline to use a lower dot clock, or by decreasing some of the
- horizontal timing parameters.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F10- NeoMagic chips
-
- Boards based on NeoMagic chips are not supported, as programming
- documentation is not available.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F11- Sierra Falcon chip
-
- Boards based on this chip (such as the STB Horizon 64) are not
- supported.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F12- S3 ViRGE chips
-
- The ViRGE chips are supported in 3.3.1.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F13- S3 Trio64UV+, Aurora64V+ and Trio64V2
-
- Support for cards based on these S3 chipsets is in the current release.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F14- Mach64 RAGE II
-
- Cards based on the Mach64 original Rage II and the newer Rage II+
- chipsets are supported by the current release. Some versions of the
- cards don't appear to work correctly with the Mach64 server though, and
- we don't yet have a solution to that problem.
-
- If you needed to add ChipId/ChipRev lines to your XF86Config file when
- using XFree86 3.3, they can and should be removed when upgrading to
- XFree86 3.3.1.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F15- Mach64 VT3
-
- The ATI Mach64 VT3 chips are correctly detected by the current Mach64
- server. If you needed to add ChipId/ChipRev lines to your XF86Config
- file when using XFree86 3.3, they can and should be removed when
- upgrading to XFree86 3.3.1.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F16- ISA-bus Mach64 cards
-
- The current version of the server needs to map the video memory aperture
- into the system's address space. Since this requires 4MB of address
- space and since ISA bus systems can only address a maximum of 16MB, the
- Mach64 server can not be used on systems with more that 12MB of RAM. See
- the Mach64 README files for more information regarding the current
- capabilities of the server.
-
- Until full support for ISA Mach64 cards is added to the Mach64 server,
- the SVGA server can be used instead.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.F17- S3 911 and 924 Cards with 512KB RAM
-
- The S3 server does not work with 911 and 924 cards that only have .5MB
- of RAM on the video card. Upgrade the card to 1MB.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- KNOWN PROBLEMS WITH XFREE86 3.3
-
- This section includes a list of problems found since the release of
- XFree86 3.3. Many of these have been fixed in XFree86 3.3.1.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G1- I128 Cursor not drawn correctly
-
- There is a bug in the I128 server which causes the cursor to be drawn
- incorrectly. The server binaries for most OSs were updated a couple of
- weeks after the initial release, so if you have the recent binaries you
- should no longer see this problem. This problem is fixed in XFree86
- 3.3.1.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G2- Problems with I128 Series II, revision 2
-
- The I128 server has problems with cards using revision 2 of the I128
- Series II chip (the screen goes black). Earlier revisions of the Series
- II don't have this problem. This problem is fixed in XFree86 3.3.1.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G3- ATI Rage II+, Rage Pro and VT3 chips not detected
-
- The Mach64 server does not automatically detect the newer ATI Rage II+
- and Rage Pro chips. See item F14 for a workaround for the Rage II+ and
- Rage Pro. See item F15 for a workaround for the VT3. This problem is
- fixed in XFree86 3.3.1.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G4- ATI driver in the SVGA server
-
- The ATI driver in the SVGA server will not work with the ATI Rage II,
- Rage II+ or VT3 chips. There is no workaround for this. The Mach64
- server is the preferred server for these chips. This is also true for
- XFree86 3.3.1.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G5- Clock limit incorrect for some Cirrus 5434 chips
-
- The Cirrus driver selects the wrong clock limit for later revisions of
- the Cirrus 5434 chip. This problem is fixed in XFree86 3.3.1.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G6- Why won't the XFree86 3.3 S3 server startup when the 3.2 and
- 3.1.2 versions worked fine?
-
- If the server's startup messages have lines like:
-
- (--) S3: There is no defined dot-clock matching mode "800x600"
- (--) S3: Removing mode "800x600" from list of valid modes.
-
- check if you have a `Ramdac' line in the Device section of your
- XF86Config file. If so, removing that line should fix the problem. This
- problem is fixed in XFree86 3.3.1.
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G7- Screen instability with Millenniums when the HW cursor shape
- changes
-
- Some people have reported a problem with the Millennium driver that
- causes some screen instability when the cursor shape changes. A possible
- (not yet confirmed) workaround for this is to disable the HW cursor by
- adding the following line to the Device section in the XF86Config file:
-
- Option "sw_cursor"
-
- In XFree86 3.3.1, the HW cursor is disabled by default.
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G8- MGA driver locks up machine on SVR4.0
-
- The Millennium driver will lock up the whole machine at startup on most
- SVR4.0 OSs. This problem is fixed in XFree86 3.3.1.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G9- Mystique locks up for no obvious reason
-
- We've had some reports of the Mystique driver locking up for no obvious
- reason. The cause of this has not been identified, and no workaround is
- known.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G10- Problems with TGUI 9680 and 9685
-
- There are some problems with the TGUI acceleration code on 9680 and 9685
- chips. A possible workaround is to disable acceleration by adding the
- following line to the Device section in the XF86Config file:
-
- Option "noaccel"
-
- This problem is fixed in XFree86 3.3.1.
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G11- The Chips and Technologies 65555 chip is not detected
-
- The SVGA server does not detect the new 65555 chip. It should be
- compatible with the 65554, and the server should work if the following
- line is added to the Device section of the XF86Config file:
-
- chipset "ct65554"
-
- This problem is fixed in XFree86 3.3.1.
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G12- Some servers crash at startup with SEGV on Solaris x86
-
- Some servers/drivers will crash with a SEGV at startup on Solaris x86.
- This is known to happen with the MGA driver (Millennium and Mystique).
- This problem is fixed in XFree86 3.3.1.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G13- Why won't the XFree86 3.3 xterm start?
-
- The Linux xterm may exit with the following error message if you don't
- have a /etc/termcap file:
-
- xterm: unable to find usable termcap entry.
-
- A workaround is to copy /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/etc/xterm.termcap to
- /etc/termcap. *Before doing this, first make sure that there really is
- no /etc/termcap file.* This problem is fixed in XFree86 3.3.1.
-
-
- ------------------
-
- From: XFree86 FAQ
- Subject: Q.G14- Xterm termcap entry has problems with colour
-
- The xterm termcap entry has an incorrect entry for `op', which is what
- disables colour mode. The result is that the background colour gets set
- to black when this entry is used. This problem is fixed in XFree86
- 3.3.1.
-
- The terminfo entry does not have this problem.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- End of FAQ
- ---
- Joe Moss, UNIX Systems Programmer|"If you are not checking the Frequently Asked
- Intel Microprocessor Division 6 |Questions documents before you ask questions
- http://www.psg.com/~joem |you are taking longer to resolve problems, and
- Not an official Intel statement |annoying more folk, than necessary" - L Virden
-
-