Problems w/ LT Rage Pro and XFree86 on Red Hat 5.2 24
Gary Geisbert
asks:"I recently got an AST ascentia M6000 laptop,
and proceeded to install Red Hat 5.2 on it. When i got to
the xf86config, I realized there was no support for the ATI
LT Rage Pro chipset that's in this laptop, so i
temporarily used a vga config. Then, I upgraded my xf86
to version 3.3.3.1 which *supposedly* has support for my
chipset. I installed it and nothing works right unless I
hook up an external monitor and mess with the CRT/LCD
function key after X loads up. And after I exit X,
I have to hit the same button a few times to get the LCD
to synch back up. (which is how things worked before the
upgrade). Has anyone successfully setup xf86 with a
similar configuration? "
Screw ATI (Score:1)
I'm currently looking to buy a laptop, and I had to rule out a lot of models just because of that damned chipset.
I found this on http://support.atitech.ca/faq/unix.html, and I thought it summed up ATI's braindead policy quite nicely:
"ATI's 3D Register Specifications are considered proprietary and confidential, and as such have NOT been made available to 3rd party software developers.
"3D acceleration support is currently limited to those drivers which are written by ATI to operate in Windows 98, Windows 95 and Windows NT.
"At this time, ATI has no intention of writing 3D Accelerated drivers for any UNIX Environment. We also have no intention of releasing the proprietary information required to implement a 3D driver."
Yeah, they're talking about 3D support, not 2D for X Windows, but I think it still says quite a lot about them. If you check Alan Cox's video4linux homepage [linux.org], you'll see that ATI is just as enlightened with regard to their TV products: "Owing to repeated refusal by ATI to provide any useful documentation the ATI TV card is not supported. I strongly recommend you look at non ATI card combinations if you want TV on PC"
In short, ATI appears a braindead, backward-looking, Free Unix-unfriendly company. Do not buy ATI products.
To anyone else still looking for a laptop, many smaller vendors I've found are quite cooperative with users of non-Windows OS's. They sell laptops with Linux- or FreeBSD-compatible hardware, and are willing to sell machines without Windows on them and lower the price.
So far, I have gotten positive responses from several vendors, including Chembook [chemusa.com], KeyData [keydata-pc.com], ARM Computer [armcomputer.com], FOSA [fosa.com], Ergo Computing [ergo-computing.com], and DFI [dfi.net].
Also, watch out for the ESS Maestro-2 audio chipset. As far as I know, it is not yet supported under Linux, but it is very popular in newer laptops. (Sorry if I'm drifting off topic; it's just that I've had wade through a lot of laptop info in the last two weeks in search of a linux-compatible laptop from a vendor who won't force Windows and other useless crap on me. I'd rather keep that hundred bucks, thank you very much Microsoft.)
Good luck,
ccg
Buyer Beware (Score:1)
This is just another example of why you should ask questions before buying it. A manufacturer who only wants your money is frequently NOT willing to show the details of their product. Asking for Open specs is a way to prevent them from "pulling a fast one" on you.
Seems to work on my desktop (Score:1)
Maybe the problem is something besides the graphics chip, like your display? What setup utility did you use? (I used the one that comes with XFree, NOT RedHat's XConfigurator.)
Yes to Chembook. (Score:1)
Definitely look at Chembook. I have a year-old chembook that has been running RH 5.2 like a charm from day one. No problems whatsoever.
True, the graphics chip is a rather vanilla "Chips and Technologies" that maxes out at 800x600, but it's good enough for me. I have had absolutely no problems with any hardware in the laptop: hard disk, video, or audio (ESS Audiodrive). My only complaint that the laptop gets really really hot after a few hours of use. Also, installation is slightly tricky - with the swappable CDROM/Floppy, but nothing that a good hacker can't figure out :-)
whats going on with XFree86 ??????? (Score:1)
can't you provide a framework that will allow the companies like ATI to just write a small little interface and distribute it as a binary.
the other thing they would have to do is provide help for the open 2D source.
Manufacturers would I think in general like to support the GNU movement but have to much to lose in the way of competitors copying them so by offering them the chance to show off their cards in OpenGL as long as they help with the 2D side of things any thoughts ??
Different modes and stuff... (Score:1)
You say the thing works with an external monitor. My guess is that the chipset isn't the problem, but rather you need to get some custom mode lines. This appears to be the hardest part for LCD things. I remember going for half a year without support for X on my first laptop.
You should try the linux laptop page and look for others with the same problem. As you got it working on a external thing, I think it's safe to say that you can get it working on the LCD too.
Oh, and could you possible let us know how it all turns out? I'm just a few days away from buying a new laptop, and it's got the same chipset. Would really like to know.
TIA
Same video chip set as the Dell I7K (Score:1)
http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~steveh/inspiron/#xserv
The frame-buffering FAQ has a sample config file for recompiling your kernel (2.2). I was able to follow this FAQ, rebuild a new kernel, edit my lilo.conf and frame-buffering worked on the first try.
I don't know if you're getting any of the advantages of the 3D accelleration, though.
also, 4Front is working on the ESS Maestro-2 sound card support.
http://www.4front-tech.com
Works perfectly for me (Score:1)
The trick is to use the new(ish) VGA frame buffer driver--get the latest kernal distro which includes this (anything after 2.1.132 actually). Also check out the Linux on Dell I7k page which has links to step by step instructions.
Rage LT works great with BeOS (Score:1)
MC
work arounds I know of (Score:1)
I've found a couple ways to get XF8633 to mostly work, both stolen from the Linux on LX page (http://prof.casc.com/~justin/lx)
The best one is to trick the laptop into thinking it's using a crt by folding the lid down until it blanks, then changing to X. Don't know if it would work on other laptops, though.
It's still not fun -- I would kill for an xserver that would let me use different resolutions, full screen, and go in and out of save-to-disk mode with no problem; I've heard even XiG's server doesn't support that.
That, and sound. But I hear sound on the LX will be functional soon
-Brian
Same video chip set as the Dell I7K (I think) (Score:1)
http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~steveh/inspiron/#xse