LinuxMCE - User contributions [en]

Display Drivers

2007-11-20T21:56:55Z

Jca1: /* Intel Chipsets */

{| align="right"
| __TOC__
|}
[[Category: Tutorials]]
[[Category: Hardware| ]]

An incomplete HowTo on updating LinuxMCE to the latest display drivers and configuring them manually. It could use your help, so if something is different in your situation, please add it.

'''Note that this should normally not be necessary unless you have specific wishes or trouble getting your display to work properly.'''

== Installation ==

=== ATI Chipsets ===
The two main ways to install the ATI drivers are described in the [http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubuntu_Feisty_Installation_Guide Ubuntu Feisty Installation Guide].

For more information see also the [http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Main_Page Unofficial ATI Linux Driver Wiki] and you might want to have a look at [http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/AtiProprietaryDriver AtiProprietaryDriver] in the MythTV wiki as well since LinuxMCE depends on it for viewing TV. MythTV in turn relies heavily on the support of certain features by the graphics drivers. The ATI drivers turn out to be a bit "challenged" in this area to say the least.

=== NVidia Chipsets ===
There are several ways to install NVidia drivers, the way described here is meant as a guide to install the very latest drivers from the NVidia website. Note that this way will bypass the LinuxMCE (Kubuntu) packaging system, possibly removing and/or overwriting some of it's files.

1. Go to a console (text) terminal by holding [CTRL]-[ALT] and pressing the [F1] key simultaneously, log in with the user account you have created during the Kubuntu install and become root, if you haven't done so already.
'''<you>@dcerouter:~$''' sudo -s
2. Download the latest [http://www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html linux drivers from NVidia] (depending [http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_32667.html on your hardware], one of versions: 100.14.23, 1.0-9639 or 1.0-7185 currently), if you haven't done so already.
'''root@dcerouter:~#''' wget <nowiki>http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86/100.14.23/NVIDIA-Linux-x86-</nowiki>''<version>''<nowiki>-pkg1.run</nowiki>
3. Go to runlevel 1 to stop the currently running X-server.
'''root@dcerouter:~#''' telinit 1
4. Execute the installer and follow instructions. Ignore the warning about runlevel 1 and don't bother looking for precompiled drivers.
'''root@dcerouter:~#''' sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-''<version>''-pkg1.run
5. Now it needs to be configured. The recommended and most convenient way is to use the [[AVWizard]]. For more advanced setup, or if the AVWizard for some reason is unable to set your up your screens to your liking, you can configure the ''X-server'' manually by editing the ''xorg.conf'' file directly.

=== Intel Chipsets ===
There is a renewed interest in the Intel graphics chipsets since Intel released the drivers under the GPL. However, they're still not at the same level as nVidia's and can't do alpha blending.

You will want to make sure you are using the newer intel drivers from http://packages.ubuntu.com/feisty/x11/xserver-xorg-video-intel. These replace the older i810, etc. drivers and should cover all the modern intel chipsets. The name for this driver is 'intel' and would replace the older 'i810' drivers.

=== Via Chipsets ===
Use the Openchrome or Via Unichrome drivers. The Via Unichrome drivers can be downloaded from http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=2&OSID=45&CatID=3220

=== Other Chipsets ===
Please help out by adding more if you can.

== Configuration ==
The recommended and most convenient way is to use the [[AVWizard]]. For more advanced setup, or if the X-server (and thus also the AVWizard) is unable to start, you can configure the ''X-server'' manually by editing the ''xorg.conf'' file directly.

=== Getting started ===
Start by making a backup copy of the ''/etc/X11/xorg.conf'' file (even if it doesn't work it might contain settings you could need). In this example we will start from scratch and edit the configuration file step by step to get the main display setup.

Some of these steps require that there will be no X-server active on the system, the easiest way to achieve this is to boot in ''rescue-mode'', just hit [Esc] when [[Grub]] tells you to during the startup of your machine and select the right line from the menu. Another way is to go to a text-mode console (aka. terminal) with [CTRL]-[ALT]-[F1], [[Logging In|log in]], become root and issue the command:
telinit 1
This wil stop the running X-server and drop you into rescue mode as well.

One of the advantages is that now you can start and stop the X-server by hand with an alternative configuration file and without having to reboot or even start an entire desktop environment.

=== Generating a template ===
These instructions were originally written for ATI chipsets, so they might need to be adjusted and updated a bit. Not all of the specific options may be relevant for your chipset.

'''While there is no (other) X-server running''' you can create a template configuration file by running:
X -configure
This will create a file called xorg.conf.new in your ''home'' directory, test it with the following command and hit [CTRL]-[ALT]-[Backspace] when done:
X -config ~/xorg.conf.new
Within a few seconds a gray bitpattern should show up with an 'X' shaped mouse cursor. If the screen is distorted or reports the refresh rate to be out of range then you will either have to specify the proper refreshrate limitations for your screen or insert "modelines" for the resolution(s) you want to use (see below).

When you're satisfied you can overwrite ''/etc/X11/xorg.conf'' with this file to make it the default (you did make a backup didn't you?), once you have done that you can use "startx" to test and have the use of your desktop as well. This should at least be enough to allow the use of a graphic configuration tool (like the [[AVWizard]] for instance) to set up your display further. More advanced manual configuration options can be found below.

Here is an example of such a generated file:

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "X.org Configured"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
RgbPath "/etc/X11/rgb"
ModulePath "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi"
FontPath "/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "extmod"
Load "record"
Load "xtrap"
Load "dri"
Load "glx"
Load "dbe"
Load "GLcore"
Load "type1"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "kbd"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "auto"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section "Device"
### Available Driver options are:-
### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz"
### [arg]: arg optional
#Option "ShadowFB" # [<bool>]
#Option "DefaultRefresh" # [<bool>]
#Option "ModeSetClearScreen" # [<bool>]
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "vesa"
''VendorName "ATI Technologies Inc"''
''BoardName "ATI Radeon Xpress 1200 Series"''
''BusID '''"PCI:1:5:0"'''''
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 1
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 4
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 8
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 15
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 16
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
EndSubSection
EndSection

Note that the only thing really specific to my setup in this config file is ''BusID'', if you only have one graphics adapter in your system this value can be omitted, otherwise the value(s) can be found with:
X -scanpci
Where each card will need it's own Device Section in the config file. The "VendorName" and "BoardName" settings are just labels and serve no real purpose other then being able to identify this particular device, which is usefull if you have more then one.

We'll be using this sample configuration as a starting point in the other examples below, the comments (lines starting with ''#'' can be safely removed as well as the ''"Display"'' subsections for the colordepths we don't plan on using.

=== Refresh rate / ModeLine ===
The easiest way to sort this problem is to let the X-server figure this out by not specifying the limits of your screen. However this often fails, leaving you with an unusable display. Simply look up '''your screen''''s refresh rates in the documentation and add them like this:

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Monitor Model"
''HorizSync '''27-102''' # kHz''
''VertRefresh '''50-160''' # Hz''
EndSection

Alternatively you could specify a "ModeLine" for each resolution you want to use. By using ModeLines you have much finer controll over the timings of the output signal generated by your videocard. The drawback is that the timing values can be hard to get right.

Search the web for a "modeline generator", and many of these will include instructions on how to add the modeline, but briefly, you just add it to the "Monitor" section. Read the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modeline wikipedia entry] to learn how to use modelines.
* http://koala.ilog.fr/cgi-bin/nph-colas-modelines
* http://xtiming.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/xtiming.pl
* http://www.bohne-lang.de/spec/linux/modeline/
* http://amlc.berlios.de/
If one modeline doesn't work perfectly, try another, perhaps from another generator, because they can vary so much.

Using the wrong timings could in some (nowadays rare) occasions damage the hardware of your screen, so if it looks garbeled don't leave it like that for hours on end but hit [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[←Backspace] and readjust your settings. Most modern screens however simply report that the signal is out of range if this happens.

=== Colordepth and resolution ===
Specify the colordepth and resolution(s) you would like to use, like this:

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
''DefaultDepth '''24'''''
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
''Virtual '''1600 1200'''''
''Modes '''"1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" "512x384" "400x300" "320x240"'''''
EndSubSection
EndSection

As most people will only be using 24 bits anyway, I have removed the other redundant subsections. "Virtual" is the size of your desktop and "Modes" are physical resolutions, you can flip through these by holding [CTRL]-[ALT] and pressing the plus or minus on the numeric keypad. These are just examples, most people will only want to specify the resolution they actually use.

=== DRI device permissions ===
This section is needed to have the X-server set the proper permissions on the DRI device during startup. Simply add it to the end of the /etx/X11.xorg file if it isn't there already.

Section "DRI"
Mode 0666
EndSection

=== Chipset driver ===
Change "'''vesa'''" to "'''fglrx'''" (or "'''ati'''", depending on which drivers you installed earlier), as shown below, the old line is left as a comment in this example for clarity, but it's better to remove it as some scripts seem to find it confusing. For Nvidia chipsets use '''nvidia''' or '''nv''' as the driver names (instead of '''fglrx''').

Section "Device"
Identifier "Card0"
''# Driver "'''vesa'''"''
''Driver "'''fglrx'''"''
VendorName "ATI Technologies Inc"
BoardName "ATI Radeon Xpress 1200 Series"
BusID "PCI:1:5:0"
EndSection

If your X-server was running you will have to restart it completely for the changes to take effect, the easiest and most thorough way to do this is to reboot.

=== Physical display size ===
Like specifying the refresh rate his is optional but sometimes necessary, most of the time it is either detected or some sane defaults are used but sometimes it isn't, which can result in unreadable font sizes.

Section "Monitor"
...
DisplaySize '''155 95'''
EndSection

Where you have to replace the numbers with the physical '''width''' and '''height''' of your screen in millimeters (1" = 25mm), feel free to try mine, however these are for a small touchscreen.

=== Disable composite ===
Aparently the ATI '''fglrx''' driver does not ''yet'' support composite with DRI. So if you are using the fglrx driver, disable it by adding this to the end of the /etx/X11.xorg file if it isn't there already.

Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite" "Disable"
EndSection

=== Additional options ===
To be continued, I don't think this is enough to get UI2 completely (either mode) going yet. Feel free to jump in anytime...

Things still to sort out amongst others (i.e. what is it, do we need it and what are the settings if any):

Section "Module"
Load "i2c"
Load "bitmap"
Load "ddc"
Load "freetype"
Load "int10"
Load "vbe"
Load "speedo"
Load "type1"
Load "dbe"
Load "glx"
Load "v4l"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
Option "AIXGL" "off"
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite" "Disable"
# Option "RENDER" "true"
EndSection

Option "PseudoColorVisuals" "off"
Option "OpenGLOverlay" "off"
Option "VideoOverlay" "off"
Option "DesktopSetup" "clone"

TV-out options, 2nd display, etc.

== Troubleshooting ==

=== X-windows won't start for AVWizard ===

*One problem on nvidia-cards could be that it does not detect the right monitor.

::Go to Console 1 ([Ctrl]+[Alt]+1) and edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf (nano -w /etc/X11/xorg.conf). Find the section ::Device with the driver nvidia add the line <pre>Option "ConnectedMonitor" "XXX"
::where XXX is CRT, CRT-0, CRT-1, DVI-0, DVI-1, ...</pre>
::Save and exit (nano: Ctrl+x) and restart the computer. In my case it was "CRT-1".
* Screen is black, after install seemed to go okay. You may have even seen the Kubuntu splash screen.
**[[AVWizard]]

=== X-windows won't start ===

Reboot into rescue-mode if needed (hit [Esc] when [[Grub]] tells you to), and restore a working copy of your /etc/X11/xorg.conf, or edit it by hand to fix the problem. Test it with the command "X" and press [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[←Backspace] simultaneous to quit (alternative: use "startx" and get the full desktop, if any), then reboot when it works and you're done.

=== Signal out of range ===

See ''[http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/Display_Drivers#Refresh_rate Refresh rate]'' above.

=== Microscopic fonts in KDE ===

See ''[http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/Display_Drivers#Physical_display_size Physical display size]'' above.

If the above does not work, probably Xorg is calculating the DPI value in the wrong way.
This can be verified by having a look at the file /var/log/Xorg.0.log related to the MD with this issue searching for the line containing "DPI set to (x , y)",where x and y are values that apply to the specific display.

If those values are too small, fonts will be displayed accordingly (i.e, VERY small)

A workaround is to force Xorg to startup with a given DPI value.

To achieve this the following steps are required:

* edit the file /usr/pluto/bin/Start_X_Wrapper.sh on your MD where you are facing the font problem
* find the line beginning with xinit
* add "-dpi 96" (without quotes) at the end of this line
* save the file and reboot MD

Obviously it is possible to set DPI to something different than 96, according to specific needs.

Please note that after an LMCE update the startup script may be replaced by new ones, so the above workaround may have to be re-applied in order to keep fonts at the desired dimension.

=== LinuxMCE keeps reconfiguring my display settings ===

Add a line containing '''exit''' to the top of the ''/usr/pluto/bin/Xconfigure.sh'' file.

== See also ==
* [http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page MythTV wiki]
* MythTV Experience [http://brentlagesse.net/~brent/mythtv.php]
* [[X_Configuration_Scripts]]

Display Drivers

2007-11-20T21:54:34Z

Jca1: /* Intel Chipsets */

{| align="right"
| __TOC__
|}
[[Category: Tutorials]]
[[Category: Hardware| ]]

An incomplete HowTo on updating LinuxMCE to the latest display drivers and configuring them manually. It could use your help, so if something is different in your situation, please add it.

'''Note that this should normally not be necessary unless you have specific wishes or trouble getting your display to work properly.'''

== Installation ==

=== ATI Chipsets ===
The two main ways to install the ATI drivers are described in the [http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubuntu_Feisty_Installation_Guide Ubuntu Feisty Installation Guide].

For more information see also the [http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Main_Page Unofficial ATI Linux Driver Wiki] and you might want to have a look at [http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/AtiProprietaryDriver AtiProprietaryDriver] in the MythTV wiki as well since LinuxMCE depends on it for viewing TV. MythTV in turn relies heavily on the support of certain features by the graphics drivers. The ATI drivers turn out to be a bit "challenged" in this area to say the least.

=== NVidia Chipsets ===
There are several ways to install NVidia drivers, the way described here is meant as a guide to install the very latest drivers from the NVidia website. Note that this way will bypass the LinuxMCE (Kubuntu) packaging system, possibly removing and/or overwriting some of it's files.

1. Go to a console (text) terminal by holding [CTRL]-[ALT] and pressing the [F1] key simultaneously, log in with the user account you have created during the Kubuntu install and become root, if you haven't done so already.
'''<you>@dcerouter:~$''' sudo -s
2. Download the latest [http://www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html linux drivers from NVidia] (depending [http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_32667.html on your hardware], one of versions: 100.14.23, 1.0-9639 or 1.0-7185 currently), if you haven't done so already.
'''root@dcerouter:~#''' wget <nowiki>http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86/100.14.23/NVIDIA-Linux-x86-</nowiki>''<version>''<nowiki>-pkg1.run</nowiki>
3. Go to runlevel 1 to stop the currently running X-server.
'''root@dcerouter:~#''' telinit 1
4. Execute the installer and follow instructions. Ignore the warning about runlevel 1 and don't bother looking for precompiled drivers.
'''root@dcerouter:~#''' sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-''<version>''-pkg1.run
5. Now it needs to be configured. The recommended and most convenient way is to use the [[AVWizard]]. For more advanced setup, or if the AVWizard for some reason is unable to set your up your screens to your liking, you can configure the ''X-server'' manually by editing the ''xorg.conf'' file directly.

=== Intel Chipsets ===
There is a renewed interest in the Intel graphics chipsets since Intel released the drivers under the GPL. However, they're still not at the same level as nVidia's and can't do alpha blending.

You will want to make sure you are using the newer intel drivers from http://packages.ubuntu.com/feisty/x11/xserver-xorg-video-intel. These replace the older i810, etc. drivers and should cover all the modern intel chipsets.

=== Via Chipsets ===
Use the Openchrome or Via Unichrome drivers. The Via Unichrome drivers can be downloaded from http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=2&OSID=45&CatID=3220

=== Other Chipsets ===
Please help out by adding more if you can.

== Configuration ==
The recommended and most convenient way is to use the [[AVWizard]]. For more advanced setup, or if the X-server (and thus also the AVWizard) is unable to start, you can configure the ''X-server'' manually by editing the ''xorg.conf'' file directly.

=== Getting started ===
Start by making a backup copy of the ''/etc/X11/xorg.conf'' file (even if it doesn't work it might contain settings you could need). In this example we will start from scratch and edit the configuration file step by step to get the main display setup.

Some of these steps require that there will be no X-server active on the system, the easiest way to achieve this is to boot in ''rescue-mode'', just hit [Esc] when [[Grub]] tells you to during the startup of your machine and select the right line from the menu. Another way is to go to a text-mode console (aka. terminal) with [CTRL]-[ALT]-[F1], [[Logging In|log in]], become root and issue the command:
telinit 1
This wil stop the running X-server and drop you into rescue mode as well.

One of the advantages is that now you can start and stop the X-server by hand with an alternative configuration file and without having to reboot or even start an entire desktop environment.

=== Generating a template ===
These instructions were originally written for ATI chipsets, so they might need to be adjusted and updated a bit. Not all of the specific options may be relevant for your chipset.

'''While there is no (other) X-server running''' you can create a template configuration file by running:
X -configure
This will create a file called xorg.conf.new in your ''home'' directory, test it with the following command and hit [CTRL]-[ALT]-[Backspace] when done:
X -config ~/xorg.conf.new
Within a few seconds a gray bitpattern should show up with an 'X' shaped mouse cursor. If the screen is distorted or reports the refresh rate to be out of range then you will either have to specify the proper refreshrate limitations for your screen or insert "modelines" for the resolution(s) you want to use (see below).

When you're satisfied you can overwrite ''/etc/X11/xorg.conf'' with this file to make it the default (you did make a backup didn't you?), once you have done that you can use "startx" to test and have the use of your desktop as well. This should at least be enough to allow the use of a graphic configuration tool (like the [[AVWizard]] for instance) to set up your display further. More advanced manual configuration options can be found below.

Here is an example of such a generated file:

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "X.org Configured"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
RgbPath "/etc/X11/rgb"
ModulePath "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi"
FontPath "/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "extmod"
Load "record"
Load "xtrap"
Load "dri"
Load "glx"
Load "dbe"
Load "GLcore"
Load "type1"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "kbd"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "auto"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section "Device"
### Available Driver options are:-
### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz"
### [arg]: arg optional
#Option "ShadowFB" # [<bool>]
#Option "DefaultRefresh" # [<bool>]
#Option "ModeSetClearScreen" # [<bool>]
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "vesa"
''VendorName "ATI Technologies Inc"''
''BoardName "ATI Radeon Xpress 1200 Series"''
''BusID '''"PCI:1:5:0"'''''
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 1
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 4
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 8
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 15
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 16
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
EndSubSection
EndSection

Note that the only thing really specific to my setup in this config file is ''BusID'', if you only have one graphics adapter in your system this value can be omitted, otherwise the value(s) can be found with:
X -scanpci
Where each card will need it's own Device Section in the config file. The "VendorName" and "BoardName" settings are just labels and serve no real purpose other then being able to identify this particular device, which is usefull if you have more then one.

We'll be using this sample configuration as a starting point in the other examples below, the comments (lines starting with ''#'' can be safely removed as well as the ''"Display"'' subsections for the colordepths we don't plan on using.

=== Refresh rate / ModeLine ===
The easiest way to sort this problem is to let the X-server figure this out by not specifying the limits of your screen. However this often fails, leaving you with an unusable display. Simply look up '''your screen''''s refresh rates in the documentation and add them like this:

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Monitor Model"
''HorizSync '''27-102''' # kHz''
''VertRefresh '''50-160''' # Hz''
EndSection

Alternatively you could specify a "ModeLine" for each resolution you want to use. By using ModeLines you have much finer controll over the timings of the output signal generated by your videocard. The drawback is that the timing values can be hard to get right.

Search the web for a "modeline generator", and many of these will include instructions on how to add the modeline, but briefly, you just add it to the "Monitor" section. Read the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modeline wikipedia entry] to learn how to use modelines.
* http://koala.ilog.fr/cgi-bin/nph-colas-modelines
* http://xtiming.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/xtiming.pl
* http://www.bohne-lang.de/spec/linux/modeline/
* http://amlc.berlios.de/
If one modeline doesn't work perfectly, try another, perhaps from another generator, because they can vary so much.

Using the wrong timings could in some (nowadays rare) occasions damage the hardware of your screen, so if it looks garbeled don't leave it like that for hours on end but hit [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[←Backspace] and readjust your settings. Most modern screens however simply report that the signal is out of range if this happens.

=== Colordepth and resolution ===
Specify the colordepth and resolution(s) you would like to use, like this:

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
''DefaultDepth '''24'''''
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
''Virtual '''1600 1200'''''
''Modes '''"1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" "512x384" "400x300" "320x240"'''''
EndSubSection
EndSection

As most people will only be using 24 bits anyway, I have removed the other redundant subsections. "Virtual" is the size of your desktop and "Modes" are physical resolutions, you can flip through these by holding [CTRL]-[ALT] and pressing the plus or minus on the numeric keypad. These are just examples, most people will only want to specify the resolution they actually use.

=== DRI device permissions ===
This section is needed to have the X-server set the proper permissions on the DRI device during startup. Simply add it to the end of the /etx/X11.xorg file if it isn't there already.

Section "DRI"
Mode 0666
EndSection

=== Chipset driver ===
Change "'''vesa'''" to "'''fglrx'''" (or "'''ati'''", depending on which drivers you installed earlier), as shown below, the old line is left as a comment in this example for clarity, but it's better to remove it as some scripts seem to find it confusing. For Nvidia chipsets use '''nvidia''' or '''nv''' as the driver names (instead of '''fglrx''').

Section "Device"
Identifier "Card0"
''# Driver "'''vesa'''"''
''Driver "'''fglrx'''"''
VendorName "ATI Technologies Inc"
BoardName "ATI Radeon Xpress 1200 Series"
BusID "PCI:1:5:0"
EndSection

If your X-server was running you will have to restart it completely for the changes to take effect, the easiest and most thorough way to do this is to reboot.

=== Physical display size ===
Like specifying the refresh rate his is optional but sometimes necessary, most of the time it is either detected or some sane defaults are used but sometimes it isn't, which can result in unreadable font sizes.

Section "Monitor"
...
DisplaySize '''155 95'''
EndSection

Where you have to replace the numbers with the physical '''width''' and '''height''' of your screen in millimeters (1" = 25mm), feel free to try mine, however these are for a small touchscreen.

=== Disable composite ===
Aparently the ATI '''fglrx''' driver does not ''yet'' support composite with DRI. So if you are using the fglrx driver, disable it by adding this to the end of the /etx/X11.xorg file if it isn't there already.

Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite" "Disable"
EndSection

=== Additional options ===
To be continued, I don't think this is enough to get UI2 completely (either mode) going yet. Feel free to jump in anytime...

Things still to sort out amongst others (i.e. what is it, do we need it and what are the settings if any):

Section "Module"
Load "i2c"
Load "bitmap"
Load "ddc"
Load "freetype"
Load "int10"
Load "vbe"
Load "speedo"
Load "type1"
Load "dbe"
Load "glx"
Load "v4l"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
Option "AIXGL" "off"
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite" "Disable"
# Option "RENDER" "true"
EndSection

Option "PseudoColorVisuals" "off"
Option "OpenGLOverlay" "off"
Option "VideoOverlay" "off"
Option "DesktopSetup" "clone"

TV-out options, 2nd display, etc.

== Troubleshooting ==

=== X-windows won't start for AVWizard ===

*One problem on nvidia-cards could be that it does not detect the right monitor.

::Go to Console 1 ([Ctrl]+[Alt]+1) and edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf (nano -w /etc/X11/xorg.conf). Find the section ::Device with the driver nvidia add the line <pre>Option "ConnectedMonitor" "XXX"
::where XXX is CRT, CRT-0, CRT-1, DVI-0, DVI-1, ...</pre>
::Save and exit (nano: Ctrl+x) and restart the computer. In my case it was "CRT-1".
* Screen is black, after install seemed to go okay. You may have even seen the Kubuntu splash screen.
**[[AVWizard]]

=== X-windows won't start ===

Reboot into rescue-mode if needed (hit [Esc] when [[Grub]] tells you to), and restore a working copy of your /etc/X11/xorg.conf, or edit it by hand to fix the problem. Test it with the command "X" and press [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[←Backspace] simultaneous to quit (alternative: use "startx" and get the full desktop, if any), then reboot when it works and you're done.

=== Signal out of range ===

See ''[http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/Display_Drivers#Refresh_rate Refresh rate]'' above.

=== Microscopic fonts in KDE ===

See ''[http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/Display_Drivers#Physical_display_size Physical display size]'' above.

If the above does not work, probably Xorg is calculating the DPI value in the wrong way.
This can be verified by having a look at the file /var/log/Xorg.0.log related to the MD with this issue searching for the line containing "DPI set to (x , y)",where x and y are values that apply to the specific display.

If those values are too small, fonts will be displayed accordingly (i.e, VERY small)

A workaround is to force Xorg to startup with a given DPI value.

To achieve this the following steps are required:

* edit the file /usr/pluto/bin/Start_X_Wrapper.sh on your MD where you are facing the font problem
* find the line beginning with xinit
* add "-dpi 96" (without quotes) at the end of this line
* save the file and reboot MD

Obviously it is possible to set DPI to something different than 96, according to specific needs.

Please note that after an LMCE update the startup script may be replaced by new ones, so the above workaround may have to be re-applied in order to keep fonts at the desired dimension.

=== LinuxMCE keeps reconfiguring my display settings ===

Add a line containing '''exit''' to the top of the ''/usr/pluto/bin/Xconfigure.sh'' file.

== See also ==
* [http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page MythTV wiki]
* MythTV Experience [http://brentlagesse.net/~brent/mythtv.php]
* [[X_Configuration_Scripts]]

Automatic diskless boot of media directors

2007-11-20T21:50:06Z

Jca1: /* Unsupported Cards */

[[Category: Tutorials]]
[[Category: Networking]]
[[Category: Programmer's Guide]]
{| align="right"
| __TOC__
|}
LinuxMCE allows [[media director]]s to be booted over the network. This means that you can boot up thin clients without hard drives, or systems with other operating systems without affecting what is already on the disk.

==How to set it up==
===Enable PXE boot===
This is also known as network boot and can be accessed in your computer's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS BIOS]. The exact procedure varies depending on your PC. Normally you press F2 or DEL right after turning the PC on to enter the BIOS settings. There is then usually an advanced option to enable this.

===Set the correct boot order===
You are also going to want to set the boot order in the BIOS so the network boot comes first, and your hard drive second. However most BIOS's will make you first enable network boot, save your changes, restart the computer, and then enter the BIOS settings a second time to set the boot order.

===Determine your network card's MAC address===
When network boot is working you should see at bootup the PC's mac address, and a messages about trying to contact a DHCP server, or trying to find a network boot image. This will be a new message you didn't see before and it means network boot is active on the PC. It will usually try for about 10 seconds to do a network boot image, and then give up and boot off the hard drive. This is what you want. When you see the message that it is trying to do the network boot, write down the mac address.

You can also get the mac address in Windows by running IPCONFIG command prompt, or in Linux by typing ifconfig as root from a console or a terminal.

===Setup the media director in LinuxMCE===
In LinuxMCE Admin go to '''Wizard > Devices > Media Directors'''. Add the media director if this is a new one, and set the mac address. The mac address should be a series of six 2 character sequences separated by colons, like this: 1A:00:F2:21:23:9F

Click 'update' to save your changes, and then click 'Setup Diskless Media Directors'. Wait for the popup window to finish. If this is a new media director you just added, go to Wizard, Restart and click 'Quick Reload Router' so the Router is aware of this new device.

===Boot up from the network===
Now turn on the PC. You should see that it gets an IP address and boots into the media director software. The first time you boot it, it can take up to 30 minutes to boot because it will be installing a lot of the software on the diskless image on the core, and it will also need to generate a user interface.

Once it's up, use the '''Wizard > Devices > Media Directors''' page to set the display resolution and also choose extra software you want to run on that Media Director with the 'Edit Computing Applications' button.

==How to use it==
[[Using LinuxMCE]]. If this media director has a hard drive in it that contains another operating system (like Windows or Linux), then from the media director's on-screen orbiter, or from any other orbiter that is currently controlling that media director, hit the 'power' button and choose 'restart as windows/linux' to boot up the computer off the hard drive and use it like a normal PC. Then choose 'restart as LinuxMCE' from the orbiter to boot it back again into LinuxMCE.

==GRUB PXE network boot==
In some situations, it may be more appropriate to use GNU GRUB bootloader:

#The machine does not support PXE booting directly (no boot-ROM).
#You can use a GRUB bootmenu to decide wheter you want to boot LMCE or the native OS.
#Booting is a lot faster when you boot the native OS by skipping the network step.
#GRUB allows for easy adjustments of the boot parameters at boottime.

This is described in detail at [[GRUB PXE network boot]].

==Programmer's guide==
The network boot images are contained in /usr/pluto/diskless/[deviceID]. If a network image is corrupted, just delete that directory, and re-run 'Setup Diskless Media Directors'.

When the user hits the power button to change which device is booted, the command is sent to "General Info Plugin", which updates /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/01-[mac address]. That file contains a line KERNEL or LOCALBOOT 0, depending on what the user wants to boot. If it's LOCALBOOT 0, then when the media director tries to do a network boot the Core will tell it to boot off the hard drive instead. General Info Plugin then sends the App Server running on that machine a command to reboot.

Since there is both a Linux and Windows version of App Server, if App Server is installed and running on the Windows PC, then LinuxMCE can still reboot it remotely back into the network boot even if it's running Windows. Also the Windows App Server utility gives you a tray icon to switch back to network boot.

==Other Network Cards==
If you get to the remote machine starting the boot process, but then fails with it unable to find eth0, the reason may be because the stock diskless image did not have your network card statically compiled. The linux image building process does allow for additional network modules to be loaded during the boot process. The installer that linuxmce uses builds this image from a base copy of the operating system (ubuntu) that is untar'd during the diskless setup process. It puts this into it's own directory that serves as a virtual harddrive for your diskless machine. In the /usr/pluto/diskless directory you should have a list of device numbers that correspond to your diskless machines. For example: '45' was the number for my diskless machine. Edit the file /usr/pluto/diskless/###/etc/initramfs-tools/modules and add on your nic's module. In my case I edit /usr/pluto/diskless/45/etc/initramfs-tools/modules and added sky2. Then run the /usr/pluto/bin/Diskless_InstallKernel.sh script with the device number (directory name) of your diskless machine. In my case "/usr/pluto/bin/Diskless_InstallKernel.sh 45". This script builds the initrd image and puts it in the proper place (symlinks it actually).

The driver used in my machine was the 'sky2' driver for Marvell Gigabit ethernet cards. Other drivers will be located in the /usr/pluto/diskless/xx/lib/modules/2.xxx/kernel/drivers/net/ directory.

Automatic diskless boot of media directors

2007-11-20T21:43:46Z

Jca1: /* Unsupported Cards */

[[Category: Tutorials]]
[[Category: Networking]]
[[Category: Programmer's Guide]]
{| align="right"
| __TOC__
|}
LinuxMCE allows [[media director]]s to be booted over the network. This means that you can boot up thin clients without hard drives, or systems with other operating systems without affecting what is already on the disk.

==How to set it up==
===Enable PXE boot===
This is also known as network boot and can be accessed in your computer's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS BIOS]. The exact procedure varies depending on your PC. Normally you press F2 or DEL right after turning the PC on to enter the BIOS settings. There is then usually an advanced option to enable this.

===Set the correct boot order===
You are also going to want to set the boot order in the BIOS so the network boot comes first, and your hard drive second. However most BIOS's will make you first enable network boot, save your changes, restart the computer, and then enter the BIOS settings a second time to set the boot order.

===Determine your network card's MAC address===
When network boot is working you should see at bootup the PC's mac address, and a messages about trying to contact a DHCP server, or trying to find a network boot image. This will be a new message you didn't see before and it means network boot is active on the PC. It will usually try for about 10 seconds to do a network boot image, and then give up and boot off the hard drive. This is what you want. When you see the message that it is trying to do the network boot, write down the mac address.

You can also get the mac address in Windows by running IPCONFIG command prompt, or in Linux by typing ifconfig as root from a console or a terminal.

===Setup the media director in LinuxMCE===
In LinuxMCE Admin go to '''Wizard > Devices > Media Directors'''. Add the media director if this is a new one, and set the mac address. The mac address should be a series of six 2 character sequences separated by colons, like this: 1A:00:F2:21:23:9F

Click 'update' to save your changes, and then click 'Setup Diskless Media Directors'. Wait for the popup window to finish. If this is a new media director you just added, go to Wizard, Restart and click 'Quick Reload Router' so the Router is aware of this new device.

===Boot up from the network===
Now turn on the PC. You should see that it gets an IP address and boots into the media director software. The first time you boot it, it can take up to 30 minutes to boot because it will be installing a lot of the software on the diskless image on the core, and it will also need to generate a user interface.

Once it's up, use the '''Wizard > Devices > Media Directors''' page to set the display resolution and also choose extra software you want to run on that Media Director with the 'Edit Computing Applications' button.

==How to use it==
[[Using LinuxMCE]]. If this media director has a hard drive in it that contains another operating system (like Windows or Linux), then from the media director's on-screen orbiter, or from any other orbiter that is currently controlling that media director, hit the 'power' button and choose 'restart as windows/linux' to boot up the computer off the hard drive and use it like a normal PC. Then choose 'restart as LinuxMCE' from the orbiter to boot it back again into LinuxMCE.

==GRUB PXE network boot==
In some situations, it may be more appropriate to use GNU GRUB bootloader:

#The machine does not support PXE booting directly (no boot-ROM).
#You can use a GRUB bootmenu to decide wheter you want to boot LMCE or the native OS.
#Booting is a lot faster when you boot the native OS by skipping the network step.
#GRUB allows for easy adjustments of the boot parameters at boottime.

This is described in detail at [[GRUB PXE network boot]].

==Programmer's guide==
The network boot images are contained in /usr/pluto/diskless/[deviceID]. If a network image is corrupted, just delete that directory, and re-run 'Setup Diskless Media Directors'.

When the user hits the power button to change which device is booted, the command is sent to "General Info Plugin", which updates /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/01-[mac address]. That file contains a line KERNEL or LOCALBOOT 0, depending on what the user wants to boot. If it's LOCALBOOT 0, then when the media director tries to do a network boot the Core will tell it to boot off the hard drive instead. General Info Plugin then sends the App Server running on that machine a command to reboot.

Since there is both a Linux and Windows version of App Server, if App Server is installed and running on the Windows PC, then LinuxMCE can still reboot it remotely back into the network boot even if it's running Windows. Also the Windows App Server utility gives you a tray icon to switch back to network boot.

==Unsupported Cards==
If you get to the remote machine starting the boot process, but then fails with it unable to find eth0, the reason may be because the stock diskless image did not have your network card statically compiled. The linux image building process does allow for additional network modules to be loaded during the boot process. The installer that linuxmce uses builds this image from a base copy of the operating system (ubuntu) that is untar'd during the diskless setup process. It puts this into it's own directory that serves as a virtual harddrive for your diskless machine. In the /usr/pluto/diskless directory you should have a list of device numbers that correspond to your diskless machines. For example: '45' was the number for my diskless machine. Edit the file /usr/pluto/diskless/###/etc/initramfs-tools/modules and add on your nic's module. In my case I edit /usr/pluto/diskless/45/etc/initramfs-tools/modules and added sky2. Then run the /usr/pluto/bin/Diskless_InstallKernel.sh script with the device number (directory name) of your diskless machine. In my case "/usr/pluto/bin/Diskless_InstallKernel.sh 45". This script builds the initrd image and puts it in the proper place (symlinks it actually).

The driver used in my machine was the 'sky2' driver for Marvell Gigabit ethernet cards. Other drivers will be located in the /usr/pluto/diskless/xx/lib/modules/2.xxx/kernel/drivers/net/ directory.

Automatic diskless boot of media directors

2007-11-20T21:43:22Z

Jca1:

[[Category: Tutorials]]
[[Category: Networking]]
[[Category: Programmer's Guide]]
{| align="right"
| __TOC__
|}
LinuxMCE allows [[media director]]s to be booted over the network. This means that you can boot up thin clients without hard drives, or systems with other operating systems without affecting what is already on the disk.

==How to set it up==
===Enable PXE boot===
This is also known as network boot and can be accessed in your computer's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS BIOS]. The exact procedure varies depending on your PC. Normally you press F2 or DEL right after turning the PC on to enter the BIOS settings. There is then usually an advanced option to enable this.

===Set the correct boot order===
You are also going to want to set the boot order in the BIOS so the network boot comes first, and your hard drive second. However most BIOS's will make you first enable network boot, save your changes, restart the computer, and then enter the BIOS settings a second time to set the boot order.

===Determine your network card's MAC address===
When network boot is working you should see at bootup the PC's mac address, and a messages about trying to contact a DHCP server, or trying to find a network boot image. This will be a new message you didn't see before and it means network boot is active on the PC. It will usually try for about 10 seconds to do a network boot image, and then give up and boot off the hard drive. This is what you want. When you see the message that it is trying to do the network boot, write down the mac address.

You can also get the mac address in Windows by running IPCONFIG command prompt, or in Linux by typing ifconfig as root from a console or a terminal.

===Setup the media director in LinuxMCE===
In LinuxMCE Admin go to '''Wizard > Devices > Media Directors'''. Add the media director if this is a new one, and set the mac address. The mac address should be a series of six 2 character sequences separated by colons, like this: 1A:00:F2:21:23:9F

Click 'update' to save your changes, and then click 'Setup Diskless Media Directors'. Wait for the popup window to finish. If this is a new media director you just added, go to Wizard, Restart and click 'Quick Reload Router' so the Router is aware of this new device.

===Boot up from the network===
Now turn on the PC. You should see that it gets an IP address and boots into the media director software. The first time you boot it, it can take up to 30 minutes to boot because it will be installing a lot of the software on the diskless image on the core, and it will also need to generate a user interface.

Once it's up, use the '''Wizard > Devices > Media Directors''' page to set the display resolution and also choose extra software you want to run on that Media Director with the 'Edit Computing Applications' button.

==How to use it==
[[Using LinuxMCE]]. If this media director has a hard drive in it that contains another operating system (like Windows or Linux), then from the media director's on-screen orbiter, or from any other orbiter that is currently controlling that media director, hit the 'power' button and choose 'restart as windows/linux' to boot up the computer off the hard drive and use it like a normal PC. Then choose 'restart as LinuxMCE' from the orbiter to boot it back again into LinuxMCE.

==GRUB PXE network boot==
In some situations, it may be more appropriate to use GNU GRUB bootloader:

#The machine does not support PXE booting directly (no boot-ROM).
#You can use a GRUB bootmenu to decide wheter you want to boot LMCE or the native OS.
#Booting is a lot faster when you boot the native OS by skipping the network step.
#GRUB allows for easy adjustments of the boot parameters at boottime.

This is described in detail at [[GRUB PXE network boot]].

==Programmer's guide==
The network boot images are contained in /usr/pluto/diskless/[deviceID]. If a network image is corrupted, just delete that directory, and re-run 'Setup Diskless Media Directors'.

When the user hits the power button to change which device is booted, the command is sent to "General Info Plugin", which updates /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/01-[mac address]. That file contains a line KERNEL or LOCALBOOT 0, depending on what the user wants to boot. If it's LOCALBOOT 0, then when the media director tries to do a network boot the Core will tell it to boot off the hard drive instead. General Info Plugin then sends the App Server running on that machine a command to reboot.

Since there is both a Linux and Windows version of App Server, if App Server is installed and running on the Windows PC, then LinuxMCE can still reboot it remotely back into the network boot even if it's running Windows. Also the Windows App Server utility gives you a tray icon to switch back to network boot.

==Unsupported Cards==
If you get to the remote machine starting the boot process, but then fails with it unable to find eth0, the reason may be because the stock diskless image did not have your network card statically compiled. The linux image building process does allow for additional network modules to be loaded during the boot process. The installer that linuxmce uses builds this image from a base copy of the operating system (ubuntu) that is untar'd during the diskless setup process. It puts this into it's own directory that serves as a virtual harddrive for your diskless machine. In the /usr/pluto/diskless directory you should have a list of device numbers that correspond to your diskless machines. For example: '45' was the number for my diskless machine. Edit the file /usr/pluto/diskless/###/etc/initramfs-tools/modules and add on your nic's module. In my case I edit /usr/pluto/diskless/45/etc/initramfs-tools/modules and added sky2. Then run the /usr/pluto/bin/Diskless_InstallKernel.sh script with the device number (directory name) of your diskless machine. In my case "/usr/pluto/bin/Diskless_InstallKernel.sh 45". This script builds the initrd image and puts it in the proper place (symlinks it actually).

The driver used in my machine was the 'sky2' driver for Marvell Gigabit ethernet cards. Other drivers will be located in the /usr/pluto/diskless/45/lib/modules/2.xxx/kernel/drivers/net/ directory.

Automatic diskless boot of media directors

2007-11-20T21:37:28Z

Jca1: /* Programmer's guide */