cchtml.com - User contributions [en]

Ubuntu Feisty Installation Guide

2007-04-20T01:24:07Z

64.20.188.2: /* If suspend is not working */

The [[:Category:Releases|latest]] fglrx driver supports Radeon 9500+ and the X-series cards up to X1900.

==Pre-Installation Checks==
=== Enable "restricted" Repository ===
Make sure the ''restricted'' repository is enabled in ''/etc/apt/sources.list'' or this guide will not work!

=== Disable Composite Extension ===
In Ubuntu Feisty the Composite extension is enabled by default, however, ''fglrx'' does not yet support Composite with DRI. In order to disable Composite you have to edit the ''xorg.conf'' file:
<pre>sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf</pre>
and add these lines at the end of the file:
{{Box File|/etc/X11/xorg.conf|
<pre>Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite" "Disable"
EndSection</pre>
}}
*Note: Xubuntu does not have gedit. The default text editor in Xubuntu is called mousepad.
*Note: Kubuntu does not have gedit. The default text editor in Kubuntu is called Kate. Another option is to use nano.
*Note: Use "0" instead of "Disable" if you get the black screen of death.

== Installation ==
===Method 1: Install the Driver the Ubuntu Way===
<pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install linux-restricted-modules-$(uname -r) #Okay if it is already installed
sudo apt-get install xorg-driver-fglrx
sudo depmod -a
</pre>

===Method 2: Install the 8.36.5 Driver Manually===

*Note: ''This is just an alternative installation method for the section above. It might help if you still get 'DRI missing' errors.''

**NOTE: This driver is now prepared for 2.6.20 kernels!

Download the ATI driver installer: [https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206/0/www2.ati.com/drivers/linux/ati-driver-installer-8.36.5-x86.x86_64.run ati-driver-installer-8.36.5-x86.x86_64.run](this installer is for 32bit '''and''' 64bit systems), taking care of which version needs for your [[Hardware|device]].

Change to the download directory. Make sure that you have the ''universe'' and ''multiverse'' repositories enabled in ''/etc/apt/sources.list'' before doing these steps. (Could someone edit this to tell how to enable universe and multiverse?)

''Install necessary tools:''
<pre>
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install module-assistant build-essential fakeroot dh-make debhelper debconf libstdc++5 linux-headers-$(uname -r)
</pre>

''Create .deb packages:''
<pre>
bash ati-driver-installer-8.36.5-x86.x86_64.run --buildpkg Ubuntu/feisty
</pre>

''Blacklist old fglrx module from linux-restricted-modules:''

*Note: You only need to do this if you've installed the driver from Method 1 above.

As ubuntu's ''linux-restricted-modules'' package includes the fglrx module from an old driver version (8.28.8), we have to blacklist this module to make sure the new kernel module which is needed by the new driver will be used instead.

<pre>sudo gedit /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common</pre>
Add "fglrx" to the line "DISABLED_MODULES"
{{Box File|/etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common|
<pre>DISABLED_MODULES="fglrx"</pre>
}}

''Install .deb packages:''
<pre>
sudo dpkg -i xorg-driver-fglrx_8.36.5-1*.deb
sudo dpkg -i fglrx-kernel-source_8.36.5-1*.deb
sudo dpkg -i fglrx-amdcccle_8.36.5-1*.deb
</pre>

''Remove any old fglrx debs from /usr/src/:''
<pre>
sudo rm /usr/src/fglrx-kernel*.deb
</pre>

''Fix broken dependencies''
*Note: ''You only need to do this if you have installed previous versions of these drivers using this method before.''
<pre>
sudo apt-get -f install
</pre>

''Compile the kernel module:''
<pre>
sudo module-assistant prepare
sudo module-assistant update
sudo module-assistant build fglrx
sudo module-assistant install fglrx
sudo depmod -ae
</pre>

'''IMPORTANT''': You have to recompile the kernel module after each kernel update!
''NOTE'': The fglrx source code now prepared for 2.6.20.

===Configure the Driver===
*Note: An '''alternative''' to the '''aticonfig --initial''' command is to edit ''/etc/X11/xorg.conf'' and replace the string "ati" with "fglrx" in the "Device" section. This way you won't lose your old "Screen" and "Monitor" settings. Afterwards you can use aticonfig for setting overlay etc. '''I suggest that you do it the manual way if you patched the module, aticonfig --initial didn't work for me. Another alternative is aticonfig --initial --force
<pre>
sudo aticonfig --initial
</pre>
Then:
<pre>
sudo aticonfig --overlay-type=Xv
</pre>

===Finish the Installation===
Now save any open document and reboot your system:
<pre>
sudo shutdown -r now
</pre>
*Note: An '''alternative''' to rebooting is to restart the X Server by pressing your CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE keys. You must remove any old kernel modules such as "drm" "radeon" or "fglrx" using the "rmmod" command. Example: <code>rmmod fglrx</code>

== Post-Installation Checks ==
===Verifying===
Run the following command to check its output to ensure the fglrx driver is installed properly:
<pre>
$fglrxinfo
display: :0.0 screen: 0
OpenGL vendor string: ATI Technologies Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: MOBILITY RADEON 9700 Generic
OpenGL version string: 2.0.6458 (8.36.5)
</pre>

=== Additional configure with aticonfig tool ===
You can even more configure the driver with the '''aticonfig''' tool, more information can be found at [[Configuring]].

For example: <br>
* use powerplay option to switch power state for battery friendly or performance mode
* use dual head or one big desktop mode
* turn second monitor on/off on the fly

==Ubuntu-specific Issues==

=== Revert to Xorg driver ===

If (for any reason) the fglrx install fails, you can revert to the Xorg driver by executing
<pre>sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg</pre>
and selecting the "ati" driver, or simply restoring the previous /etc/X11/xorg.conf file, if you made a backup.

You also need to remove the xorg-driver-fglrx or your manually installed drivers to get the 3D acceleration back, since it is provided by file /usr/lib/libGL.so.1.2 which belongs to libgl1-mesa package and which is moved to backup and replaced at the installation of xorg-driver-fglrx (or the manually built) package. In case the removal of the fglrx drivers fails to restore the file from libgl1-mesa, you have to reinstall the package by running:

<pre>sudo apt-get install --reinstall libgl1-mesa</pre>

=== If suspend is not working ===

If after fglrx installation suspend stops working, meaning it suspends not start and just gives black screen. Then changing a few options is reported to work for some hardware ([https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-restricted-modules-2.6.20/+bug/84991 Bug 84991 ]).

For ATI X700:
{{Box File|/etc/default/acpi-support|
<pre>
SAVE_VBE_STATE=false
POST_VIDEO=true
USE_DPMS=false
</pre>
}}

For ATI X1300:
{{Box File|/etc/default/acpi-support|
<pre>
POST_VIDEO=false
</pre>
}}

For ATI X1400, no combination of /etc/default/acpi-support settings has been found to work.

=== BigDesktop not working after login ===

BigDesktop Works on GDM login screen, but not after window manager loads

System > Prefrences > Screen Resolution

Select the resolution that is a combination of both screen resolutions wide and your height.
[edit]

==See Also==
*[[Frequently Asked Questions]]
*[[Performance Issues]]
*[http://www.petitiononline.com/x200MLin/petition.html| Petition for better ATI/AMD Radeon XPRESS 200M Linux Drivers]
{{VCT}}
[[Category:Installation Documentation]]

Frequently Asked Questions

2007-04-20T01:23:19Z

64.20.188.2:

==Installation==
===How do I know fglrx is installed correctly?===
There are several ways to check if fglrx is loaded and running.
<br>1. Check your X.org or XFree86 log. You should see "DRI Initialization Successful."
# vi /var/log/Xorg.0.log
or
# vi /var/log/XFree86.0.log
2. Check glxinfo. You should see "direct" and not "indirect."
# glxinfo | grep direct
3. Check your kernel log. You should see fglrx messages near the bottom.
# dmesg
4. Check your modules. You should see fglrx loaded.
# lsmod | grep fglrx
*NOTE: [[Glxgears is not a Benchmark|glxgears]] is not a definite way of checking the installation of fglrx.
=== Is the rebooting really necessary? ===

No.

However, rebooting is the easiest method to ensure that the kernel module(s) from the old driver are unloaded and the fglrx module is loaded instead. If you don't want to reboot for some reason, you may manually shut down Xorg, unload any old "drm", "radeon" or "fglrx" modules and then start Xorg again.

==Kernel==
===Why does fglrx not work for my bleeding-edge kernel?===
The development process of the fglrx driver and the GNU/Linux kernel are not on the same level. The fglrx driver requires some special interactions with the kernel memory API and these tend to change between kernel versions.

ATI will only look to support the latest kernel that is officially out (no -rc or -git releases are supported) at the time they release a driver. Example: fglrx version A comes out Monday, but kernel version B comes out Tuesday. Kernel version B is not supported by fglrx version A. (but might be able to work anyway by doing a 'modprobe -f fglrx' in a shell)

The binary part of ATI's kernel module has no explicit dependency on the Linux kernel. There are a set of source files that provide the glue to the kernel. This is where the dependency to different kernels exist. As a result, user contributed patches for newer kernels can often be found by searching [http://ati.cchtml.com Bugzilla].

==X Configuration==
===Composite Extension===
If you've enabled transparency, and you've added the Composite extension to the xorg.conf file, the ATI driver will disable DRI.

The only way to use 3D and the ATI OpenGL drivers is commenting the Option "Composite" "Enable" line.

It may be necessary to put the following lines into xorg.conf:

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

==Troubleshooting==
=== Computer Freezes while using fglrx (UMA and SIDEPORT) ===
If after choosing fglrx as your driver in either xorg.conf or xfree86.conf files, the computer freezes and becomes unresponsive while trying to start X this may be the solution.

Some ATI cards have the ability to run in three modes: UMA, SIDEPORT, or a combination of both. UMA mode is that one in which the video card does not use its dedicated memory, but rather uses and shares the system memory. On the other hand, SIDEPORT mode is the one in which the card uses its own dedicated memory. And finally, the third mode is a combination of the previous modes in which the card uses both the system memory and its dedicated memory.

If your computer hangs, this settings may be where the solution lies. If your computer hangs, try using either UMA by itself or a combination of both. However, if you choose the combination, make sure that the UMA one is at least 128MB. In my case, I have SIDEPORT 128MB and 128MB UMA. If I choose any less for UMA, it does not work. This is definetly not an attractive solution since it compromises your systems performance. Hopefully, this will be solved very soon.

On some systems, the BIOS screen may not offer a choice of UMA or SIDEPORT. In this case, you can try turning the amount of RAM dedicated to the video card down, from 128Mb to 64Mb for example.

=== BigDesktop Works on GDM login screen, but not after window manager loads ===

This can occur on Ubuntu Feisty Fawn sometimes.

System > Prefrences > Screen Resolution

Select the resolution that is a combination of both screen resolutions wide and your height.

==See Also==
*[http://ati.amd.com/products/catalyst/linux.html Official ATI Linux Driver FAQ]

Frequently Asked Questions

2007-04-20T01:21:47Z

64.20.188.2: /* BigDesktop Works on GDM login screen, but no after window manager load */

==Installation==
===How do I know fglrx is installed correctly?===
There are several ways to check if fglrx is loaded and running.
<br>1. Check your X.org or XFree86 log. You should see "DRI Initialization Successful."
# vi /var/log/Xorg.0.log
or
# vi /var/log/XFree86.0.log
2. Check glxinfo. You should see "direct" and not "indirect."
# glxinfo | grep direct
3. Check your kernel log. You should see fglrx messages near the bottom.
# dmesg
4. Check your modules. You should see fglrx loaded.
# lsmod | grep fglrx
*NOTE: [[Glxgears is not a Benchmark|glxgears]] is not a definite way of checking the installation of fglrx.
=== Is the rebooting really necessary? ===

No.

However, rebooting is the easiest method to ensure that the kernel module(s) from the old driver are unloaded and the fglrx module is loaded instead. If you don't want to reboot for some reason, you may manually shut down Xorg, unload any old "drm", "radeon" or "fglrx" modules and then start Xorg again.

==Kernel==
===Why does fglrx not work for my bleeding-edge kernel?===
The development process of the fglrx driver and the GNU/Linux kernel are not on the same level. The fglrx driver requires some special interactions with the kernel memory API and these tend to change between kernel versions.

ATI will only look to support the latest kernel that is officially out (no -rc or -git releases are supported) at the time they release a driver. Example: fglrx version A comes out Monday, but kernel version B comes out Tuesday. Kernel version B is not supported by fglrx version A. (but might be able to work anyway by doing a 'modprobe -f fglrx' in a shell)

The binary part of ATI's kernel module has no explicit dependency on the Linux kernel. There are a set of source files that provide the glue to the kernel. This is where the dependency to different kernels exist. As a result, user contributed patches for newer kernels can often be found by searching [http://ati.cchtml.com Bugzilla].

==X Configuration==
===Composite Extension===
If you've enabled transparency, and you've added the Composite extension to the xorg.conf file, the ATI driver will disable DRI.

The only way to use 3D and the ATI OpenGL drivers is commenting the Option "Composite" "Enable" line.

It may be necessary to put the following lines into xorg.conf:

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

==Troubleshooting==
=== Computer Freezes while using fglrx (UMA and SIDEPORT) ===
If after choosing fglrx as your driver in either xorg.conf or xfree86.conf files, the computer freezes and becomes unresponsive while trying to start X this may be the solution.

Some ATI cards have the ability to run in three modes: UMA, SIDEPORT, or a combination of both. UMA mode is that one in which the video card does not use its dedicated memory, but rather uses and shares the system memory. On the other hand, SIDEPORT mode is the one in which the card uses its own dedicated memory. And finally, the third mode is a combination of the previous modes in which the card uses both the system memory and its dedicated memory.

If your computer hangs, this settings may be where the solution lies. If your computer hangs, try using either UMA by itself or a combination of both. However, if you choose the combination, make sure that the UMA one is at least 128MB. In my case, I have SIDEPORT 128MB and 128MB UMA. If I choose any less for UMA, it does not work. This is definetly not an attractive solution since it compromises your systems performance. Hopefully, this will be solved very soon.

On some systems, the BIOS screen may not offer a choice of UMA or SIDEPORT. In this case, you can try turning the amount of RAM dedicated to the video card down, from 128Mb to 64Mb for example.

=== BigDesktop Works on GDM login screen, but not after window manager loads ===

This can occur on Feisty Fawn sometimes.

System > Prefrences > Screen Resolution

Select the resolution that is a combination of both screen resolutions wide and your height.

==See Also==
*[http://ati.amd.com/products/catalyst/linux.html Official ATI Linux Driver FAQ]

Frequently Asked Questions

2007-04-20T01:21:29Z

64.20.188.2: /* Computer Freezes while using fglrx (UMA and SIDEPORT) */

==Installation==
===How do I know fglrx is installed correctly?===
There are several ways to check if fglrx is loaded and running.
<br>1. Check your X.org or XFree86 log. You should see "DRI Initialization Successful."
# vi /var/log/Xorg.0.log
or
# vi /var/log/XFree86.0.log
2. Check glxinfo. You should see "direct" and not "indirect."
# glxinfo | grep direct
3. Check your kernel log. You should see fglrx messages near the bottom.
# dmesg
4. Check your modules. You should see fglrx loaded.
# lsmod | grep fglrx
*NOTE: [[Glxgears is not a Benchmark|glxgears]] is not a definite way of checking the installation of fglrx.
=== Is the rebooting really necessary? ===

No.

However, rebooting is the easiest method to ensure that the kernel module(s) from the old driver are unloaded and the fglrx module is loaded instead. If you don't want to reboot for some reason, you may manually shut down Xorg, unload any old "drm", "radeon" or "fglrx" modules and then start Xorg again.

==Kernel==
===Why does fglrx not work for my bleeding-edge kernel?===
The development process of the fglrx driver and the GNU/Linux kernel are not on the same level. The fglrx driver requires some special interactions with the kernel memory API and these tend to change between kernel versions.

ATI will only look to support the latest kernel that is officially out (no -rc or -git releases are supported) at the time they release a driver. Example: fglrx version A comes out Monday, but kernel version B comes out Tuesday. Kernel version B is not supported by fglrx version A. (but might be able to work anyway by doing a 'modprobe -f fglrx' in a shell)

The binary part of ATI's kernel module has no explicit dependency on the Linux kernel. There are a set of source files that provide the glue to the kernel. This is where the dependency to different kernels exist. As a result, user contributed patches for newer kernels can often be found by searching [http://ati.cchtml.com Bugzilla].

==X Configuration==
===Composite Extension===
If you've enabled transparency, and you've added the Composite extension to the xorg.conf file, the ATI driver will disable DRI.

The only way to use 3D and the ATI OpenGL drivers is commenting the Option "Composite" "Enable" line.

It may be necessary to put the following lines into xorg.conf:

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

==Troubleshooting==
=== Computer Freezes while using fglrx (UMA and SIDEPORT) ===
If after choosing fglrx as your driver in either xorg.conf or xfree86.conf files, the computer freezes and becomes unresponsive while trying to start X this may be the solution.

Some ATI cards have the ability to run in three modes: UMA, SIDEPORT, or a combination of both. UMA mode is that one in which the video card does not use its dedicated memory, but rather uses and shares the system memory. On the other hand, SIDEPORT mode is the one in which the card uses its own dedicated memory. And finally, the third mode is a combination of the previous modes in which the card uses both the system memory and its dedicated memory.

If your computer hangs, this settings may be where the solution lies. If your computer hangs, try using either UMA by itself or a combination of both. However, if you choose the combination, make sure that the UMA one is at least 128MB. In my case, I have SIDEPORT 128MB and 128MB UMA. If I choose any less for UMA, it does not work. This is definetly not an attractive solution since it compromises your systems performance. Hopefully, this will be solved very soon.

On some systems, the BIOS screen may not offer a choice of UMA or SIDEPORT. In this case, you can try turning the amount of RAM dedicated to the video card down, from 128Mb to 64Mb for example.

=== BigDesktop Works on GDM login screen, but no after window manager load ===

This can occur on Feisty Fawn sometimes.

System > Prefrences > Screen Resolution

Select the resolution that is a combination of both screen resolutions wide and your height.

==See Also==
*[http://ati.amd.com/products/catalyst/linux.html Official ATI Linux Driver FAQ]