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Troubleshooting XFree86 GUI display!

You may not be able to "startx" as the NVIDIA GeForce FX5200 video card is not compatible with the generic "nv" driver that the anaconda installer detects. Luckily NVIDIA has a driver and can be downloaded from here. See the README file for the installation and configuration of the driver. Check to see that your nvidia kernel module is loaded via "lsmod | grep nvidia". I had to "insmod nvidia" to load the nvidia module into the kernel after driver installation. Also check that you have the line, "alias char-major-195 nvidia" in your "/etc/modules.conf" file.

• Configure xfree86 using redhat-config-xfree86 utility
  

  Boot to Linux and as you see the grub screen, hit 'a' key. This will allow you to alter the kernel line in grub, and you can add a '3' to the end of the line, passing a message to kernel to start at init level 3 instead of the default in the inittab file. Hit enter to accept your change, and enter again to boot. Note this change is not permanent, so next boot will be as normal...

  You will then be able to run 'redhat-config-xfree86' to configure XFree86. If the config program still won't start, try option '--reconfig' and '--set-<key>=", it throws out the current XF86Config file and starts fresh with the specified configuration keys.

• or Manually edit the "/etc/X11/XF86Config" file
  

  Save a copy of your config file before manually editing it. Find the relevant Device section and replace the line:

  Driver "nv"
  

  with

  Driver "nvidia" 
  

  In the Module section, make sure you have:

  Load   "glx"
  

  You should also remove the following lines:

  Load  "dri"
  

  My "Monitor" Section has the below refresh rates:

  HorizSync      28.0 - 110.0
  VertRefresh    43.0 - 90.0
  

  The modelines are set to:

  ModeLine     "1280x800@60" 83.9 1280 1312 1624 1656 800 816 824 841
  ModeLine     "1280x800@70" 101.92 1280 1312 1696 1728 800 816 825 841
  ModeLine     "800x600@60" 38.21 800 832 976 1008 600 612 618 631
  

  Device options:

  Option      "NoLogo" "true"
  Option      "FlatPanelProperties" "aspect-scaled"
  Option      "RenderAccel" "off"
  Option      "UseEdidFreqs" "on"
  Option      "NvAgp" "2"
  

  The "Display" SubSection is set to:

  Depth      24
  Modes      "1280x800@60" "1280x800@70" "800x600@60"
  

  Below is how my XF86Config file looks like:

  # XFree86 4 configuration created by redhat-config-xfree86
   
  Section "ServerLayout"
          Identifier     "single head configuration"
          Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
          InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
          InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
          InputDevice    "DevInputMice" "AlwaysCore"
  EndSection
   
  Section "Files"
   
  # RgbPath is the location of the RGB database.  Note, this is the name of the
  # file minus the extension (like ".txt" or ".db").  There is normally
  # no need to change the default.
  # Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
  # By default, Red Hat 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
  # the X server to render fonts.
          RgbPath      "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
          FontPath     "unix/:7100"
  EndSection
   
  Section "Module"
          Load  "dbe"
          Load  "extmod"
          Load  "fbdevhw"
          Load  "glx"
          Load  "record"
          Load  "freetype"
          Load  "type1"
  EndSection
   
  Section "InputDevice"
   
  # Specify which keyboard LEDs can be user-controlled (eg, with xset(1))
  #       Option  "Xleds"         "1 2 3"
  # To disable the XKEYBOARD extension, uncomment XkbDisable.
  #       Option  "XkbDisable"
  # To customise the XKB settings to suit your keyboard, modify the
  # lines below (which are the defaults).  For example, for a non-U.S.
  # keyboard, you will probably want to use:
  #       Option  "XkbModel"      "pc102"
  # If you have a US Microsoft Natural keyboard, you can use:
  #       Option  "XkbModel"      "microsoft"
  #
  # Then to change the language, change the Layout setting.
  # For example, a german layout can be obtained with:
  #       Option  "XkbLayout"     "de"
  # or:
  #       Option  "XkbLayout"     "de"
  #       Option  "XkbVariant"    "nodeadkeys"
  #
  # If you'd like to switch the positions of your capslock and
  # control keys, use:
  #       Option  "XkbOptions"    "ctrl:swapcaps"
  # Or if you just want both to be control, use:
  #       Option  "XkbOptions"    "ctrl:nocaps"
  #
          Identifier  "Keyboard0"
          Driver      "keyboard"
          Option      "XkbRules" "xfree86"
          Option      "XkbModel" "pc105"
          Option      "XkbLayout" "us"
  EndSection
   
  Section "InputDevice"
          Identifier  "Mouse0"
          Driver      "mouse"
          Option      "Protocol" "PS/2"
          Option      "Device" "/dev/psaux"
          Option      "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
          Option      "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
  EndSection
   
  Section "InputDevice"
   
  # If the normal CorePointer mouse is not a USB mouse then
  # this input device can be used in AlwaysCore mode to let you
  # also use USB mice at the same time.
          Identifier  "DevInputMice"
          Driver      "mouse"
          Option      "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
          Option      "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
          Option      "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
          Option      "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
  EndSection
   
  Section "Monitor"
          Identifier   "WXGA"
          VendorName   "Dell"
          ModelName    "Dell D800 WXGA Panel"
          HorizSync    28.0 - 110.0
          VertRefresh  43.0 - 90.0
          ModeLine     "1280x800@60" 83.9 1280 1312 1624 1656 800 816 824 841
          ModeLine     "1280x800@70" 101.92 1280 1312 1696 1728 800 816 825 841
          ModeLine     "800x600@60" 38.21 800 832 976 1008 600 612 618 631
          Option      "dpms"
  EndSection
   
  Section "Device"
          Identifier  "GeForce FX5200"
          Driver      "nvidia"
          VendorName  "NVIDIA"
          BoardName   "NVIDIA GeForce FX5200"
          Option      "NoLogo" "true"
          Option      "FlatPanelProperties" "aspect-scaled"
          Option      "RenderAccel" "off"
          Option      "UseEdidFreqs" "on"
          Option      "NvAgp" "2"
  EndSection
   
  Section "Screen"
          Identifier "Screen0"
          Device     "GeForce FX5200"
          Monitor    "WXGA"
          DefaultDepth     24
          SubSection "Display"
                  Depth     24
                  Modes    "1280x800@60" "1280x800@70" "800x600@60"
          EndSubSection
  EndSection
   
  Section "DRI"
          Group        0
          Mode         0666
  EndSection
  

Once you have configured your XF86Config file, you are ready to restart
X and begin using the accelerated OpenGL libraries. After you restart X,
you should be able to run any OpenGL application and it will automatically
use the new NVIDIA libraries.

Notes:

To see if you are running the latest NVIDIA driver, run the following command as root:

nvidia-installer --latest

To update your NVIDIA driver to the latest version, run the following command as root (an X server must not be running):

nvidia-installer --update

Determining NVIDIA driver version:

cat /proc/driver/nvidia/version

Determining NVIDIA card capabilities:

cat /proc/driver/nvidia/agp/host-bridge

Displaying NVIDIA card status:

cat /proc/driver/nvidia/agp/status

I hope your experience has been as intriguing as it has been for me. Enjoy both the worlds!!

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Troubleshooting XFree86 GUI display!