Nvidia advice

[teeitup]

I'm trying to get a Viper v550 AGP card to work on a Debian install. It's been upgraded using "testing" but the kernel is still 2.2.17.
I tried using the Progeny cd but it bombs out due to the fact It can't load X for the install.

I'm doing this to see for myself what is involved in getting nvidia drivers to work in linux. ATI cards have always been a snap. Following this forum, some say it's easy and some have had a hellish time with them.

The pdf from the nvidia site recommends having a working XF86Config-4 file using the nv driver before installing the accelerated drivers.
I'm at the point that X no longer crashes.
All I get is a blank screen.
I have played around with depth, resolution and the like. I still only get a blank screen.

Do most people start with a working config before installing the accelerated drivers?

Do most people just jump right to the new drivers?

The tar files don't want to compile. I figured I would deal with that later.

I'm going to build a new PC and this exercise will help me determine what kind of video card I buy.

Thanks,

[Apostata]

Hey tee,

Where do I start...while I'm not a Debian-user per se, I would firmly tell you to ditch Progeny (others will disagree). For these reasons:

1) Why not just use Debian-Debian and inherit all of the superpowers that come with being a true Debian-user (okay, this is sarcastic).

2) I tried installing Progeny and had nothing but problems...by the time I got GNOME up (an old version, of course) I asked myself: why bother?

With the two main - how shall we say...utilitarian? - distributions (Debian and Slackware), it isn't meant to run perfectly out of the box. I'm learning this with Slack.
Your video card (which I used to own) should just use the regular nVidia driver ('nv' is the default driver in most distros...upgrade to the newer drivers afterwards). First however, update XFree...I think both Debian and Slack use XFree 3.x...you should upgrade to a stable 4.x before upgrading your video card driver(if only for debugging purposes...X takes more massaging than video drivers).

The instructions provided for both XFree 4 installation and Nvidia are really clear...shouldn't cause nightmares after some tweaking.

Regarding your 'tar' problem, what command are you using to extract files (ie tar xvzf file.tar.gz)?

Hope this makes some sense...email me if you need more info.

[Strike]

I have the exact same card. Here (http://www.dipaolo.f2s.com/XF86Config-4) is the config file I am currently using. (Check and make sure the mouse stuff is right for you)

If you are using X 4.1.0 (which I think is in "testing" by now), then I am pretty sure you HAVE to use kernel 2.4.8 or later to get the new DRI stuff that they put in there.

Also, check /var/log/XFree86.0.log for errors (grep "^(EE)" /var/log/XFree86.0.log). If there are any, post them.

[teeitup]

Thanks,

I removed the Horz and Vert settings and it came up in what looks like 800x600 mode.

The machine is compiling a 2.4.9 kernel as I write this.

Since I now have a working XF86Config file I'll try to install the new driver.

I have the tar files and the pdf and Google/Linux :D , I should be all set.


Apostata,

I always use straight debian. All servers except this laptop.
I tried progeny 4 times on different machines. 2 worked perfectly, 2 failed terribly.
I was thinking that since it uses a GUI install it might detect the card right off the bat and save me some time. I was wrong.

Strike,

I have this new Flat Panel I'm not sure if there are any quirks about setting up the config file. Yours looks very similar to mine. I saved it off to compare later.

Thanks again,