# [SOLVED] X won't start (No devices detected)

## rbergen

I'm running into a problem that's giving me grey hairs, which I then end up pulling out due to sheer frustration.

I can't seem to get X to run on my installed Gentoo system with an Nvidia GeForce 6800 AGP graphics controller, while it does run on the Gentoo Install LiveDVD and SystemRescueCd (using the nouveau and nv drivers, respectively). I've tried the proprietary nvidia driver, nouveau and vesa, all of which yield the same message in the Xorg.0.log file: (EE) No devices detected. I'm sure I've included all the drivers for my system in the kernel, particularly those releted to graphics support.

The output of lspci is as follows:

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> 00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. K8M800 Host Bridge
> 
> 00:00.1 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. K8M800 Host Bridge
> ...

 

The Xorg.0.log file, with no xorg.conf present, looks as follows:

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> [ 24638.665]
> 
> X.Org X Server 1.9.5
> ...

 

I must be missing something that's staring me in the face, but I can't determine what it is. All help is greatly appreciated.Last edited by rbergen on Mon Jun 06, 2011 6:41 am; edited 1 time in total

----------

## Anon-E-moose

what does "lspci -k |grep -A4 VGA" return?

also what does 

```
grep -iE "nvidia|NVRM" /var/log/messages
```

 return

----------

## rbergen

First off, thanks for responding.

lspci -k | grep -A4 VGA yields:

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV40 [GeForce 6800] (rev a1)
> 
>         Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. V9999 Gamer Edition
> ...

 

grep -iE "nvidia|NVRM" /var/log/messages yields the following:

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> Jun  3 15:03:23 histon kernel: [  996.000087] nvidia: module license 'NVIDIA' taints kernel.
> 
> Jun  3 15:03:24 histon kernel: [  997.231800] nvidia 0000:01:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 16 (level, low) -> IRQ 16
> ...

 

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## Anon-E-moose

 *rbergen wrote:*   

> 
> 
> Jun  4 03:16:56 histon kernel: [ 1067.937418] NVRM: The NVIDIA probe routine was not called for 1 device(s).
> 
> Jun  4 03:16:56 histon kernel: [ 1067.937424] NVRM: This can occur when a driver such as nouveau, rivafb,
> ...

 

You probably have the nouveau driver being loaded before nvidia can get there.

add

```
blacklist nouveau
```

to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

and reboot

I'm assuming that you don't have other framebuffers built in, the only ones that play nice with nvidia are vesafb and uvesafb.

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## rbergen

Actually, I only installed nouveau after I found the nvidia driver didn't work. to see if the issue was driver-specific (which it isn't, because I can't even get the VESA driver to work.) Anyway, I've just built a new kernel without nouveau and rebooted, which gives me the exact same result when I start X (no devices detected).

And no, I am not loading any other fb drivers at this time.

----------

## Anon-E-moose

If you are still getting the NVRM messages about drivers, then you have something set wrong

what does 

```
grep -E "FB|DRM|FRAMEB" /usr/src/linux/.config |grep -v "^#"
```

 return

----------

## rbergen

Actually, I no longer get the NVRM messages about drivers. Instead, I get completely different NVRM messages now, which are even more puzzling:

Jun  5 15:40:46 histon kernel: [   89.412833] nvidia: module license 'NVIDIA' taints kernel.

Jun  5 15:40:46 histon kernel: [   89.412840] Disabling lock debugging due to kernel taint

Jun  5 15:40:47 histon kernel: [   90.646290] nvidia 0000:01:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 16 (level, low) -> IRQ 16

Jun  5 15:40:47 histon kernel: [   90.646299] NVRM: This PCI I/O region assigned to your NVIDIA device is invalid:

Jun  5 15:40:47 histon kernel: [   90.646300] NVRM: BAR1 is 3584M @ 0x0 (PCI:0000:01:00.0)

Jun  5 15:40:47 histon kernel: [   90.646304] NVRM: The system BIOS may have misconfigured your GPU.

Jun  5 15:40:47 histon kernel: [   90.646323] nvidia: probe of 0000:01:00.0 failed with error -1

Jun  5 15:40:47 histon kernel: [   90.647464] NVRM: The NVIDIA probe routine failed for 1 device(s).

Jun  5 15:40:47 histon kernel: [   90.647468] NVRM: None of the NVIDIA graphics adapters were initialized!

Although I don't quite understand what the message means, I have a gut feeling that the first thing to do is see if I can find a  BIOS update for my motherboard. Which is great, because MSI only supports BIOS updates using a Windows tool, which means I'll have to install Windows on a system I very much only wanted to run Linux on just to try to get Linux to work properly...

If anybody knows anything else I can try that may make that I don't have to go down that wrongful path, I would be very grateful indeed...

Just to be complete, to answer  Anon-E-moose's question regarding the output of grep -E "FB|DRM|FRAMEB" /usr/src/linux/.config |grep -v "^#", it is as follows:

CONFIG_DRM=y

CONFIG_FB=y

CONFIG_FRAMEBUFFER_CONSOLE=y

CONFIG_FRAMEBUFFER_CONSOLE_DETECT_PRIMARY=y

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## Anon-E-moose

 *rbergen wrote:*   

> Actually, I no longer get the NVRM messages about drivers. Instead, I get completely different NVRM messages now, which are even more puzzling:
> 
> Jun  5 15:40:46 histon kernel: [   89.412833] nvidia: module license 'NVIDIA' taints kernel.
> 
> Jun  5 15:40:46 histon kernel: [   89.412840] Disabling lock debugging due to kernel taint
> ...

 

I have an MSI board and it updated the bios from a usb stick, from the bios itself, didn't need windows, it even let me save the old bios (just in case)

A quick google of one of the messages, gave me this page

http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-1013589.html

There are some hints for setting things in the bios, might be worth looking into

and this one https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-732416-start-0.html

----------

## rbergen

After spending what boils down to another day on this, I'm about ready to throw in the towel. After much hassle I've been able to update the motherboard BIOS to the latest version that I could find (which really was no small feat, because MSI's support for this old, not to say ancient, K8MM3-V motherboard is basically absent). I've gone through the BIOS to find the settings that are mentioned on the various pages that discuss the NVRM messages I was getting, only to find they don't exist in my BIOS, and other solutions that were offered don't apply because the system in question only has 2GB of RAM. I ended up even replacing the video card with another (older) NVIDIA model, which means I had to downgrade the drivers to 96.43.x.

The end result of all this: zilch, in the sense that X still won't start, and with the new (that is, old) video card there are no clues to be found in /var/log/messages why not.

I'm not a big believer in fate, but I am starting to think that me running a graphical UI on my Gentoo installation on that particular system is just not meant to be. Which is a frustrating conclusion, particularly because graphics do seem to work with everything else; or certainly with SystemRescueCd, the Gentoo LiveDVD and (shudder) Windows XP.

Of course, I still DO strongly hope to be proven wrong by someone who reads this...

----------

## keet

I'm wondering a few things that might be relevant:

1.  What does 'grep VIDEO_CARDS /etc/make.conf' reveal?

2.  Which version of the NVidia drivers are you using?

3.  Your card is AGP, but I don't see anything about an AGP controller in lspci.  Maybe you should try following Pappy's Kernel Seed guide, or at least making sure that the things you get from "lspci -n" are enabled in your kernel configuration per http://kmuto.jp/debian/hcl/ .  

I hope that this helps.

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## VoidMage

Stab in the dark, but check if udev is in correct runlevel.

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## <3

a lot of people are reporting this problem. It seems that the gentoo handbook has no mention of adding udev to the proper runlevel.

```
# rc-update add udev sysinit
```

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## rbergen

VoidMage and <3, I'm afraid I'm going to have to marry both of you and have your babies, because as it turns out that's exactly what the problem was. Added udev to sysinit runlevel, rebooted, et voila: X works...

The stupid thing is that I knew I needed udev in that runlevel, but obviously plainly forgot to add it on this particular system (which was the third in a row that I installed Gentoo on, in a period of just a few days). I guess the fact it is not mentioned anywhere in the handbook doesn't really help.

Anyway, thanks a lot for this reminder, as I can now finally use this particular box to its proper potential.

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## diablo465

I want to throw in the towel on this prblem as well

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