# [SOLVED] latest modular X will not work using i915

## andyandrews35

All,

Does anybody know when this issue will be fixed?  Exactly what issue, you ask?  A computer equipped with intel 855GM chipset for graphics, the latest kernel (2.6.35r4), and the latest modular-X, will not work correctly.  I have labored many hours to get it close to working, but believe me, this is a dead end.

X (the modern version, sans xorg.conf) reflects the hardware environment and wants the i915 driver.  The driver MUST be set for modesetting (KMS) or X will not start up.  If you think there is a way around this, you are almost certainly mistaken.  So I have the i915 compiled in with modesetting, and I get into X-Windows, but with an invisible mouse cursor.

Does anyone know of any fix in the pipeline for this problem?  (Other that purchasing newer hardware, that is)Last edited by andyandrews35 on Sun Sep 12, 2010 3:23 am; edited 1 time in total

----------

## audiodef

I have had problems with these cheap, onboard intel chip-sets. You will need to downgrade xorg and work without KMS, or create xorg.conf and load the i810 driver. 

I know, not what you want to hear, but you can either do that or bang your head against the wall. Other cards - the non-integrated kind, mostly will work. Not this one. For this one, KMS is a big dud.

----------

## andyandrews35

I already compile in the 810 driver.  How far back do I have to downgrade the x11?  Then I would specify the i810 driver instead of intel in my xorg.conf?

----------

## andyandrews35

I did an emerge to downgrade X11.  Then I did some more floundering around.  Finally I saw in one of the bug reports somebody saying they had to use the vesa driver.  That did the trick - I changed from i810 to vesa in my xorg.conf.  It was off to the races!

So I thank you audiodef, your suggestion got me started on the right road.  What mystifies me is all the forum posts I had to read over multiple frustrating evenings.  Some posters were clearly desperate or inexperienced or exasperated, or all three.  Yet never once did anyone point out they could use the vesa driver.  I have an old laptop with 855GM chipset.  If it works for me, it would work for probably just about any machine!

----------

## audiodef

I should have suggested you also check out Pappy's Kernel Seeds, which uses the vesa driver by default, among other good tweaks.

----------

## firetwister

Seems like I finally got (nearly) what i wanted for christmas  :Very Happy: . I got my 855GM working with accelerated KMS!!!

There's still a problem with KDE (kwin, x-server or whatever), it won't show anything else than the background image and the visible mouse cursor. 

But I have a workaround, all I need to do is start an OpenGL application (in fullscreen!) and after I quit it, everything works fine. Obviously you don't want to do it by hand, but it isn't a big problem, because you can start and kill it automatically and it can be a really simple openGL app. Unfortunatelly glxgears -fullscreen doesn't do the trick, but my tiny openGL app, which uses glutFullScreen(); does

SW versions:

sys-kernel/vanilla-sources-2.6.37_rc5 i915 with kms

x11-base/xorg-server-1.9.2.902

x11-libs/libdrm-2.4.22

x11-drivers/xf86-video-intel-2.13.0

media-libs/mesa-7.9

It works without a xorg.conf. KDM is a problem, because you can't start your openGL workaround that easy, so maybe switch to xdm. Plain X (startx) works without problems and doesn't need workarounds. But hopefully I can fix that last problem as well.

Best wishes

Firetwister

----------

## pappy_mcfae

The .27 kernel series is the last kernel version known to operate to some state of stability with i8xx series GPU's. Everything else has a tendency to cause strange video operation, locks, and other irritations. The .27 series remains in production for this very reason.

Cheers,

Pappy

----------

