Graphics card not compatible error message

[censhored]

I recently reformatted an old computer and put Kubuntu 10.10 on it initially (because I had a flash drive with it). One it was installed I upgraded to 11.10. Although I could to a degree use the OS, it just wasn't right. I had programs that wouldn't work properly, that would freeze on the screen for instance, or more frequently turn into a black box or window. I did a little research and discovered that it may be because I have an old machine and that my graphics card has some compatibility issue with Oneiric.

When I downgraded back to 10.10 it ceased to be a problem. Currently I'm still running Maverick (10.10), but would like to upgrade to the newest version. I'm willing to buy and install a new graphics card if necessary, but don't want to buy the wrong one. Any guidance would be appreciated.

Some specifications:
Dell Dimension 4600
Expansion bus type: PCI
PCI connector size: 120 pins
PCI connector data width (max): 32 bits
AGP: AGP 1X, 4X, 8X
Video ports and connector: 15 hole connector
Video Integrated: Intel Extreme Graphics controller
Video AGP video card: AGP 8X

Hopefully that information helps. If you need any more please ask. Keep in mind that I'm new and probably need step by step guidance.

Thanks a lot in advance!

[Snowhog]

The video GPU could be an issue. But, the Intel Extreme Graphics controller will likely work well enough. One thing that you could have checked, is turning off most/all of the Desktop Effects and seeing if performance increased. The other factor could be the amount of installed RAM in the PC. How much is installed?

[ardvark71]

But, the Intel Extreme Graphics controller will likely work well enough.

Hi all...

Possibly. However, if the OP wants to do anything with better 3D capabilities, an older (onboard) Intel chipset probably isn't going to cut it. I've learned this first hand with the system I spoke about here and here. Some of it will depend on the amount of memory reserved for the onboard graphics.

@censhored: Welcome to the forums! I'm thinking an upgrade to an AGP 8X graphics card might be necessary. I think Nvidia is probably the best in terms driver installation. With many cards, Jockey (Hardware Drivers) will automatically offer to download and activate the appropriate driver. Here is one example of a card you can purchase. Perhaps a better card from the AMD side (formerly ATI) can be found here. Fortunately, the current proprietory driver (catalyst) still supports this model, although it can be harder to install. The driver can be found here. :-)

Additional information on how to set up the AMD Radeon card can be found at the Ubuntu forums here. I'm sure this isn't the only way to install the drivers but read through the guides carefully to see if you're sure about attempting it. There is also a bug that might affect you should you purchase this card.

Also, please open a terminal (Konsole) and type in the command "lspci" without the quotes and post the results. How much system and video memory does this system have?

Regards...

[james147]

I'm thinking an upgrade to an AGP 8X graphics card might be necessary.

Mabe necessary, but is it worth it? AGP cards are legacy now and as such most manufacturers have dropped support for them (or will likely do soon if they haven't already). They are also quite expensive for the performance they give.

You should consider if its worth upgrading such an old pc or just dealing with what it has until you retire it.

[censhored]

Thank you each for your feedback - I do appreciate it.

James, I do think that it's worth it so long as I don't overpay for a graphics card. But you have a point and I have considered just sticking with Maverick, though that means I'd have to accept whatever bugs or holes may be in the older version.

Snowhog, If you think the GPU might be an issue, is there a way that I can check into that? As far as RAM, there's 1GB.

Ardvark, Thanks for the welcome. I'm not looking to do anything 3D or any gaming. I would want to be able to watch videos full screen (sometimes streaming live), but that's the most graphically intense thing I would have any use for.

I'm thinking an upgrade to an AGP 8X graphics card might be necessary.

I was looking at some graphics cards and found one that was an AGP 8X (see here), but then when reviewing the current specs of the comptuer I thought I realized that I already have an AGP 8X (see the specs from my original post). Am I reading this wrong? Maybe it's telling me that the computer is capable of handling AGP 8X, not necessarily that I already have that....?

[censhored]

Sorry for the multiple posts. I got an error message that I was trying to use 5 images when I tried posting everything together. Does cutting and pasting constitute an "image"?

Also, please open a terminal (Konsole) and type in the command "lspci" without the quotes and post the results. How much system and video memory does this system have?

Here's the results from the lspic command:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82865G/PE/P DRAM Controller/Host-Hub Interface (rev 02)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 82865G Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 02)
00:06.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation 82865G/PE/P Processor to I/O Memory Interface (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev c2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 02)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) IDE Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801EB (ICH5) SATA Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) SMBus Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 02)
01:01.0 Modem: Intel Corporation FA82537EP 56K V.92 Data/Fax Modem PCI (rev 04)
01:08.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82562EZ 10/100 Ethernet Controller (rev 02)

[censhored]

Oh... I think I figured out the 5 images thing. I ran a lshw command and tried to post the results without reading through it. At one point there are symbols that look like question marks inside of black diamonds. I'm learning! Anyway, I wanted to give a little more about the specs of the computer.

product: Dimension 4600i
vendor: Dell Computer Corporation

-firmware
description: BIOS
vendor: Dell Computer Corporation
physical id: 0
version: A10 (05/17/2004)
size: 64KiB
capacity: 448KiB
-cpu
description: CPU
product: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz

-memory
description: System Memory
physical id: 1000
slot: System board or motherboard
size: 1GiB
-pci
description: Host bridge
product: 82865G/PE/P DRAM Controller/Host-Hub Interface
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 100
bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0
version: 02
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
configuration: driver=agpgart-intel
resources: irq:0 memory:f0000000-f7ffffff
*-display
description: VGA compatible controller
product: 82865G Integrated Graphics Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 2
bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
version: 02
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
resources: irq:16 memory:e8000000-efffffff memory:feb80000-febfffff ioport:ed98(size=8
*-generic UNCLAIMED
description: System peripheral
product: 82865G/PE/P Processor to I/O Memory Interface
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 6
bus info: pci@0000:00:06.0
version: 02
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
configuration: latency=0
resources: memory:fecf0000-fecf0fff

-pci
description: PCI bridge
product: 82801 PCI Bridge
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1e
bus info: pci@0000:00:1e.0
version: c2
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci normal_decode bus_master
resources: ioport:d000(size=4096) memory:fea00000-feafffff




Hope the added info helps and isn't overkill! Thanks again.

[ardvark71]

I'm not looking to do anything 3D or any gaming. I would want to be able to watch videos full screen (sometimes streaming live), but that's the most graphically intense thing I would have any use for. I was looking at some graphics cards and found one that was an AGP 8X (see here), but then when reviewing the current specs of the comptuer I thought I realized that I already have an AGP 8X (see the specs from my original post). Am I reading this wrong? Maybe it's telling me that the computer is capable of handling AGP 8X, not necessarily that I already have that....?

Hi...

From your lspci readout, you do not have an AGP card installed, you're still using the onboard Intel graphics. I don't think you would do well with the GeForce 5200 you mentioned, it's even older than the cards I proposed! I have the same card (but different brand) in one of my systems and can assure you that even with videos and live streaming, you're going to need higher specs, in my opinion, than what the 5200 can offer. Youtube and other web videos on my card will either play well sometimes, or they will stutter moderately or badly...or not even play at all. I would suggest purchasing the GeForce 6200 I mentioned at the very minimum, I think you will be much happier with the results.

Regards...

[james147]

I would suggest purchasing the GeForce 6200 I mentioned at the very minimum, I think you will be much happier with the results.

I would agree, if you are going to buy a legacy card then you may as well buy an end of the line legacy card . That way it will last just that bit longer.

[censhored]

Thanks again for your help - I appreciate it. I think I'm going to buy one of the cards Ardvark mentioned. I'll let you know if I have any installation problems and how it works out.

[censhored]

So I have an update.

I ordered and received the GeForce 6200 that was recommended by Ardvark, but haven't yet been able to get it up and working. I tried a couple configurations but apparently am missing something. Here's a quick summary:

1) Running Kubuntu 10.10 with old graphics card = works fine
2) Upgraded to Natty with old graphics card = graphic problems, windows turn black or freeze
3) Fresh install using Oneiric with old graphics card = graphics problems more severe, minimize, maximize, and close buttons for instance are missing and the window sizes are not proportional to the running program they "house".
4) Kubuntu (all releases) with new graphics card gives me a black screen on startup. I cannot successfully boot up or even go in to change the boot sequence. I thought maybe if I reformatted and installed Oneiric fresh that it might automatically install any missing drivers.
5) Just for the heck of it... I tried Xubuntu Oneiric with the new graphics card and it seemed to work OK. Of course I'm trying to run Kubuntu, not Xubuntu.

Am I correct in assuming this is about a missing driver? If so how do I get a driver installed without putting the new graphics card in since when I put the card in with the intention of immediately searching for a driver I get nothing but a black screen?

Thanks again for all your guidance!!

[SteveRiley]

For new hardware, it can sometimes help to use the latest versions of X and the binary video drivers. Please see this how-to post for adding an experimental repository that works well. Ignore the bits about intel-sna; you'll want only xorg-edgers. Adding that package and performing an update will bump you up to X Server 1.11 and nVidia 295.17.

[jpenguin]

Jockey does have a CLI interface 'jockey-text'. Since you say you get a black screen when you install your card, I'm assuming you can get to a CLI login though...

I'm loving my Radeon HD 4890, supported by the FOSS drivers ;-)

[censhored]

Maybe I was misleading, but I don't get anything on the screen at all. It's as though the monitor is turned off (though it's not). That's what has me wondering when, where, and how to install drivers. I haven't even gotten to the point of where to find the driver yet.

Perhaps I could try locating a driver first and installing it while the old card is still in the machine and then putting back the new card...?

[SteveRiley]

Over on the Ubuntu forum is a detailed troubleshooting guide for working through graphics-related issues. I'd recommend studying that for a bit, and then trying the suggestions there.