Problem with fglrx

[Fernando]

Hi there.
I'm having trouble with the video driver. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I just upgraded from 15.04 and, as usual lately, the new kernel (4.2, I think it was) had problems with fglrx so I successfully booted from the previous one (3.19, maybe?). I then changed the video driver to the open-source one and tried to boot from kernel 4.2. It worked, and then I f****d up: I changed video driver again from the open-source one to the "fglrx updates" just to see if that one would work with that new kernel (although I haven't got the slightest idea what "updates" means). No, it didn't work. But the big trouble came when i tried to boot from kernel 3.19 again and I couldn't! So now I can't boot from either of the two kernels I have available. I only can use the liveCD.Is there any way of changing the video driver back to the open-source one from liveCD to boot system from kernel 4.2 or to the fglrx (no updates) to boot from kernel 3.19?
Thanks in advance. I'm kind of tired of this video driver thing...

[sithlord48]

if you can boot into recovery you can use apt or dpkg to remove all the fglrx packages next boot it should revert to the open source driver.

[Fernando]

Hi. Thanks for answering.
Not sure what recovery mode is or how to gt there. I got the command line by pressing ctrl+alt+F1 after the screen got blank. I removed fglrx by typing

sudo apt-get purge fglrx

and then rebooted but I'm back at the same place: blank screen and only command line. I also thought the system would go back to the open source driver, but...
Now the questions are: How do I check that the open source driver is installed? And, if it's not: How do I install it from the line? (if it is, then I don't know).
By the way, I unadvertedly uninstalled the old kernels, so I am stuck at 4.2 now.

[Fernando]

So I typed

sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-ati

and I got that it's already in its most recent version so... I don't know now. Maybe uninstall and reinstall it?

[Fernando]

I did. I uninstalled xserver by #sudo apt-get remove --purge xsrver-xorg# and then installed again by #sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg#Then I rebooted and this time I got stuck at the Kubuntu logo. No chance to do ctrl+alt+F1. So I used the LiveCD to reboot and changed an old xorg.conf by editing the part that reads Driver (in the device section). I wrote #Driver "vesa"#. That allowed me to reboot and get the command line. And there I am.Any ideas?

[sithlord48]

remove your /etc/xorg.conf file if you have one.

newer non properitay drivers do not need an xorg.conf file

[Fernando]

Thanks again, sithlord48.
I got it! I had forgotten to uninstall fglrx-updates and that was the one being used. So I did and that was it.
Now I'm using the open source driver with the 4.2 kernel. Not the best image quality, but... Anyone knows if a new kernel/amd proprietary driver is expected soon?

[sithlord48]

no idea i stopped using the fglrx driver a long time ago.. you should be able to change your resolution in system settings-> display

[Fernando]

No, I can't. It only gives me a resolution of 1152x864 and that's it. No possibility of selecting a different one. I wouldn't mind to forget about fglrx either if the difference wasn't so noticeable.

[Fernando]

I just activated the Proposed updates and got the new 4.2.0-17 kernel, which works perfectly with fglrx so I'm fine by now.

[sithlord48]

what card do you have ?

[Fernando]

According to the Driver Manager: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Cedar [Radeon HD 5000/6000/7350/8350 Series]

[sithlord48]

i wonder if you monitor lies to you with a bad EDID chip ? when you install the fglrx driver do you have to do anything to get the res you want? it might be possible to use the open source driver and just use xrandr to do the res.

[Fernando]

No, I don't have to do anything to get the right resolution (1440x900).
I tried using the open source driver and tweaking resolution using lxrandr but again it offered only 1152x864 and no possibility of changing it.
I guess I'll keep using fglrx and having to wait for a couple of days every time a new upgrade comes before the combo kernel-driver works...
Thanks for your interest, though!