video driver with kubuntu [SOLVED]

[cyber_dragon]

after i installed kubuntu i tried to install the video driver for intel i9xx
i opened the folder

i got this

http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.p...demuri&thumb=5

i extracted Intel-3.4.3006-20051209.i386.tar[1] and i got this

http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.p...lyy5gm&thumb=5

some might say you don't need to install the driver , cuz kubuntu comes with the required divers but the graphics aren't working , when i open firefox i get a fuzzy screen then it opens and in other applications that happens too and the system is a little slow .

the fuzzy screen looks like this

http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.p...t5nb2j&thumb=5

so i want to know how to install it


thanks

[kelly]

Re: video driver with kubuntu

i had the same problem as you, and we're using the same graphics chipset. (i'm on my macbook using i915)

I say had because after I upgraded to kde 4.2, that particular problem went away. My computer still runs like crap though, and I still think it might be something related to the graphics card.

Anyways...I think there is a way to use the make file to make an install file through konsole(check here), but here's an easier alternative.

...chipset drivers ... were only available in .rpm. The Wiki article stated that ‘Alien’ (a small application) is able to create .deb files out of .rpm and other archives. That was exactly what I needed!I did the following terminal work to to install the drivers with enabled hardware acceleration :

* sudo apt-get install alien

In the meantime I downloaded the driver and browsed in the terminal to the location it would be downloaded to. After the download was complete I used the following commands.

* sudo alien <filname.rpm>
* sudo dpkg -i <filename.deb>
* sudo apt-get update
* sudo apt-get upgrade

btw, where did you get those drivers?

[The Liquidator]

Re: video driver with kubuntu

The fundamental problem is that the intel 915 graphics card (being the one responsible for the MS Windows Vista "capable" sticker row) is sufficiently crap that it almost fits the statutory definition of the term. Do not expect it to cope with 3d desktop effects either in kubuntu or any other linux (or Vista by all accounts, what with the litigation and all) It is the biggest limiting factor of my Dell 630m laptop. Suse disables 3d support for it by default IIRC.

Now, to try and fix your problem. The intel xorg drivers available from your package manager are, I would suggest, the best you are going to get. The packages have been prepared for use with kubuntu so I would uninstall the ones you have downloaded and reinstall the repository ones. As Kelly suggests an upgrade to KDE 4.2 will do you no harm, many people, myself included, consider it a huge improvement over 4.1.

If that doesn't fix your firefox issue my initial thought is that something might have gone wrong with your Firefox config. Open dolphin and select "view hidden files". Then navigate to home/.mozilla/firefox and rename the profile from .default to .old. Then reload firefox. that will create a new profile and with a bit of luck a working firefox. You can then import your bookmarks from your old profile. Extensions will I think need to be downloaded again.

That help?

[kelly]

Re: video driver with kubuntu

why is it the leopard runs fine while kubuntu struggles on my macbook(1,1)?

What are the minimum requirements for kubuntu? My sister runs ubuntu on her 8 year old laptop; why does my somewhat modern laptop struggle with kubuntu? Is there that much of a leap in the demands of kubuntu?

Also, i've seen a lot of xorg.conf file sharing and contrasting when i google the subject. Why is my xorg.conf only a few lines long? These people are sharing monstrous xorg configurations in comparison to mine, which is as following:

# xorg.conf (X.Org X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# Note that some configuration settings that could be done previously
# in this file, now are automatically configured by the server and settings
# here are ignored.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
#  sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Default Screen"
	Monitor		"Configured Monitor"
	Device		"Configured Video Device"
EndSection

[The Liquidator]

Re: video driver with kubuntu

I imagine Leopard runs fine because Apple have specifically tailored things that way. When you bought your macbook with leopard, you bought the complete package. Just like my dell 630 with Win XP - the makers supplied it with XP installed, so it had to work. I am sure that if I had bought a laptop with kubuntu installed, rather than having converted one designed for XP then I might be talking a little differently.

I would not say my Dell 630m is slow with kubuntu. I am sufficiently happy with it to relegate Windows to a VM now., I can whizz through the file managers, load Openoffice in 8 seconds. Just it's slow on google earth and won't work 3d.

With this card, xorg in its current form is designed to take over completely and xorg.conf should be empty. Changes to that file have no effect it would seem. Perhaps that's why things are not so good at the moment.

[kelly]

Re: video driver with kubuntu

At this point, I'm not making huge demands from kubuntu. I would be completely satisfied if i could just use a web browser.

My computer locks up during the most simple tasks. There is a noticeable delay in most things. dolphin, firefox, konsole, and a package manager open at the same time is a recipe for disaster. The kmenu shows up a second if not more after I have clicked it, and the quick launch widget is even worse.

Trying to watch a video on hulu is also a surefire way to crash as well.

There's got to be something something driver related that's causing my computer to function this poorly.

[Smurphy]

Re: video driver with kubuntu

If you just want to browse the WEb, use the default Drivers (intel drivers as provided by the distribution), and disable the Desktop effects.

System Settings -> Desktop -> Desktop Effects

and Unselect the enable Desktop Effects Button.

Should take care of your Sudden Crashes.
The Graphic chip you have - is as someone already mentioned, one of the biggest pieces of crap (After the VIA graphic Chips), that has been manufactured.

[The Liquidator]

Re: video driver with kubuntu

That can't be right. You say you have upgraded to KDE 4.2?

Try this - open a konsole terminal and type in glxgears. What frame-rate do you get? That will give you a very rough idea of how well or badly your graphics card is working but I suspect it might not be the cause of your crashes.

Also, from konsole you could run top which records the demands put on your system by the various apps. That might give you a clue.

You could try one of the other desktops, xfce seems a good option. If the freezes then stop the finger might then point at kde. Worth a try.

Yes, should have specifically mentioned it (although I did allude to it I suppose) - I agree if you have desktop effects (either KWin effects or compiz) enabled you should turn them off.

[cyber_dragon]

Re: video driver with kubuntu

i'll upgrade to KDE4.2 and see what happens
thanks for the responses

[kelly]

Re: video driver with kubuntu


just turned desktop effects off
w/ desktop effects on its more like the 2nd result

and the default drivers are called versa, right? I'll check them out.

[The Liquidator]

Re: video driver with kubuntu

No the default driver is xserver-xorg-video-intel. These are the ones installed by default. Vesa is a generic video setting that all cards can use in the absence of the right driver. Use that and you'll probably have a flashy 800x600 display.

Your GLXgears result is phenomenal for an i915 card if you ask me. The best I can achieve on my dell with the same card is 820fps (no desktop effects). So if your system is slow I can't see that being the problem.

Is it actually slow or is it that it has been optimised to death for leopard that anything else by comparison seems slow? Can you give us some launch times for say firefox and openoffice ?

[kelly]

Re: video driver with kubuntu

No the default driver is xserver-xorg-video-intel. These are the ones installed by default. Vesa is a generic video setting that all cards can use in the absence of the right driver. Use that and you'll probably have a flashy 800x600 display.

Your GLXgears result is phenomenal for an i915 card if you ask me. The best I can achieve on my dell with the same card is 820fps (no desktop effects). So if your system is slow I can't see that being the problem.

Is it actually slow or is it that it has been optimised to death for leopard that anything else by comparison seems slow? Can you give us some launch times for say firefox and openoffice ?

from the moment i clicked

What do you mean by optimized to death? As in my macbook is specifically made to work with mac os and nothing else??

I'll collect launch time data and report back. One question : does your computer become practically inoperable when watching a hulu video at 480p? I was watching a 4 minute clip in 480i and everything was going fine, and when i switched it to 480p, my computer began to run incredibly slow until it got to the point where I couldn't switch between open windows, and ctrl+alt+backspace was the only option (ctrl+esc doesn't even respond).

---TESTS---
firefox from click to when the window popped up on screen
7.5seconds

quick launch from click to full display of folders
2 seconds

openoffice.org word processor from click to full display of blank document
1 minute 9 seconds

[The Liquidator]

Re: video driver with kubuntu

By "optimised to death" I mean that both the OS and the machine have been specifically designed and built with a view to working with and bringing the best out of each other. Whether Apple wish they could have made it so Linux would not work at all on it is another story. With your linux installation the OS has to figure out a lot more for itself which is not helpful overall and may have a bearing on raw performance.

hulu? Never used it I am afraid so I cannot tell. You might try to run top in a console while you are doing this - it will tell you what is going on with your CPU and Ram .

Firefox and quick launch - if those are from cold then they probably aren't that bad. I don't like the openoffice time though, what version are you using and is it a repo version?

[cyber_dragon]

Re: video driver with kubuntu

problem solved by upgrading to KDE4.2

[The Liquidator]

Re: video driver with kubuntu [SOLVED]

That's great news!