New G4 Powerbook Video (Radeon Mobility 9600) Problems

[Ed McKnight]

>
>
>
>Message: 1
>Subject: Re: New G4 Powerbook Video (Radeon Mobility 9600) Problems
>To: yellowdog-general@lists.terrasoftsolutions.com
>Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 17:14:08 +0300 (EEST)
>From: Atro Tossavainen <atro.tossavainen+ydl@helsinki.fi>
>Reply-To: yellowdog-general@lists.terrasoftsolutions.com
>
>Ed,
>
>  
>
>>The most obnoxious is that there is no video support for the video chip 
>>they upgraded to: the ATI Radeon Mobility 9600. I think the older 
>>powerbook had the 9000 which has video support.
>>    
>>
>
>It's not just YDL.  It's everybody who uses XFree86, on all platforms.
>
>Support for a whole lot of new Radeons in XFree86 is only in the
>development stage.  You can download a development snapshot of XFree86
>(currently at 4.3.99-14 from today, 10 Oct 2003), compile, replace a
>few files, and it _should_ work.
>
>No sensible Linux distribution should include development snapshots of
>anything.  It follows that Red Hat has often been "not a sensible Linux
>distribution".
>
>Get this 42 megabyte package:
>
>ftp://ftp.xfree86.org/pub/XFree86/develsnaps/XFree86-4.3.99.14.tar.bz2
>
>Unpack, cd xc, make World, (wait a long time).
>
>Replace /usr/X11R6/bin/XFree86 with the one you just made, replace
>the contents of the /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers directory with
>the new build, and it should Just Work.
>
>  
>
>>The YDL supported hardware page says this video isn't supported but 
>>gives no clue about the future.
>>    
>>
>
>The future is today, but you need to be able to build your own XFree86
>from source, and it is definitely not supported (but should work
>nonetheless).
>
>  
>
>>Does anyone have any info about whether this chip might ever be 
>>supported/have an available driver for Linux (ppc)?
>>    
>>
>
>It will be properly supported in the next stable release of XFree86.
>
>  
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>>ATI refers us to our hardware vendors--in this case Apple.
>>    
>>
>
>Surprisingly enough, just about everybody thinks that Linux == x86.
>

Well, ATI didn't actually refer me to Apple--just to the notebook 
manufacturer. In fact, they have links to a few manufacturers 
incorporating their chips--and the list doesn't include Apple.

--emk

>
>Linux blah 2.4.20-ben1 #5 Tue Feb 18 12:27:17 EET 2003 ppc unknown
>Linux blah 2.4.19-sp #3 Tue Feb 4 17:56:07 EET 2003 alpha unknown
>Linux blah 2.4.22 #3 Mon Oct 6 09:32:30 EEST 2003 i686 unknown
>
>:-)
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>  
>