[ydl-gen] XFree86 server botched.

[je killen]

On Dec 25, 2005, at 9:33 PM, Olaf Olson wrote:

> Jeff,
>
> Two key things.
>
> 1. When you measure in inches and enter the values, you MUST click the 
> units button and set it to inches EVEN IF IT SAYS INCHES when you 
> entered the number. As I recall, inches is the default, but it will 
> still default to something else, regardless. If you don't do this, 
> OpenOffice will open all documents such that you might get to see an 
> entire word on your screen, instead of the entire document. In 
> addition, all of the automatic viewing of file contents will fail, 
> viewing postscript or PDF files from the file browser, for example.
I'll remember that;
>
> 2. To get back to the old settings. log in via a shell login, rather 
> than a graphics login, and restore the automatic backup that YDL made 
> when you changed the settings. This file is 
> /etc/X11/XF86Config.backup. Restore it by renaming XF86Config and then 
> renaming the backup file to XF86Config. This should get you back to 
> something that works.
The first time I tried this, but I didn't realize at the time the key 
combination for terminal mode was ctrl+option+F1, (I was trying 
command+control+F1, like PC Linux). So I ssh'd into
the machine from my G4 mac and did the name swap routine but it didn't 
seem to make a difference. I probably got something wrong.
>
> I have found that the preselect configurations (choose the monitor, 
> video card, etc.) never gave me very good results. It worked better 
> for me to choose what I knew the monitor and graphics could do. I have 
> an 8500, which is similar enough that it might work. I booted into OS9 
> and looked at the monitor settings there, to get the exact values that 
> the Mac figured out would work. I then went back to YDL and set the 
> values exactly, and adjusted the monitor size as explained above. You 
> may actually have to edit the XF86Config file to add the display mode. 
> Mine now looks something like this (ignore the ATI Rage 128 setting 
> for the Device. My 8500 is offline until I can locate a new hard 
> drive, as the original died after 10 years of near-continuous 
> operation):
I want to run MIDI software, specifically, Rosegarden on my 7200 so I 
really don't need Photoshop quality display but something better than 8 
bit seems reasonable.
>
> Section "Screen"
>        Identifier "Screen0"
>        Device     "ATI Rage 128"
>        Monitor    "Monitor0"
>        DefaultDepth     16
>        SubSection "Display"
>                Depth     16
>                Modes    "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
>        EndSubSection
>
>
> Best of luck! YDL brings life to old hardware.
>
> Olaf
Thank you for the info
Jeff K.
>
> je killen wrote:
>
>> I installed Yellow dog v3.0 on a Mac 7200/120 and it worked with 
>> graphics card 'generic of compatible' and display as generic unknown. 
>> I went to the system preferences app and found my monitor in the list 
>> I.E. Apple 1710 and chose that. I have video RAM installed in the 
>> computer but I don't have record of what size and the chips 
>> themselves don't say explicitly. I
>> also tried to configure the DPI (by follwoing the instructions and 
>> measuring the monitor and entering the height and width in inches. I 
>> know the monitor and system is capable of thousands of colors, so I 
>> told it to do thousands of colors at 800x600.
>> When I logged out of the session and logged back in the video was 
>> missing a color and blotched with jagged, low resolution. I rebooted 
>> and tried to uncheck the no video driver option in Bootx. With that 
>> setting the server won't even run. Back to reboot and let it finish 
>> booting into Mac OS before trying Linux again. This time the X server 
>> only uses half the screen and is missing colors, grossly missing 
>> colors. It is illegible enough not to be able to use it to change the 
>> configuration. I switched to a console to use the system. FreeBSD has 
>> a configuration script called xf86config that is run from the command 
>> line to configure X. Is there a similar script on Yellow Dog? (none 
>> was found by that name with find) Or do I have to re-install the 
>> system? (as I already have had to for the same problems the first 
>> time, last week end).
>> Thanks
>> Jeff K
>> jekillen at prodigy.net
>> Another item of interest:
>> WHEN RUNNING YELLOW DOG V3.0 ON A POWERBOOK 3400C/180, DO NOT HIT THE 
>> POWER KEY.
>> THE DISPLAY GOES INTO STANDBY MODE AND WHEN I BROUGHT IT BACK UP IT 
>> WAS WALL
>> TO WALL FROZEN GARBAGE. THE POWER KEY IS RIGHT ABOVE THE DELETE KEY. 
>> I FOUND
>> OUT THIS TRAP WHEN I WAS IN A VI EDITING SESSION AND HIT THE POWER 
>> KEY INSTEAD OF
>> THE DELETE KEY.
>> I hope this is or will be helpful to anyone about to embark on a 
>> similar adventure with a 3400c.
>> (perhaps this problem has been fixed, I don't know at this point).
>>
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