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redrum · Last edited by redrum on Thu Dec 27, 2007 4:18 am; edited 31 times in total

Note... This article has been depricated... Please see http://forums.xandros.com/viewtopic.php?t=30824 for more up to date instructions.. Thanks, Redrum

Alrighty guys, been doing some feverish testing, and I think the latest drivers are ready for Primetime. The service pack has changed a bunch of things, and so I've had to flesh out these issues. Sorry for the delay.

***These are totally unsupported and come with no warranty whatsoever. These drivers could possibly choke your cat, leave unsightly coffee stains on your shirt, cause nausea and/or vomiting, run away with your spouse or render your Xandros box perfectly useless except for a door stop. You have been Warned!!!***

*Sigh* Now that that's over, on to the good stuff... I have both Stable and Beta drivers available. The beta drivers are very much 'kid gloves are off', so If you have any question about your abilities with fishing yourself out of a failed driver scenereo, I recommend using the stable driver. In any case, Please print this out or have access to this article via another computer before proceeding.

OK, so before I give you the links there are some things you should know.

1. Do not install this on anything else except Xandros 4.0 with SP1 or Xandros 4.1.
2. Do not install this on a production system with valuable data.
3. Make sure if you have the proper driver for your kernel. Currently I have both SMP and Uni versions, though I may or may not offer the Uni version in the future.
4. Do not install this on a machine with a non-stock kernel.
5. Do not install this if you have a card not on the supported list, for the driver you wish to install. The list of which drivers support what is here: http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86/100.14.11/README/appendix-a.html
6. It is not necessary, but it is highly recommended to back up your xorg.conf file before proceeding... To do that, as root type: cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak
7. It is now a requirement to uninstall your Nvidia driver before proceeding on installing my drivers... Doing so uninstalls part of the service pack if your version of Xandros was pre-SP1 and you had to do a manual service pack install, so If you are performing this driver install on such a version, or you are using a later driver which complains it cant install because of a missing package, apply the following patch first http://support.xandros.com/downloads/desktop_4.0/experimental/xandros4.0-servicepak-1.0_1.0.1-100_i386.deb prior to uninstalling the official driver... Then, and only then, are you ready to uninstall the driver and install mine. On the 9746-later drivers, 4.1 users need to apply the service pack patch in order to resolve dependencies. My drivers will probably uninstall the stock driver automatically if you don't but they may or may not necessarily remove each other (I built the 9629 and 9631 drivers after I built the 9742 driver), so it's best to just get into the habit of this in order to avoid problems... If you do not know how to do this please do not install my driver.
8. Reboot, and hopefully you'll see the new and improved nvidia splash logo..

If it bombs:

1. You will probably have a login prompt if it bombs. If you have a login prompt, login as root, and give your root password when asked... If you don't get a login prompt, quickly punch the power button in order to allow Xandros to shut down gracefully, then boot into "expert mode" and enter your root password.
2. Type xandrosxconfig --set-driver vesa
3. Type reboot
4. Log in and uninstall my package, do a search for dcc in XN, click install next to the proper driver for your version of kernel, and it will automatically install the original driver... If it wants to remove a bunch of packages, you have selected the wrong one. Cancel the operation and start again, selecting the right driver.
5. Shut down the computer, Reboot into "expert mode" and enter your root password.
6. Type xandrosxconfig --set-driver nvidia
7. Type reboot Now you are back where you started.

Ok now for the link.. Update.. Please go to the following link, to get the latest drivers... http://forums.xandros.com/viewtopic.php?t=30824

Thanks and enjoy! Smile

_________________

Beware of the man who would deny you access to information,
for in his heart he dreams himself your master.

DieSse · Xplorer Joined: 31 Dec 1969 Posts: 1

Installed your driver - the latest version - what is different?

I cetainly still can't get the 3D desktop - it says not supported in the driver!

Xandros4.1 Pro - new installation (just purchased)

Ed Richards · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:50 pm Post subject:

Redrum, you are 'da man! I just installed your driver package on my X4.1 Home Premium installation. This installation was done from an ISO that already had the SP1 update included in it, so the installation of the service pack doesn't apply. I had to do a couple of extra things to get it to work. The first boot up I still had the VESA driver installed. I booted into Expert mode and ran "xandrosxconfig --set-driver nvidia and rebooted. That caused the driver to load, but my max resolution was still 1024X768 whereas the native resolution of this display is 1200 x 800. So I rebooted into expert mode and ran xandrosxconfig --create -x 1200 -y 800 -b 24 and rebooted, but still no love, so I changed the display from the default display to a Laptop LCD/DFP 1280 X 800, I got love EVERYWHERE!!!

Thanks man,
_________________
Ed Richards
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Registered Linux User #300032

redrum · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:52 pm Post subject:

The capability for 3d desktop is there, but the Xandros folks have disabled 3d Desktop with Nvidia cards on purpose, since they currently don't offer a driver with this capability officially yet.

***Update:*** The cat's out of the bag! Look below for instructions on how to enable 3d Desktop.
_________________

Beware of the man who would deny you access to information,
for in his heart he dreams himself your master.

redrum · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:54 pm Post subject:

Glad it worked for you Ed Smile

Unfortunately Xandros doesn't scan the card and check the newer pcimap and configure X against it unless the device actually changes (meaning, you swap it out with a device with a different ID). I did get your pcimap info didn't I?
_________________

Beware of the man who would deny you access to information,
for in his heart he dreams himself your master.

Ed Richards · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:28 pm Post subject:

Redrum,

A followup and further confirmation, I also have X4.1 Professional installed on this machine. Interestingly, the installer installed the UNI kernel on this installation and the SMP kernel on the Premium installation. I used the same procedure as above, installed the UNI driver package, booted into expert, ran xandrosxconfig --set-driver nvidia, rebooted, changed the display as listed above, restarted X and all is working well here too.

Again, thanks for all the things that you do,
_________________
Ed Richards
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Registered Linux User #300032

redrum · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 10:25 pm Post subject:

You ain't seen nothin yet... Twisted Evil

_________________

Beware of the man who would deny you access to information,
for in his heart he dreams himself your master.

redrum · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 1:41 am Post subject:

Note... This article has been depricated... Please see http://forums.xandros.com/viewtopic.php?t=30824 for more up to date instructions.. Thanks, Redrum

OK guys and gals, ready to make your windows wobble? Thought so...

First of all, there would have been no way for me to have come up with this override, so all thanks goes to BoyLinux (Kevin) for providing me the necessary info... I've only made the information a bit more human readable is all.. Thanks Kevin!

Before you commit to trying this, please realize this is mega mega beta and things could go bad at any moment... I've had various warnings in the past, BUT THIS TIME I REALLY MEAN IT!!! This could very well be your worst nightmare if you are not prepared beforehand, and neither Xandros nor myself are responsible if you decide to give this a try... We are also not necessarily responsible for helping you if it breaks, so please keep that in mind. If there ever was something that was unsupported, This would be it! I may have written up this howto, but ultimately you are responsible for installing it. If you don't think you are capable of getting yourself out of a bombed X session, I would highly recommend not doing this at all.

OK, so once again, who is this not for?
This is not for people intending to use this on production systems.
This is not for people unwilling to bet it all.
This is not for people who are in a hurry.
This is not for people who decide it's not worth their time to back things up beforehand.
This is not for people using any other form of Linux other than Xandros 4.0 SP1 or Xandros 4.1
This is not a joke.

Other things to consider:

Before I give you any of this info, you must also be aware of what works and what does not work. Its a hassle to change back and forth, so please read this whole article before proceeding.

What appears to work:
Applications like TVTime, Real Player, Xine, and 3d applications that work 'In a Window" along with most if not all standard '2d' apps. 3d apps are considerably slower when 3d Desktop is enabled.

What does not work:
Applications like fullscreen games, LimeWire and changing to a virtual terminal (Using CTRL-Alt-F2 to get to a login prompt, for example). Keeping TVTime 'on top' of other applications is also not possible... If you do any of this very often, this override may not be for you.

Still not intimidated by any of this? Well then, Let's get it Awhnn!

Make sure you have proper access to this article before proceeding, either by printing it up, or by having a spare PC around that can access it.

1. Make sure you have at least the 1.0-9629 Nvidia driver installed... This is why I put this howto in this section. Instructions on installing my driver are above.
2. Log into each user account that you want 3d Desktop in (excluding root) and type the following command: touch $HOME/.xandros-compiz The dot (.) is important.
3.. As root, type cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak (Note: the 'X" in "X11" is uppercase)
4. Still as root, open the file /etc/X11/xorg.conf, and add the following bold line to the section labled 'Screen":

Ed Richards · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:06 am Post subject:

OH MAN!! THAT IS JUST SICK

So what all kinds of things can one do with this. So far I have just been dragging stuff around on the desktop and watch it wiggle and jiggle, kinda like that Jell-O commercial. What are some "3D" applications?

This is way too much fun!

Thanks again for all the good stuff that you do and share with all of us, Redrum.
_________________
Ed Richards
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Registered Linux User #300032

BoyLinux · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:19 am Post subject:

If you go to the Video effects panel in Control Center -> Display it will tell you all the good things you can do.
_________________
Kevin MacPherson
Xandros - Product Manager
Project Management
Official Forum Moderator

"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge."

Ed Richards · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:25 am Post subject:

Yeah, I was playing around with some of that. That is really pretty neat. I guess I am gonna have to incorporate some of that into my presentation tomorrow night. Talk about eye-candy!
_________________
Ed Richards
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Registered Linux User #300032

redrum · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:36 am Post subject:

Glad its working for you and wish I could be there for your presentation Smile

_________________

Beware of the man who would deny you access to information,
for in his heart he dreams himself your master.

Monster_user · Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 11:28 am Post subject:

geekydude · Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 3:37 pm Post subject:

You know I'm gonna be trying this as soon as I get home tonight!

Thanks redrum & BoyLinux!!!
_________________
geekydude
registered Linux user number 410045.

The source will be with you...always....

redrum · Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 5:48 pm Post subject:

Hey, no problem geekydude.. Hope it works for you Very Happy

As an aside the latest stable drivers (9631) are now up... I'll be taking down the link to the 9629s once I get some feedback on the newer ones.
_________________

Beware of the man who would deny you access to information,
for in his heart he dreams himself your master.