I Have installed Linux 2.0 on my P166MMX m/c , but am not able to configure
X using XFree servers as none of the chipsets listed are compatible with my
PCI VGA Card. Any Suggestions?

22 responses total.

Either the vga16 or the non-accelarated svga server should work with just
about any VGA card.  trouble is, you won't take advantage of all the memory
and speed you paid for...

What chipset?  They have pretty good coverage.

I just got a new machine, awesome monitor, great video card, and X just 
hates it.  I tried using the super-low rez settings but it still bombs 
out with "No valid modes" or gives me a fuzzy screwed up screen.  I know 
you aren't supposed to just take a mode off someone elses computer 
because it almost never works, but can anyone post a a standard, simple, 
low-rez setting config for me to try?  I am desperate...

Have you tried running Xconfigurator?

If your X doesn't support your chipset, you should check out
www.xfree.org to see if there is a later version of X that does support
your chipset.  They add more all the time, and if you have a new
machine, it may well have a new chipset that has only recently been
supported.  Alternatively, you may need to trade your graphics card in
for another that does have a supported chipset.  Before doing that, you
might try complaining to the tech support line for your graphics card -
even if they don't have anything helpful to say, it won't hurt for them
to hear complaints from customers who can't use their card because it's
not supported under linux.  (Too many of these companies think the world
is made of nothing but windows 98 users.)

I tried that for five and a half hours to install xfree86 under Openlinux 2.2
and 1.2 and even Oenlinux lite.  I officially hate Openlinux.  I switched to
red hat 6.0  it sorta sucks to 'cause it's old but hey.  At least X works...

RedHat 7.3 is very much improved over 6.x.  You might want to try it some
time.  I'm kind of curious to see what UnitedLinux is like -- there's
supposed to be a public preview later this month.

United Linux? What's the scoop?  Also you know about Lindows?

I know about Lindows, but I'm not impressed.  UnitedLinux is basically a
joint effort by several smaller Linux distributors to try to counter
RedHat's size and market penetration.

Can't blame DeadRat for being famouse.  At least they don't use MS tactics,
you know?  But that is cool.  Eventually I think that Linux will be more
widely accepted and other makers will become more onpar w/ redhat. but I'm
sure alot of smaller distros and companies will die along the way... :\

Oh, I don't blame RedHat for anything.  There are things I dislike about it,
but overall I find it competant and easy to install, if a bit bloated.  I
find it interesting that it gets a lot of contempt in the Linux community,
though.  Open Source people in general have this self-defeating tendancy to
hate anything that becomes too successful.

Er, my main complaint with redhat is that they've gotten too wrapped up
in this "nice pretty gui" ideal.  That means it's stuck trying to get X
working, and that's not always a pretty picture.

Yeah, I've noteiced that hating popular-stuff thing in open-source.  But linux
itself is becoming popular. and mor ecompanies are switching because it's more
cost-effective to run linux or Unix servers.  As I'm sure you don't need me
to tell you.  I actually cheer on RedHat because they are the biggest threat
to MS, considering apple has maybe 15% of the marketshare @most.  If linux
had better hardware suppost and X was easier to install on Windows-based
machines, Linux would get a major popularity boost.  The thing that annoys
me is it can't use my modem.  I have to download ddrivers and rearrange my
IRQs and all kinds of crap just to dial-out.  It's not worth it to me when
I can do it on windows in 15 seconds.  But then again, I'm a lazy use when
it comes to OS's. I like to get shit downe w/o a great deal of hassle.  And
it's not that  I'm advocating Windows.  Because it has it's share of problems
and flaws (features) and I don't have anything against Linux, I'm jus tnot
far enough along to get it to work to my standards and I don't know enough
about it. And all of the books i have on Linux are useless.  Linux: The
Complete Referrence my ass...  Someday, though.  Someday I'll master it . :p
SO yeah, I just typed alot and didn't say a great deal.  I'm trying to find
an old TRS-80 in my closet.  It'll be fun to use and stuff. :P  Anyhow. I'm
out.

RedHat's X configuration has been completely painless on every 7.x release
I've tried, on every modern machine I've installed it on.  Yeah, there was a
time when you had to sit there and type in frequency ranges for your monitor
by hand, but those days are over.

I was using 6.0 so that explains the annoyingness even if I did configure it
properly.   Openlinux is the devil.  <---Glad Caldera is dead.  I spend 5
hours one night trying to configure X in Caldera Openlinux.

We've had problems with X config on RH 7.2 (and also on an earlier rev,
different box - on that one, disabling the graphics accelerator fixed the
problem).  Had to set all kinds of things by hand, by trial and error, and
in the process had to discover that we had to change not only
/etc/X11/XF86Config but /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 as well.

I think we had to set the HorizSync & VertRefresh parameters, probably some
other stuff too.  Until we did this, when it tried to start X the monitor just
blinked several times before it gave up.

Yeah I always have to guess because I don't have monitor documentation.  I
just got for 50-70.

Sometimes you can find tech specifications on the web.  It's sort of
random, but worth a shot.

I suppose.  HP is a well-known brand.  Maybe not for monitors...but hey.

There's usually 4 ways tech specs end up on the web:
(1) it's a new product, and the company posts them on their web.
        [ tech support via the web *is* cheaper than tech support
        via dial-in telephone support people, but if the company
        charges for dial-in support... ]
(2) it's an old product, and the company hasn't yet purged their
        web site or otherwise likes to leave up older information
        as a favour to old customers (& thereby retain brand
        loyalty).  Mergers and such sometimes affect this.
(3) some random user has posted their personal experience or data
        on their personal machine.  
(4) somebody has gotten frustrated with (1)-(3) for older
        hardware, and has put together a FAQ containing a summary.
        There is one of these for drive jumpers on older IDE and
        SCSI hard disks, for instance, and there's also a fairly
        good FAQ out about old sun hardware.

Watch out when companies get bought out, too.  I had an ethernet card
that became useless because the company that made it was bought out, and
the company that bought them promptly deleted all the driver files from
their website.

Cool.  I gave up, anyhow. :P
I did learn VB though...

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