new ati graphics card causes hang at boot, and minor webcam issue

[cobelloy]

hi again,

My main computer was a terrific dell that was a few years old, for which I had to buy a new graphics card (pci, ati radeon HD 46xx something or other) since ati had deemed my old one (which was only about 4 years old) 'legacy' and there were no more driver updates for it creating problems for new linuxes and also windows7 (which that computer has now)

anyway, the card is not in the dell anymore, I have set up this computer with pclos and I connected my nice new 24in monitor to the onboard vga graphics and then realised how much better it would be with my really good graphics card which is compatible with this computer too (small form factor, no pci-e) so I put the card in and the result of my efforts yesterday are that this computer hangs during start up with the new card. Computer gets through bios then grub and begins starting pclos then hangs, is there any way to install the fglrx drivers first? the trouble is that once the card is plugged in the onboard is disabled automatically by the bios, so I need to install the drivers before the hardware is physically installed.

can this be done (by a relative novice)

also - every time I plug in my webcam (logitech) or log out/in or reboot there is an icon created for it on the desktop, like a file icon with a cross in it named as a link to the device, otherwise the webcam is working without issue, didn't need any configuring or anything (last time I linuxed with this webcam it was one of the many deal-breakers, others were the likes of printers, tv cards etc... things get easier every time I try)

well, thanks in advance

[tom43]

               Hello There,

It doesn't matter whether you have the HD4650 AGP or PCI-E. I have a HD4650 AGP card. One of many cards.LOL. For your card you need to go into "Testing" and install the ATi 9x driver. that should do the trick. It works for me. As to your webcam problem, you have two choices: 1). open synaptic and search.."quickcam pro". You will see two boxes, click either one and it will install as a dependency the required kernel for it. It works great. I have a QuickCam Pro. working just as designed.

Option 2) When in testing, you could update your kernel to 2.6.32.2 at the same time you update your ATi driver. With this Kernel your webcam will work without any other repo adds.

For a complete novice, the best choice would be to load the quickcam install first, then reboot. At post select the bottom new kernel 2.6.27.31. Then go into "Testing" and load the 9x driver. To get into testing, after synaptic comes up, at the top click on repository. when the window opens, highlight the box that is checked, if it's (belnet) change it to one of the Indiana sites. Only have ONE box checked ever. highlight and go down to "Section" type in: testing. Follow the prompts and then scroll down to ati 9x. Install and follow the prompts.

It would help a bit if we knew if you were in KDE 3 or 4 or GNOME.

[cobelloy]

1) will do as above, thank-you

2) am using gnome installed after a standard install of the pclos kde disk - sorry, didnt know it had relevance


will post again with results shortly

[cobelloy]

also note - card is pci, not pci-e - it was originally bought for a dell which has no pci-e or agp, although it is probably not part of the problem but worth clarifying I suppose

thanks again!

[cobelloy]

OK so I did what was suggested, installed the quickcam dkms package, but icon still created on desktop, I also installed newer kernel and ati drivers, but card still causes a hang during startup with either kernel, the picture is of the screen when it stops, this doesn't happen once I remove the video card

[cobelloy]

I now have four boot options:

pclinuxOS
pclinuxOS (safe mode)
linux with kernel 2.6.26.8-tex
linux with kernel 2.6.32.2-pclos5

none boot with the new graphics card, and without the card only the second and third boot successfully, safe mode is no use really since the video is not displaying properly in console mode so really the only option working is linux with kernel 2.6.26.8-tex, I think maybe I need to go back to how it was before, can I still do that?

also to clarify my earlier post a little - when I installed the newer kernel it uninstalled the webcam module and if I try to install it again it says the newer kernel must be removed.

[tom43]

            It's me again. LOL
I apologize for not being specific enough about installing Kernel 2.6.32.2. Follow these steps.

1). Open PCC>System>Manage System Services. Scroll down to "dkms" and click start even though it is already checked and let it take hold and click OK.
2). Open Synaptic>Search>glibc. Install it.
3) Kernel 2.6.32.2.
4).Kernel-devel for Kernel 2.6.32.2.
5). ati_9-x.

These are the FIVE steps I used and I got the same screen as you did. I've seen worse. LOL. At first reboot mine hung. I did a restart and it took off. It takes a bit for it to load. You can follow it in "verbose". Every time I boot up, it takes it's sweet time. LOL.

  If you wish the "Path of Least Resistance" LOL. Just install "quickcam pro...and let it reload kernel 2.6.27.31. This kernel and quickcam are a package, so to speak.

 FYI--The ATi card you have along with any of the new HD series AGP and PCI are a "can of worms".LOL. I didn't know it was offered in PCI. I have the ASUS HD3650 Silent. AGP Card. ATi has created a "Patch" driver for it for "Windows", however it's still a "Dogfight" to get windows to recognize it. If you have any problem in windows, I can help you with that as well. If you want more "personalized help" my email: t.horner43@gmail.com. Hope this helps.