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[Solved] Debian stable on recent hardware

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ShoshannahBenladen
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Joined: 2013-02-02 14:51

[Solved] Debian stable on recent hardware

#1 Post by ShoshannahBenladen »

Hi everyone,

I installed squeeze on an XPS8500 and while mostly everything works I still have a couple of annoyances.

Here is the biggest one : X runs at 1600x1200 instead of 1920x1200. Xrandr does not even see the proper resolution :

Code: Select all

$ xrandr
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 640 x 400, current 1600 x 1200, maximum 1600 x 1200
default connected 1600x1200+0+0 0mm x 0mm
   1600x1200       0.0* 
   1280x1024       0.0  
   1152x864        0.0  
   1024x768        0.0  
   800x600         0.0  
   640x480         0.0  
   720x400         0.0  
$ 
What do you guys suggest I do ?

Thanks in advance !
Last edited by ShoshannahBenladen on 2013-02-03 18:48, edited 1 time in total.

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4D696B65
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Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#2 Post by 4D696B65 »

What video card do you have and what driver are you using?
Wheezy will be released as stable very soon so you might want to use that.

ShoshannahBenladen
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Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#3 Post by ShoshannahBenladen »

Hello, the card is an ATI HD 7500 and I'm using the open-source driver (radeon).
I don't need 3D acceleration so I assumed it would be fine.

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llivv
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Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#4 Post by llivv »

It could also be the LCD ID is not recognized yet.
In the past a lot of Acers LCD gave the kernel fits due to incomplete / wrong EDID's

I'd install this package and see if it gives you better res
read-edid
although testing has another edid package, If you really want full resolution
upgrading to wheezy might be the only way to get it on a newer machine.


4D696B65 can better tell you how to update the ATI graphic driver.
I know very little about its current development
and even less about how it works with squeeze..
In memory of Ian Ashley Murdock (1973 - 2015) founder of the Debian project.

kmathern
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Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#5 Post by kmathern »

The XPS 8500 might be using dual/hybrid graphics. The i7-3770 cpu it comes with includes a "Intel® HD Graphics 4000" gpu and there's also the "AMD Radeon™ HD 7570 1GB GDDR5" video card.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-8500/pd?t- ... etails_ice
http://ark.intel.com/products/65719/

Posting the results of the following will show if there's multiple video devices

Code: Select all

lspci -knn
If there is more than one video device, you might need to use something similar to "Bumblebee" like you do with machines using the Nvidia Optimus/Intel combo.

Also posting the /var/log/Xorg.0.log file (use code tags or pastebin) might help in figuring out what's happening. I think that a dual/hybrid setup intially will startup using the intel graphics, but squeeze is probably unable to use the xorg "intel" driver, it might show that it's using the xorg "fbdev" or "vesa" driver instead. Updating to the squeeze-backports 3.2.x kernel and xorg stack will probably get the xorg "intel" driver working (or you could try wheezy like 4D696B65 mentioned).

ShoshannahBenladen
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Joined: 2013-02-02 14:51

Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#6 Post by ShoshannahBenladen »

If I start gnome-display-properties it tells me that my monitor is of type "Unknown".
Therefore I tried to use get-edid like you suggested but it does not seem to work :

Code: Select all

$ sudo get-edid
get-edid: get-edid version 2.0.0

	Performing real mode VBE call
	Interrupt 0x10 ax=0x4f00 bx=0x0 cx=0x0
Error: something went wrong performing real mode interrupt
	Function unsupported
	Call failed

	VBE version 0
	VBE string at 0x0 "��"

VBE/DDC service about to be called
	Report DDC capabilities

	Performing real mode VBE call
	Interrupt 0x10 ax=0x4f15 bx=0x0 cx=0x0
Error: something went wrong performing real mode interrupt
	Function unsupported
	Call failed

Reading next EDID block

VBE/DDC service about to be called
	Read EDID

	Performing real mode VBE call
	Interrupt 0x10 ax=0x4f15 bx=0x1 cx=0x0
Error: something went wrong performing real mode interrupt
	Function unsupported
	Call failed

The EDID data should not be trusted as the VBE call failed
Error: output block unchanged
Otherwise you're right, my PC (last year model so not quite the ones from the dell.com webpage but not too far from it either) has an i7-3770 so it might have an integrated GPU as well.
Here is the output from lspci like you requested, however no second GPU seems to pop up :

Code: Select all

$ lspci -knn
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor DRAM Controller [8086:0150] (rev 09)
	Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:0545]
00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor PCI Express Root Port [8086:0151] (rev 09)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:14.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB xHCI Host Controller [8086:1e31] (rev 04)
	Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:0545]
	Kernel driver in use: xhci_hcd
00:16.0 Communication controller [0780]: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 [8086:1e3a] (rev 04)
	Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:0545]
00:1a.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 [8086:1e2d] (rev 04)
	Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:0545]
	Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd
00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller [8086:1e20] (rev 04)
	Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:0545]
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
00:1c.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 [8086:1e10] (rev c4)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:1c.3 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 4 [8086:1e16] (rev c4)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:1d.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 [8086:1e26] (rev 04)
	Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:0545]
	Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation H77 Express Chipset LPC Controller [8086:1e4a] (rev 04)
	Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:0545]
00:1f.2 SATA controller [0106]: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family 6-port SATA Controller [AHCI mode] [8086:1e02] (rev 04)
	Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:0545]
	Kernel driver in use: ahci
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller [8086:1e22] (rev 04)
	Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:0545]
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Turks [Radeon HD 7500 Series] [1002:675d]
	Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:2b22]
01:00.1 Audio device [0403]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Turks/Whistler HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 6000 Series] [1002:aa90]
	Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:aa90]
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter [168c:0032] (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:0209]
	Kernel driver in use: ath9k
03:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller [10ec:8168] (rev 07)
	Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:0545]
	Kernel driver in use: r8169
Regarding the Xorg.0.log I uploaded it here :
http://pastebin.ca/2310065

Upgrading to wheezy might be an option, but if it is possible to keep squeeze as a first step I would like it better :)

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llivv
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Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#7 Post by llivv »

as kmathern suspected
the vesa driver is being loaded.

The log shows that the xserver is getting its normal generated auto config. So overriding is easy to start
and only gets more complex if you need other custom options.

here is a minimal /etc/X11/xorg.conf file that should load the radeon driver .

Code: Select all

Section "Devices"
            Identifier      "card0"
            Driver          "radeon"
EndSection
see if that helps a bit anyway.

And to get a preview of wheezy I'd recommend a new beta4 wheezy Live DVD
http://live.debian.net/cdimage/release/ ... so-hybrid/
just download one of the debian-wheezy-live-b4-amd64-favorite-desktop.iso files
burn to DVD - boot the DVD and run wheezy from the DVD

I'm pretty sure you will notice the difference.
Last edited by llivv on 2013-02-02 19:02, edited 1 time in total.
In memory of Ian Ashley Murdock (1973 - 2015) founder of the Debian project.

kmathern
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Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#8 Post by kmathern »

From the lspci output I'm not seeing that it's a dual graphics setup which kind of surprises me, but it does make things easier not needing to deal with that.

In the Xorg.0.log it shows that it started to load the radeon driver and then switched over to the vesa driver, I think it's because the squeeze version of Xorg doesn't support your "Radeon HD 7500 Series" video card.

The Xorg.0.log also shows that you already have the squeeze-backports 3.2.0-0.bpo.4-amd64 kernel installed. Try also upgrading the xorg stack to the squeeze-backports version. There's instructions here: http://x.debian.net/reference/squeeze-backports.html. I think the upgraded xorg stack will support your "Radeon HD 7500 Series" video card.

edit: Should probably also install the squeeze-backports version of the firmware-linux-nonfree package.

ShoshannahBenladen
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Joined: 2013-02-02 14:51

Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#9 Post by ShoshannahBenladen »

So, I installed the backported X.org stack but the result is the same (1600x1200 vesa).

I also tried the minimalistic xorg.conf file you suggested, but then X would not start at all (with both versions of x.org, the one from squeeze and the backport from testing).

I also installed the live wheezy image on a USB key and booted from that, but still the same result (1600x1200, plus a message stating that Gnome could not fully start because my hardware does not support it).

What could I do next ?
- install wheezy and use backports from sid ? (if that exists at all ..)
- use vesa at 1920x1200 ? (are there any drawbacks to that, if that's possible of course ?)
- try with the proprietary ATI driver ? (which I would really like to avoid if possible).

Any suggestions would be appreciated :)

ps: firmware-linux-nonfree is installed, version 0.36+wheezy.1~bpo60+1.

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llivv
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Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#10 Post by llivv »

Did you try adding the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file after you boot the Live USB?

You will need to restart the xserver to test if that works.

Boot Live wheezy USB
Install firmware-linux-nonfree
add xorg.conf
restart xserver

to restart xserver, logout to gdm3 login screen
then use CTRL ALT F1 to switch to VT1 console
(ALT F2 to VT2 and login if VT1 is already being used)
(Alt F3 to see what is on VT3 - if interested)
Login
sudo -i
/etc/init.d/gdm3 restart

I just burned the Wheezy Live KDE yesterday and have not
booted it yet. But I will now to make sure my suggestions above actually work.
If something doesn't work when trying suggestion above,
be patient and I will look for a better solution using the live DVD
In memory of Ian Ashley Murdock (1973 - 2015) founder of the Debian project.

ShoshannahBenladen
Posts: 18
Joined: 2013-02-02 14:51

Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#11 Post by ShoshannahBenladen »

Ok so here is what I did :
- boot wheezy from USB.
- manually download firmware-linux-nonfree (/etc is not writable it seems, so I could not add non-free to apt's sources list) and install it with dpkg.
- restart gdm3 (I wanted to see if X could autodetect the card, since it seemed to try it before falling back to vesa).
-> no change at all. still 1600x1200.

Then I added the 4-lines xorg.conf and restarted gdm3.
-> it simply would not start (well apparently it did try to start over and over but could not).

So no differences compared to squeeze with kernel and xserver from the backports really :(

kmathern
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Joined: 2011-02-05 19:20

Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#12 Post by kmathern »

I should have checked earlier, it looks like the xserver-xorg-video-radeon squeeze-backports driver doesn't yet support your HD 7500. It's page here: http://packages.debian.org/squeeze-back ... deo-radeon doesn't mention "TURKS" which I believe is the codename for the HD 7500's chipset. The wheezy version does mention "TURKS" http://packages.debian.org/wheezy/xserv ... deo-radeon.

I see you already found out that the wheezy LiveUSB you tried doesn't include the firmware-linux-nonfree package. I've never used Debian Live USBs (I've used Mepis, Antix, Siduction, Aptosid) I wonder if there's some cheatcode that can be added before booting that will allow r/w operation, so that you can install the firmware package in a Live session?

ShoshannahBenladen
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Joined: 2013-02-02 14:51

Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#13 Post by ShoshannahBenladen »

Well like I said vim would not let me write to /etc/apt/sources.list (even with :w!), but downloading firmware-linux-nonfree manually and installing the .deb with dpkg did not report any error, and the package appeared in dpkg -l afterwards so I assumed it worked.

kmathern
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Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#14 Post by kmathern »

If you run the lsmod command does "radeon" show up in the output?

ShoshannahBenladen
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Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#15 Post by ShoshannahBenladen »

Yes it does :

Code: Select all

user@debian:~$ lsmod | grep radeon
radeon                639136  0 
ttm                    48725  1 radeon
drm_kms_helper         27227  1 radeon
drm                   167720  3 drm_kms_helper,ttm,radeon
power_supply           13475  1 radeon
i2c_algo_bit           12841  1 radeon
i2c_core               23876  5 i2c_i801,i2c_algo_bit,drm,drm_kms_helper,radeon
user@debian:~$ 
Also the firmware is there too :

Code: Select all

user@debian:~$ dpkg -l | grep nonfree
ii  firmware-linux-nonfree                0.36+wheezy.1                      all          Binary firmware for various drivers in the Linux kernel
user@debian:~$ 
And yes it seems that I have a TURKS chipset :

Code: Select all

user@debian:~$ lspci|grep VGA
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Turks [Radeon HD 7500 Series]
user@debian:~$ 

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llivv
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Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#16 Post by llivv »

are you sudo -i before trying to write to /etc/apt?

I'm able to write to the sources.liist
I'd suggest you keep you eye on top while you are adding packages.
Both normal and live debian systems have a habit of holding memory once it has been used.
freeing memory after closing a program doesn't happen very often. AFAICT
kmathern - are you thinking to try reloading the edit: radeon module?
I've forgotten the squence.
I think it's just simple modprobe radeon then restart xserver.

my 10 year old i915g is struggling with the Live KDE, I think Live Gnome
might be a bit less laggy but not enough. So I'm grabbing Xfce now and thinking
about 4 1GB ddr pc3200 so I can actually play a bit with the Live systems.
Last edited by llivv on 2013-02-03 14:54, edited 2 times in total.
In memory of Ian Ashley Murdock (1973 - 2015) founder of the Debian project.

kmathern
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Joined: 2011-02-05 19:20

Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#17 Post by kmathern »

llivv wrote:are you sudo -i before trying to write to /etc/apt?

I'm able to write to the sources.liist
I'd suggest you keep you eye on top while you are adding packages.
Both normal and live debian systems have a habit of holding memory once it has been used.
freeing memory after closing a program doesn't happen very often. AFAICT
kmathern - are you thinking to try loading the radeon module if it's available?
Yes, I was thinking of trying to use modprobe to load it. The module probably wouldn't load earlier because the firmware was missing. I think you might need to load it with X shutdown. Btw, I'm kind of using the following as a guide: http://www.x.org/wiki/radeonBuildHowTo# ... on_startup

ShoshannahBenladen
Posts: 18
Joined: 2013-02-02 14:51

Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#18 Post by ShoshannahBenladen »

Ok that did the trick, I now have the correct resolution.

So basically I did what I did until now, except after stopping gdm I removed the drm and radeon modules using the procedure described in your link, then reloaded them and restarted X, and now it works.
Gnome looks pretty different too, btw.

A couple of remarks :
- before I used sudo su and I could not edit sources.list. Using sudo -i it worked.
- apt-get update fetched more than a thousand files after that.
- one must first remove the radeon module, then drm. If you just copy/paste what's in the X wiki ("modprobe -r -v drm radeon") it does not work.

Anyway, now how do I upgrade from squeeze to wheezy ?
Will a simple sed -i -e 's/squeeze/wheezy/g' sources.list work ?

kmathern
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Joined: 2011-02-05 19:20

Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#19 Post by kmathern »

ShoshannahBenladen wrote:Ok that did the trick, I now have the correct resolution.

So basically I did what I did until now, except after stopping gdm I removed the drm and radeon modules using the procedure described in your link, then reloaded them and restarted X, and now it works.
Gnome looks pretty different too, btw.

A couple of remarks :
- before I used sudo su and I could not edit sources.list. Using sudo -i it worked.
- apt-get update fetched more than a thousand files after that.
- one must first remove the radeon module, then drm. If you just copy/paste what's in the X wiki ("modprobe -r -v drm radeon") it does not work.

Anyway, now how do I upgrade from squeeze to wheezy ?
Will a simple sed -i -e 's/squeeze/wheezy/g' sources.list work ?
Okay, you've now proven to yourself that it will work with Wheezy if you have the firmware installed.

As for upgrading from squeeze to wheezy, how much do you have invested in your squeeze install? It might be easier to just do a fresh install of wheezy. There's an upgrade guide here: http://www.debian.org/releases/testing/ ... ng.en.html. I'm not sure if the guide is 100% complete/correct because Wheezy is still the "testing" release (though it is getting pretty close to being the "stable" release). If you do try the upgrade and some problems come up I would open a new topic.

ShoshannahBenladen
Posts: 18
Joined: 2013-02-02 14:51

Re: Debian stable on recent hardware

#20 Post by ShoshannahBenladen »

Well, what took me some time what backuping my old PC, and then solving this x.org problem, the rest of the install took under an hour, including downloading the iso.
So, on to a fresh install of wheezy then :)

Anyway, I wanted to thank all of you for your time and for the stellar support you provided !
I can only wish the companies I have to deal with at work were this competent and reactive.

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