28 Nov
2012
28 Nov
'12
3:04 a.m.
On 2012-11-27 20:46 (GMT-0500) Patrick Serru composed:
> It's just that developers don't have
*your* particular hardware
> combination to test on…
Is 1280x1024 pixels screen such an exceptionnel
format?
It's probably the most common native resolution currently. But, was the
Scaleoview T17-2 you're looking at perfect when it left the factory? Is it
still perfect?
> …, and when the required hardware data is
missing or broken, as apparently
> must be the case for your display's EDID,…
My display (Fujisu-Siemens FUS T17-2) works well, and
its Extended display
identification data (EDID) too, but I did not espacialy check that last
point. And some recent distributions did configure X correctly for its use.
But will they today? That something worked is not proof that it works.
Faced with the difficulties of installing the
most recent
distributions, I got to thinking that the tests were done on virtual
machines, and thus, the developers were not seeing the problems. The ATI
driver? But I am using this machine, this graphic card and this screen with
this ancient OSS 11.1!
IIRC, automatic X configuration was rather young at the time of, and likely
not implemented in, openSUSE 11.1. The 11.1 I just booted even has a
/etc/X11/XF86Config as a soft link from xorg.conf! The in place backup of its
original xorg.conf is timestamped April 2007. What happens when you restart X
in 11.1 after removing xorg.conf?
When I try X in 11.1 with xorg.conf removed, Xorg.0.log ends with fatal
server error \ cannot run in framebuffer mode, even after having correctly
identified the gfxchip as Radeon. After restoring xorg.conf, X starts in
1600x1200 according to specification in the xorg.conf file.
Most modern distros have automagic X configuration that works in most cases,
but not all. Until one tries manual configuration or other hardware, there's
no practical way to be sure a particular failure is not some previously
unobserved hardware fault. I have found in *every* case tried personally,
absent known driver or X bugs applicable to the hardware used, that basic
automagic X configuration failure can be worked around through manual
configuration. Trying a less than 1Kbyte
http://fm.no-ip.com/Share/xorg.conf-minimal-EDID-workaround as a shortcut to
manual configuration from scratch is a pretty simple thing to try. It doesn't
take much in most cases to work around apparent EDID-related automagic failure.
--
"The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant
words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation)
Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!
Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/