EeePC resolution stuck at 800x600

[stozi]

I should have 1024x600 resolution on my Eeepc x101ch but it's only 800x600.
from $ inxi -SGxc 0

Graphics: Card Intel Cedarview Integrated Graphics Controller X.Org 1.10.4 Res: 800x600@0.0hz

Thanks for any help!

[GregE]

The problem you have is almost insurmountable in LMDE at the moment. The EeePC you have has a PowerVR SGX545 graphics chip, part of the dreaded GMA500 or Poulsbo series. Your chipset is also known as a GMA3600 or GMA3650.

I believe a 3.3 kernel and latest Xorg will at least get 2d acceleration and correct screen resolution. Fedora 16 should work.

You could also try Xubuntu Precise, and then maybe add the kernel and xorg-edgers PPAs and cross your fingers.

To have any chance with LMDE you would need to update to Debian Sid and do a dist-upgrade. Even then you would probably need to dip into experimental to make it work.

Sorry not to have an easy solution or good news.

[stozi]

But you're saying sometime in the not too terribly distant future this will be remedied in LMDE?

[GregE]

Yes and no. In the not too distant future you should have 2d acceleration and correct screen size. The chance of 3d acceleration in the life of the device is very slim. There are drivers around from MeeGo, but there will never be open source 3d drivers as PowerVR will not allow it. The new Atom machines will be using a new Intel video chipset and PowerVR will be consigned to history.

I have a Dell Mini 12 Netbook with a GMA500 chipset. Running Xubuntu 11.10 and the GMA500 PPA I have OpenGL 1.2 and Xubuntu runs well, and even has good video playback through xv. That project uses an old EMGD driver and a specially packaged older version of xorg to kludge a working system. It cannot run Gnome 3. I do not know if such an approach will work with a GMA3650, but if you want to look ....

for GMA500

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupport ... rdsPoulsbo

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1792777

Have a look at this forum, all 508 pages so you understand the enormity of the task
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php? ... 5&page=458

I am reasonably sure the psb_gfx driver will provide the basic mode setting and suspend resume, but no acceleration. It will be packaged and working for Ubuntu 12.04, but only for Unity 2d or Xubuntu without desktop effects.

So, if you get a 3.3 kernel and massage an LMDE install you might be able to make it work in a very basic sense. You might also need to manually create an xorg.conf.

I cannot help you with this as I do not have a device with the offending chipset. All I can do is explain the problem so you know where to start.

And, as much as I prefer LMDE on my desktop and CULV notebook, on my netbook with poulsbo chip I have just installed Xubuntu because that is where all the work is done by a dedicated team who try to make them work. Some of the Ubuntu stuff is also ported to Arch, and they have documentation for their distro that is also a source of tips/clues.

Good Luck

EDIT: The main edition of Mint is based on Ubuntu, so the Ubuntu fixes and patches for Oneiric will work with Mint 12.

[stozi]

Ok thanks, I don't need 3d acceleration, I'd really just be happy with better resolution. I'll take a look at xubuntu.

Thanks again!

[Rodewijn]

Hey Stozi,

did it work out for you with xubuntu? I have the same hardware and a lot of problems like you did....

Greetings,

Rodewijn.

[GregE]

Hey Stozi,

did it work out for you with xubuntu? I have the same hardware and a lot of problems like you did....

Greetings,

Rodewijn.

if you want to try Meego it should work. Using Google it looks like it is still a struggle to get anything else to work. Honest to goodness answer - sell it on eBay and get something else.

http://repo.meego.com/MeeGo/updates/1.2 ... edartrail/


https://meego.com/devices/netbook

[äxl]

How about a basic XServer configuration?
http://wiki.x.org/wiki/FAQVideoModes
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Config/Resolution

[GregE]

How about a basic XServer configuration?

Hi Axl, yes you could do that. By using a modeline generator you could create a hand crafted xorg.conf with modeline resolution entries and use a VESA driver. You would end up with the correct resolution, but no acceleration at all. Just paging up and down on a web page would be awful and video would be more like a slide show.

There is a driver that does provide 2D acceleration called psb_gfx. The problem is that it is not in the Debian repositories and it is not stable. It can be added from the Ubuntu PPA and you could get a 3.3 kernel from Liquorix and then disable Plymouth so you have a text boot sequence. I have been through this process and got it working with my GMA500, but then I started again and went down the path of the EMGD driver on Xubuntu which does work well enough. Bug reports show using the psb_gfx driver on the newer GMA3600 does not work reliably and is causing lockups. I have no doubt it will work eventually. I have read that Fedora 17 will drive a GMA3600 netbook, so that is worth a shot. But again it works only in a very restricted and basic sense.

If you are an advanced user who is comfortable with the command prompt and have time to burn then you could make a working system. But it would still be a low functioning system that could only run the most basic of desktops and apps.

There are many cheap AMD Fusion netbooks out there that will just work with a standard install. Anything with an E350 will run well and can even run Gnome Shell. The new Atom machines that are due out this year will have Intel graphics replacing PowerVR and will also "just work".

I still suggest that the best solution is eBay or swap with someone who has a netbook without PowerVR.

[äxl]

Just paging up and down on a web page would be awful and video would be more like a slide show.

Modern netbooks are worse than embedded chips from 2007 driven by nouveau, which can show 10-bit H.264 fluently (and can use Gnome 3 and Cinnamon btw)?

Code: Select all

~ $ inxi -Gx
Graphics:  Card nVidia C61 [GeForce 6150SE nForce 430] X.Org 1.11.4 Res: 1280x960
           GLX Renderer Gallium 0.4 on NV4C GLX Version 2.1 Mesa 7.11.2 Direct Rendering Yes

But it would still be a low functioning system that could only run the most basic of desktops and apps.

What hi-tec applications do you run? Please name me some so I understand what you mean.

I still suggest that the best solution is eBay or swap with someone who has a netbook without PowerVR.

That bad. Okay, I'm no expert. Just confused.

[stozi]

I only just installed Lubuntu, not sure I'm going to bother with all the trouble. The sad thing is even windows simply doesn't work on this thing, constantly seizes up in the middle of a youtube video, stuck on an annoying chainsaw noise for a few minutes with no way of stopping it. Ugh. Maybe Meego. Isn't that discontinued.

[GregE]

I only just installed Lubuntu, not sure I'm going to bother with all the trouble. The sad thing is even windows simply doesn't work on this thing, constantly seizes up in the middle of a youtube video, stuck on an annoying chainsaw noise for a few minutes with no way of stopping it. Ugh. Maybe Meego. Isn't that discontinued.

Meego is being replaced by Tizen, but Tizen is a long way off being released. Meego can run Google Chrome and it is Linux underneath. It is hosted by the Linux Foundation and it should work. Also try Fedora 17, it is supposed to at least work reliably albeit without any 3D or video acceleration..

[GregE]

Just paging up and down on a web page would be awful and video would be more like a slide show.

Modern netbooks are worse than embedded chips from 2007 driven by nouveau, which can show 10-bit H.264 fluently (and can use Gnome 3 and Cinnamon btw)?
Okay, I'm no expert. Just confused.

The PowerVR video chipset, in this case a GMA3600, is fine under Windows, it can do H264 and 3D desktop effects. But under Linux there is no driver, so it can only work as standard VGA video from the 1980s. A driver was created for Meego but getting it to work under any other Linux has proved difficult and it is a binary blob. There is an Open Source effort to create a driver called psb_gfx that will give very basic functions to the whole PowerVR family from GMA500 and newer. If you search on Poulsbo and Linux you can read about the whole sad history. Poulsbo is the codename for the GMA500 series of video chips. PowerVR made a driver for Linux, but just once and it was never updated. Very quickly it would not run with newer Xorg versions and kernels. There is also an Intel hosted driver called EMGD that worked long ago, but then got left behind.

There is a team of guys from Italy and Germany who perform amazing feats each time a new Ubuntu comes out. Their work is found at the GMA500 PPA site for Ubuntu. What they do is repackage an old version of Xorg and give it a new version number so it replaces the shipped version when you update with their PPA. You can then run a script and install the EMGD driver. My Dell Mini 12 has a GMA500 video chip set. It runs Xubuntu 11.10 and has xv video acceleration and OpenGL 1.2 and is good enough to run Xfce4 desktop effects. Gnome 3 will not run, but I think KDE will work with effects turned off.

Stozi's problem is even worse as he has a newer version of the chipset that is very Linux unfriendly. My Dell Mini 12 has reached the end of it's useful life and has been replaced by a Dell 11z which has a 11" screen and a conventional Intel video chipset and that works very well. I learned the hard way to avoid PowerVR chipsets.

[äxl]

Thanks for the clarification, GregE!
And I'll keep my ears open for Tizen!

[stozi]

Now I've got windows, which freezes every 40 minutes, Meego which works fine but has no sound in flash video, and Lubuntu which is stuck on 800x600.

Thanks for all the info GregE!!!

[äxl]

How about a basic XServer configuration?
http://wiki.x.org/wiki/FAQVideoModes
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Config/Resolution

Hi Axl, yes you could do that. By using a modeline generator you could create a hand crafted xorg.conf with modeline resolution entries and use a VESA driver.

stozi, did you try that?

[iqmaster]

I have HP min 210 with the atom n2800 gma 3650. I had no luck in getting X to work with Archlinux. I updated to kernel 3.4-rc2 and no luck also. only blank screen. anyways, I went and installed Meego and it's working very well but I have been struggling in the installation of video codecs. I can play 720p video on youtube with no problem but no video codecs for banshee or whatever.

[GregE]

I guess it is time to go to the meego forums, and I know nothing about running Meego other than it appears to be based on Fedora 14

http://wiki.meego.com/MeeGo-Lem#Google_ ... ice.2C_etc.

[GregE]

For what it is worth, my old Dell Mini 12 with the older GMA500 PowerVR chip is functional with the latest Xubuntu 12.04 using the default setup. I just had to alter one grub suffix to get the video working. 2D acceleration works well. Minimal Gallium 3D is provided by software rendering, but with a single core Atom I doubt it is much use. No XV, but windowed YouTube works. Suspend resume is leading to video corruption on my machine. There are a lot of workarounds to try yet.

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupport ... rdsPoulsbo
http://blog.bodhizazen.net/linux/ubuntu ... t-options/

Not great, but for email and light web browsing it works. Word processing should also be no problem, 2D acceleration works fine.

So, when Linuxmint 13 come out, then these old machines (and newer ones saddled with this video chip) will have some functional use.

[stozi]

Dear Sirs and Madammes,

I just belatedly upgraded to Ubuntu 12.10 with its 3.5 kernel. Finally I'm in the land of 1024x600, such a joy. Sure, default brightness is not something you can really call brightness, but a quick

Code: Select all

echo 70 | sudo tee /sys/class/backlight/psb-bl/brightness


fixes that pretty quick.

Oh happy day!