I tried following the directions at http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=163188 for upgrading from XFree86 to Xorg-X11. Unfortunately, the result is that X won't start. I'm attaching the output of my xorg.conf file and the Xorg.0.log output. The xorg.conf file is identical to one I successfully used with XFree86, aside from changes to the font path described in the switch instructions. I've tried swapping in the old XFree86 sis_drv.o file, with no improvement in the outcome. I can successfully start Xorg if I switch from the sis driver to the vesa driver, but then the display runs at a painful refresh rate and is slow, so that's not an acceptable solution. Reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1. Use the xorg.conf file provided 2. Type "startx" from a text-mode login 3. Watch X crash. Actual Results: X crashed. See attached Xorg.0.log output file. Expected Results: Started X.
Created attachment 30165 [details] Xorg.0.log file for the crashed Xorg session
Created attachment 30166 [details] xorg.conf configuration file As the comments show, this file was originally created in a Mandrake installation, then edited for my purposes. Generating a new file by using "Xorg -configure" and using it instead produces no better results, though.
Do /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/dri/sis_dri.so and /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/linux/libdrm.a exist?
I will confirm this definately happens. I can stop the drm* errors by adding Load "Dri" to my modules section of xorg.conf, however doing so results in this Symbol __glXActiveScreens from module /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libdri.a is unresolved! Symbol __glXActiveScreens from module /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libdri.a is unresolved! This the same for you Rod?
*prod* Rod can you try stuff in comment #4
I did reply to comment #4 (and also to #3), but they were by e-mail; I guess either they got lost or e-mail replies aren't added to this Bugzilla system.... Anywho, /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/linux/libdrm.a exists, but /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/dri/sis_dri.so doesn't exist. This file also doesn't exist in my XFree86 4.3 installation, FWIW. I have no DRI section in my xorg.conf file. As to #4, it's not quite the same for me. If I add 'Load "Dri"' to my modules section, the drm* errors don't go away. If I add 'Load "glx"' to that section, I get the glX* errors described. None of this seems to make any difference in Xorg's ability to start, which is the most important issue for me.
Some more information: I've had another go, using exactly the same binaries as before, and now X runs; however, when I exit from X or try to switch to a virtual console, the entire system becomes useless. It looks and feels like a system hang from the console, and servers no longer respond, but the system still responds to pings. I can only assume that some intervening change in system libraries or some such has caused the new behavior. Also, I've installed Fedora Core 2 on this same system in a multi-boot configuration. It uses Xorg-X11, but its version runs fine. (I can't run it in Gentoo because it uses a newer glibc, though.)
I've found a workaround. It appears that the problem is due to a conflict between Xorg-X11 and the kernel's SiS console framebuffer support. In particular, setting these options causes the problem: CONFIG_FB_SIS=y CONFIG_FB_SIS_315=y CONFIG_FRAMEBUFFER_CONSOLE=y It's possible that this interacts with my kernel boot options; I've been using "vga=794" to set my text video mode. When I disable CONFIG_FRAMEBUFFER_CONSOLE, Xorg-X11 runs and doesn't crash when I exit from it; however, the video display is scrambled when I log out from a GDM login; three compressed (side-by-side) and flickery copies of the display appear in place of one normal display. Switching to a text-mode VT and back again to X causes the display to revert to normal. Disabling CONFIG_FRAMEBUFFER_CONSOLE also means that I can't adjust my text-mode display to use smaller fonts; I'm stuck with an 80x25 display on my 19-inch monitor. Note that I've done most of my recent tests with a stock (non-Gentoo) 2.6.6 kernel, but the problem occurs with earlier 2.6.x kernels, too. I haven't tested the workaround on earlier or Gentoo-patched kernels. In any event, I don't consider this bug to be fixed, but the workaround appears to be acceptable in the short term.
At the suggestion of Thomas Winischhofer, the SiS driver's author, I upgraded the SiS fbdev driver in the kernel with code from his Web site (http://www.winischhofer.net/linuxsisvga.shtml). This has fixed the crashes; apparently they were due to changes in the way the fbdev and X drivers communicated that weren't synchronized between the kernel and Xorg-X11. Thomas says he's submitted his fixes to the kernel, but I don't know when they'll make it into a production kernel. Unfortunately, fbdev text-mode video now doesn't clear -- for instance, when starting a text editor, the existing text remains on the screen. This clearly isn't an X issue, though; it happens whether or not X is running.
Definitely an upstream issue with fbdev. Please follow this there if you're interested.
Rod, do you know if this has been merged into the kernel?
