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linux-unix130.linux.and.unix.ebooks130 linux and unix ebookslinuxLearning Linux - Collection of 12 E

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<FONT COLOR="#000080">SuperProbe -no16 -verbose</FONT></PRE>



<P>If you have a 16-bit (or higher) card that you suspect to be an S3, Cirrus Logic, or Tseng chipset, for example, you can use the -order option to simplify testing (and prevent potential problems), as in



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<FONT COLOR="#000080">SuperProbe -order S3,Cirrus,Tseng -verbose</FONT></PRE>



<P>There are no spaces between chipsets specified after the -order option. The -verbose option lets you see what is going on. Narrowing the search for a chipset in this way prevents lockups. Even if you know exactly what video card is in your system, don't assume SuperProbe will function properly. SuperProbe has an annoying habit of hanging up a system because of conflicts with other cards or devices. Use it with care.



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<H4 ALIGN=CENTER>



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<FONT SIZE=4 COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Using ConfigXF86 and XF86Config</B></FONT></CENTER></H4>



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<P>ConfigXF86 and XF86Config use simple interfaces from which you select supported video cards and video monitors. (ConfigXF86 was written by Stephen Zwaska, by the way.) If the ConfigXF86 or XF86Config utility supports your video card (check the Hardware HOWTO and XFree86 README files), you can use the ConfigXF86 and XF86Config installation routine to simplify the configuration process enormously. If ConfigXF86 or XF86Config is provided with your XFree86 distribution, it is in the directory /usr/X386/bin.



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<P>Documentation for ConfigXF86 and XF86Config is usually placed in /usr/X386/bin with the executable file. Some versions of Linux and XFree86 don't supply the documents, though. The documentation is often supplied in multiple formats. An ASCII version is called ConfigXF86.txt, and a PostScript version (or the XF86Config version) is called ConfigXF86.ps



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<P>When you run either ConfigXF86 or XF86Config, some general information appears on-screen. Figure 5.3 shows the introductory screen of XF86Config, which is used as an example for the screen shots throughout this section. After this screen, you may receive a status message telling you about existing files and distributions of X. In most CD-ROM based installations, you are told that you already have an earlier version of X, as shown in Figure 5.4. This version was installed by setup, in most cases.You can ignore these messages and continue on with the configuration, although you should read the messages about paths.



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG03.gif">Figure 5.3.</B>



<BR><B>The introductory screen of </B><B>XF86Config</B><B> explains what the program is going </B><B>to do and what information you need to provide.</A></B>



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG04.gif">Figure 5.4.</B>



<BR><B>Most versions of </B><B>XF86Config</B><B> warn you that you have an earlier version of </B><B>X already on your drive.</A></B>



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<P>You are then prompted for the information you gathered earlier about your system. In most cases, you are shown a list of supported values and asked to choose one. Following through these choices in order provides the utility with the proper information to build your Xconfig file. The XF86Config utility, for example, asks you for your mouse type, as shown in Figure 5.5. Choose the mouse model you are using from this list. Don't assume that because you configured a mouse when you installed Linux that X will pick up the correct type.



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG05.gif">Figure 5.5.</B>



<BR><B>Because X is mouse-dependent, XF86Config asks you for the type of mouse </B><B>you will be using.</A></B>



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<P>Depending on the type of mouse you choose, you may be asked about special mouse button functionality. Figure 5.6, for example, shows the prompt after selecting a Logitech MouseMan mouse, which has three buttons (as do most UNIX workstation mouse models). This screen enables you to use the three buttons for their proper functions. After this screen, you are asked for the port of the mouse, as shown in Figure 5.7. If you installed a mouse when you installed Linux (such as with setup), you may have already supplied the port the mouse will use. This port was linked to the special device driver /dev/mouse. If you have installed a mouse already, press Enter. Otherwise, give the mouse port name.



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG06.gif">Figure 5.6.</B>



<BR><B>If the type of mouse you selected in the previous screen supports </B><B>special options, you are asked whether you want them to be enabled.</A></B>



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG07.gif">Figure 5.7.</B>



<BR><B>X must know the port your mouse is attached to. If you have already </B><B>configured a mouse, press Return.</A></B>



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<P>Some versions of the configuration routine ask whether you want to enable special character bindings on the keyboard, as shown in Figure 5.8. This option is used most often for non-English characters. For most users, the answer is no.



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG08.gif">Figure 5.8.</B>



<BR><B>X provides support for non-English characters through extended keyboard </B><B>bindings.</A></B>



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<P>Now comes the trickier parts. You must supply the information about your monitor and video card that you determined earlier. The screen shown in Figure 5.9 asks about the horizontal sync frequencies your monitor uses. If you are not sure, use a generic (VGA or SVGA) setting. Choosing the wrong setting may cause damage to your monitor!



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG09.gif">Figure 5.9.</B>



<BR><B>Select the proper horizontal sync frequency for your monitor from this </B><B>screen.</A></B>



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<P>Next, you must set the vertical sync rate. Again, err on the side of the more common rates. This screen is shown in Figure 5.10. If you are not sure, choose the lowest number. The horizontal and vertical sync frequencies for most popular monitors are given in the Monitors file in the doc directory, mentioned earlier. You are then asked to enter a name for the monitor, which is used to identify it in the configuration files. Figure 5.11 shows this screen. You can enter the actual model name or any string you want; it doesn't have to match your actual monitor name because the string is not used for anything except identification.



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG10.gif">Figure 5.10.</B>



<BR><B>You need to set the vertical sync frequencies, too.</A></B>



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG11.gif">Figure 5.11.</B>



<BR><B>After setting the frequencies your monitor uses, you get to name </B><B>it.</A></B>



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<P>After configuring the monitor, you must configure your video card. The configuration program may ask you whether you want to look at the video card database (see Figure 5.12). If you do not have the parameters your card supports already at hand, take advantage of this option. You can page through a list of video cards, as shown in Figure 5.13, until you find a card that matches your card. Choose the number in the left-hand column to display the card's information, as shown in Figure 5.14. Sometimes the information is very brief. You may want to copy down some of this information for later reference.



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG12.gif">Figure 5.12.</B>



<BR><B>The configuration program may give you the option of looking up your </B><B>video card in the video database.</A></B>



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG13.gif">Figure 5.13.</B>



<BR><B>The video card database has several pages of cards listed.</A></B>



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG14.gif">Figure 5.14.</B>



<BR><B>The video card database shows the X configuration information about your </B><B>card when you select the proper number from the list.</A></B>



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<P>After choosing the video card, you select a server as shown in Figure 5.15. The servers available under X were discussed earlier in this chapter. Enter the number that corresponds to the server you want to use. If you don't want to experiment with video card-specific servers, choose the VGA or SVGA server (the VGA entry is a safe bet for a first-time installation). You can change the server later, so don't worry about getting the best performance you can out of your video card at this time&#151;it's more important to get X running properly!



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG15.gif">Figure 5.15.</B>



<BR><B>Use this screen to specify the type of X server you want to run.</A></B>



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<P>Depending on your installation configuration, you may be asked whether you want the configuration routine to set up some links for you, as shown in Figure 5.16. It doesn't hurt to have these links set unless they will cause a conflict with directory naming.



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG16.gif">Figure 5.16.</B>



<BR><B>On some systems, the configuration routine offers to set links to </B><B>different X directories for you.</A></B>



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<P>The next step is to tell X how much memory your video card has, as shown in Figure 5.17. The more RAM your video card has, the faster X can run. If you are not sure how much RAM your card has, choose a low number. Most video cards sold in the last year or two have at least 1M video RAM, but you should verify your card's RAM complement in your documentation.



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG17.gif">Figure 5.17.</B>



<BR><B>Choose the amount of video RAM on your card.</A></B>



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<P>As a final step in the video card configuration, you are asked to name the card. As with the monitor names, these strings are used for identification only and can be set to anything you want.



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<P>Some video cards can handle special processing. A screen like the one shown in Figure 5.18 asks you which options you want to enable. Make sure you know what you are doing if you select some of these options; some of them can hang your system if used incorrectly. If you are not sure or you are configuring a generic system, don't enable any options. Just press Enter to ignore them.



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG18.gif">Figure 5.18.</B>



<BR><B>Some cards have special features that you can enable through this </B><B>screen.</A></B>



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<P>The screen shown in Figure 5.19 follows the special processing screen and asks about some clock features. Some video cards do not support this feature and will hang if it is tried. As you see at the bottom of the screen, the configuration utility has identified the video card in this configuration as not supporting this feature, so the SuperProbe system should not be run. If in doubt, don't use it!



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<P><B> <A HREF="05LSG19.gif">Figure 5.19.</B>



<BR><B>Many high-speed video cards can be optimized with the use of a Clocks </B><B>option, although some cards (including the one in this example) do not </B><B>support the option.</A></B>



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<P>Finally, the configuration script asks whether you want it to write the information to the X configuration file, as shown in Figure 5.20. If you answer yes, the configuration file is updated automatically. If you answer no, all your entries are lost and you return to the shell.



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<B> <A HREF="05LSG20.gif">Figure 5.20.</B>



<BR><B>The final step in the configuration process is writing the configuration file. This prompt verifies that you want to generate the file. </A></B>



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After the XF86Config or Xconfig file has been created using the script, resist the temptation to start up X immediately. Instead, take the time to examine the file manually to prevent any chance of damage to your hardware from an incorrect setting. The following section on manually configuring the Xconfig or XF86Config file explains all the settings. Once you're sure all is fine, launch X with the command startx. If the X server fails to start, run the configuration utility again and check all your answers carefully. In case of problems, always choose generic settings just to get X working.</A>



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<FONT SIZE=5 COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Examining the Xconfig and XF86Config Files in Detail</B></FONT></CENTER></H3>



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<P>If you are manually entering your configuration information into the Xconfig or XF86Config files, you need to know how the files are laid out and how to enter your specific details. All versions of XFree86 have at least one sample configuration file, usually called Xconfig.eg or XF86Config.eg and located in the lib directory. Use this file as a template for creating your own configuration file. Copy the example file to a new file without the .eg extension, and make the changes described in the following paragraphs.



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<P>The Xconfig and XF86Config files are not short, but lots of comments are scattered throughout. The format of the configuration files is a set of sections for each aspect of the XFree86 configuration. The general order of sections is as follows:



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<P>Pathnames to binaries and screen fonts



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</UL></UL>



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<P>Keyboard information



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</UL></UL>



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<P>Mouse information



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</UL></UL>



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<P>Server file



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</UL></UL>



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<P>Video information



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<P>If you have run the automated configuration file generator utilities like XF86config or XF86Config, check the entries in the generated file. If you are manually editing the file, proceed slowly and methodically to prevent errors.



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<NOTE>The code excerpts shown in the rest of this section are from the XF86Config file created by XFree86 version 3.x, as it is the latest version and is usually included with new software distributions. The Xconfig file for XFree86 version 2.x is similar, and you should have no problem following the same procedures by examining the Xconfig file.</NOTE>



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