Linux-Misc Digest #689, Volume #24 Fri, 2 Jun 00 15:13:06 EDT
Contents:
Re: Video Trouble (steve)
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From: steve <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Video Trouble
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 12:16:45 -0600
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Boddhisatva Troutwaxer wrote:
> I've just installed Red Hat 6.1 on a Toshiba Satellite 415CS
> Laptop with a Chips & Technologies CT65548 video chip with one
> meg of memory. When I start X with this configuration I get a
> correct set of colors and readable type, but it does not cover my
> entire screen. The right 1/5th of the screen is blank. I have
> this problem regardless of whether I use a 640x480 or 800x600
> screen. Has anyone run into this problem before? (The screen
> works properly at 800 X 600 with 256 colors in Windows, so I am
> assuming for now that there is nothing wrong with the hardware.)
>
> Thanks in advance for the help!!
>
> T.
>
> The world is not a prison-house but a kind of spiritual
> kindergarten where millions of bewildered infants are trying to
> spell God with the wrong blocks. - Edward Arlington Robinson
>
> * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
> The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
I'm assuming you've read the attached file, if not, take a look. Your problem
sounds like a known problem with the ctxxxxx chips. I had an NEC with this
chip, and I was able to get it working with some combination of the following
options (I don't have the machine anymore) in XF86Config (with a good
modeline):
Option "fix_panel_size"
Option "lcd_center"
Option "use_modeline"
make sure your virtual screen is the same size as the screen mode you want to
use,
I usually delete all the other mode lines. you realize you can only run 8bpp,
correct?
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Information for Chips and Technologies Users
David Bateman ([EMAIL PROTECTED]),
Egbert Eich ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
5th June 1998
1. Introduction
The Chips and Technologies range of chips are primarily manufactured for use
in laptop computers, where their power conservation circuitry is of impor-
tance. They can however be found in a few "Green" video cards for desktop
machines. This release of XFree86 includes support for
o Linear Addressing
o 16/24/32 bits per pixel
o Fully programmable clocks are supported
o H/W cursor support
o BitBLT acceleration of many operations using XAA
Most of the Chips and Technologies chipsets are supported by this driver to
some degree.
2. Supported Chips
ct65520
(Max Ram: 1Mb, Max Dclk: 68MHz@5V)
ct65525
This chip is basically identical to the 65530. It has the same ID
and is identified as a 65530 when probed. See ct65530 for
details.
ct65530
This is a very similar chip to the 65520. However it additionally
has the ability for mixed 5V and 3.3V operation and linear
addressing of the video memory. (Max Ram: 1Mb, Max Dclk:
[EMAIL PROTECTED], 68MHz@5V)
ct65535
This is the first chip of the ct655xx series to support fully
programmable clocks. Otherwise it has the the same properties as
the 65530.
ct65540
This is the first version of the of the ct655xx that was capable
of supporting Hi-Color and True-Color. It also includes a fully
programmable dot clock and supports all types of flat panels.
(Max Ram: 1Mb, Max Dclk: [EMAIL PROTECTED], 68MHz@5V)
ct65545
The chip is very similar to the 65540, with the addition of H/W
cursor, pop-menu acceleration, BitBLT and support of PCI Buses.
PCI version also allow all the BitBLT and H/W cursor registers to
be memory mapped 2Mb above the Base Address. (Max Ram: 1Mb, Max
Dclk: [EMAIL PROTECTED],68MHz@5V)
ct65546
This chip is specially manufactured for Toshiba, and so documen-
tation is not widely available. It is believed that this is
really just a 65545 with a higher maximum dot-clock of 80MHz.
(Max Ram: 1Mb?, Max Dclk: 80MHz?)
ct65548
This chip is similar to the 65545, but it also includes XRAM sup-
port and supports the higher dot clocks of the 65546. (Max Ram:
1Mb, Max Dclk: 80MHz)
ct65550
This chip started a completely new architecture to previous
ct655xx chips. It includes many new features, including improved
BitBLT support (24bpp color expansion, wider maximum pitch, etc),
Multimedia unit (video capture, zoom video port, etc) and 24bpp
uncompressed true color (i.e 32bpp mode). Also memory mapped I/O
is possible on all bus configurations. (Max Ram: 2Mb, Max Dclk:
[EMAIL PROTECTED],100MHz@5V)
( Note: At least one non-PCI bus system with a ct65550 requires
the "-no_bios" option for the SuperProbe to correctly detect the
chipset with the factory default BIOS settings. The XF86_SVGA
server can correctly detect the chip in the same situation. )
ct65554
This chip is similar to the 65550 but has a 64bit memory bus as
opposed to a 32bit bus. It also has higher limits on the maximum
memory and pixel clocks (Max Ram: 4Mb, Max Dclk: [EMAIL PROTECTED])
ct65555
Similar to the 65554 but has yet higher maximum memory and pixel
clocks. It also includes a new DSTN dithering scheme that
improves the performance of DSTN screens. (Max Ram: 4Mb, Max
Dclk: [EMAIL PROTECTED])
ct68554
Similar to the 65555 but also incorporates "PanelLink" drivers.
This serial link allows an LCD screens to be located up to 100m
from the video processor. Expect to see this chip soon in LCD
desktop machines (Max Ram: 4Mb, Max Dclk: [EMAIL PROTECTED])
ct69000
Similar to the 65555 but incorporates 2Mbytes of SGRAM on chip.
It is the first Chips and Technologies chipset where all of the
registers are accessible through MMIO, rather than just the Bit-
Blt registers. (Max Ram: 2Mb Only, Max Dclk: [EMAIL PROTECTED])
ct64200
This chip, also known as the WinGine, is used in video cards for
desktop systems. It often uses external DAC's and programmable
clock chips to supply additional functionally. None of these are
currently supported within the driver itself, so many cards will
only have limited support. Linear addressing is not supported for
this card in the driver. (Max Ram: 2Mb, Max Dclk: 80MHz)
ct64300
This is a more advanced version of the WinGine chip, with speci-
fication very similar to the 6554x series of chips. However there
are many difference at a register level. A similar level of
acceleration to the 65545 is included for this driver. (Max Ram:
2Mb, Max Dclk: 80MHz)
3. XF86Config Options
The following options are of particular interest to the Chips and Technolo-
gies driver. Each of them must be specified in the `svga' driver section of
the XF86Config file, within the Screen subsections of the depths to which
they are applicable (you can enable options for all depths by specifying them
in the Device section).
Option "noaccel"
This option will disable the use of any accelerated functions.
This is likely to help with some problems related to DRAM timing,
high dot clocks, and bugs in accelerated functions, at the cost
of performance (which will still be reasonable on VLB/PCI).
Option "no_bitblt" (Chips 65545 and later)
This option will disable the use of the BitBLT engine which the
65545 and above have. If you can use the "noaccel" option to
correct a problem, then this option might be better to use. It
still allows the use of generic speedups.
Option "xaa_no_color_exp" (Chips 65545 and later)
This option will have the effect of disabling the use of
monochrome colour expansion. In particular this effects text and
bitmaps. It is useful for problems related to image writes, and
possible acceleration problems. In general this will result in a
reduced performance. Note that this option replaces the
"no_imageblt" option used in XFree86 3.2.
Option "xaa_benchmark" (Chips 65545 and later)
Turns on the XAA acceleration benchmarks. Information regarding
what graphics primitives are accelerated and their relatives
speeds will be printed when the X server starts.
videoram 1024 (or another value)
This option will override the detected amount of video memory,
and pretend the given amount of memory is present on the card.
Note that many ct655xx chips only allow up to 1Mb of videoram,
and the amount should be correctly detected.
Option "nolinear" (Chips 65530 and later)
By default linear addressing is used on all ct655xx chips. How-
ever this might be broken in some implementations. It is possible
to turn the linear addressing off with this option. Note that H/W
acceleration and 16/24/32bpp are only supported with linear
addressing.
MemBase 0x03b00000 (or a different address)
This sets the physical memory base address of the linear frame-
buffer. Typically this is probed correctly, but if you believe it
to be mis-probed, this option might help. Also for non PCI
machines specifying this force the linear base address to be this
value, reprogramming the video processor to suit. Note that for
the 65530 this is required as the base address can't be correctly
probed.
Option "hw_cursor" (Chips 65545 and later)
This option enables the use of a hardware accelerated cursor.
This effectively speeds all graphics operations as the job of
ensuring that the cursor remains on top is now given to the hard-
ware. It also reduces the effect of cursor flashing during graph-
ics operations.
Option "sw_cursor" (Chips 65545 and later)
Software cursors have now been made the default and so this
option has no effect.
Option "STN"
The server is unable to differentiate between SS STN and TFT dis-
plays. This forces it to identify the display as a SS STN rather
than a TFT.
Option "use_modeline"
The flat panel timings are related to the panel size and not the
size of the mode specified in XF86Config. For this reason the
default behaviour of the server is to use the panel timings
already installed in the chip. The user can force the panel tim-
ings to be recalculated from the modeline with this option. How-
ever the panel size will still be probed.
Option "fix_panel_size"
For some machines the LCD panel size is incorrectly probed from
the registers. This option forces the LCD panel size to be over-
ridden by the modeline display sizes. This will prevent the use
of a mode that is a different size than the panel. Before using
this check that the server reports an incorrect panel size. This
option can be used in conjunction with the option "use_modeline"
to program all the panel timings using the modeline values.
Option "no_stretch"
When the size of the mode used is less than the panel size, the
default behaviour of the server is to stretch the mode in an
attempt to fill the screen. A "letterbox" effect with no stretch-
ing can be achieved using this option.
Option "lcd_center"
When the size of the mode used is less than the panel size, the
default behaviour of the server is to align the left hand edge of
the display with the left hand edge of the screen. Using this
option the mode can be centered in the screen. This option is
reported to have problems with some machines at 16/24/32bpp, the
effect of which is that the right-hand edge of the mode will be
pushed off the screen.
Option "hw_clocks" (Chips 65535 and later)
On chips 65535 and later, the default is to use the programmable
clock for all clocks. It is possible to use the fixed clocks sup-
ported by the chip instead by using this option. Typically this
will give you some or all of the clocks 25.175, 28.322, 31.000
and 36.000MHz. The current programmable clock will be given as
the last clock in the list. On a cold-booted system this might be
the appropriate value to use at the text console (see the
"TextClockFreq" option), as many flat panels will need a dot
clock different than the default to synchronise. The programmable
clock makes this option obsolete and so it's use isn't recom-
mended.
Option "use_vclk1" (Chips 65550 and later)
The HiQV series of chips have three programmable clocks. The
first two are usually loaded with 25.175 and 28.322MHz for VGA
backward compatibility, and the third is used as a fully pro-
grammable clock. On at least one system (the Inside 686 LCD/S
single board computer) the third clock is unusable. This option
forces the use of VClk1 as the programmable clock. It has been
reported that this option can fix the blue/black screen problem
on startup that a few machines suffer.
TextClockFreq 25.175
It is impossible for the server to read the value of the cur-
rently used frequency for the text console from the chip with the
ct6554x series of chips. Therefore the server uses a default
value of 25.175MHz as the text console clock. For some LCDs, in
particular DSTN screens, this clock will be wrong. This allows
the user to select a different clock for the server to use when
returning to the text console.
Option "mmio"
This enables the use of memory-mapped I/O to talk to the BitBLT
engine. By default memory-mapped I/O is not enabled on the 6554x
series of chips, and is only usable on 6554x's with PCI buses.
This option has no effect when not using the BitBLT engine (e.g.
when using "no_bitblt"), or for the 65550 which can only use MMIO
for access to the BitBLT engine. On 65545 PCI machines MMIO is
enabled by default because the blitter can not be used otherwise.
Option "suspend_hack"
This option sets the centering and stretching to the bios default
values. This can fix suspend/resume problems on some machines. It
overrides the options "lcd_center" and "no_stretch".
Option "use_18bit_bus" (Chips 65540/45/46/48)
For 24bpp on TFT screens, the server assumes that a 24bit bus is
being used. This can result in a reddish tint to 24bpp mode.
This option, selects an 18 bit TFT bus. For other depths this
option has no effect.
Chipset "ct65546" (or some other chip)
It is possible that the chip could be misidentified, particular
due to interactions with other drivers in the server. It is pos-
sible to force the server to identify a particular chip with this
option.
Option "sync_on_green" (Chips 65550/54/55 and 68554)
Composite sync on green. Possibly useful if you wish to use an
old workstation monitor. The 65550/54 internal RAMDAC's support
this mode of operation, but whether a particular machine does
depends on the manufacturer.
Option "fast_dram" (Chips 65550/54/55 and 68554)
This option sets the internal memory clock (MCLK) registers to
38MHz. The default value programmed by the BIOS is usually OK,
but some machines can accept a faster MClk to achieve a better
performance. One machine known to work well with this option is
the Toshiba 720CDT. Note that newer machines often have an MClk
greater than 38MHz, and so this option might actually slower the
machine down. This option is generally not recommended and is
superseded by the "Set_MemClk" option.
DacSpeed 80.000
The server will limit the maximum dotclock to a value as speci-
fied by the manufacturer. This might make certain modes impossi-
ble to obtain with a reasonable refresh rate. Using this option
the user can override the maximum dot-clock and specify any value
they prefer. Use caution with this option, as driving the video
processor beyond its specifications might cause damage.
Set_MemClk 38.000 (Chips 65550/54/55 and 68554)
This option sets the internal memory clock (MCLK) registers to
38MHz or some other value. Use caution as excess heat generated
by the video processor if its specifications are exceeded might
cause damage. However careful use of this option might boost per-
formance.
4. Modelines
When constructing a modeline for use with the Chips and Technologies driver
you'll needed to considered several points
* Virtual Screen Size
It is the virtual screen size that determines the amount of mem-
ory used by a mode. So if you have a virtual screen size set to
1024x768 using a 800x600 at 8bpp, you use 768kB for the mode.
Further to this some of the XAA acceleration requires that the
display pitch is a multiple of 64 pixels. So the driver will
attempt to round-up the virtual X dimension to a multiple of 64,
but leave the virtual resolution untouched. This might further
reduce the available memory.
* 16/24/32 Bits Per Pixel
Chips later than the ct65540 are capable of supporting Hi-Color
and True-Color modes. These are implemented in the current
server. The clocks in the 6554x series of chips are internally
divided by 2 for 16bpp and 3 for 24bpp, allowing one modeline to
be used at all depths. The effect of this is that the maximum
dot clock visible to the user is a half or a third of the value
at 8bpp. The 6555x series of chips doesn't need to use additional
clock cycles to display higher depths, and so the same modeline
can be used at all depths, without needing to divide the clocks.
Also 16/24/32 bpp modes will need 2 , 3 or 4 times respectively
more video ram.
* Frame Acceleration
Many DSTN screens use frame acceleration to improve the perfor-
mance of the screen. This can be done by using an external frame
buffer, or incorporating the framebuffer at the top of video ram
depending on the particular implementation. The Xserver assumes
that the framebuffer, if used, will be at the top of video ram.
The amount of ram required for the framebuffer will vary depend-
ing on the size of the screen, and will reduce the amount of
video ram available to the modes. Typical values for the size of
the framebuffer will be 61440 bytes (640x480 panel), 96000 bytes
(800x600 panel) and 157287 bytes (1024x768 panel).
* H/W Acceleration
The H/W cursor will need 1kB for the 6554x and 4kb for the 65550.
On the 64300 chips the H/W cursors is stored in registers and so
no allowance is needed for the H/W cursor. In addition to this
many graphics operations are speeded up using a "pixmap cache".
Leaving too little memory available for the cache will only have
a detrimental effect on the graphics performance.
* VESA like modes
We recommend that you try and pick a mode that is similar to a
standard VESA mode. If you don't a suspend/resume or LCD/CRT
switch might mess up the screen. This is a problem with the video
BIOS not knowing about all the funny modes that might be
selected.
* Dot Clock
For LCD screens, the lowest clock that gives acceptable contrast
and flicker is usually the best one. This also gives more memory
bandwidth for use in the drawing operations. Some users prefer to
use clocks that are defined by their BIOS. This has the advantage
that the BIOS will probably restore the clock they specified
after a suspend/resume or LCD/CRT switch. For a complete discus-
sion on the dot clock limitations, see the next section.
The driver is capable of driving both a CRT and a flat panel display. In fact
the timing for the flat panel are dependent on the specification of the panel
itself and are independent of the particular mode chosen. For this reason it
is recommended to use one of the programs that automatically generate
XF86Config files, such as "xf86config" or "XF86Setup".
However there are many machines, particular those with 800x600 screen or
larger, that need to reprogram the panel timings. The reason for this is that
the manufacturer has used the panel timings to get a standard EGA mode to
work on flat panel, and these same timings don't work for an SVGA mode. For
these machines the "use_modeline" and/or possibly the "fix_panel_size" option
might be needed. Some machines that are known to need these options include.
Modeline "640x480@8bpp" 25.175 640 672 728 816 480 489 501 526
Modeline "640x480@16bpp" 25.175 640 672 728 816 480 489 501 526
Options: "use_modeline"
Tested on a Prostar 8200, (640x480, 65548, 1Mbyte)
Modeline "800x600@8bpp" 28.322 800 808 848 936 600 600 604 628
Options: "fix_panel_size", "use_modeline"
Tested on a HP OmniBook 5000CTS (800x600 TFT, 65548, 1Mbyte)
Modeline "800x600@8bpp" 30.150 800 896 960 1056 600 600 604 628
Options: "fix_panel_size", "use_modeline"
Test on a Zeos Meridan 850c (800x600 DSTN, 65545, 1Mbyte)
The NEC Versa 4080 just needs the "fix_panel_size" option.
5. The Full Story on Clock Limitations
There has been much confusion about exactly what the clock limitations of the
Chips and Technologies chipsets are. Hence I hope that this section will
clear up the misunderstandings.
In general there are two factors determining the maximum dotclock. There is
the limit of the maximum dotclock the video processor can handle, and there
is another limitation of the available memory bandwidth. The memory bandwidth
is determined by the clock used for the video memory. For chipsets incapable
of colour depths greater that 8bpp like the 65535, the dotclock limit is
solely determined by the highest dotclock the video processor is capable of
handling. So this limit will be either 56MHz or 68MHz for the 655xx chipsets,
depending on what voltage they are driven with, or 80MHz for the 64200
WinGine machines.
The 6554x and 64300 WinGine chipsets are capable of colour depths of 16 or
24bpp. However there is no reliable way of probing the memory clock used in
these chipsets, and so a conservative limit must be taken for the dotclock
limit. In this case the driver divides the video processors dotclock limita-
tion by the number of bytes per pixel, so that the limitations for the vari-
ous colour depths are
8bpp 16bpp 24bpp
64300 85 42.5 28.33
65540/65545 3.3v 56 28 18.67
65540/65545 5v 68 34 22.67
65546/65548 80 40 26.67
For a CRT or TFT screen these limitations are conservative and the user might
safely override them with the "DacSpeed" option to some extent. However these
numbers take no account of the extra bandwidth needed for DSTN screens.
For the HiQV series of chips, the memory clock can be successfully probed.
Hence you will see a line like
(--) SVGA: CHIPS: probed memory clock of 40090 KHz
in your startx log file. Note that many chips are capable of higher memory
clocks than actually set by BIOS. You can use the Set_MClk option in your
XF86Config file to get a higher MClk. However some video ram, particularly
EDO, might not be fast enough to handle this, resulting in drawing errors on
the screen. The formula to determine the maximum usable dotclock on the HiQV
series of chips is
Max Dotclock = min(MaxDClk, 0.70 * 4 * MemoryClk / (BytesPerPixel +
(isDSTN == TRUE ? 1 : 0)))
which says that there are two limits on the dotclock. One the overall maxi-
mum, and another due to the available memory bandwidth of the chip. For the
memory bandwidth 4 bytes are transfered every clock cycle (Hence the 4), but
after accounting for the RAS/CAS signaling only about 70% of the bandwidth is
available. The whole thing is divided by the bytes per pixel, plus an extra
byte if you are using a DSTN. The extra byte with DSTN screens is used for
the frame buffering/acceleration in these screens. So for the various Chips
and Technologies chips the maximum specifications are
Max DClk MHz Max Mem Clk MHz
65550 rev A 3.3v 80 38
65550 rev A 5v 110 38
65550 rev B 95 50
65554 94.5 55
65555 110 55
68554 110 55
69000 220 100
Note that all of the chips except the 65550 rev A are 3.3v only. Which is the
reason for the drop in the dot clock. Now the maximum memory clock is just
the maximum supported by the video processor, not the maximum supported by
the video memory. So the value actually used for the memory clock might be
significantly less than this maximum value. But assuming your memory clock is
programmed to these maximum values the various maximum dot clocks for the
chips are
------CRT/TFT------- --------DSTN--------
8bpp 16bpp 24bpp 8bpp 16bpp 24bpp
65550 rev A 3.3v 80 53.2 35.47 53.2 35.47 26.6
65550 rev A 5v 106.2 53.2 35.47 53.2 35.47 26.6
65550 rev B 95 70 46.67 70 46.67 35.0
65554 94.5 77 51.33 77 51.33 38.5
65555 110 77 51.33 77 51.33 38.5
68554 110 77 51.33 77 51.33 38.5
69000 220 140 93.33 140 93.33 70.0
If you exceed the maximum set by the memory clock, you'll get corruption on
the screen during graphics operations, as you will be starving the HW BitBlt
engine of clock cycles. If you are driving the video memory too fast (too
high a MemClk) you'll get pixel corruption as the data actually written to
the video memory is corrupted by driving the memory too fast. You can proba-
bly get away with exceeding the Max DClk at 8bpp on TFT's or CRT's by up to
10% or so without problems, it will just generate more heat, since the 8bpp
clocks aren't limited by the available memory bandwidth.
If you find you truly can't achieve the mode you are after with the default
clock limitations, look at the options "DacSpeed" and "Set_MemClk". Using
these should give you all the capabilities you'll need in the server to get a
particular mode to work. However use caution with these options, because
there is no guarantee that driving the video processor beyond it capabilities
won't cause damage.
6. Troubleshooting
The cursor appears as a white box, after switching modes
There is a known bug in the H/W cursor, that sometimes causes the
cursor to be redrawn as a white box, when the mode is changed.
This can be fixed by moving the cursor to a different region,
switching to the console and back again, or if it is too annoying
the H/W cursor can be disabled by removing the "hw_cursor"
option.
The cursor hot-spot isn't at the same point as the cursor
With modes on the 6555x machines that are stretched to fill the
flat panel, the H/W cursor is not correspondingly stretched. This
is a small and long-standing bug in the current server. You can
avoid this by either using the "no_stretch" option or removing
the hw_cursor" option.
The lower part of the screen is corrupted
Many DSTN screens use the top of video ram to implement a frame
accelerator. This reduces the amount of video ram available to
the modes. The server doesn't prevent the user from specifying a
mode that will use this memory, it prints a warning on the con-
sole. The effect of this problem will be that the lower part of
the screen will reside in the same memory as the frame accelera-
tor and will therefore be corrupt. Try reducing the amount of
memory consumed by the mode.
There is a video signal, but the screen doesn't sync.
You are using a mode that your screen cannot handle. If it is a
non-standard mode, maybe you need to tweak the timings a bit. If
it is a standard mode and frequency that your screen should be
able to handle, try to find different timings for a similar mode
and frequency combination. For LCD modes, it is possible that
your LCD panel requires different panel timings at the text con-
sole than with a graphics mode. In this case you will need the
"use_modeline" and perhaps also the "fix_panel_size" options to
reprogram the LCD panel timings to sensible values.
`Wavy' screen.
Horizontal waving or jittering of the whole screen, continuously
(independent from drawing operations). You are probably using a
dot clock that is too high (or too low); it is also possible that
there is interference with a close MCLK. Try a lower dot clock.
For CRT's you can also try to tweak the mode timings; try
increasing the second horizontal value somewhat.
Crash or hang after start-up (probably with a black screen).
Try the "noaccel" or "no_bitblt" options. Check that the BIOS
settings are OK; in particular, disable caching of
0xa0000-0xaffff. Disabling hidden DRAM refresh may also help.
Hang as the first text is appearing on the screen on SVR4 machines.
This problem has been reported under UnixWare 1.x, but not
tracked down. It doesn't occur under UnixWare 2.x and only occurs
on the HiQV series of chips. It might affect some other SVR4
operating systems as well. The workaround is to turn off the use
of CPU to screen acceleration with the "xaa_no_color_exp" option.
Crash, hang, or trash on the screen after a graphics operation.
This may be related to a bug in one of the accelerated functions,
or a problem with the BitBLT engine. Try the "noaccel" or
"no_bitblt" options. Also check the BIOS settings. It is also
possible that with a high dot clock and depth on a large screen
there is very little bandwidth left for using the BitBLT engine.
Try reducing the clock.
Chipset is not detected.
Try forcing the chipset to a type that is most similar to what
you have.
The screen is blank when starting X
One possible cause of this problem is if the kernel has been com-
piled with the "APM_DISPLAY_BLANK" option. It appears that this
option doesn't work as specified and can cause the Xserver to
blank when starting X. In all cases the kernel should be compiled
without this option. If the problem remains a CRT/LCD or switch
to and from the virtual console will often fix it.
Textmode is not properly restored
This has been reported on some configurations. Many laptops use
the programmable clock of the 6554x chips at the console. It is
not always possible to find out the setting that is used for this
clock if BIOS has written the MClk after the VClk. Hence the
server assumes a 25.175MHz clock at the console. This is correct
for most modes, but can cause some problems. Usually this is
fixed by switching between the LCD and CRT. Alternatively the
user can use the "TextClockFreq" option described above to select
a different clock for the text console. Another possible cause of
this problem is if the kernel is compiled with the "APM_DIS-
PLAY_BLANK" option. As mentioned before, this option should be
disabled.
I can't display 640x480 on my 800x600 LCD
The problem here is that the flat panel needs timings that are
related to the panel size, and not the mode size. There is no
facility in the current Xservers to specify these values, and so
the server attempts to read the panel size from the chip. If the
user has used the "use_modeline" or "fix_panel_size" options the
panel timings are derived from the mode, which can be different
than the panel size. Try deleting theses options from XF86Config
or using an LCD/CRT switch.
I can't get a 320x240 mode to occupy the whole 640x480 LCD
There is a bug in the 6554x's H/W cursor for modes that are dou-
bled vertically. The lower half of the screen is not accessible.
The servers solution to this problem is not to do doubling verti-
cally. Which results in the 320x240 mode only expanded to
640x360. If this is a problem, a work around is to remove the
"hw_cursor" option. The server will then allow the mode to occupy
the whole 640x480 LCD.
After a suspend/resume my screen is messed up
During a suspend/resume, the BIOS controls what is read and writ-
ten back to the registers. If the screen is using a mode that
BIOS doesn't know about, then there is no guarantee that it will
be resumed correctly. For this reason a mode that is as close to
VESA like as possible should be selected. It is also possible
that the VGA palette can be affected by a suspend/resume. Using
an 8bpp, the colour will then be displayed incorrectly. This
shouldn't affect higher depths, and is fixable with a switch to
the virtual console and back.
The right hand edge of the mode isn't visible on the LCD
This is usually due to a problem with the "lcd-center" option. If
this option is removed form XF86Config, then the problem might go
away. Alternatively the manufacturer could have incorrectly pro-
grammed the panel size in the EGA console mode. The
"fix_panel_size" can be used to force the modeline values into
the panel size registers. Two machines that are known to have
this problem are the "HP OmniBook 5000" and the "NEC Versa
4080".
My TFT screen has a reddish tint in 24bpp mode
The server assumes that the TFT bus width is 24bits. If this is
not true then the screen will appear to have a reddish tint. This
can be fixed by using the "use_18bit_bus" option. Note that the
reverse is also true. If the "use_18bit_bus" is used and the TFT
bus width is 24bpp, then the screen will appear reddish. Note
that this option only has an effect on TFT screens.
I can't start X-windows with 16, 24 or 32bpp
Firstly, is your machine capable of 16/24/32bpp with the mode
specified. Many LCD displays are incapable of using a 24bpp mode.
Also you need at least a 65540 to use 16/24bpp and at least a
65550 for 32bpp. The amount of memory used by the mode will be
doubled/tripled/quadrupled. The correct options to start the
server with these modes are
startx -- -bpp 16 5-6-5 RGB ('64K color', XGA)
startx -- -bpp 16 -weight 555 5-5-5 RGB ('Hicolor')
startx -- -bpp 24 8-8-8 RGB truecolor
or with the HiQV series of chips (6555x, 68554 or 69000) you
might try
startx -- -bpp 32 8-8-8 RGB truecolor
A general problem with the server that can manifested in many way such as
drawing errors, wavy screens, etc is related to the programmable clock. Many
potential programmable clock register setting are unstable. However luckily
there are many different clock register setting that can give the same or
very similar clocks. The clock code can be fooled into giving a different and
perhaps more stable clock by simply changing the clock value slightly. For
example 65.00MHz might be unstable while 65.10MHz is not. So for unexplained
problems not addressed above, please try to alter the clock you are using
slightly, say in steps of 0.05MHz and see if the problem goes away. Alterna-
tively, using the "use_vclk1" option with chips later than the 65550 might
also help.
For other screen drawing related problems, try the "noaccel" or "no_bitblt"
options. A useful trick for all laptop computers is to switch between LCD/CRT
(usually with something like Fn-F5), if the screen is having problems.
If you are having driver-related problems that are not addressed by this doc-
ument, or if you have found bugs in accelerated functions, you can try con-
tacting the XFree86 team (the current driver maintainer can be reached at
[EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED]), or post in
the Usenet newsgroup "comp.windows.x.i386unix".
7. Disclaimer
XFree86, allows the user to do damage to their hardware with software.
Although the authors of this software have tried to prevent this, they dis-
claim all responsibility for any damage caused by the software. Use caution,
if you think the Xserver is frying your screen, TURN THE COMPUTER OFF!!
8. Acknowledgement
The authors of this software wish to acknowledge the support supplied by
Chips and Technologies during the development of this software.
9. Authors
Major Contributors (In no particular order)
o Nozomi Ytow
o Egbert Eich
o David Bateman
o Xavier Ducoin
Contributors (In no particular order)
o Ken Raeburn
o Shigehiro Nomura
o Marc de Courville
o Adam Sulmicki
o Jens Maurer
We also thank the many people on the net who have contributed by reporting
bugs and extensively testing this server before its inclusion in XFree86 3.2
Generated from XFree86: xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/doc/sgml/chips.sgml,v
3.12.2.11 1998/11/07 13:37:51 dawes Exp $
$XFree86: xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/doc/README.chips,v 3.13.2.14 1999/06/25
08:56:49 hohndel Exp $
==============0363AD1C958D17DA165D051A==
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End of Linux-Misc Digest
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