[OpenIndiana-discuss] nvidia glitch

[Francois Dion]

On Fri, Dec 9, 2011 at 4:11 AM, Francois Dion <francois.dion at gmail.com> wrote:
> Version: OI 151a
> hardware: sony vaio vgn-z series (core 2 duo P9600, not sandy bridge i5)
>
> So I am trying to boot OI and get an X desktop with compiz on my
> laptop. When in stamina mode, it boots up ok using the intel
> integrated graphics and screen is detected as 1600x900, but in speed
> mode which selects the nvidia card, it just brings up a blank screen.
>
> Xorg.0.log then shows, as far as nv is concerned:
>
> (II) NVIDIA(0): Creating default Display subsection in Screen section
>        "Builtin Default nvidia Screen 0" for depth/fbbpp 24/32
> (==) NVIDIA(0): Depth 24, (==) framebuffer bpp 32
> (==) NVIDIA(0): RGB weight 888
> (==) NVIDIA(0): Default visual is TrueColor
> (==) NVIDIA(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
> (**) NVIDIA(0): Option "NoLogo" "True"
> (II) Dec 08 22:41:53 NVIDIA(0): NVIDIA GPU GeForce 9300M GS (G98) at
> PCI:1:0:0 (GPU-0)
> (--) Dec 08 22:41:53 NVIDIA(0): Memory: 524288 kBytes
> (--) Dec 08 22:41:53 NVIDIA(0): VideoBIOS: 62.98.63.00.06
> (II) Dec 08 22:41:53 NVIDIA(0): Detected PCI Express Link width: 16X
> (--) Dec 08 22:41:53 NVIDIA(0): Interlaced video modes are supported on this GPU
> (--) Dec 08 22:41:53 NVIDIA(0): Connected display device(s) on GeForce
> 9300M GS at PCI:1:0:0
> (--) Dec 08 22:41:53 NVIDIA(0):     none
> (EE) Dec 08 22:41:53 NVIDIA(0): No display devices found for this X screen.
> (II) UnloadModule: "nvidia"
> (II) UnloadModule: "wfb"
> (II) UnloadModule: "fb"
> (EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable configuration.
>
> Fatal server error:
> no screens found
>
> Please consult the OpenIndiana, based on X.Org Foundation &
> OpenSolaris sources support
>         at http://openindiana.org/consolidation/xnv
>  for help.
> Please also check the log file at "/var/log/Xorg.0.log" for additional
> information.
>
> The URL in the message doesn't go anywhere...
>
> It appears that the display is not recognized by the nvidia driver. am
> i using the right driver anyway with a stock OI install or do I need
> to download something else from nvidia?
>
> Thanks,
> Francois

I was able to get an desktop on an external display monitor through vga:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6KDXW4TfOyQ/TuIDWHy66AI/AAAAAAAAAGg/k43YxBm8BRU/s1152/Screenshot.png
but clearly, there is nothing on the laptop screen, even forcing xinerama.

and through hdmi to an hdtv:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8qpzsVqW2x4/TuIDRcPdpvI/AAAAAAAAAGY/UCQPirqy-Jo/s1024/Screenshot-1.png

HDMI only works in speed mode as it is directly tied to the nvidia
GPU, and it does work.

So it appears the version of the driver that ships with OI has a
problem with detecting the display on the laptop. I had read that this
was a problem initially, but it was fixed in 256.x, so having 280.13
on OI, I figured I'd be ok and didn't even think about it until this
morning after I thought of testing with an external display.

I could go to a 256.x version, but that is pretty old, maybe there is
a more recent version that would work? Or anybody has a workaround for
vaio z laptops? (the issue on these laptops is that the bios is the
source of info for the nvidia, not the display bus - and I did enable
in the bios the stamina/speed switch to static and not auto, in case
somebody is wondering, if I hadn't, only the intel driver would come
up, but power consumption would be high with both video modules
enabled...)

Francois