Laptop / nVidia problems

[onlythetony]

As a long time Linux user I decided to dump Winblows from my laptop and install Suse 10.1 OSS. Everything works fine - wifi card configures perfectly, cordless mouse etc.

The problem is with the nVidia drivers. Having installed them many times on my desktop machine I thought it would be simple. I want 3D support so I can use the Composite extensions under X (not keen on XGL - good effects but still buggy as hell).

So.. I have two problems:

1) When I install the drivers from nVidia my laptop screen goes blank (yes, before anyone says it - I've followed the install instructions and the xorg.conf file is configured correctly). The laptop uses the GeForce 4 GO 420 chip which worked fine under Winblows. Does anyone have any experience of this chip with the nVidia drivers?

2) I've successfully installed the nVidia drivers on my 64bit desktop (again running Suse 10.1 OSS) and 3D works fine - but if I switch on the Composite extensions it causes KDE to crash. I've added Option "Composite" "true" in xorg.conf. Do I have to add anything else for it to run - I like the whole shadow / transparency thing.


I'd like to reiterate that I'm far from a Linux newbie but this has me totally baffled. Any help would be greatly and desperately appreciated.

Ta.
Tony

[Shep]

What are the errors from your xorg log file? Also, make sure that card is supported in the version of NVidia drivers you are installing. If it is an older card, you might have to go with older drivers. Also, what distro are you using on the laptop? does lsmod show the module is loaded?

[onlythetony]

Sorry.. I should've been clearer. Here's the situation:


1) Desktop running Suse 10.1 OSS 64bit with GeForce 4 Ti - 3D works fine, composite extensions crash KDE.

2) Laptop running Suse 10.1 OSS with GeForce 4 GO 420 - Composite works fine, 3D causes the system to hang when X is started. The only way to get back into the system is to uninstall the driver.

[onlythetony]

I've managed to get the 3D working on the laptop by using an older legacy driver (7182) so that's sorted. The problem now is if I enable "RenderAccel" "true" in the xorg.conf file then KDE refuses to start (strangely enough Gnome has no qualms about it) but if I leave it off then the desktop runs painfully slowly.

Having looked around various sites it would appear that the 7xxx series of drivers have a problem with the "RenderAccel" option that the 8xxx don't - but the 8xxx drivers won't let my system boot.

Anyone got any suggestions?

[onlythetony]

Decided to sack the idea off - I'll stick with having working 3D on both systems. The desktop still looks good without the Composite stuff (although fade and drop shadows would be nice when showing off to friends).

Thanks anyway guys.

Tee

[cybertron]

Yeah, unfortunately I've still found that Composite is rather unstable, even on a new card with the latest drivers. I keep trying it every so often and it keeps failing to work under Fluxbox for me (although KDE and Icewm work fine, oddly enough).

It's odd that you had to use the legacy drivers though. GeForce 4 cards should still be supported. It might be worth a post to the nVidia Linux forums to let the devs know about your problems.