Nvidia nforce2 mobo/graphics problem

[Per-Olof Litby - Reg'l Mgr Nordic/Baltic - Java System Software - Sun Microsystems]

Greetings,

I installed FC2 from the standard DVD on a machine with the following 
hardware:

- Soltek SL75FRN2-L motherboard with nVidia nForce2 chipset
- nVidia FX5200 AGP graphics card
- Onboard Realtek AC'97 audio
- Wireless M$ keyboard and mouse

Install went pretty smoothly although it took forever before the 
graphical installer came up. After installation, I ran apt to update all 
components including the kernel. I then found the following glitches:

- No sound (no manner of alsamixer fiddling would get it working)
- Graphics identified as Generic nVidia. On my 17" NEC LCD monitor, with 
resolution set
  to 1280x1024 (works perfectly in XP), the picture is larger than the 
monitor can display.
  Does not appear to be something which can be fixed by resizing the 
image using the controls
  on the monitor, it actually seems as if FC2 is sending a higher 
resolution to the monitor than
  what is set in the display settings
- Tried installing the nVidia drivers from their web site. It installed 
(complained about the
  rivafb stuff but I don't have one so doubt that module loads) but then 
when I reboot the system
  hangs just after the graphical bootsplash screen has come up. The 
nVidia splash screen did appear.
- Booting into runlevel 3 only brings me as far as the login prompt, but 
the system does not
  accept any keyboard input! Anything typed at the Login: prompt is 
instantly erased so I have no
  possibility to login. Same thing if booting from the rescue CD. Could 
this be anything to do
  with my wireless keyboard?

Only option is to reinstall from the DVD.

Can anyone suggest what I could do to get the display drivers working, 
before I reinstall?

thanks,
/POL

[Razvan Corneliu C.R. "d3vi1" VILT]

On Sat, 2004-07-03 at 13:39 +0200, Per-Olof Litby - Reg'l Mgr - Nordic/
Baltic - Java Web Services - Sun Microsystems wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> I installed FC2 from the standard DVD on a machine with the following 
> hardware:
> Soltek SL75FRN2-L motherboard with nVidia nForce2 chipset
> nVidia FX5200 AGP graphics card
> Onboard Realtek AC'97 audio
> Wireless M$ keyboard and mouse
>
> Install went pretty smoothly although it took forever before the 
> graphical installer came up. After installation, I ran apt to update all 
> components including the kernel. I then found the following glitches:
> No sound (no manner of alsamixer fiddling would get it working)
> Graphics identified as Generic nVidia. On my 17" NEC LCD monitor, with
>
> resolution set
>   to 1280x1024 (works perfectly in XP), the picture is larger than the 
> monitor can display.
>   Does not appear to be something which can be fixed by resizing the 
> image using the controls
>   on the monitor, it actually seems as if FC2 is sending a higher 
> resolution to the monitor than

You could be having a virtual screen larger than the real one.
> what is set in the display settings
> Tried installing the nVidia drivers from their web site. It installed
>
> (complained about the
>   rivafb stuff but I don't have one so doubt that module loads) but then 
> when I reboot the system
>   hangs just after the graphical bootsplash screen has come up. The 
> nVidia splash screen did appear.

Well... the same happened to me also... the installer didn't change the
driver in xorg.conf from nv to nvidia
> Booting into runlevel 3 only brings me as far as the login prompt, but
>
> the system does not
>   accept any keyboard input! Anything typed at the Login: prompt is 
> instantly erased so I have no
>   possibility to login. Same thing if booting from the rescue CD. Could 
> this be anything to do
>   with my wireless keyboard?

Weird

Try posting your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. Maybe we can help and solve
that annoying reinstall solution.
I'm not sure about that wireless keyboard thing... It's weird. If you
can post-it from X11 because as I understand you have no keyboard in the
console.

Cheers,
d3vi1

Răzvan Corneliu VILT                      e-mail:[e-mail]
GPG:http://d3vi1.linux360.ro/public-keys/ www: http://d3vi1.linux360.ro/

[Wolfgang]

On Sat, 2004-07-03 at 21:39, Per-Olof Litby - Reg'l Mgr - Nordic/Baltic
- Java Web Services - Sun Microsystems wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> I installed FC2 from the standard DVD on a machine with the following 
> hardware:
> Soltek SL75FRN2-L motherboard with nVidia nForce2 chipset
> nVidia FX5200 AGP graphics card
> Onboard Realtek AC'97 audio
> Wireless M$ keyboard and mouse
>
> Install went pretty smoothly although it took forever before the 
> graphical installer came up. After installation, I ran apt to update all 
> components including the kernel. I then found the following glitches:
> No sound (no manner of alsamixer fiddling would get it working)
> Graphics identified as Generic nVidia. On my 17" NEC LCD monitor, with
>
> resolution set
>   to 1280x1024 (works perfectly in XP), the picture is larger than the 
> monitor can display.
>   Does not appear to be something which can be fixed by resizing the 
> image using the controls
>   on the monitor, it actually seems as if FC2 is sending a higher 
> resolution to the monitor than
>   what is set in the display settings
> Tried installing the nVidia drivers from their web site. It installed
>
> (complained about the
>   rivafb stuff but I don't have one so doubt that module loads) but then 
> when I reboot the system
>   hangs just after the graphical bootsplash screen has come up. The 
> nVidia splash screen did appear.
> Booting into runlevel 3 only brings me as far as the login prompt, but
>
> the system does not
>   accept any keyboard input! Anything typed at the Login: prompt is 
> instantly erased so I have no
>   possibility to login. Same thing if booting from the rescue CD. Could 
> this be anything to do
>   with my wireless keyboard?
>
> Only option is to reinstall from the DVD.
>
> Can anyone suggest what I could do to get the display drivers working, 
> before I reinstall?
>
> thanks,
> /POL

You will need to download the Nvidia Chipset drivers from www.nvidia.com
website, and install them to get sound working etc. (I don't have a
Nforce/2 mobo, but from what I've read on the web, you will need to do
this)

Wolf

[Randy Kelsoe]

Wolfgang wrote:
> On Sat, 2004-07-03 at 21:39, Per-Olof Litby - Reg'l Mgr - Nordic/Baltic
> Java Web Services - Sun Microsystems wrote:
> > Greetings,
> >
> > I installed FC2 from the standard DVD on a machine with the following 
> > hardware:
> > Soltek SL75FRN2-L motherboard with nVidia nForce2 chipset
> > nVidia FX5200 AGP graphics card
> > Onboard Realtek AC'97 audio
> > Wireless M$ keyboard and mouse
>
> You will need to download the Nvidia Chipset drivers from www.nvidia.com
> website, and install them to get sound working etc. (I don't have a
> Nforce/2 mobo, but from what I've read on the web, you will need to do
> this)

The nvidia chipset driver may not help. He says he has a 'Onboard 
Realtek AC'97 audio' chip, not the nforce2 audio chip.

Have you run alsaconf?  If not, give that a try, and see if your audio 
gets detected. You might confirm which audio chipset you have by doing a

lspci -v |grep -i audio

[Per-Olof Litby - Reg'l Mgr Nordic/Baltic - Java System Software - Sun Microsystems]

Randy Kelsoe wrote:
> Wolfgang wrote:
> > On Sat, 2004-07-03 at 21:39, Per-Olof Litby - Reg'l Mgr - Nordic/Baltic
> > Java Web Services - Sun Microsystems wrote:
> > > Greetings,
> > >
> > > I installed FC2 from the standard DVD on a machine with the 
> > > following hardware:
> > > Soltek SL75FRN2-L motherboard with nVidia nForce2 chipset
> > > nVidia FX5200 AGP graphics card
> > > Onboard Realtek AC'97 audio
> > > Wireless M$ keyboard and mouse
> >
> > You will need to download the Nvidia Chipset drivers from www.nvidia.com
> > website, and install them to get sound working etc. (I don't have a
> > Nforce/2 mobo, but from what I've read on the web, you will need to do
> > this)
>
> The nvidia chipset driver may not help. He says he has a 'Onboard 
> Realtek AC'97 audio' chip, not the nforce2 audio chip.
>
> Have you run alsaconf?  If not, give that a try, and see if your audio 
> gets detected. You might confirm which audio chipset you have by doing a
>
> lspci -v |grep -i audio

Correct, my mobo doesn't have nforce audio. It has the more basic 
Realtek chips. I discovered that I actually do get sound, but only on 
the front 2 channels, not the surround channels. In Windows, the audio 
output ports can be configured so that the microphone port becomes the 
rear (or surround) port. I need to do this in Fedora as well, since I 
have speakers connected to both front and rear outputs.

Any ideas?

thanks,

[Randy Kelsoe]

Per-Olof Litby - Reg'l Mgr Nordic/Baltic - Java System Software - Sun 
Microsystems wrote:
> > > > Greetings,
> > > >
> > > > I installed FC2 from the standard DVD on a machine with the 
> > > > following hardware:
> > > > Soltek SL75FRN2-L motherboard with nVidia nForce2 chipset
> > > > nVidia FX5200 AGP graphics card
> > > > Onboard Realtek AC'97 audio
> >
> > The nvidia chipset driver may not help. He says he has a 'Onboard 
> > Realtek AC'97 audio' chip, not the nforce2 audio chip.
> >
> > Have you run alsaconf?  If not, give that a try, and see if your 
> > audio gets detected. You might confirm which audio chipset you have 
> > by doing a
> >
> > lspci -v |grep -i audio
>
> Correct, my mobo doesn't have nforce audio. It has the more basic 
> Realtek chips. I discovered that I actually do get sound, but only on 
> the front 2 channels, not the surround channels. In Windows, the audio 
> output ports can be configured so that the microphone port becomes the 
> rear (or surround) port. I need to do this in Fedora as well, since I 
> have speakers connected to both front and rear outputs.

I don't see any RealTek audio chipsets mentioned at the Alsa driver page:

http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/index.php?vendor=All#matrix

I am using the nforce2 audio chipset, and it uses the intel8x0 driver. 
When I run alsamixer, at the top, I get:

Card: NVidia 
nForce2

Chip: Realtek ALC650 rev 3

what do you get if you do a 'lspci |grep -i audio' and also a 'lsmod 
|grep -i snd' ?

[Per-Olof Litby - Reg'l Mgr Nordic/Baltic - Java System Software - Sun Microsystems]

Randy Kelsoe wrote:
> Per-Olof Litby - Reg'l Mgr Nordic/Baltic - Java System Software - Sun 
> Microsystems wrote:
> > > > > Greetings,
> > > > >
> > > > > I installed FC2 from the standard DVD on a machine with the 
> > > > > following hardware:
> > > > > Soltek SL75FRN2-L motherboard with nVidia nForce2 chipset
> > > > > nVidia FX5200 AGP graphics card
> > > > > Onboard Realtek AC'97 audio
> > >
> > > The nvidia chipset driver may not help. He says he has a 'Onboard 
> > > Realtek AC'97 audio' chip, not the nforce2 audio chip.
> > >
> > > Have you run alsaconf?  If not, give that a try, and see if your 
> > > audio gets detected. You might confirm which audio chipset you have 
> > > by doing a
> > >
> > > lspci -v |grep -i audio
> >
> > Correct, my mobo doesn't have nforce audio. It has the more basic 
> > Realtek chips. I discovered that I actually do get sound, but only on 
> > the front 2 channels, not the surround channels. In Windows, the 
> > audio output ports can be configured so that the microphone port 
> > becomes the rear (or surround) port. I need to do this in Fedora as 
> > well, since I have speakers connected to both front and rear outputs.
>
> I don't see any RealTek audio chipsets mentioned at the Alsa driver page:
>
> http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/index.php?vendor=All#matrix
>
> I am using the nforce2 audio chipset, and it uses the intel8x0 driver. 
> When I run alsamixer, at the top, I get:
>
> Card: NVidia 
> nForce2
>
> Chip: Realtek ALC650 rev 3
>
> what do you get if you do a 'lspci |grep -i audio' and also a 'lsmod 
> |grep -i snd' ?

00:06.0 Multimedia audio controller: nVidia Corporation nForce2 AC97 
Audio Controler (MCP) (rev a1)

and

snd_pcm_oss            47656  0
snd_mixer_oss          16768  3 snd_pcm_oss
snd_intel8x0           28844  4
snd_ac97_codec         60420  1 snd_intel8x0
snd_pcm                80392  2 snd_pcm_oss,snd_intel8x0
snd_timer              19972  1 snd_pcm
snd_page_alloc          9096  2 snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm
gameport                3840  1 snd_intel8x0
snd_mpu401_uart         5760  1 snd_intel8x0
snd_rawmidi            19364  1 snd_mpu401_uart
snd_seq_device          7048  1 snd_rawmidi
snd                    44260  13 
snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_device
soundcore               7008  3 snd

/POL

[Randy Kelsoe]

Per-Olof Litby - Reg'l Mgr Nordic/Baltic - Java System Software - Sun 
Microsystems wrote:
> > Correct, my mobo doesn't have nforce audio. It has the more basic 
> > Realtek chips. I discovered that I actually do get sound, but only on 
> > the front 2 channels, not the surround channels. In Windows, the 
> > audio output ports can be configured so that the microphone port 
> > becomes the rear (or surround) port. I need to do this in Fedora as 
> > well, since I have speakers connected to both front and rear outputs.
>
> 00:06.0 Multimedia audio controller: nVidia Corporation nForce2 AC97 
> Audio Controler (MCP) (rev a1)

So this really is the nforce2 audio chipset. This is the same chipset I 
have on my mobo.
> and
>
> snd_pcm_oss            47656  0
> snd_mixer_oss          16768  3 snd_pcm_oss
> snd_intel8x0           28844  4
> snd_ac97_codec         60420  1 snd_intel8x0
> snd_pcm                80392  2 snd_pcm_oss,snd_intel8x0
> snd_timer              19972  1 snd_pcm
> snd_page_alloc          9096  2 snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm
> gameport                3840  1 snd_intel8x0
> snd_mpu401_uart         5760  1 snd_intel8x0
> snd_rawmidi            19364  1 snd_mpu401_uart
> snd_seq_device          7048  1 snd_rawmidi
> snd                    44260  13 
> snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_device
>
> soundcore               7008  3 snd
>
> /POL

This looks good. Have you run 'alsamixer' and tried turning up the 
volume for the Surround Channel? I only have 2.1 speakers, so I can't 
verify that the surround works. You might look at the alsa page for the 
nforce2 chipset (which is using the intel8x0) driver:

http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/doc-php/template.php?company=Intel&...

There are some notes for solutions to various problems at the bottom of 
the page.

What application are you using that has surround sound?