VIA/S3G VT8623 [Apollo CLE266] display no longer works

So only changing the xorg.conf made it work right? Please attach the working version.

Timo Aaltonen wrote:
> So only changing the xorg.conf made it work right? Please attach the
> working version.
>
Right, right.
Here is the working version.
Please remember it's made of two parts :
1) beginning built by 8.04a5
2) screen related rest taken from 7.04,
overlaid starting at Section "Device" ... VIA

Feel free to ask for more details.
Glad to help.

André.

# xorg.conf (X.Org X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
# sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "InputDevice"
 Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
 Driver "kbd"
 Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
 Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
 Option "XkbLayout" "be"
 Option "XkbOptions" "lv3:ralt_switch"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
 Identifier "Configured Mouse"
 Driver "mouse"
EndSection

Section "Device"
 Identifier "VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8623 [Apollo CLE266] integrated CastleRock graphics"
 Driver "via"
 BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
 Identifier "Generic Monitor"
 Option "DPMS"
 HorizSync 28-51
 VertRefresh 43-60
EndSection

Section "Screen"
 Identifier "Default Screen"
 Device "VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8623 [Apollo CLE266] integrated CastleRock graphics"
 Monitor "Generic Monitor"
 DefaultDepth 24
 SubSection "Display"
  Depth 1
  Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
 EndSubSection
 SubSection "Display"
  Depth 4
  Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
 EndSubSection
 SubSection "Display"
  Depth 8
  Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
 EndSubSection
 SubSection "Display"
  Depth 15
  Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
 EndSubSection
 SubSection "Display"
  Depth 16
  Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
 EndSubSection
 SubSection "Display"
  Depth 24
  Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
 EndSubSection
EndSection

/Xorg.0.log for 8.04a5. Note the number of
"Not using default mode "1024x768" (hsync out of range)"
messages apparently being the source of the problem.

Cheers.
André.

Xorg.0.log for 7.04 for comparison.
"incomplete status" still there? :-)
Les petits ruisseaux font les grandes rivières.
Thanks. André.

I think I have seen & misplaced a message saying this bug is corrected.
There is a change in 8.04 beta regarding it indeed.
But the problem got worse, I'm afraid.

(1) Desktop Live CD still starts in line mode, not character fullscreen.
(2) After boot progress bar screen disappears
   - Either the computer hangs
   - Or the computer reboots
After the cursor got to top left and the display was programmed in some video mode.
Pretty much the 7.10 situation I described.

After installing the system, (2) occured everytime it booted.
So, I booted in recovery mode and launched X recovery.
System restart was then all-right in 800x600.
I patched the above Device, Monitor and Screen sections in xorg.conf.
Rebooted and the system runs fine in 1024x768 again.

If the correct fix cannot be found in time fr 8.04, better regress a fix for this.

I attach all xorg.conf files left behind by the system and mine.
$ diff xorg.conf.*5 xorg.conf.*4
32a33
> Option "UseFBDev" "true"

After more tests, I must conclude that xorg for that display adapter was
broken again between alpha6 and beta.

Whichever xorg.conf I use from autodetected or adding my a6-working
patch to it, the display will fail the way I described (hang or
spontaneous reboot).
Only If I boot in recovery mode (and choose resume or xfix) will the
display work.

So, in summary :

6.04: worked beautifully at 1024x768
7.10: totally broken
8.04a: works, but autodetects 800x600 only, needs 1024x768 patch
8.04b: totally broken again

I diffed the config I used in a6 with the one in beta after same patch :

$ diff xorg.alpha6.conf xorg.beta.conf
< Driver "mouse"
 > Driver "vmmouse"

 > Section "ServerLayout"
 > Identifier "Default Layout"
 > Screen "Default Screen"
 > EndSection

Thanks in advance for restoring working state.

Hello,

Please could something be done to prevent breaking that display adapter
twice in a row?

6.04 worked, 7.10 was broken, 8.04 alpha half-worked, 8.04 beta totally
broken again.
I reported 8.04 alpha Live CD & system crash and showed how to repair
xorg.conf.
Result : 8.04 beta again runs into an unrepairable crash.

Detailed palmares:
6.04: worked beautifully at 1024x768
7.10: totally broken
8.04a: works, but autodetects 800x600 only, needs my 1024x768 patch
8.04b: totally broken again instead of repaired, at least a patch must
regress

Full details :
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-openchrome/+bug/197514

"Please report bugs so they can benefit other people.", they say.
And indeed VIA is not an unknown display adapter, is it.
I did. I spent my time, gladly. I even found a workaround.

Could someone please pass by 197514 and have a look to at least stop
breaking?

Thanks in advance for an at least bootable LTS Live CD.

André.

So adding the 'Option "UseFBDev" "true"' made it work? What if you don't use a framebuffer at all, or is it even possible?

Could you add 'Option "ModeDebug" "true"' to the Device section of the vanilla (=non-working) xorg.conf and attach the resulting Xorg.0.log.

No, Timo, I'm afraid that, as I said it on 2008-03-31, "8.04 beta is _totally_ broken again".
> 7.04: worked beautifully at 1024x768 <--- Not 6.04, my mistake !!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 7.10: totally broken
> 8.04a: works, but autodetects 800x600 only, needs my 1024x768 patch
> 8.04b: totally broken again instead of repaired, at least a patch must regress
I first thought that my former 1024x768 patch worked (that only X autoconfig failed).
But I took that statement back later.
This means that, whatever the config I've tried, xorg resets (reboots) the computer or enters a loop.
Only (and always) if recovery boot is used can the system be run.

'Option "UseFBDev" "true"' is just a "stray" option I saw.
It just appeared in some diff and I didn't try to find out any effect, as nothing works.
I think (not sure) it's been added in the autoconfig since beta and it's not used in my patched config.
So, xorg fails with it (autoconfig) and without it (my patched config).
I will check anything you find important.

What I did at your request.
Boot in recovery mode, select xfix+resume normal boot, run Ubuntu in 800x600
Added Debug option, resulting xorg.conf attached.
Reboot normally, Ubuntu does an "untimely self-restart", computer reboots
Recovery mode, of course, select resume normal boot (no xfix), ...
Pick up Xorg.0.log (.old of course) as well as =.log (recovery mode) and other logs' tar.

Many thanks for taking care of this, Timo.
Do you think we'll get in time to make a bootable LTS Live CD for those machines?
I'll be hurrying every test.
Starting in fullscreen mode as 7.04 did would be marvelous.
But at least any solution to avoid recovery boot would make that machine usable.
Then I'll have to teach Linux to my wife ;-)
Thanks again.

To make it clear about 'Option "UseFBDev" "true"': it wasn't in the first autoconfiged xorg.conf (first backup) but it was in the xorg.conf (second backup) that resulted from my first booting in recovery mode and selecting xfix.
I never added it myself and it never appeared again later, even by using xfix.
Should I use it?
It doesn't seem to make a difference but, while I was using it, ...

I was playing with XnView in fullscreen mode when this happened :

Apr 4 04:41:58 mamou-ubuntu gdm[5312]: WARNING: gdm_slave_xioerror_handler: Fatal X error - Restarting :0
Apr 4 04:41:59 mamou-ubuntu kernel: [ 3516.353196] agpgart: Found an AGP 2.0 compliant device at 0000:00:00.0.
Apr 4 04:41:59 mamou-ubuntu kernel: [ 3516.355094] agpgart: Putting AGP V2 device at 0000:00:00.0 into 4x mode
Apr 4 04:41:59 mamou-ubuntu kernel: [ 3516.356803] agpgart: Putting AGP V2 device at 0000:01:00.0 into 4x mode

I looked in all logs and I found no better data.

Also, the system locks when I leave the computer idle for a very long time (screen saver greys out the screen, this can resume OK, but after 1 idle hour or more of grey screen, the system stops responding to anything).

What can I do to get better diagnostics?

I bought a WiFi USB adapter for that computer.
I upgraded 8.04 beta to latest level.
Result, now :
- Screen-wise, Ubuntu boots normally as it did with 7.04
- My patch is still needed to get 1024*768, though.
- And the computer still locks up when the screens blanks.
I supposed this is screen power saving kicking in.
And indeed, if I turn it off, the computer keeps alive.

I opened bug #213747 about random applications crashes.
Could they be caused by the screen driver?
No at first thought, as the apps usually have no window open.
But who knows (about a mishandeled interrupt for example)

So, in terms of progression, we're back to 8.04 alpha 6 status.
This is far better than 7.10, but worse than 7.04.
I can't tell if the Live CD will boot in fullscreen or line mode.
I would have needed another CD to test that.

It's one month I hoped to work with s.o. assigned this bug.
We might have fixed these problems together.
Failing that, you'll have to instruct this adapter's users:
- to expect the Live CD to boot in line mode and do with that
- to set their Screen Power Saving to infinity.
For as long as the Global Warming does not make it illegal.

Good luck, VIA, cheers all.

Has there been any resolution to this issue? I recently built a system with a VT8623 and am having pretty much the exact same problem.

I would be happy to help troubleshoot the issue, if there is anything I can do...

no need to keep open for xorg.

On 2008-09-25 17:49, Timo Aaltonen wrote :
> no need to keep open for xorg.
>
> ** Changed in: xorg (Ubuntu)
> Status: New => Invalid
>
Wouldn't it be nice to have that xorg entry (mistake) removed instead of
flagged with a dreaded word risking to make believe that the entire bug
report is invalid?

Now, what's the result of my work?
What are we doing or waiting for?
This display adapter used to work perfectly with 6.04.
Then it broke totally, then it improved, just needed a patch I made.
Shouldn't I be put in contact with someone to make tests?
Ubuntu seems to gape at heaven for other persons' fixes to rain, I'm afraid.

TIA,

André.

As of late 8.10 beta tests, the only improvement is a tiny bit at Live
CD startup.
Live CD now starts in graphic menu mode, but continues to install
800x600 system.
Installed system works, but 800x600 and 600x480 are the only mode to
choose from.

Workarounds: stay at 7.04 or applying my xorg.conf patch.

Is it plain or a huge problem to integrate in Ubuntu what I have analyzed?

Short version: 9.04, broken.

I just found out I have a laptop with this hardware and I need to have it working by next week. Cool. Tried to boot gNewSense 2.2 live session: nothing can be seen on screen. Tried to boot Ubunt 8.04, same behaviour (well, since they are almost the same thing, I was kinda expecting this). Tried to boot Ubuntu 9.04: I got a command line; digged to find this bug report, overwrited with André's xorg.conf: "via driver not found", Jaunty said. Wrote this.

> Short version: 9.04, broken.
>
Yes, and in several respects, suspend/restore broken on a HP-Compaq 6720
too.

Starts with a command line too, then wait and goes to a menu without PF
keys and starts up wrong language and keyboard, then concludes in 800 x 600.

The VIA driver is "not found" since it was removed with 8.10, see https://help.ubuntu.com/community/OpenChrome
The openchrome driver fails, log attached.

To workaround your problem, please add following line into your xorg.conf:

Option "ActiveDevice" "CRT"

or

Option "ActiveDevice" "LCD"

We're closing this bug since it is has been some time with no response from the original reporter. However, if the issue still exists please feel free to reopen with the requested information. Also, if you could, please test against the latest development version of Ubuntu, since this confirms the bug is one we may be able to pass upstream for help.

I'm seeing pretty much the same behaviour as previously described. Environment is a GA-PCV2 Idot motherboard with VIA PC-1000 Samuel2/VT8235M/CLE233. None of the Ubuntu 8 or 9 versions which I have run get as far as a working GUI, even for the installer. I tested also with a PCI video card, which didn't work any better; I still got unwanted hangs and screen-driving failures. So.. I have to wonder if it's related to the CLE233 itself, or if there are other things happening around the chipset.

The text-based installers for 8.04 and 9.10 work to the extent of building a quite bootable system - which then hangs.

Thanks to André's comment, I tried recovery mode, which works!!! What a relief. startx from the recovery prompt brings up a stable desktop at 1024x768. I didn't have to do anything to configure that, which is an improvement from previous experiences with VIA chipsets. Interestingly, there is no xorg.conf in /etc/X11, so I guess that whatever I'm experiencing is a complete default. Screen painting is sufficiently slow that I wonder if it's totally unaccelerated and initialised in VESA mode, and that's why it's working. However I don't know how to prove that, and I'm happy to take suggestions.

I'm a complete newbie to *nix of any sort after 40 years of mainframes and other PC environments, so assume that I could be missing something simple through gross inexperience or incompetence! :-)

10.04: it works!

GNOME up and running out of the box, both in live session and after installation. The "netbook 2d" session/launcher is also working, while the standard (non-EFL) netbook launcher doesn't work.

There's still a frequency/whatever problem while booting, between GRUB and GDM (usplash?), the screen is out of sync and unreadable; the same happens in recovery mode. The non-graphic terminal doesn't work, I can't see anything after a CTRL+ALT+F1.