You passed an undefined mode number???

[A. Jorge Garcia]

I just got a new lab of Dell Optiplex GX270s (PIV, 770MB ram, 40GB hdd, etc). When booting the latest KNOPPIX CD (20030726) I get an error message right after the "boot:" screen (where you enter cheat codes) about an invalid video mode number.

Has this happened to anyone before? I've never had a problem like this. I can pick from a number of modes (which look like text modes: 80x25, 80x50, 40x20, etc). No mater what I pick the the screen resolution ends up way to small (must be 640x480). How do I fix this? I've tried several cheats, nothing seems to work. BTW, these PCs have some sort of Intel Integrated Video Card (82865?) if that means anything to anyone!

Also, my audio card is unrecognized (Intel 8280?)!!!

Please help!

TIA,

[Dave_Bechtel]

--If you boot with a framebuffer (' fb1024x768 ') or tell it ' knoppix vga=ext ' (or vga=normal, for 80x25) the error message should disappear.

--You can also try ' knoppix vga=normal screen=1024x768 '.

--It has something to do with the kernel not detecting properly which video mode it can use, or something. Could also be the monitor.


I just got a new lab of Dell Optiplex GX270s (PIV, 770MB ram, 40GB hdd, etc). When booting the latest KNOPPIX CD (20030726) I get an error message right after the "boot:" screen (where you enter cheat codes) about an invalid video mode number.

Has this happened to anyone before? I've never had a problem like this. I can pick from a number of modes (which look like text modes: 80x25, 80x50, 40x20, etc). No mater what I pick the the screen resolution ends up way to small (must be 640x480). How do I fix this? I've tried several cheats, nothing seems to work. BTW, these PCs have some sort of Intel Integrated Video Card (82865?) if that means anything to anyone!

Also, my audio card is unrecognized (Intel 8280?)!!!

Please help!

TIA,

[A. Jorge Garcia]

I don't think its the monitor as I think I've used it before without a hitch on another system (Dell 300a?).

>>
If you boot with a framebuffer (' fb1024x768 ') or tell it ' knoppix vga=ext ' (or vga=normal, for 80x25) the error message should disappear. You can also try 'knoppix vga=normal screen=1024x768'
<<

OK, I'll try this! I didn't even try fb as the knoppix.net cheatcode page said it had to do with laptops??? BTW, does 80x25 refer to the font size? Why do I need to set that if I'm having trouble with graphics?

I always get confused with this. For fb I don't write knoppix first, right?

If so, I will try:
boot: fb1024x768
or
boot: knoppix vga=normal screen=1024x768

What do vga=ext and vga=normal mean, anyway? Also, how do I add 'knoppix nosmp' to fb1024x768? What about the sound?

TIA,

[garyng]

fb1024x768 == knoppix so it would be :

fb1024x768 nosmp noscsi lang=us

BTW, your graphic problem mostly has nothing to do with the error you saw.

I see it all the time on my Dell notebook(the invalid mode stuff) and it doesn't matter. You only got a 640x480 X usually means the native driver failed to load and it drops back to vesa or svga or the native driver is loaded but some configuration in /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 prevents it from using the best resolution.

I don't know if XFree86 4.3 supports the latest Intel integrated graphic chips. fb won't help in this case as the last time I check, it is not included in the kernel for Intel graphic chips.

edit: A brief check on Intel said that there is driver(chipset 82865G) for linux, it belongs to the i830 family. Try to see if it works. Otherwise, you need to download the driver from Intel but how to put that on KNOPPIX would be another issue.

[A. Jorge Garcia]

fb1024x768 == knoppix so it would be :
fb1024x768 nosmp noscsi lang=us

OK, I'll try that, but I don't have a problem with scsi or lang. I suppose you meant that as an example of stringing together cheatcodes with fb1024x768 (ie: just as with knoppix cheats).



edit: A brief check on Intel said that there is driver(chipset 82865G) for linux, it belongs to the i830 family. Try to see if it works. Otherwise, you need to download the driver from Intel but how to put that on KNOPPIX would be another issue.

How do I "see if it works?" I'm not clear on what you mean by "it."

TIA,

[garyng]

fb1024x768 == knoppix so it would be :
fb1024x768 nosmp noscsi lang=us

OK, I'll try that, but I don't have a problem with scsi or lang. I suppose you meant that as an example of stringing together cheatcodes with fb1024x768 (ie: just as with knoppix cheats).



edit: A brief check on Intel said that there is driver(chipset 82865G) for linux, it belongs to the i830 family. Try to see if it works. Otherwise, you need to download the driver from Intel but how to put that on KNOPPIX would be another issue.

How do I "see if it works?" I'm not clear on what you mean by "it."

TIA,

It is just shown as an example of how 'fb1024x768' would be used. But as I said, I very much doubt it works as I don't think fb for Intel is in the kernel(it requires a whole lot of patches).

As for to see whether 'it' works, I mean use the i830/i810 driver.

Try this :

knoppix 2 (to get the prompt)

edit(I use vi, you pick your favorite) /etc/X11/XF86Config-4

remove all 'modeline' entries under the monitor section and adjust the horizontal frequency to something less aggressive(this is especially true for LCD) like 28-48

then 'startx'

[A. Jorge Garcia]

Well, fb1024x768 didn't work at all. Also, the i810 driver is loaded already.

The best result I've had so far is with:

knoppux nosmp vga=normal screen=1024x768

This got rid of all the boot-up errors (only one processor found and passing undefined mode). However , the problem is still there: I can only get 640x480 res!

BTW, the sound is no go at all!

Regards,

[Dave_Bechtel]

--That's truly scarey, I've never known framebuffer to fail!

Here's some things you can try, excerpts from ftp://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/linux/knoppix/knoppix-cheatcodes.txt

(Check the back of the monitor to see what refresh rate it can handle.)



knoppix xvrefresh=60 Use 60 Hz vertical refresh rate for X
knoppix xserver=XFree86|XF86_SVGA Use specified X-Server
knoppix xmodule=ati|fbdev|i810|mga Use specified XFree4-Module (1)
knoppix xmodule=nv|radeon|savage|s3 Use specified XFree4-Module (2)
knoppix xmodule=radeon|svga|i810 Use specified XFree4-Module (3)


--Thus you can try:
' knoppix nosmp vga=normal screen=1024x768 xvrefresh=60 xmodule=i810 '

or:
' knoppix nosmp vga=normal screen=1024x768 xvrefresh=60 xserver=XF86_SVGA xmodule=svga '

--As you prolly already know, once you find out what works you can use the mkfloppy.bat and modify the syslinux.cfg file on the resulting bootdisk to automatically enter them for you.

--If THAT doesn't work, I would seriously write a nasty letter to Dell and say STOP MAKING NON-LINUX-COMPATIBLE MACHINES!!


Well, fb1024x768 didn't work at all. Also, the i810 driver is loaded already.

The best result I've had so far is with:

knoppux nosmp vga=normal screen=1024x768

This got rid of all the boot-up errors (only one processor found and passing undefined mode). However , the problem is still there: I can only get 640x480 res!

BTW, the sound is no go at all!

Regards,

[A. Jorge Garcia]

I just got back from work, so I'll have to try your suggestion, Dave, tomorrow. Thanx alot, I think this may just work! Boy, talk about cutting it close. I started classes today, but labs don't open until tomorrow....

BTW, do you really think I should specify xmodule=i810 when KNOPPIX has already autodetected i810?

Also, is this a case of Dell making Linux-unfriendly hardware, or is it that this hardware is just too new to be recognized by KNOPPIX as yet? I would hope that an upcoming KNOPPIX upgrade may have new drivers for this soon. Albeit, this integrated audio/video chip stuff is real pain in the &%@^%!!!

OK, so I'm going to try:
knoppix nosmp alsa vga=normal screen=1024x768 xvrefresh=60 xmodule=i810 '
or
knoppix nosmp alsa vga=normal screen=1024x768 xvrefresh=60 xserver=XF86_SVGA xmodule=svga
to get sound working with alsamixer running in a Konsole too!

TIA,

[garyng]

Well, fb1024x768 didn't work at all. Also, the i810 driver is loaded already.



Just as I expected that there is just no fb device for Intel i8xx in KNOPPIX. Since it can detect i810 as the driver, the problem most likely is in XF86Config-4.

[A. Jorge Garcia]

Just as I expected that there is just no fb device for Intel i8xx in KNOPPIX. Since it can detect i810 as the driver, the problem most likely is in XF86Config-4.

OK, Gary, I'll try what you said about modifying XF86Config-4 if Dave's cheat doesn't help. BTW, you do realize that I'm booting straight off the CD, right? Can I still modify XF86Config-4? Don't I need to hdinstall to do this? The machines I'm having trouble with are in my new lab at school where I'm booting CDs at present.

TIA,

[Dave_Bechtel]

--You can boot to ' knoppix 2 ' (plus other necessary cheatcodes), modify /etc/X11/XF86Config-4, then ' startx '.



Just as I expected that there is just no fb device for Intel i8xx in KNOPPIX. Since it can detect i810 as the driver, the problem most likely is in XF86Config-4.

OK, Gary, I'll try what you said about modifying XF86Config-4 if Dave's cheat doesn't help. BTW, you do realize that I'm booting straight off the CD, right? Can I still modify XF86Config-4? Don't I need to hdinstall to do this? The machines I'm having trouble with are in my new lab at school where I'm booting CDs at present.

TIA,

[A. Jorge Garcia]

OK, I tried

knoppix nosmp alsa vga=normal screen=1280x1024 xvrefresh=60

and got no errors, better res but no sound (adding xmodule=i810 didn't do anything, btw). So that's progress! Thanx everyone!! I tried the above cheat code sequence on V3.1-2003-01-01 and V3.2-2003-07-26 but it only helped in V3.2.

Now, I was looking at the driver info in M$ WINDOZE XP (sorry, I know that's painfull) for the video chip and apparently it can only do 800x600 or 1024x768 (at either 16bit or 32bit color depth). I got better res, but not by much. So I'm thinking it went from 800x600 (not what I originally thought: 640x480) to 1024x768. I'm a total noob here. How do I check the res while KNOPPIX is running? Also, can I use screen=1024x768 or is only screen=1280x1024 defined?

EDIT: screen=1024x768 worked the same as screen=1280x1024.

Oh, is alsa used for more than just sound? I'm wondering because, I don't know if its just my cable service acting up, but I couldn't access the web. For example: I can't access http://www.yahoo.com with Konqueror and I can't access ftp://users.aol.com with Konsole (both of which my students need alot!).

Confused,

[A. Jorge Garcia]

When using the alsa cheat, is there something else you have to do to get sound going? I read somewhere about using alsamixer. I tried it and got nowhere! So I'm omiting alsa from my cheat codes for now - unless you guys have any great ideas for the sound problem....

Also, it was nosmp that killed my web access, so now I use the same cheats as above except I omit nosmp.

So now I use the following cheats only:
boot: knoppix vga=normal screen=1024x768 xvrefresh=60

Now I can use loadlin based on these cheats to get a "poor man's dual boot" going in the new lab soon!

Oh, here's one strange side-effect I didn't expect. When using any of the various cheat combos I tried the last few days, I don't see the KDE splash screen on boot-up. Is that normal?

Thanx,

[Dave_Bechtel]

--Alsa is only used for sound, it shouldn't interfere with anything else. I have *no* Earthly idea why nosmp should b0rk your connection, that just doesn't make sense.

--Anyhow, no offense - but do you *really* need sound in a teaching lab?


When using the alsa cheat, is there something else you have to do to get sound going? I read somewhere about using alsamixer. I tried it and got nowhere! So I'm omiting alsa from my cheat codes for now - unless you guys have any great ideas for the sound problem....

Also, it was nosmp that killed my web access, so now I use the same cheats as above except I omit nosmp.

So now I use the following cheats only:
boot: knoppix vga=normal screen=1024x768 xvrefresh=60

Now I can use loadlin based on these cheats to get a "poor man's dual boot" going in the new lab soon!

Oh, here's one strange side-effect I didn't expect. When using any of the various cheat combos I tried the last few days, I don't see the KDE splash screen on boot-up. Is that normal?

Thanx,

[A. Jorge Garcia]

We can live without sound, but I thought it would be nice to do some multimedia labs, maybe some fractal music, etc. Anyway, its just annoying to me that KNOPPIX isn't up and running 100% on all my PCs.... :roll:

Thanx,

[A. Jorge Garcia]

BTW, we also play instrumental music in the background of the class when coding. Every lab day, a different student gets to download their choice of *.ogg file. They usually opt for techno. When they've all had a turn, then I get a day of classical....

Regards,

[Dave_Bechtel]

--Sometimes people can be too reliant on high tech. You could always bring in a radio, and tell the students to start bringing CD's...

--Just trying to help.


BTW, we also play intrumental music in the background of the class when coding. Every lab day, a different students gets to download their choice of *.ogg file. They usually opt for techno. When they've all had a turn, then I get a day of classical....

Regards,

[A. Jorge Garcia]

I know you're "just trying to help", but you're not being very helpful....

Just kidding,

[Dave_Bechtel]

(shrug) They say a picture is worth a 1000 words (http://www.explodingdog.com/august6/intheend.html)...

Peace.


I know you're "just trying to help", but you're not being very helpful....

Just kidding,

[A. Jorge Garcia]

Gotcha....

Anyway, I don't just want my students to work with KNOPPIX, I want them to have fun and enjoy their Linux experience. They should see that KNOPPIX is for work and fun.

Just spreading the word, man!

Regards,

[A. Jorge Garcia]

BTW, 20030905 fixed my sound problems!

Thanx Klaus,

[JPWhite]

I can confirm that there is still an issue with the Intel 82865 integrated video card on Dell computers.. This problem is still there with the latest Knoppix 3.4 2004-05-17 build. Works but only in 640x480 mode regardless of startup options gleaned from cheatcodes.txt.

JP

[A. Jorge Garcia]

I don't need the cheatcodes anymore. Its something in the Dell BIOS about max VRAM used. The default on mine was 1MB even though there's 8MB on board. So I just reset that in the BIOS and all is well!

Regards,
AJG

[CrashedAgain]

Don't know if this is much help, but two things come to mind:
1. If you are using xmms to play your ogg files, you may need the xmms-arts plugin. The arts daemon interferes with xmms if it's running...and KDE will autostart artsd if it thinks it needs it.
2.I have always had to deal with the 'undefined video mode' error (originally I actually thought it was just a Linux quirk). It comes from Knoppix being set for vga=791 as a default. If you are HD installed (I know you are not but FYI anyway) you have to change vga=791 to vga=normal in lilo.conf. I don't know where it is set if running from CD, you have to use a cheatcode to get rid of it...or a persistent home/saved config setup.

[JPWhite]

Thank you AJG, you are quite correct. Once you change the VRAM from 1MB to 8MB all issues go away.

Well nearly all, now I get two 'tux' Penguins instead of one on bootup. I consider it a bonus :-)

What a splendid resource this forum is.

JP

[baldyeti]

Well nearly all, now I get two 'tux' Penguins instead of one on bootup. I consider it a bonus :-)
And you should, since it most probably means your PIV is HyperThread capable and used as such by the knoppix SMP-enabled kernel.

[A. Jorge Garcia]

CrashedAgain: You're right, sometimes, especially if I want knoppix-installer to work right, I still have to run


knoppix vga=normal screen=1024x768 vsync=60

JP: You're most welcome! Yes, this forum is a great resource and most everyone is friendly and very helpful. That's why I've been on here so long and written so many posts.... 8)

Regards,
AJG

[Ian H]

Put me down as being another happy user!

Had been frustrated for a few days as Knoppix was only running 640x480.

Increasing the video buffer to 8mb has fixed my problems thanks to the comments made in this forum.

Why Dell ships these with only 1mb specified in the BIOS is beyond me?
Anyone else got an idea why they use value by default?

Thanks.
Ian.

P.S. I'm using Dell SX260 with Intel 82845G or similar