Knoppix 6.2 runs where Knoppix 6.7 does not!

[Karibu]

Hello All,
On my HP Pavilion g6-1b67ca Laptop I can run KNOPPIX 6.2 perfectly while version 6.7 only gives me a black screen. My grahpics is AMD Radeon 6520G and is identified during booting as ATI Technologies Inc. Device 9674.
Any thoughts or suggestions are highly appreciated. Thanks. K..

[utu]

Greetings Karibu:

Have you tried a cheatcode like 'knoppix xmodule=radeon'?

[utu]

.
Thanks for pointing me to this. Actually, I think it may be a problem
with the newer xorg server version, maybe in combination with the radeon
firmware inside the "linux-firmware-nonfree" package.

For your recommendation: It may be safer to run radeon-hd cards with
cheatcode "knoppix nocomposite", "knoppix nomodeset" or even "knoppix
nodrm" in Knoppix 6.7. The first one just disables the composite
extension used for 3D, while the second and third one disables some or
all acceleration (possibly falling back to vesa).

The reason why 6.2 may have worked better was that there was no kernel
mode setting requirement in the older xorg version, but now with
xorg-core 1.10, many radeon-hd cards just won't work without kms being
enabled, and Knoppix falls back to vesa, if the card is still responding
and isn't blocked for some reason.

Regards
-Klaus

[Karibu]

.
For your recommendation: It may be safer to run radeon-hd cards with
cheatcode ...noppix nocomposite or knoppix nomodeset...or even ...

Thank you, utu, for your comments and quick response! By ..to run radeon-hd cards... do you mean to change the graphics card in the Laptop? Actually, I don't want to do that, First I wouldn't know how-to and second I don't want to spend extra money on that. The other thing I don't understand clearly is how and when I could enter any of the cheatcodes like ...knoppix nocomposite or knoppix nomodeset... etc.? I'm not really new to Linix, I use Linux Mint on my Desktop, but I'm not educated in software. K.

[utu]

Greetings again, Karibu.

Cheat codes are another way of controlling Knoppix's behavior.
There is a five-second-or-so delay on every Knoppix boot that allows you
to interrupt the boot process to insert some instructions to modify certain
parts of Knoppix's normal initialization process.

The first keystroke, such as a letter 'k', interrupts this process until
either a time-out occurs or an enter key appears. Whatever is typed-in during
this interruption is examined and, if meaningful, is acted upon. On your CD or
in /mnt-system on most LiveCDs or LiveUSBs there's a file
/KNOPPIX/knoppix-cheatcodes.txt, which lists scads of these magic words.

What I and Klaus K are suggesting is that the next time you boot 6.7, you
try some of these cheat codes to see if any of these will help you get your
graphics set up better. Just try one at a time of course.

So, at boot, before Knoppix 6.7 goes ahead on its own, as KK says, type in
"knoppix nocomposite", "knoppix nomodeset" or even "knoppix nodrm", enter,
and report back on your findings.

[utu]

.
Just googling radeon 6520G I find nomodeset mentioned a lot; for examples:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1613132
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...issues-918229/

[Karibu]

Thank you very much for the qualified and detailed explanation. Here is the result of the cheatcode booting: "knoppix nocomposite": no change...no graphics...black screen... knoppix nomodeset: long (ca. 4min) but successful boot...GUI works...everything works.... knoppix nodrm: shorter boot time ---success!... I think about a HD installation on my Laptop and would like to know what repositories Knoppix is accessing? Thanks again for your time and help... K. PS: This reply is written from KNOPPIX 6.7 Live DVD

[utu]

Greetings again, Karibu.

Glad we could help.
You can combine cheatcodes that work, for example:
knoppix nomodeset nodrm.

IMO, Knoppix is best used as a LiveUSB. 2 Gb works for the CD version.
Most old pro's suggest you NOT do an actual HD install of Knoppix,
but instead use Debian for that, if an HD install is what you want.

I'm not sure how to interpret your repo question, but I can tell you this:
with Knoppix LiveUSB, do not do wholesale upgrades, and do not mix and match
programs across repos. Klaus K may do this, but he knows what will work.
Also, KK provides upgrades often enough this is only necessary in rare cases.

[Karibu]

OK...Thank you...I'll follow your advice...My regards to KK!

[Karibu]

Yes, it works great...one last question to this issue:
To start Knoppix from USB I tried four options:
1) After boot prompt "Enter"
---> System boots into Adriane.
2) After boot prompt "knoppix nocomposite"
---> System boots into Knoppix 6.7 ---> OK
3) After boot prompt "knoppix nomodeset"
---> System boots into Knoppix 6.7 ---> OK
4) After boot prompt "knoppix nodrm"
---> System boots into Knoppix 6.7 ---OK

Now I wonder how I could change the USB boot file so that at least one
of the cheatcodes is included --- only because I'm too lazy to type it
each time.

Greetings
K.