Configuring graphics cards/Troubleshooting

From openSUSE

Finding Driver Version

Finding the version of installed drivers can be a very useful tip and can be important when pinpointing graphic errors due to drivers. The following method for finding driver versions is based on the driver installed through YaST/Zypper (the method described in the Installation section above). Because this method is done through Zypper, separate commands must be used depending on the make and type of driver used. The three main driver: Nvidia, Nvidia Legacy and the ATI driver (in that order) are given below.

zypper search -s --match x11-video-nvidiaG01

zypper search -s --match x11-video-nvidia

zypper search -s --match x11-video-fglrxG01

The commands above will output a simple description of the file installed in YaST/Zypper providing the video driver for X11. The Version column (4th from the left) provides the information on the exact driver installed on your system. For further information on installed packages, the info parameter for Zypper can provide more a more detailed description of the driver package. Along with finding the version of the installed driver, this more detailed command also outputs the vendor, the status (weather it is up-to-date, or there is a newer driver available), the installed size of the package, etc. The following is an example of the command in use, followed by the output of the command. Note that the package command below is for the Nvidia driver; to find information on the Nvidia Legacy or ATI driver, replace the package name with x11-video-nvidia (Nvidia Legacy) and x11-video-fglrxG01 (ATI) respectably.

zypper info x11-video-nvidiaG01

Reading installed packages...


Information for package x11-video-nvidiaG01:

Repository: NVIDIA Repository
Name: x11-video-nvidiaG01
Version: 173.14.12-0.1
Arch: i586
Vendor: SUSE LINUX Products GmbH, Nuernberg, Germany
Installed: Yes
Status: up-to-date
Installed Size: 24.7 M
Summary: nvidia GL drivers
Description: 
nvidia GL drivers

Shutdown & Reboot Errors

While this error does not occur in every instance of using the CLI, it can occur: when you go to reboot or shutdown your system, the options for Restart, Shutdown, Hibernate, etc. are grayed out, and you cannot use any of these options. While this may seem serious, it is very simple to fix. If you are looking to completely shutdown your system, use the following command and enter the root password when prompted:

su -c 'shutdown -P now' 

For other shutdown options, use the following command...

su -c 'shutdown --help'

The following command will reboot your system...

su -c 'shutdown -r now'

Xorg Error Diagnosis

While not a common occurrence, incorrectly compiled or installed drivers, as well as improper configuration of drivers, may cause Xorg errors, and in the more extreme cases, will cause the X-Server to crash. While there is no 1-method to fix Xorg errors (because most errors are unique), finding information on the errors is very useful. There is a file in /var/log directory that contains all log information for Xorg. The most current errors are located at the bottom of the file. To see this log file, issue the following command in a terminal window or the CLI (Command Line Interface)...

cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log

While the output of this file does not always give an exact reason for the errors occurring, the more information found on the errors, the easier it is to solve the problem. If you are able to load the X-Server, opening the log file above with a text editor can make reading the file above much easier, do to the extensive length of the log. For more information on Xorg and Xorg help, please refer to the following links:

• Xorg Wiki
• Xorg Official FAQ
• Xorg Official IRC Chat
• Wikipedia: X.org Server

For support information on Xorg for OpenSUSE, refer to the following:

• X-Server Configuration with SaX2 (version 8.1+)