How to set 3D Acceleration

[archp2008]

Hello,

I have only been into PC-BSD for a few hours and still stumbling around in the dark.

I notice that games are very slow and jerky - unplayable. One of them said that 3d acceleration was not enabled.

I downloaded the driver for my Nvidia GS-7300 Video Card but the documentation about how to install it is way over my head. I have no idea how to go about extracting the file to a temporary location of my choice, and then running the following from the root of the extracted directory hierarchy: % make install

Any help regarding what to click on and so forth would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance for any guidance.
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[TerryP]

Which driver are you using for the graphics card? (or post /etc/X11/xorg.conf contents within a set of code tags)

[archp2008]

NVIDIA-FreeBSD-x86-173.14.09

I don't know how to post contents of that folder.

Will need to research how that is done.

X11 does not appear to have any contents.

The NVidia Driver appears to have extracted its files into subfolders within doc/

[TerryP]

PC-BSD's kernel configuration is already setup and those drivers should support your model card, so all it should take is enabling it.

The x11/nvidia-settings port installs a program called nvidia-settings, you might be able to configure it through that.

open the k-menu -> run -> and put

kdesu nvidia-settings

in the run dialog and take a look around.


-- other wise,


Everything I've read says (short of the manual, since I haven't done that yet) to disable the 'dri' section of 'Module' in /etc/X11/xorg.conf and enable glx;


Section "Module"
#Load "dri"
Load "glx"
# there will be other stuff loaded in this section, just comment out the dri line and leave the rest -> make sure the glx line is here
EndSection



after editing the file as root, press control+alt+backspace to restart the X server and try running glxgears, then one of the games and see if there is an improvement.

[archp2008]

Thank you for the reply.

When I run kdesu nvidia-settings I get Command 'nvidia-settings' not found.

I haven't been able to find a file called xorg.conf.

Inside a folder called Man I find Makefile, nvidia-settings1, and nvidiaxconfig.1

Not knowing what I was doingm I previously double-clicked on one of the makefiles and got this:

NVIDIA_ROOT= ${.CURDIR}/../..

.if !defined(X11BASE)
X11BASE= /usr/X11R6
.endif

DRIVERS= nvidia_drv.o nvidia_drv.so
.if exists(${X11BASE}/lib/xorg/modules/drivers)
DRIVERDIR= ${X11BASE}/lib/xorg/modules/drivers
.else
DRIVERDIR= ${X11BASE}/lib/modules/drivers
.endif

all: # dummy rule
clean: # dummy rule

install:
@for __driver in ${DRIVERS}; do \
rm -f ${DESTDIR}${DRIVERDIR}/$${__driver} ; \
done
@${INSTALL} -C -o ${LIBOWN} -g ${LIBGRP} -m ${LIBMODE} \
${NVIDIA_ROOT}/obj/nvidia_drv.so \
${DESTDIR}${DRIVERDIR} ; \

.include <bsd.init.mk>

[TerryP]

When I run kdesu nvidia-settings I get Command 'nvidia-settings' not found.


That likely means it is either not installed or not installed into your $PATH. The quickest way to look for it is to open a konsole and do:


pkg_info | grep nvidia


Of course, you could always look in the /var/db/ports and /var/db/pkg folders in knoqueror but that involves hunt & peck.




I haven't been able to find a file called xorg.conf.


If there is no xorg.conf file in the /etc/X11 folder, the X Server would assumbly be running on it's best guess of your hardware (there are other locations it looks for but /etc/X11 is the normal place to use).


You can always create one if necessary, the simplest way to do that is to reboot the PC and choose the 'Display Setup' option in the loader, where it says "boot with acpi disabled', 'safe mode', 'single user mode', etc.


I don't recall which key it is :-(, pushing the one for Display Setup will run a GUI program to set the driver, resolution, etc.



You can also have a an xorg.conf file generated automatically through the command line interface or write a custom one if necessary.




Inside a folder called Man I find Makefile, nvidia-settings1, and nvidiaxconfig.1


Where is the file located ? (i.e. /usr/local/share/man/something, a folder in your home directory, or ??)


The nvidia-settings1 and nvidiaxconfig.1 are probably groff formatted manual pages if they are in a folder named man.



The contents of the makefiles are instructions for a program called 'make' that is often used to automate software building and installation tasks (although it can automate much more if desired).


This is actually how the ports system works, when you run 'make install clean' in a port directory (say /usr/ports/x11/nvidia-driver/). The make program reads the file there named Makefile which tells it how to fetch the program, compile it if necessary, install it, and clean up temporary files made in the process.

[archp2008]

Hello again,

Thank you very much.

Sorry that you had to do all that work trying to help me.

I will try to respond to your various comments one by one.

pkg_info | grep nvidia

returns % again

Of course, you could always look in the /var/db/ports and /var/db/pkg folders in knoqueror but that involves hunt & peck.

/var/db/ports appears to be empty

/var/db/pkg has around 100 files/folders in it but I don't see nvidia

You can always create one if necessary, the simplest way to do that is to reboot the PC and choose the 'Display Setup' option in the loader, where it says "boot with acpi disabled', 'safe mode', 'single user mode', etc.

I always boot using option 2 (acpi disabled) because otherwise it just reboots What can I do in safe mode or in single user mode?

I don't recall which key it is :-(, pushing the one for Display Setup will run a GUI program to set the driver, resolution, etc.

I don't recall which key it is :-(, pushing the one for Display Setup will run a GUI program to set the driver, resolution, etc.

I found desktop setup wizard but that didn't offer to change the driver. I found a settings window where I could delete 640X480 and add 1024X768 but did not show any change at the time

Inside a folder called Man I find Makefile, nvidia-settings1, and nvidiaxconfig.1

Where located? /home/Arch/NVIDIA-FreeBSD-x86-173.14.09/x11/man

[TerryP]

if grep'ing pkg_info for nvidia returns no output and there are no entries for it in /var/db/pkg then odds are the driver is not installed via the usual FreeBSD methods.



On the subject of booting into safe mode or single user mode. Safe mode just boots the system in the most minimal configuration possible, usually won't need it for anything. Single user mode boots the system into a signal 'shell' command line interface as root with only the / partition mounted read only and networking on standby. It's usually used when one forgets the root pw and has to change it or during upgrades on larger multi-user installations where you want to avoid having other people logged in.


I found desktop setup wizard but that didn't offer to change the driver. I found a settings window where I could delete 640X480 and add 1024X768 but did not show any change at the time


Was this (http://docs.pcbsd.org/guide/images/installation/install12%20-%20display_settings1024x768.jpg) the program ?


If the man folder was in your home directory, I assume that you got the driver files you downloaded unpacked then?


For the most part you shouldn't have to do the drivers manually, PC-BSD ships with about 3 different versions of the driver (selectable via the display setup wizard ^) last I looked and the ports tree can automate much of the build process for installing different versions.


Unlike doing it manually with the drivers off the website, the ports system knows how to fetch files that are required for it to function properly.


If you need to install the drivers, that's easy enough to explain but doing it manually Vs doing it via ports is basically Probably will work Vs should work.



I'm game for the ports method if you are.



Have you managed to get the driver files installed? If it is, I guess there would be files with nvidia like names in the /usr/local/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/ folder but the only one who would really know is you.

[davidgurvich]

Look in /PCBSD/packages. There are 3 different nvidia drivers there. The one for your card probably starts with nvidia-driver-169. The following will only work if you haven't changed your kernel, otherwise you need to install from ports su
cd /PCBSD/packages
pkg_add nvidia-driver-169... nvidia-settings-...
Now check to see if the module was installed in /boot/modules and add the module to /boot/loader.conf with 'nvidia_load="YES"'. If the autoconfiguration works you should see an nvidia splash screen before the start of Xorg on reboot. If autconfiguration doesn't work, you will need to create an xorg.conf file that fits your system.

[graedus]

Nvidia support is present by default on a clean install, no need to install additional drivers. Boot using the configure desktop option on the FreeBSD boot menu, and select the nvidia-169 driver.

BTW, a quick cat on /PCBSD/xorg-gui/settings/drivers.txt, should list the available video drivers on the default installation.

Guys, you have to start eating the dog food before giving further advice on what's really not broken from the beginning ;-) .

[archp2008]

Thanks again. I'm quoting you sentence by sentence.

if grep'ing pkg_info for nvidia returns no output and there are no entries for it in /var/db/pkg then odds are the driver is not installed via the usual FreeBSD methods.

I have no doubt that it is uninstalled. The files are extracted from the .gz file, that's all.

Was this the program ? No. I had to type in the resolution like 1024X768+0+0
It was 6480X480+0+0 when I went into it. I could add, while I remember it, that the OS is aware that I have an NVidia card. I saw that someplace, but no indication of which card.My guess is that I'm using 640 by 480 now

If the man folder was in your home directory, I assume that you got the driver files you downloaded unpacked then?

Yes

For the most part you shouldn't have to do the drivers manually, PC-BSD ships with about 3 different versions of the driver (selectable via the display setup wizard ^) last I looked and the ports tree can automate much of the build process for installing different versions.

I only installed the cd2 (ports tree) late last night. I have not configured any ports and don't know how to do that. I will have another look for the display setup wizard and try to describe what I see. If I hit <print scrn> what program can I paste it into?

Will submit to here and resume later.

[archp2008]

Look in /PCBSD/packages. There are no files inside packages.
I'm sure the driver I downloaded is not installed, I just extracted the files, but I don't understand how to run "make install" at the location of these files.

[archp2008]

This is the help guide that I am trying to follow:

http://us.download.nvidia.com/freebsd/1 ... index.html (http://us.download.nvidia.com/freebsd/173.14.09/README/index.html)

[graedus]

Look in /PCBSD/packages. There are no files inside packages.
I'm sure the driver I downloaded is not installed, I just extracted the files, but I don't understand how to run "make install" at the location of these files.

You don't need to install anything, you don't even need ports. The nvidia 3d driver (particularly the nvidia 169) is installed by default on the 32 bit version of PCBSD, selectable on the desktop configuration boot option of the initial FreeBSD boot menu, or @ the kmenu-> setting -> desktop -> Video Card & Monitor Setup. The 64-bit version has no nvidia 3d drivers, so if that's the case, you are at a dead end.

[archp2008]

Thanks very much. I was out of the province for awhile and took some time to find my old posts including this one. I appreciate your reply. I went into the settings you specified Only nv was indicated. I chose the 169 option in the pull down menu An installation followed and that seems to have fixed the game play issue, at least the Neverball game I had installed works smoothly now whereas before it was very slow and jerky. All the best. :D

[archp2008]

Hello again,

Of the many NV options is 169 the correct one to select for the 7300 GS? I downloaded another game (MiniGolf) which freezes.