I recommend that you copy the contents of your xorg.conf and loader.conf files and paste them into a message here.
The video problem is often a combination of selecting the wrong video driver on installation and not having accurate settings in xorg.conf or other configuration files. Having a wide screen monitor can add additional complications. This can seem like a big problem for a new user to diagnose, discover that he must be the superuser or root user to edit most configuration files, and learn what to modify.
I am not a video expert. I am not a PCBSD expert. I'd probably be burned at the stake if I claimed to know much about FreeBSD. The analysis and information I will leave with you here is a result of a little computer knowledge and my searching the PCBSD Forum and the FreeBSD Handbook.
I strongly urge you to research too. While answers to problems will usually appear in this forum, I mean no offense by saying you might often find the solution faster by searching through the resources and the forum on your own rather than waiting for someone to peruse the forum and answer you. You will almost always find an answer. There is also a greater reward beyond the answer -- that is, you will become self-reliant and confident with BSD, you will be happier with PCBSD as you learn a more about it, and you will become amazingly impressed with how much control you can have over your operating system when everything about it is documented and transparent.
There is helpful information on nvidia video cards (and many other topics) from a variety of reliable sources: The FreeBSD Handbook, the "man pages", PC-BSD Forum (with "search" function), and search engines such as
http://www.google.com/bsd (note the /bsd after google.com).
For nvidia-specific built-in help, "man pages" include an "nv" page (for nvidia driver) and an "xorg.conf" page (contents and meaning of xorg.conf options) In a terminal, just type "man nv" or "man xorg.conf" (do not type the quote marks). You will also find helpful configuration information in the FreeBSD Handbook here:
http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en/books/han ... onfig.html
Search PCBSD forum using the search function (top of forum page, right side, below the red band. Search on nvidia or 8800 (and both). Search on xorg.conf too.
Search http:
www.google.com/bsd with searches like:
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Code:
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+nvidia +8800 +PCBSD
+nvidia +8800 +FreeBSD |
Nvidia has a helpful readme for your card driver at this page:
http://us.download.nvidia.com/freebsd/1 ... index.html
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There are several ways to deal with the video problem.
Use the VESA driver. You may get less than the highest possible resolution, but you get a basic display.
To change to VESA
or any other driver, you can select a new video configuration at startup. When you get the "FreeBSD Menu," pressing the "6" key.
Or you can reset video configuration from the Desktop using GUI processes. For example, you can get a GUI tool to reset the video driver and display resolution from PCBSD by using the following sequence:
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Start --> Desktop --> Video Card & Monitor Setup |
Note: You will be logged out of your session as part of this processes.
In the Video Card & Monitor Setup:
You can change the driver to VESA and pick a resolution, or
You can change the driver to NV or NVIDIA and pick a resolution, AND
You can see the screen sample to see if it is working.
You will be brought back to the config screen to save or you can go back and try alternatives. When you save the changes, the system will then restart and you can log back in. All choices are saved by overwriting the original settings stored in xorg.conf file.
Another method involves
using a text editor to manually edit the configuration files. This is the method Seva described.
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Quote:
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Seva explained:
Section "Monitor" contains HorizSync and VertRefresh settings that are too generous even for a CRT monitor. Either remove them or change to real capabilities of your monitor (I did the latter).
Section "Screen" lists Modes that are 4:3 and so don't go well with a wide-screen monitor. So, I removed them and typed in a single "1680x1050" mode instead.
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Here is a more information about the process suggested by Seva and what you can try with your configuration files. You must become the root user (su) and manually edit the file called xorg.conf. That file is located in the directory /etc/X11. Using the terminal, su to root, and then type
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#ee /etc/X11/xorg.conf <Enter> |
First, you must know your monitor's settings EXACTLY and write them down:
Horizontal Sync Range
Vertical Refresh Range
Supported Resolutions
Google for them. For example, my monitor is a Nokia 445Xpro. My search was +"Nokia 445 Xpro" +specifications.
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Code:
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(Not code. I just wanted the box)
The GUI/Desktop way to manually edit the video configuration uses a GUI text editor (like KEdit) which is accessible through the Start Menu. You have to be root, so here is how you bring up File Manager (Super User) and edit the file:
A. Click Start --> System --> More Applications --> File Manager (Super User), then type in your root password. The file manager opens and you are viewing the contents of /root.
B. Navigate to the xorg.conf file by going up the directory tree in the left window until you see /etc, double click the directory name (etc) or click the "+" sign next to it so you can see the contents of /etc.
Double click on /X11 so you can open it, and locate xorg.conf
Right click on xorg.conf and copy it to somewhere else (this will be your backup)
Right click on the original xorg.conf file and "open with" KEdit.
Make changes (see below) and save. |
To restart X with the changes, either reboot or in a terminal as root (su), type:
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# killall Xorg kdeinit xinit kdm |
What to change in Xorg.conf:
A. Find the section of the file called "Monitor"
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Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Generic Monitor"
ModelName "Generic"
### Comment all HorizSync and VertRefresh values to use DDC:
HorizSync 30.0 - 125.0
### Comment all HorizSync and VertRefresh values to use DDC:
VertRefresh 50.0 - 150.0
EndSection |
B. Type in the EXACT Horizontal Sync and Vertical Refresh Rates for your specific monitor
C. Next, we are going to set the "video modes" for your monitor. Find the "Screen" section of your xorg.conf file:
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Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1600x1200" |
D. Type in the EXACT supported screen resolution that you want. You can type in more than one, starting with the highest resolution first, then the next highest, next highest, etc.
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SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1280x800" "1024X768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection |
Notice the syntax: Each mode is surrounded by quote marks. There is no space between the numbers and the "x" See man xorg.conf:
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Quote:
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Modes "mode-name" ...
This optional entry specifies the list of video modes to use.
Each mode-name specified must be in double quotes. They must
correspond to those specified or referenced in the appropriate
Monitor section (including implicitly referenced built-in VESA
standard modes). The server will delete modes from this list
which don't satisfy various requirements. The first valid mode
in this list will be the default display mode for startup. . . .
When this entry is omitted, the valid modes refer-
enced by the appropriate Monitor section will be used. If the
Monitor section contains no modes, then the selection will be
taken from the built-in VESA standard modes.
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Another potential problem here is that you are using a wide-screen monitor. Such monitors may, for reasons independent of your nvidia driver, require tweaks to xorg.conf. The FreeBSD Manual says:
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5.4.3.2 Adding a Widescreen Flatpanel to the Mix
This section assumes a bit of advanced configuration knowledge. If attempts to use the standard configuration tools above have not resulted in a working configuration, there is information enough in the log files to be of use in getting the setup working. Use of a text editor will be necessary.
Current widescreen (WSXGA, WSXGA+, WUXGA, WXGA, WXGA+, et.al.) formats support 16:10 and 10:9 formats or aspect ratios that can be problematic. Examples of some common screen resolutions for 16:10 aspect ratios are:
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2560x1600
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1920x1200
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1680x1050
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1440x900
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1280x800
At some point, it will be as easy as adding one of these resolutions as a possible Mode in the Section "Screen" as such:
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Xorg is smart enough to pull the resolution information from the widescreen via I2C/DDC information so it knows what the monitor can handle as far as frequencies and resolutions.
If those ModeLines do not exist in the drivers, one might need to give Xorg a little hint. Using /var/log/Xorg.0.log one can extract enough information to manually create a ModeLine that will work. Simply look for information resembling this:
(II) MGA(0): Supported additional Video Mode:
(II) MGA(0): clock: 146.2 MHz Image Size: 433 x 271 mm
(II) MGA(0): h_active: 1680 h_sync: 1784 h_sync_end 1960 h_blank_end 2240 h_border: 0
(II) MGA(0): v_active: 1050 v_sync: 1053 v_sync_end 1059 v_blanking: 1089 v_border: 0
(II) MGA(0): Ranges: V min: 48 V max: 85 Hz, H min: 30 H max: 94 kHz, PixClock max 170 MHz
This information is called EDID information. Creating a ModeLine from this is just a matter of putting the numbers in the correct order:
ModeLine <name> <clock> <4 horiz. timings> <4 vert. timings>
So that the ModeLine in Section "Monitor" for this example would look like this:
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor1"
VendorName "Bigname"
ModelName "BestModel"
ModeLine "1680x1050" 146.2 1680 1784 1960 2240 1050 1053 1059 1089
Option "DPMS"
EndSection
Now having completed these simple editing steps, X should start on your new widescreen monitor.
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Pay attention to how to derive and construct the "mode line"
See:
http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en/books/han ... onfig.html
If you want more help, please post the contents of your xorg.conf and loader.conf files and the specs for your monitor. Also say what changes you made, if any, to any configuration files.
Nvidia driver installation any build not working
Linear Mode
