Nvidia display help

[KeefTM]

Ok, for starters, here is my HTPC build:

E5200 2.5 Wolfdale
Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DSH2 w/ GeForce 9400
4GB Corsair ram
Mythbuntu 8.10 x86_64
Nvidia 180.44 x86_64
Samsung HD DLP HL-S5086W using HDMI

I also am not very familiar with linux, so I probably missed something simple. Now, when the system starts, I get all the way to the NVidia splash screen, then the TV says there is no signal. The computer is still running cause I can ssh in and hit Ctrl-Alt-F1 to get to the prompt. I'm assuming that the TV doesn't like the resolution that the driver is selecting, because using the VESA mode works fine. I need help configuring xorg.conf. I really have no clue what the correct settings and options would be. According to the TV manual, I should use:

1280 x 720p
Horiz 45.00
Vert 60
Pixel Clock 74.25

I have attatched the xorg.0.log and the xorg.conf files. Thanks for any help you can give.

[nickrout]

Only thing I can see from those files is that horizsync and vertrefresh figures are not quoted, but I am not sure if that will make a difference.

[KeefTM]

Only thing I can see from those files is that horizsync and vertrefresh figures are not quoted, but I am not sure if that will make a difference.

I'll try it. At this point I'll try anything :)

Guess that wasn't it:

Parse error on line 41 of section Monitor in file /etc/X11/xorg.conf
The HorizSync keyword must be followed by a list of numbers or ranges.

Oh well. Thanks for the suggestion though!

[nickrout]

I don't see any obvious errors in your log file. can't work that one out at all.

[KeefTM]

I don't see any obvious errors in your log file. can't work that one out at all.

Yeah, the log doesn't show any errors either. I'm just lost on this one.

[nickrout]

You could try taking the modes line out of xorg.conf and see what it auto detects. For example in my log file it simply shows as using he highest available mode vis nvidia-auto-select like this:

(II) NVIDIA(0): Assigned Display Device: DFP-0
(==) NVIDIA(0):
(==) NVIDIA(0): No modes were requested; the default mode "nvidia-auto-select"
(==) NVIDIA(0): will be used as the requested mode.
(==) NVIDIA(0):
(II) NVIDIA(0): Validated modes:
(II) NVIDIA(0): "nvidia-auto-select"
(II) NVIDIA(0): Virtual screen size determined to be 1920 x 1080
(++) NVIDIA(0): DPI set to (100, 100); computed from -dpi X commandline option
(==) NVIDIA(0): Disabling 32-bit ARGB GLX visuals.


If your TV is providing good edid info it may "just work"

my screen as defined in xorg.conf says:

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Device0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
EndSubSection
EndSection

[KeefTM]

You could try taking the modes line out of xorg.conf and see what it auto detects. For example in my log file it simply shows as using he highest available mode vis nvidia-auto-select like this:



If your TV is providing good edid info it may "just work"

my screen as defined in xorg.conf says:

I tried that first, but no dice. I only put the Modes in because the nvidia-auto-detect wasn't working. The auto detect was picking the correct resolution though. If I don't use the nvidia driver everything works, I can use the tv no problems. So odd.

[KeefTM]

Oddest thing. My TV has a 'Game Mode' and if I switch it on to that, I can see the window manager. But there still is a big "No signal" warning and if I switch the tv I lose the picture. I'm starting to think that this video card and my TV just aren't going to work together.

[Monsieur Gonzalez]

Well, my TV is a Panasonic, and I use it in 720p mode, with an Nvidia card (8400). I adapted it following some advice in the XBMC forums.

If you want to give it a try, the relevant parts of my xorg.conf are :


Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Unknown"
ModelName "Panasonic-TV"
HorizSync 15.0 - 68.0
VertRefresh 23.0 - 61.0
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Device0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
Option "NoLogo"
Option "DynamicTwinView" "false"
Option "ExactModeTimingsDVI" "True"
Option "FlatPanelProperties" "Scaling = Native"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
EndSubSection
EndSection

[KeefTM]

I tried those, no luck either. I'm sending an email to Nvidia, hopefully I can get in touch with someone that can help me. I can't figure out why the vesa drivers work at 1280x720 and nvidia's does not.

[nickrout]

nvnews.net run some good forums too.

[KeefTM]

nvnews.net run some good forums too.

Cool, thanks!

[KeefTM]

Solved it! Here's how in case anyone wants to know.

The Nvidia drivers where picking the wrong settings for the TV. What I did was switched to the Nouveau drivers. These, of course, didn't work for the onboard 9400, but what they did do was give me the correct Modeline for my TV (in the Xorg.0.log file). I then used that Modeline with the official Nvidia driver. Success!

[nickrout]

Solved it! Here's how in case anyone wants to know.

The Nvidia drivers where picking the wrong settings for the TV. What I did was switched to the Nouveau drivers. These, of course, didn't work for the onboard 9400, but what they did do was give me the correct Modeline for my TV (in the Xorg.0.log file). I then used that Modeline with the official Nvidia driver. Success!

For future reference you should share your modeline with the forum!

Perhaps too the steps to get that modeline (your description is a little vague).

[KeefTM]

For future reference you should share your modeline with the forum!

Perhaps too the steps to get that modeline (your description is a little vague).

Sure thing:

Modeline "1280x720" 74.25 1280 1390 1430 1650 720 725 730 750 +hsync +vsync

1) change driver to "nouveau" where it is currently "nvidia"
2) restart system (or just X)
3) check the Xorg.0.log file for a list of lines that contains "Modeline". It only found a few for my set, and it was after all the resolutions it tested.
4) insert those modelines into the "Monitor" section of the xorg.conf
5) Add this to the "Device" section:

Option "UseEDID" "FALSE"
Option "UseEdidFreqs" "FALSE"

6) change driver back to "nvidia"
7) Under SubSection "Display", add

Modes "name of modeline you want to use (it's the resolution in quotes right after the word 'Modeline')"

8) reboot (or restart X)

That's what I did to get it working.