ATI graphics driver problems migrating from 12.04 to 14.04

[Ubugim]

These are the devices I have on my computer

lspci -nn | grep VGA

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller [8086:0166] (rev 09)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Thames [Radeon HD 7500M/7600M Series] [1002:6840] (rev ff)

I have been using an ATI driver on ubuntu 12.04 with inbuilt + amd graphics without any problem. Once I upgraded to ubuntu 14.04 the old drivers were not not supported. I uninstalled and installed the latest fglrx driver. But I get the message when I start AMD Catalyst after installing:

There was a problem initializing Catalyst Control Center Linux edition. It could be caused by the following. No AMD graphics driver is installed, or the AMD driver is not functioning properly. Please install the AMD driver appropriate for you AMD hardware, or configure using aticonfig.

What could be the problem ? Clearly Radeon HD 7500M/7600M Series seems to be supported by fglrx as per AMD website.

Thanks

[kagashe]

The open source Radeon Driver is working very well on Kernel 3.16 on Ubuntu 14.04. Kernel 3.16 is available through LTS Enablement Stack

I suggest you try it before going for ATI.

Kamalakar

[Ubugim]

Sorry for the late reply but, I have the above suggestion did not work for me because the system has 2 graphics cards as listed above .
1> It always shows only intel graphics card after boot, how do I choose between radeon and intel ?
2> I have two locations for the .config files /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/ contains files like
10-evdev.conf 20-intel.conf 50-vmmouse.conf
10-quirks.conf 20-intel.conf~ 50-wacom.conf
11-evdev-quirks.conf 20-radeon.conf 51-synaptics-quirks.conf
11-evdev-trackpoint.conf 50-synaptics.conf
and /etc/X11/ which only contains xorg.conf files of many versions
where do I make the radeon.conf file

3> Also there is almost no get started radeon config file. I need atleast to have a .conf file with basic settings already in there to get started. The radeon man page is just impossible for a beginner.

To summarise -> choose radeon ATI card and getting started,

Thanks

[kagashe]

I still feel you should give a try to open source Radeon Driver.
Is it possible for you to download Ubuntu 14.04.2 and try a live CD/USB session?
When you boot into the live session just click on System_Settings/System/Details and see which Graphics driver is in use.

I need to ask you another related question since it is a case of hybrid graphics.
How did you manage the two graphic cards on 12.04 to ensure that Intel graphic cards was not used?
Can you disable the Intel Card in the BIOS to force Ubuntu to use AMD Card in the Live session?

Kamalakar

[Ubugim]

yes I too believe I should try open source radeon,

In 12.04 I was using the fglrx driver, here I could choose between the two graphics cards and on restart my option would work ( I wasnt able to switch when it was on, a restart was necessary to take effect)

I will give BIOS a try, but first I have a question. Should I change something in my .conf file first before disabling in BIOS ?

[kagashe]

yes I too believe I should try open source radeon,

I suggest that you do this by running a Live Session of Ubuntu 14.04.2.

In 12.04 I was using the fglrx driver, here I could choose between the two graphics cards and on restart my option would work ( I wasnt able to switch when it was on, a restart was necessary to take effect)

I will give BIOS a try, but first I have a question. Should I change something in my .conf file first before disabling in BIOS ?

I am suggesting to touch BIOS only for Live Session of Ubuntu 14.04.2 since I am not sure whether we can switch between the two cards in a Live session. You will have to change the settings back to what they are now for your installed Ubuntu 14.04.

Kamalakar

[kagashe]

While you run the Live Session of Ubuntu 14.04.2 use the following command to know which driver is in use:

$ lspci -nnk | grep -i vga -A3 | grep 'in use'

and the following command to know how it is working:

$ /usr/lib/nux/unity_support_test -p

Kamalakar

[Ubugim]

Hi, these are the outputs you requested for,

lspci -nnk | grep -i vga -A3 | grep 'in use'
Kernel driver in use: i915
Kernel driver in use: radeon

/usr/lib/nux/unity_support_test -p
OpenGL vendor string: Intel Open Source Technology Center
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa DRI Intel(R) Ivybridge Mobile
OpenGL version string: 3.0 Mesa 10.1.3

Not software rendered: yes
Not blacklisted: yes
GLX fbconfig: yes
GLX texture from pixmap: yes
GL npot or rect textures: yes
GL vertex program: yes
GL fragment program: yes
GL vertex buffer object: yes
GL framebuffer object: yes
GL version is 1.4+: yes

Unity 3D supported: yes

there is no option for me to disable graphics in BIOS

[mastablasta]

you should have removed the drivers before doing the upgrade.

do the full purge, replace with open source and then reinstall and initialize for hybrid use. read on how to here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/AMD

[kagashe]

Hi, these are the outputs you requested for,

lspci -nnk | grep -i vga -A3 | grep 'in use'
Kernel driver in use: i915
Kernel driver in use: radeon

/usr/lib/nux/unity_support_test -p
OpenGL vendor string: Intel Open Source Technology Center
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa DRI Intel(R) Ivybridge Mobile
OpenGL version string: 3.0 Mesa 10.1.3

Not software rendered: yes
Not blacklisted: yes
GLX fbconfig: yes
GLX texture from pixmap: yes
GL npot or rect textures: yes
GL vertex program: yes
GL fragment program: yes
GL vertex buffer object: yes
GL framebuffer object: yes
GL version is 1.4+: yes

Unity 3D supported: yes

there is no option for me to disable graphics in BIOS

It seems that open source radeon driver is working well, however, I am not sure about how it can work in hybrid system. By the way did you remove/purge the ati driver on Ubuntu 12.04 before upgrading to 14.04 as advised by mastablasta?