Graphics Resolution- Upgrade /Blank Screen after reboot

[MAFoElffen]

I guess i'm just grasping at straws now but i just tried this. (Didn't work)
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Troublesho...from%20scratch

At this point i have gone through the entire checklist and I'm going to start experimenting with the different graphics modes. (although i'm still not sure entirely how to do this!)

#1 Have grub menu = Yes
#2 Does the Linux Kernel Boot = Yes, if i do the Grub menu edit.
#3 From the Grub Menu, try to boot in Rescue mode/low graphics= No as per directions go to 4.
#4 Can you boot a graphical Xsesion from a text console session? From the command line type=No. always tells me it is already running. Stopping and starting has no effect.



Should i just get another Nvidia based graphics card at this point. Although i'm sure ive done so much damage now that that will not work. lol.


Edit: I just tried the nomodeset option at the Grub one time edit mode. just went into a cli. same as #4 above.

From what it sounds like... I have to ask, did you un-install the nvidia driver before installing your Radeon card? While you're answering that, in a text console, go to /etc/X11 and rename the xorg.conf to anything but that name. That will stop pointing xorg to the nvidia drivers. Instead of using "nodemodeset" use radeon mode=0" as a statrup option.

[MAFoElffen]

Once again, sorry to take so long to get back. I haven't had a lot of time to work on this lately and when I have it's been particularly frustrating! All the more so, because I'm sure we are getting very close.

My main problem has been being able to get any sort of a terminal in any consistent manner. The real frustration is the consistency part. What works on one reboot doesn't work the next, but works again 3 later!

Ok, so when I have been able to get one, this what I have been able to work out.

I'm certain that I have 2 separate problems. 1st is that I don't have the right drivers for my video card and therefore they won't load. Second is my monitor not being detected correctly.

I tried installing the 173 drivers from "Additional Drivers". The system would not come up after a reboot, however when I checked the xorg log, the drivers appear to load correctly but then complained about the monitor not being there and tried to set it to a res that my monitor is not capable of (1280x800). So I think if we can work around the monitor issue and use the 173 drivers, I would have a working system. Of course, the latest drivers would be best. Here's that log:

[    13.947] 
X.Org X Server 1.10.1
Release Date: 2011-04-15
[    13.947] X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
[    13.947] Build Operating System: Linux 2.6.24-29-server i686 Ubuntu
[    13.947] Current Operating System: Linux phil-laptop 2.6.38-8-generic #42-Ubuntu SMP Mon Apr 11 03:31:50 UTC 2011 i686
[    13.947] Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.38-8-generic root=UUID=0019f026-77a4-4fd5-9360-7af4ed4e59f5 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
[    13.947] Build Date: 19 April 2011  03:33:17PM
[    13.947] xorg-server 2:1.10.1-1ubuntu1 (For technical support please see http://www.ubuntu.com/support) 
[    13.947] Current version of pixman: 0.20.2
[    13.947]     Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.x.org
    to make sure that you have the latest version.
[    13.947] Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
    (++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
    (WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
[    13.947] (==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Wed Jun  8 14:38:39 2011
[    13.947] (==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf"
[    13.947] (==) Using system config directory "/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d"
[    13.966] (==) ServerLayout "Layout0"
[    13.966] (**) |-->Screen "Screen0" (0)
[    13.966] (**) |   |-->Monitor "Monitor0"
[    13.966] (**) |   |-->Device "Device0"
[    13.967] (**) |-->Input Device "Keyboard0"
[    13.967] (**) |-->Input Device "Mouse0"
[    13.967] (==) Automatically adding devices
[    13.967] (==) Automatically enabling devices
[    13.967] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic" does not exist.
[    13.967]     Entry deleted from font path.
[    13.967] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/" does not exist.
[    13.967]     Entry deleted from font path.
[    13.967] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/" does not exist.
[    13.967]     Entry deleted from font path.
[    13.967] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi" does not exist.
[    13.967]     Entry deleted from font path.
[    13.967] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi" does not exist.
[    13.967]     Entry deleted from font path.
[    13.967] (==) FontPath set to:
    /usr/share/fonts/X11/misc,
    /usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1,
    /var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType,
    built-ins
[    13.967] (==) ModulePath set to "/usr/lib/xorg/extra-modules,/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
[    13.967] (WW) Hotplugging is on, devices using drivers 'kbd', 'mouse' or 'vmmouse' will be disabled.
[    13.967] (WW) Disabling Keyboard0
[    13.967] (WW) Disabling Mouse0
[    13.967] (II) Loader magic: 0x81ffde0
[    13.967] (II) Module ABI versions:
[    13.967]     X.Org ANSI C Emulation: 0.4
[    13.967]     X.Org Video Driver: 10.0
[    13.967]     X.Org XInput driver : 12.3
[    13.967]     X.Org Server Extension : 5.0
[    13.968] (--) PCI:*(0:1:0:0) 10de:0425:0000:0000 rev 161, Mem @ 0xce000000/16777216, 0xd0000000/268435456, 0xcc000000/33554432, I/O @ 0x00002000/128
[    13.968] (II) Open ACPI successful (/var/run/acpid.socket)
[    13.968] (II) LoadModule: "extmod"
[    13.969] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libextmod.so
[    13.969] (II) Module extmod: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[    13.969]     compiled for 1.10.1, module version = 1.0.0
[    13.969]     Module class: X.Org Server Extension
[    13.969]     ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 5.0
[    13.969] (II) Loading extension MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
[    13.969] (II) Loading extension XFree86-VidModeExtension
[    13.969] (II) Loading extension XFree86-DGA
[    13.969] (II) Loading extension DPMS
[    13.969] (II) Loading extension XVideo
[    13.969] (II) Loading extension XVideo-MotionCompensation
[    13.969] (II) Loading extension X-Resource
[    13.969] (II) LoadModule: "dbe"
[    13.970] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libdbe.so
[    13.970] (II) Module dbe: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[    13.970]     compiled for 1.10.1, module version = 1.0.0
[    13.970]     Module class: X.Org Server Extension
[    13.970]     ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 5.0
[    13.970] (II) Loading extension DOUBLE-BUFFER
[    13.970] (II) LoadModule: "glx"
[    13.970] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/extra-modules/libglx.so
[    14.819] (II) Module glx: vendor="NVIDIA Corporation"
[    14.819]     compiled for 4.0.2, module version = 1.0.0
[    14.819]     Module class: X.Org Server Extension
[    14.819] (II) NVIDIA GLX Module  173.14.30  Thu Apr 14 09:20:02 PDT 2011
[    14.819] (II) Loading extension GLX
[    14.819] (II) LoadModule: "record"
[    14.819] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/librecord.so
[    14.819] (II) Module record: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[    14.819]     compiled for 1.10.1, module version = 1.13.0
[    14.819]     Module class: X.Org Server Extension
[    14.819]     ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 5.0
[    14.819] (II) Loading extension RECORD
[    14.819] (II) LoadModule: "dri"
[    14.820] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libdri.so
[    14.820] (II) Module dri: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[    14.820]     compiled for 1.10.1, module version = 1.0.0
[    14.820]     ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 5.0
[    14.820] (II) Loading extension XFree86-DRI
[    14.820] (II) LoadModule: "dri2"
[    14.820] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libdri2.so
[    14.820] (II) Module dri2: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[    14.820]     compiled for 1.10.1, module version = 1.2.0
[    14.820]     ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 5.0
[    14.820] (II) Loading extension DRI2
[    14.820] (II) LoadModule: "nvidia"
[    14.820] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/extra-modules/nvidia_drv.so
[    14.878] (II) Module nvidia: vendor="NVIDIA Corporation"
[    14.878]     compiled for 4.0.2, module version = 1.0.0
[    14.878]     Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[    14.888] (II) NVIDIA dlloader X Driver  173.14.30  Thu Apr 14 08:56:42 PDT 2011
[    14.889] (II) NVIDIA Unified Driver for all Supported NVIDIA GPUs
[    14.889] (++) using VT number 7

[    14.890] (II) Loading sub module "fb"
[    14.890] (II) LoadModule: "fb"
[    14.911] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libfb.so
[    14.911] (II) Module fb: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[    14.911]     compiled for 1.10.1, module version = 1.0.0
[    14.911]     ABI class: X.Org ANSI C Emulation, version 0.4
[    14.911] (II) Loading sub module "wfb"
[    14.911] (II) LoadModule: "wfb"
[    14.911] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libwfb.so
[    14.922] (II) Module wfb: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[    14.922]     compiled for 1.10.1, module version = 1.0.0
[    14.923]     ABI class: X.Org ANSI C Emulation, version 0.4
[    14.923] (II) Loading sub module "ramdac"
[    14.923] (II) LoadModule: "ramdac"
[    14.923] (II) Module "ramdac" already built-in
[    14.923] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/extra-modules/nvidia_drv.so
[    14.923] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libwfb.so
[    14.923] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libfb.so
[    14.924] (**) NVIDIA(0): Depth 24, (--) framebuffer bpp 32
[    14.924] (==) NVIDIA(0): RGB weight 888
[    14.924] (==) NVIDIA(0): Default visual is TrueColor
[    14.924] (==) NVIDIA(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
[    14.924] (**) NVIDIA(0): Enabling RENDER acceleration
[    14.925] (II) NVIDIA(0): Support for GLX with the Damage and Composite X extensions is
[    14.925] (II) NVIDIA(0):     enabled.
[    15.482] (II) NVIDIA(0): NVIDIA GPU GeForce 8600M GS (G86) at PCI:1:0:0 (GPU-0)
[    15.482] (--) NVIDIA(0): Memory: 524288 kBytes
[    15.482] (--) NVIDIA(0): VideoBIOS: 60.86.39.00.ae
[    15.482] (II) NVIDIA(0): Detected PCI Express Link width: 16X
[    15.482] (--) NVIDIA(0): Interlaced video modes are supported on this GPU
[    15.482] (--) NVIDIA(0): Connected display device(s) on GeForce 8600M GS at PCI:1:0:0:
[    15.482] (--) NVIDIA(0):     Nvidia Default Flat Panel (DFP-0)
[    15.482] (--) NVIDIA(0): Nvidia Default Flat Panel (DFP-0): 330.0 MHz maximum pixel
[    15.482] (--) NVIDIA(0):     clock
[    15.482] (--) NVIDIA(0): Nvidia Default Flat Panel (DFP-0): Internal Dual Link LVDS
[    18.487] (II) NVIDIA(0): Assigned Display Device: DFP-0
[    18.487] (==) NVIDIA(0): 
[    18.488] (==) NVIDIA(0): No modes were requested; the default mode "nvidia-auto-select"
[    18.488] (==) NVIDIA(0):     will be used as the requested mode.
[    18.488] (==) NVIDIA(0): 
[    18.488] (II) NVIDIA(0): Validated modes:
[    18.488] (II) NVIDIA(0):     "nvidia-auto-select"
[    18.488] (II) NVIDIA(0): Virtual screen size determined to be 1280 x 800
[    19.508] (--) NVIDIA(0): DPI set to (101, 101); computed from "UseEdidDpi" X config
[    19.508] (--) NVIDIA(0):     option
[    19.508] (==) NVIDIA(0): Enabling 32-bit ARGB GLX visuals.
[    19.509] (--) Depth 24 pixmap format is 32 bpp
[    19.512] (II) NVIDIA(0): Initialized GPU GART.

So following your instructions, when I plug my video card details into the nvidia website it says i need the 180 drivers. Which does seem strange as my card is listed as being compatible with the latest drivers. Ok, so I tried to install the 180's using the instructions above. All goes well until I when I'm running the 180 installer and it complains about stuff missing on my system. I'm sure I'll need to install a package or 2 but I'm not entirely certain which ones. Here is the installer log:

nvidia-installer log file '/var/log/nvidia-installer.log'
creation time: Fri Jun 10 10:25:58 2011
installer version: 1.0.7

option status:
  license pre-accepted    : false
  update                  : false
  force update            : false
  expert                  : false
  uninstall               : false
  driver info             : false
  precompiled interfaces  : true
  no ncurses color        : false
  query latest version    : false
  OpenGL header files     : true
  no questions            : false
  silent                  : false
  no recursion            : false
  no backup               : false
  kernel module only      : false
  sanity                  : false
  add this kernel         : false
  no runlevel check       : false
  no network              : false
  no ABI note             : false
  no RPMs                 : false
  no kernel module        : false
  force SELinux           : default
  no X server check       : false
  no cc version check     : false
  force tls               : (not specified)
  X install prefix        : (not specified)
  X library install path  : (not specified)
  X module install path   : (not specified)
  OpenGL install prefix   : (not specified)
  OpenGL install libdir   : (not specified)
  utility install prefix  : (not specified)
  utility install libdir  : (not specified)
  doc install prefix      : (not specified)
  kernel name             : (not specified)
  kernel include path     : (not specified)
  kernel source path      : (not specified)
  kernel output path      : (not specified)
  kernel install path     : (not specified)
  proc mount point        : /proc
  ui                      : (not specified)
  tmpdir                  : /tmp
  ftp mirror              : ftp://download.nvidia.com
  RPM file list           : (not specified)

Using: nvidia-installer ncurses user interface
-> License accepted.
-> Installing NVIDIA driver version 180.29.
-> No precompiled kernel interface was found to match your kernel; would you li
   ke the installer to attempt to download a kernel interface for your kernel f
   rom the NVIDIA ftp site (ftp://download.nvidia.com)? (Answer: Yes)
-> No matching precompiled kernel interface was found on the NVIDIA ftp site;
   this means that the installer will need to compile a kernel interface for
   your kernel.
-> Performing CC sanity check with CC="cc".
-> Performing CC version check with CC="cc".
ERROR: Unable to determine the version of the kernel sources located in
       '/lib/modules/2.6.38-8-generic/build'.  Please make sure you have
       installed the kernel source files for your kernel and that they are
       properly configured; on Red Hat Linux systems, for example, be sure you
       have the 'kernel-source' or 'kernel-devel' RPM installed.  If you know
       the correct kernel source files are installed, you may specify the
       kernel source path with the '--kernel-source-path' command line option.
ERROR: Installation has failed.  Please see the file
       '/var/log/nvidia-installer.log' for details.  You may find suggestions
       on fixing installation problems in the README available on the Linux
       driver download page at www.nvidia.com.

So, I have a terminal at the moment and I'm at the point where the installer failed. I'll try to avoid powering it of or rebooting until I hear back!

Thanks again for you patience!

Phil

Phil... It actually looked by your xorg.0.log that everything was okay with that driver and if we tweeked the xorg.conf for your monitor... But then you installed the 180 driver... I think from that built log, that it thinks it's not building for the correct kernel. I have a fix for that here (have to look it up) It's the same fix for using these driver with the new linux kernel 3.0.0~rc1... You have to unpack the run file and edit the build file to tell it what kernel versions to build for.... Will get right back to you with those instructions.

[MAFoElffen]

With due respect to The Guru, MAFolffen, - and I write that in all sincerity, - johnthei, from my quite appalling experience of the last 12 days,,,, oMg !!........ it seems like 20 at least, and i've had to go to the doctor for help. - You would be far better off, and a great deal more protected, to install the believed correct drivers in 10.10; check them out thoroughly, and then, and only then, if you still want to, install your new version of Ubuntu into a new partition, or better yet into a separate internal or external HDD, or a USB Flash unit, but from rhe latest version of a LiveCD.. Though I gather there are doubts about the certainty and security, with the latter ( the USB ) in both 10.10 and 11.04 .
You then have a reasonable certainty ( provided you do not go the Update-Manager/Update route ) of having 10.10 still available to fall back on, and even to safely correct, or install drivers in the 11.04, booted from the 10.10 installation, even if the worst that can happen does so.

@ johnthell

LMAO!!! Sorry that you mistook my little disclaimer. Yes, I agree. Installing now "should" get you going AND using the NVidia drivers and installer should give your a better chance of success going from 10.10 to 11.04. (Should not overwrite what was there. Is it a 100% gaurantee? No. But still better odds than not. In fact, I think with how some of these utilities are acting with 11.04, you are better off to collect the data you need in 10,10, install these driver then upgrade to 11.04.

Attention of MAFolffen and Blasphemist, inter alia:
I have attached some files to this Post for your attention, additional to the ones attached to another Post, as there are so many, and of such length - take you a week to read them all - so I have given them, weird titles to give you some idea of their contents. eg: '.xconferr-sess2'. Be aware, due to all the chopping about and re-saving to reconstitute them, the date stamps, after noon, Jun 3rd, are pretty meaning-less, and there may well be some duplicates under different titles. They include some draft Posts that never got sent, due to crashes, or to Ubuntu Forums saying I was not booked-in when I tried to 'Submit Post', when it said, right there:" Logged in as bogan", and the top showed 'LOG OUT', as the option: then leaving me with a hung-up white Blank Screen!! Actually a hung-up Firefox Blank Window: so I LOST MY LAST MOMENT EDITS –again!!.
A couple of quick points, well a few:
1. Is it not significant that

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

run from v10.04, does not return the same errors as when run in 11.04, as it does ( for me, and a lot of others, it would seem) but instead:

"(gedit ; (1548) Gtk-  :  WARNING!  **:  cannot open display ".

With

 hwinfo --framebuffer

I got a similar result ,though the message was:

 "...WARNING -**  : Unable to open screen

"; but nevertheless, both still opened a gedit screen, and continued with a normal terminal prompt, when the gedit screen was closed.

You are right... You will not get gedit to come up to edit a file if you can't bring up an X-session, unless you boot from LiveCD to do your edits and diagnositics. If not, then you would use VIM, which is text based.

2. I know why

 “lspci -nn | grep vga”

did not work,and I can make, what I think probable, an explanation for why mdwm and I, both using Medion computers, could not get hwinfo to give any output. Do You? And can you?

a.) Please share why you think lspci did not work(???) I thought it did for both your video chipsets right? Did I copy the results of yours and take the hexpci id to look up your chipseet in nvidia's appendix A?
b.) On hwinfo, that's another story. I think it was Phil that used that uitlity with both 10.10 and 11.04... and with 10.10 he got data back / with 11.04 it didn't return any. That tells me there is a bug with hwinfo on 11.04. If there was no data to get at all, then I would use vbeinfo... but that utility does have some known bugs with some chipsets (thankfully not nvidia) but works only from the Grub Commandline, so is harder to explain to someone how to use it.
c.) Interested in anything you might think is going on. I don't know everything. I can't see what's going on , on your screen... I can only go off what you describe and tell me. I'm just someone out here trying to help people through some of this.

3. Please, Please! give me a way to tell whether I am in a Normal ( whatever that might be, ) a Gnome, or a Unity mode or Screen. I can see the differences, but can not tell which is which, as I gather the xorg system decides what to display, regardless of how the default is set-up
Lets see. First, when you get to the login screen and press the user-- at the same time that the dialogue box pops up- look down at the bottom bar of the screen. In the middle will be a drop down box that will let you select, which desktop you want to boot into. The options will be Ubuntu, Ubuntu Classic, Ubuntu Classic without effect, etc. If you install Unity2D, Xubuntu, Kubuntu... they will showup in this same dropdown.

As far Unity 3D, It should start from the ubuntu option...I said "should" as if all is well with your drivers and hardware, it should boot. If there was a problem, then it falls back to Untiy Classic.

Unity3d will look sort of like the Gnome screen (with stuff missing) at the top bar (a single bar across) with the Ubuntu Icon in the left and a menu bar down the left side.There will be a username in the right of the topbar. 3D will have screen effect when the windows open and close. When you open a window, the left menu bar disappears until you move the mouse to the left edge of the screen. What we are used to with application menu's being at the top of a "window" are not there. When you move your mouse cursor to the top screen bar, the application menus show in the top bar.

Unity2D looks like Unity#D without the fancy screen effects. It works and looks fine really. Unity, to me, honestly... will take some people some getting used to. I was lost for a while and it took some time to find things again.

Ubuntu Classic is what we are used to and what is still refereed as the Gnome Desktop. Unity classic without effects is just like using the Gnome desktop and turning off the visual effects in the monitor section of preferences
.

4. Strangely, the main difference I see, is that one makes a WiFi connection in 4 to 9 seconds from the authorization/ permission being granted, ( about that many sweeps in the Icon,) whereas the other can take as many as three failed attempts, signaling " Wireless network Disconnected, or something like that, before it finally comes up with:”CYBERGRANS Connected.”; as used to happen in Ubuntu 9.1.

The different "desktops types" are affecting your network connection? Shouldn't that be reported as a bug?

5. [Sorry for the indentation – oOo playing about]. OOPs, it does'nt show here! in the try-out.

? Sorry, Did I miss something here?

6. There are/is about 15 'xxxtrashinfo' files; are they of any interest to you,? ... 1.33Kb in total, but a lot of work to fix them as an attachment. I am assuming there is no easy way to Post folders and sub-folders. I suppose I could put them onto the web, as an e-mail attachment, and give you a Link, somehow, but I don't have a clue how to set about it.

Not really sure what those are... I don't even come close on aan Ubuntu launchpad or wike search on those. Am curious what is might be. Could you post one so I could see what it is?

[QUOTE=bogan;10922683]
7. Talking of which, Item 5, above, I take a very dim view of listing oOo, in Software Manager, but without any warning, until after it is done, if selected, installs LIBREoFFICE instead. In fact there does not seem, to me, to be anyway at all ,to install openOffice.org now. A Feature well worthy of MicroSoft excesses
Good Fault-Finding and Trouble-Shooting, and Good Luck.
[/Qoute]
I'm with you on that. Ubuntu made a decision to replace OpenOffice with LibreOffice. I too am a big fan of OpenOffice. The new app is also M$ compatible... and it even noticed files that were incomplete, had backup files and recovered them from OpenOffice, so I'm not sure of all the differences yet... I think their decision was probably based on menuing issues for unity... but who knows. I miss open office.

Chao! bogan.
I am the one with Vista, Ubuntu 11.04 and 10.04 on the same HDD, with Ubuntu10.10 and Windows7 in another Medion Desktop, with Ubuntu in a separate removable HDD. I could not install 11.04 in that computer's internal HDD, even if I was so propelled towards a self-imposed living-death, ( which I am not, at my age a real one is quite near enough, thanks very) as some twit formatted it with sda0, a WinBoot partition of nearly a Terabit, and three other System partitions: so Ubuntu says it can not install itself, as there are already four partitions, and Windows will not allow more.
| I cannot make a logical partition; ( and I am exceedingly grateful to the Installer that it refused) without scrapping one of the small system partitions.
TotHert! bogan.
I am the one with Vista, and Ubuntu 11.04 & 10.04 on the internal HDD, in separate partitions, with Ubuntu 10.10 on an external removable HDD on another Medion i3 530 powered Desktop. Or am I so tired I am rtepeating myself?
PS: the attached files are the only useable ones of real current interest, all the others, that I tried, were rejected as: 'Invalid File':
| I'm totally ignorant as to what makes a File valid or not, for attachment. Is it, perhaps, that all Files must have an approved '.xxx' suffix, such as ".txt"?
Or is it to do with the actual file format.
Windows also makes a great fuss about the file format; pretending it does not know what top do with them, as Executable text Files, or some such Jargon; although Wordpad handles them without any problems I can see.
| Perhaps transferring them back and forth, between Linux and Windows7, Via a USB Stick, is messing things up.
. However, I have such a sense of sheer triumph, in having at last managed to get to this point -- even if a large part was done on the ******* System, that I am Posting what is currently available.--- I'm sorry Lads, ( I am assuming that you are not Lassies, perhaps wrongl ) but I have not started up the Linux computers all day, though the last time I ran Ubuntu 11.04, I purposely left it running all night; ( to try and reproduce the worst crash) it went into a Screen-Saver displaying my Prompt line, for a short time, and then went into a Black Blank Screen!!
| In the morning, I touched the Mouse unintentionally, thinking it had crashed, and it came immediately back to life, with all five windows that I had left open, ready for business; at exactly the same moment as the Dell awoke on demand.!! So something is going right.
TotKijk! bogan.

I will do and look at your attachments.

With the desktop questions and you talking about an unsuccessful attempt to recreate a crash.... You have me curious now. You're getting an X-session now? Or intermittantly? (Guessing) Sounds like the crash you are now trying to re-create happens after you are in a graphical desktop? If you now can get into a desktop... please, what finally worked for you?

EDIT- Sorry Bogon... I don't see any files attached to your post. You said you were having some kind of forum problems posting here? (I have no more control over that anymore than you do)

[MAFoElffen]

Not quite sure I am at the right thread, but this is what happened: I have been happily running natty on a macbook 2,1; no major issues. After last update (june 9) I had difficulties shutting down, so I forced the system down (maybe this was a mistake) through an 'American reboot' as it's known in Europe, ie; by pulling the plug. On restart, I get the message 'no bootable device, pls insert boot disc' and have tried since to go via various acrobatics in the terminal of the disk-booted system to try and get at what's on the SSD, but no such luck. So what are my options now? Is there any known way by which I can restore my original system, rescue the drive or even just retrieve my data (not much)? Most of the programmes were canonical, in addition I ran Skype beta, Gmediaplayer, PlayDownloader through Java, Spotify preview, an OpenVPN utility that I never got to working properly. The last update installed updates for Chrome and possibly Skype, other than that I'm not quite certain. Ideas?

Sounds like it might have been doing an update when you pulled the plug on it?

Yes, you are right. This thread is about resolving graphics issues. It would be off-topic for me to tell you to boot off a LiveCD, mount your hard disk and system, run "fsck -r" to check for disk errors. and run "sudo apt-get install -f" to fix any broken packages... (wink, wink)

So instead, I'll refer you to post in the other sticky thread of Martin's on "I upgraded and now have this problem" or to start a new thread in this forum where you may get individual attention from other users.

[edfast]

Thanx. Winx. Will do.

[MAFoElffen]

Phil... It actually looked by your xorg.0.log that everything was okay with that driver and if we tweeked the xorg.conf for your monitor... But then you installed the 180 driver... I think from that built log, that it thinks it's not building for the correct kernel. I have a fix for that here (have to look it up) It's the same fix for using these driver with the new linux kernel 3.0.0~rc1... You have to unpack the run file and edit the build file to tell it what kernel versions to build for.... Will get right back to you with those instructions.

Phil-

This compile error is caused by a kernel numbering scheme change. It does come up intermittently with interim version numbers, but... It's temporarily going to come up more often as kernel.org just made a major change in how they ID kerenels and their numbering scheme. EG- There is no major change between kernels 2.6.x and 3.0.x, except the numbering scheme.

There is 3 optional = separate = differing sets up of instructions here. The first 2 are pretty detailed and tried with success by a few Ubuntu members already. I had to go through 4 different sources to fill in the blanks in their instructions.... But here goes:

A.) This is an approved Linux patch for the new Linux Kernel version numbering schena.

patch /usr/src/linux-3.0-0-generic/include/linux/rcupdate.h according to http://choon.net/forum/read.php?21,82725

rcu: avoid build error for third-party modules

The initial definition of __kfree_rcu() checked a static inline function argument to see if it was a compile-time constant. Apparently not all compilers are willing to put up with this at all optimization levels. Add a nasty comment and remove the warning, relying on the fact that __kfree_rcu() is called only from kfree_rcu(), which always passes in a compile-time constant.

diff --git a/include/linux/rcupdate.h b/include/linux/rcupdate.h
index 99f9aa7..58b13f1 100644
--- a/include/linux/rcupdate.h
+++ b/include/linux/rcupdate.h
@@ -814,13 +814,14 @@ static __always_inline bool __is_kfree_rcu_offset(unsigned long offset)
     return offset < 4096;
 }
+/*
+ * Intended to be called only from the kfree_rcu() macro.
+ */
 static __always_inline
 void __kfree_rcu(struct rcu_head *head, unsigned long offset)
 {
     typedef void (*rcu_callback)(struct rcu_head *);
-    BUILD_BUG_ON(!__builtin_constant_p(offset));
-
     /* See the kfree_rcu() header comment. */
     BUILD_BUG_ON(!__is_kfree_rcu_offset(offset));

B. Here, this fix branches into 2 trees- whether you are using nvidia current or the runfile installer from NVidia.

1. Nvidia-Current-
a This file /usr/src/nvidia-current-2xx.0x.xx/dkms.conf prevents builds with kernels newer than 2.6, so you have to modify the line: OBSOLETE_BY=3.0.2 or to whatever you think the highest compatible kernel is.

b. in the file /usr/src/nvidia-current-2xx.0x.xx/nv-linux.h, there's a section:

#if LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(2, 4, 7) 
# error This driver does not support 2.4 kernels older than 2.4.7! 
#elif LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(2, 5, 0) 
# define KERNEL_2_4 
#elif LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(2, 6, 0) 
# error This driver does not support 2.5 kernels! 
#elif LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(2, 7, 0) 
# define KERNEL_2_6 
#else 
# error BLAHBLAH 
#endif

so you have to replace error BLAHBLAH with something like define KERNEL_2_6 so that we pretend it's a 2.6 kernel. <<See my note below>>

MAFoElffen Note: If you instead edit the line containing "KERNEL_VERSION(2, 7, 0)", it will do the same thing. Change line:

#elif LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(2, 7, 0) 

Into a line saying

#elif LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(3, 1, 0)

You should then build by running

 
sudo dkms build -m  nvidia-current -v 275.09.04 -k 3.0-0-generic 
sudo dkms install -m  nvidia-current -v 275.09.04 -k 3.0-0-generic

MAFoElffen Notes: Substitute the kernel version numbers for your kernel version AND the nvidia kernel version number.


2. Using the nvidia runfile / nvidia-installer:

a. Extracted the driver with

sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-270.41.19.run -x

b. In that extracted directory you will have a "kernel" directory. In there, you have a file "conftest.sh", open it, and find this line

BASE_CFLAGS-"D_KERNEL_\

and change it to:
[code]
BASE_CFLAGS="-02 -D_KERNEL_\

c. In this same directory, in file nv-linux.h, there's a section:

#if LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(2, 4, 7) 
# error This driver does not support 2.4 kernels older than 2.4.7! 
#elif LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(2, 5, 0) 
# define KERNEL_2_4 
#elif LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(2, 6, 0) 
# error This driver does not support 2.5 kernels! 
#elif LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(2, 7, 0) 
# define KERNEL_2_6 
#else

so you have to change line

#elif LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(2, 7, 0) 

Into a iine saying

#elif LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(3, 1, 0)

d. You should then cd to the extracted directory of the nvidia-installer and run it via.

sudo chmod +x nvidia-installer
 sudo ./nvidia-installer

Note (color keyed): This nvidia kernel version number would be whatever version number you are working with (substituted).

Here is the individual sources used for this:
http://choon.net/forum/read.php?21,82725
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...84&postcount=4
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nvidia-graphics-drivers/+bug/795562
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...9&postcount=39

*******************************************
C. The additional optional fix is below. I can't verify a few things in it. If the 2 above fails... then at least here's something else to try.
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?s...dpost&p=525285
[code]
sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-180.44-pkg2.run -x
[/code[
That will dump the driver into a directory like: NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-180.44-pkg2

go to /usr/src/nv subdirectory inside NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-180.44-pkg2

Open nv.c in a text editor such as Gedit or VIM, locate all instances of "owner" and comment the line out (Example):

.owner     = THIS_MODULE,

becomes

   /* .owner     = THIS_MODULE, */

Save the file. Install kernel 2.6.29-git8, reboot.

Uninstall your driver like you normally would, to make sure none of it is there from your last install.

Navigate to the NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-180.44-pkg2 directory, wherever you put it:

Execute with root privileges:

sudo chmod +x nvidia-installer
sudo ./nvidia-installer

[NerdWermz]

From what it sounds like... I have to ask, did you un-install the nvidia driver before installing your Radeon card? While you're answering that, in a text console, go to /etc/X11 and rename the xorg.conf to anything but that name. That will stop pointing xorg to the nvidia drivers. Instead of using "nodemodeset" use radeon mode=0" as a statrup option.

I have to commend you in your tenacity to answer every question in this thread for months. Thank you.


In answer to your question about uninstalling. No i didn't have the opportunity as the old graphics card died. I did however uninstall them and purge them from the command line after.

I also did some more searching around last night and I found several threads with the Radeon HD5750 giving people the same problems from 10.04 all the way to 11.04.

I put in a different card yet again, and had the system running in 5min. I'm going to purchase another Nvidia based card.

Just out of curiosity though, i will try renaming the xorg.conf file.

thank you.

[MAFoElffen]

I have to commend you in your tenacity to answer every question in this thread for months. Thank you.


In answer to your question about uninstalling. No i didn't have the opportunity as the old graphics card died. I did however uninstall them and purge them from the command line after.

I also did some more searching around last night and I found several threads with the Radeon HD5750 giving people the same problems from 10.04 all the way to 11.04.

I put in a different card yet again, and had the system running in 5min. I'm going to purchase another Nvidia based card.

Just out of curiosity though, i will try renaming the xorg.conf file.

thank you.

With both ATi and Nvidia (also with other cards), they are cards that normally use a configuration file called xorg.conf, that in Ubuntu is located at /etc/X11.

In the device section of this file, it has an option line that has the name of the driver... Say you gorked a driver setting or a display resolution... or pulled a card out of your box... Xorg starts, looks for this file, reads that section which loads that driver-- poof.

Rename the xorg.conf file (even by just adding an ".old" extension), and you are easily back to a fresh starting point. Xorg doesn't find it, doesn't load that driver, but instead tries to load in a default mode, like it would on a fresh install before any drivers are loaded.

Another thing that some do, is just to change the "driver" name from radeon or nvidia <> to either vesa or nouveou... But, I think that's sort of like having a Ferrari to patrol a elementary school-zone (never getting over 20mph)! I can see some diagnostic uses for that, but not something I'd want to use as a long-term alternative.

Note: some cards do not use an xorg.conf file, and just use defaults from what xorg finds each time. This is not real common but does happen. Don't panic if there is no config file but it still works. Even with those, you can add an xorg.conf file to tweak it from default.

[NerdWermz]

With both ATi and Nvidia (also with other cards), they are cards that normally use a configuration file called xorg.conf, that in Ubuntu is located at /etc/X11.

In the device section of this file, it has an option line that has the name of the driver... Say you gorked a driver setting or a display resolution... or pulled a card out of your box... Xorg starts, looks for this file, reads that section which loads that driver-- poof.

Rename the xorg.conf file (even by just adding an ".old" extension), and you are easily back to a fresh starting point. Xorg doesn't find it, doesn't load that driver, but instead tries to load in a default mode, like it would on a fresh install before any drivers are loaded.

Another thing that some do, is just to change the "driver" name from radeon or nvidia <> to either vesa or nouveou... But, I think that's sort of like having a Ferrari to patrol a elementary school-zone (never getting over 20mph)! I can see some diagnostic uses for that, but not something I'd want to use as a long-term alternative.

Note: some cards do not use an xorg.conf file, and just use defaults from what xorg finds each time. This is not real common but does happen. Don't panic if there is no config file but it still works. Even with those, you can add an xorg.conf file to tweak it from default.

Thank you. that is excellent information.

[MAFoElffen]

@Phil--

1. Didn't "you" mention that you ran hwinfo on 10..10 and 11.04 and got different results?

2. Isn't one of your problems that, at least with 11.04, that it isn't seeing the info from your monitor?

If not, then ignore this post. If "that" is the problem, and if 11.04 is not seeing the EDID data from your monitor, then I have an idea that might work as a workaround for that.

If you booted your hardware up on 10.10, installed the nvidia drivers and it was running nvidia-settings... then you could generate a custom binary EDID file from within nvidia-settings > display.Using this utility, you can sav the rdid binary file from each monitor attached. After saving this file "somewhere" and upgrading to 11.04... You could then edit the xorg.conf file > The instructions for this option says it may be specified either in the Screen or Device sections of the X config file:

Section Device
  #
  Option "CustomEDID" "CRT-0:/tmp/edid1.bin; DFP-0:/tmp/edid2.bin"
  #
EndSection

# --OR--

Section Screen
  Indentifier "CRT-0"
  #
  Option "CustomEDID" "CRT-0:/temp/edid1.bin"
  #
EndSection

Does that sound like something that may be going on with yours and might help?

NOTE-
Remember that I said I was looking for a way to do this from the commandline with nvidia-settings? If this was possible, then someone without access to the X-session could query and generate an external EDID file. Not possible with nvidia settings. nvidia-settings does take "some" commandline arguments, but only on how and which part of the gtk-GUI app it starts up in. It has to be running in Gnome to actually work or do anything.

The EDID data is data stored within the monitor (about that monitor) and being that the EDID data is inside that monitor... It should be interpreted as the same data, no matter what version of Linux is trying to look at it.

I looked at this data in both Binary and ASCII formats. The only way to described it is as hex character data- Not something that i can esily adapt from one monitor to another monitor, without some kind of translation of what that data really means and how it's interpreted. But if we can generate it from an earlier version of Linux for a specific monitor, that should be a fingerprint of that specific monitor and could follow it to other linux versions.

EDIT-
I did find a translation, but geared more for a programmer or hardware vendor.

Byte sequence
00: Extension tag (which kind of extension block this is); 02h for CEA EDID
01: Revision number (Version number); 03h for Version 3
02: Byte number "d" within this block where the 18-byte DTDs begin. If no non-DTD data is present 
    in this extension block, the value should be set to 04h (the byte after next). If set to 00h,
    there are no DTDs present in this block and no non-DTD data.
03: Number of DTDs present, other Version 2+ information
     bit 7: 1 if display supports underscan, 0 if not
     bit 6: 1 if display supports basic audio, 0 if not
     bit 5: 1 if display supports YCbCr 4:4:4, 0 if not
     bit 4: 1 if display supports YCbCr 4:2:2, 0 if not
     bit 3..0: total number of native formats in the DTDs included in this block
04: Start of Data Block Collection.  If byte 02 is set to 04h, this is where the DTD collection
    begins.  If byte 02 is set to another value, byte 04 is where the Data Block Collection begins,
    and the DTD collection follows immediately thereafter.

The Data Block Collection contains one or more data blocks detailing video, audio, and speaker
placement information about the display. The blocks can be placed in any order, and the initial
byte of each block defines both its type and its length:
     bit 7..5: Block Type Tag (1 is audio, 2 is video, 3 is vendor specific, 4 is speaker
               allocation, all other values Reserved) 
     bit 4..0: Total number of bytes in this block following this byte
Once one data block has ended, the next byte is assumed to be the beginning of the next data
block. This is the case until the byte (designated in Byte 02, above) where the DTDs are known 
to begin.

    Any Audio Data Block contains one or more 3-byte Short Audio Descriptors (SADs).  Each SAD
    details audio format, channel number, and bitrate/resolution capabilities of the display as
    follows:
    SAD Byte 1 (format and number of channels):
       bit 7: Reserved (0)
       bit 6..3: Audio format code
         1 = Linear Pulse Code Modulation (LPCM)
         2 = AC-3
         3 = MPEG1 (Layers 1 and 2)
         4 = MP3
         5 = MPEG2
         6 = AAC
         7 = DTS
         8 = ATRAC
         0, 15: Reserved 
         9 = One-bit audio aka SACD
        10 = DD+
        11 = DTS-HD
        12 = MLP/Dolby TrueHD
        13 = DST Audio
        14 = Microsoft WMA Pro
       bit 2..0: number of channels minus 1  (i.e. 000 = 1 channel; 001 = 2 channels; 111 =
                 8 channels)

    SAD Byte 2 (sampling frequencies supported):
       bit 7: Reserved (0)
       bit 6: 192kHz
       bit 5: 176kHz
       bit 4: 96kHz
       bit 3: 88kHz
       bit 2: 48kHz
       bit 1: 44kHz
       bit 0: 32kHz

    SAD Byte 3 (bitrate):
      For LPCM, bits 7:3 are reserved and the remaining bits define bit depth
       bit 2: 24 bit
       bit 1: 20 bit
       bit 0: 16 bit
    For all other sound formats, bits 7..0 designate the maximum supported bitrate divided by 
    8kbps. 

    Any Video Data Block will contain one or more 1-byte Short Video Descriptors (SVDs).  They are 
    decoded as follows:
       bit 7: 1 to designate that this should be considered a "native" resolution, 0 for non-native
       bit 6..0: index value to a table of standard resolutions/timings from CEA/EIA-861E:
                 
   Code
   Short    Aspect
   Name     Ratio                    HxV @ F

 1 DMT0659   4:3                640x480p @ 59.94/60Hz
 2 480p      4:3                720x480p @ 59.94/60Hz
 3 480pH    16:9                720x480p @ 59.94/60Hz
 4 720p     16:9               1280x720p @ 59.94/60Hz
 5 1080i    16:9              1920x1080i @ 59.94/60Hz
 6 480i      4:3          720(1440)x480i @ 59.94/60Hz
 7 480iH    16:9          720(1440)x480i @ 59.94/60Hz
 8 240p      4:3          720(1440)x240p @ 59.94/60Hz
 9 240pH    16:9          720(1440)x240p @ 59.94/60Hz
10 480i4x    4:3             (2880)x480i @ 59.94/60Hz
11 480i4xH  16:9             (2880)x480i @ 59.94/60Hz
12 240p4x    4:3             (2880)x240p @ 59.94/60Hz
13 240p4xH  16:9             (2880)x240p @ 59.94/60Hz
14 480p2x    4:3               1440x480p @ 59.94/60Hz
15 480p2xH  16:9               1440x480p @ 59.94/60Hz
16 1080p    16:9              1920x1080p @ 59.94/60Hz
17 576p      4:3                720x576p @ 50Hz
18 576pH    16:9                720x576p @ 50Hz
19 720p50   16:9               1280x720p @ 50Hz
20 1080i25  16:9              1920x1080i @ 50Hz*
21 576i      4:3          720(1440)x576i @ 50Hz
22 576iH    16:9          720(1440)x576i @ 50Hz
23 288p      4:3          720(1440)x288p @ 50Hz
24 288pH    16:9          720(1440)x288p @ 50Hz
25 576i4x    4:3             (2880)x576i @ 50Hz
26 576i4xH  16:9             (2880)x576i @ 50Hz
27 288p4x    4:3             (2880)x288p @ 50Hz
28 288p4xH  16:9             (2880)x288p @ 50Hz
29 576p2x    4:3               1440x576p @ 50Hz
30 576p2xH  16:9               1440x576p @ 50Hz
31 1080p50  16:9              1920x1080p @ 50Hz
32 1080p24  16:9              1920x1080p @ 23.98/24Hz
33 1080p25  16:9              1920x1080p @ 25Hz
34 1080p30  16:9              1920x1080p @ 29.97/30Hz
35 480p4x    4:3             (2880)x480p @ 59.94/60Hz
36 480p4xH  16:9             (2880)x480p @ 59.94/60Hz
37 576p4x    4:3             (2880)x576p @ 50Hz
38 576p4xH  16:9             (2880)x576p @ 50Hz
39 1080i25  16:9  1920x1080i(1250 Total) @ 50Hz*
40 1080i50  16:9              1920x1080i @ 100Hz
41 720p100  16:9               1280x720p @ 100Hz
42 576p100   4:3                720x576p @ 100Hz
43 576p100H 16:9                720x576p @ 100Hz
44 576i50    4:3          720(1440)x576i @ 100Hz
45 576i50H  16:9          720(1440)x576i @ 100Hz
46 1080i60  16:9              1920x1080i @ 119.88/120Hz
47 720p120  16:9               1280x720p @ 119.88/120Hz
48 480p119   4:3                720x480p @ 119.88/120Hz
49 480p119H 16:9                720x480p @ 119.88/120Hz
50 480i59    4:3          720(1440)x480i @ 119.88/120Hz
51 480i59H  16:9          720(1440)x480i @ 119.88/120Hz
52 576p200   4:3                720x576p @ 200Hz
53 576p200H 16:9                720x576p @ 200Hz
54 576i100   4:3          720(1440)x576i @ 200Hz
55 576i100H 16:9          720(1440)x576i @ 200Hz
56 480p239   4:3                720x480p @ 239.76/240Hz
57 480p239H 16:9                720x480p @ 239.76/240Hz
58 480i119   4:3          720(1440)x480i @ 239.76/240Hz
59 480i119H 16:9          720(1440)x480i @ 239.76/240Hz
60 720p24   16:9               1280x720p @ 23.98/24Hz
61 720p25   16:9               1280x720p @ 25Hz
62 720p30   16:9               1280x720p @ 29.97/30Hz
63 1080p120 16:9              1920x1080p @ 119.88/120Hz

 0, 64 - 127   Reserved

*Short video descriptors 20 & 39 are both 1920x1080i@50 16:9 but differ in the amount of vertical 
total lines which are 1125 and 1250, respectively.

Notes: Parentheses indicate instances where pixels are repeated to meet the minimum speed
requirements of the interface. For example, in the 720X240p case, the pixels on each line
are double-clocked. In the (2880)X480i case, the number of pixels on each line, and thus
the number of times that they are repeated, is variable, and is sent to the DTV monitor by
the source device.

Increased Hactive expressions include “2x” and “4x” indicate two and four times the reference 
resolution, respectively.

The CEA/EIA-861/A standard included only numbers 1-7 and numbers 17-22 above(but not as short
video descriptors which were introduced in CEA/EIA-861B) and are considered primary video format
timings.
The CEA/EIA-861B standard included the first 34 short video descriptors above.
The CEA/EIA-861D standard included the first 59 short video descriptors above.
HDMI 1.0 to HDMI 1.2a uses the CEA-861-B video standard, HDMI 1.3 to HDMI 1.3c uses the
CEA-861-D video standard, and HDMI 1.4 uses the CEA/EIA-861E video standard.

A Vendor Specific Data Block (if any) contains as its first three bytes the vendor's IEEE 
24-bit registration number, LSB first. For HDMI, it is always 00-0C-03 for HDMI Licensing, LLC.
It is followed by a two byte source physical address, LSB first. The source physical address
provides the CEC physical address for upstream CEC devices. 
The remainder of the Vendor Specific Data Block is the "data payload",which can be anything the
vendor considers worthy of inclusion in this EDID extension block. HDMI 1.3a specifies some
requirements for the data payload.  See that spec for detailed info on these bytes:
    VSD Byte 1-3 IEEE Registration Identifier (LSB First)
    VSD Byte 4-5 Components of Source Physical Address (See section 8.7 of HDMI 1.3a)
    VSD Byte 6 (bits are set if sink supports...):
         bit 7: Supports_AI (...a function that needs info from ACP or ISRC packets)
         bit 6: DC_48bit (...16-bit-per-channel deep color)
         bit 5: DC_36bit (...12-bit-per-channel deep color)
         bit 4: DC_30bit (...10-bit-per-channel deep color)
         bit 3: DC_Y444  (...4:4:4 in deep color modes)
         bit 2: Reserved (0)
         bit 1: Reserved (0)
         bit 0: DVI_Dual (...DVI Dual Link Operation)
    VSD Byte 7  If non-zero (Max_TMDS_Frequency / 5mhz)
    VSD Byte 8 (latency fields indicators):
         bit 7: latency_fields (set if latency fields are present)
         bit 6: i_latency_fields (set if interlaced latency fields are present; if set
                four latency fields will be present, 0 if bit 7 is 0)
         bits 5-0: Reserved (0)
    VSD Byte  9 Video Latency (if indicated, value=1+ms/2 with a max of 251 meaning 500ms)
    VSD Byte 10 Audio Latency (video delay for progressive sources, same units as above)
    VSD Byte 11 Interlaced Video Latency (if indicated, same units as above)
    VSD Byte 12 Interlaced Audio Latency (video delay for interlaced sources, same units as above)
Additional bytes may be present, but the HDMI spec says they shall be zero.

If a Speaker Allocation Data Block is present, it will consist of three bytes.  The second and 
third are Reserved (all 0), but the first contains information about which speakers are present in 
the display device:
         bit 7: Reserved (0)
         bit 6: Rear Left Center / Rear Right Center present for 1, absent for 0
         bit 5: Front Left Center / Front Right Center present for 1, absent for 0
         bit 4: Rear Center present for 1, absent for 0
         bit 3: Rear Left / Rear Right present for 1, absent for 0
         bit 2: Front Center present for 1, absent for 0
         bit 1: LFE present for 1, absent for 0
         bit 0: Front Left / Front Right present for 1, absent for 0

    Note that for speakers with right and left polarity, it is assumed that both 
    left and right are present.

"d": byte (designated in byte 02) where DTDs begin.  18-byte DTD strings continue for an unspecified 
length (modulo 18) until a "00 00" is as the first bytes of a prospective DTD.  At this point,
the DTDs are known to be complete, and the start address of the "00 00" can be considered to be "XX"
(see below) 
"XX"-126: Post-DTD padding.  Should be populated with 00h
127: Checksum - This byte should be programmed such that the sum of all 128 bytes equals 00h.

And of course you'ld have to install the package read-edid to be able to query that data.. But since read-edid would need to be installed to read that data anyways, you could just use get-edid from that package to do it..

So it is possible from the commandline. The read-edid package is a set of two tools - get-edid, which gets the raw edid information from the monitor, and parse-edid, which turns the raw binary information into an XF86Config-(xorg.conf) compatible monitor section. So read-edid will fecth and create a file of that binary data. parse-edid will parse that data or file into a human readable format. Commandline is posibble, although I don't see any arguments for get-edid to look at multiple displays... yet:

(From the author of that utility)
It is possible, according to VBE standards newer than 3 (IIRC) to access as many monitors and video cards as you'd like. I'll program this into get-edid soon.

So from the commandline

get-edid > edid1.bin

You could then use the CustomEDID option to point to that file.

If you wanted to add it manually to the xorg.conf file or wanted to know what it contained, you could then:

parse-edid parsed-edid.txt

To get human-readable text in an xorg.conf type format. You could use that data with other EDID types of xorg options to add part or all of it manually to the xorg.conf file.