Installing correct driver for AMD Radeon HD 6470M on Ubuntu 16.04LTS

[KageRyu]

Hello guys new linux user here after 3 days of arduouse struggle trying to get my laptop to boot i finally booted it in recovery mode . I have linux 16.04 installed i want to be able to use my computer without having to start recovery mode. my gfx card is AMD Radeon HD 6470M and i know it isn't 16.04 compatible but i heard there were some open source amd drivers which driver should i install?
I was perusing this website (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RadeonDriver) but it is too complicated for me to make out anything i was able to run the
lspci -nn | grep VGA command here is the result.http://imgur.com/Xlmmz2x

when i look at the additional driver app in linux it shows this ((http://imgur.com/ey8JrtK)the resolution is bad due to recovery mode i think) but whenever i press apply it contiues to show it and it never goes away.

thats all i think i can share

SPECS:
Edge E425 (ThinkPad)

Machine info
E2-3000M(1.8Ghz), 2GB RAM(4gb ram i added myself) so 6gb, 320GB 5400rpm HD, 14in 1366x768 LCD, AMD Radeon HD 6470M, CDRW/DVDRW, 802.11bgn wireless, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Camera, 6c Li-Ion

Operating System
NONE CURRENTLY(but came with
Windows 7 (64-bit))

this laptop I just formatted and decided to install Ubuntu.
ubuntu-16.04-desktop-amd64.iso



(this thread is continuation from my previous thread where iwas trying to boot ubuntu)
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2329130

[QIII]

Hello!

The installer will decide at install time what the best driver is and install that for you. For 16.04, that will be either the AMDGPU driver (if your hardware is supported) or the Radeon driver.

There is nothing further for you to install.

[KageRyu]

Hello the installer did not download the correct files because i could not boot ubuntu at all normally i have to boot through recovery mode . 2. i am limited to a very low resolution .
AMDGPU driver (if your hardware is supported) or the Radeon driver. which of these should i download and how to download them (i am a very unexperienced ubuntu user. thank you for your time

[QIII]

The installer did download and install the driver. It is part of the kernel. There is likely a setting to fix. On my cell right now, so hopefully someone will jump in.

[KageRyu]

@ QIII well My beginning question and problems still persist , looking forward to any solutions thank you

@OldFred: I'm sorry but i really don't understand how that solves the question of "AMDGPU driver (if your hardware is supported) or the Radeon driver" which of these should i download and how do i download and install them?

[QIII]

Again: Unless there is something very wrong, you do not need to download or install anything. Normally, both Radeon and AMDGPU are present in the source code and one or the other is inserted into the kernel at install time depending on the hardware.

My guess at this point is that this is a laptop with hybrid Intel/AMD graphics (the "M" in the model designation is for mobile) -- and that is causing the problem. A lot of work has been done to make these systems work, but depending on the age of the laptop there still may be issues. Or, it may be that the whole Radeon/AMDGPU choice is muddled in hybrid systems.

Edit: I had a moment to look up the machine and it is not one with hybrid graphics.

[oldfred]

From terminal:
# list drivers available, same list as system settings, software updates, additional drivers or last tab
ubuntu-drivers devices


#To see video:
sudo lshw -c display
sudo lshw | grep -A 11 display
lspci | grep VGA
#Resolution:
xwininfo -root
xrandr -q
xrandr --q1
#What is installed
dkms status

[Bucky Ball]

Seeing as you have this:

AMD Radeon HD 6470M

I guess it's the Radeon driver. You'll find it in the repositories. You may also find that it is already installed.

[kurt18947]

I would think the command "lsmod" from a terminal would tell you if there is a video driver loaded. You should see some reference to Radeon (what I see on a machine with 4200HD graphics), I'm not sure what you'd see if AMDGPU were loaded. Another place to look would be 'additional drivers'. If there's a proprietary driver available it should be listed there.

This is one of the differences between Windows and Linux. The recommended fix for almost any Windows hardware problem is "download the latest driver". That solution is seldom appropriate for Linux where hardware drivers are usually included.

[KageRyu]

heres how my desktop looks like(still in recovery mode guys )

http://imgur.com/a/2Y62g
2nd image shows my additional drivers screen. there is a driver there but it says its not working and whenever i press apply to download it it either freezes or straight out does nothing.


@BuckyBall: Hi thanks where do i find these "repositories and which version should i download for my graphics card thank you.


@Kurt: HI i did lsmod and here is the result

ryu@KageFang:~$ lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by
ctr                    16384  1
ccm                    20480  1
nls_iso8859_1          16384  1
arc4                   16384  2
uvcvideo               90112  0
rtl8192ce              57344  0
videobuf2_vmalloc      16384  1 uvcvideo
rtl_pci                28672  1 rtl8192ce
videobuf2_memops       16384  1 videobuf2_vmalloc
rtl8192c_common        53248  1 rtl8192ce
videobuf2_v4l2         28672  1 uvcvideo
kvm                   536576  0
videobuf2_core         36864  2 uvcvideo,videobuf2_v4l2
rtlwifi                77824  3 rtl_pci,rtl8192c_common,rtl8192ce
v4l2_common            16384  1 videobuf2_v4l2
videodev              176128  4 uvcvideo,v4l2_common,videobuf2_core,videobuf2_v4l2
mac80211              737280  3 rtl_pci,rtlwifi,rtl8192ce
irqbypass              16384  1 kvm
media                  24576  2 uvcvideo,videodev
joydev                 20480  0
input_leds             16384  0
serio_raw              16384  0
snd_hda_codec_hdmi     53248  1
cfg80211              565248  2 mac80211,rtlwifi
snd_hda_codec_conexant    24576  1
snd_hda_codec_generic    77824  1 snd_hda_codec_conexant
snd_hda_intel          36864  5
snd_seq_midi           16384  0
snd_hda_codec         135168  4 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_intel
snd_seq_midi_event     16384  1 snd_seq_midi
snd_rawmidi            32768  1 snd_seq_midi
snd_hda_core           73728  5 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel
k10temp                16384  0
snd_seq                69632  2 snd_seq_midi_event,snd_seq_midi
snd_hwdep              16384  1 snd_hda_codec
thinkpad_acpi          86016  1
nvram                  16384  1 thinkpad_acpi
snd_pcm               106496  4 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_core
snd_seq_device         16384  3 snd_seq,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_midi
i2c_piix4              24576  0
shpchp                 36864  0
snd_timer              32768  2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd                    81920  22 snd_hwdep,snd_timer,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_pcm,snd_seq,snd_rawmidi,snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel,thinkpad_acpi,snd_seq_device
soundcore              16384  1 snd
mac_hid                16384  0
parport_pc             32768  0
ppdev                  20480  0
lp                     20480  0
parport                49152  3 lp,ppdev,parport_pc
autofs4                40960  2
drbg                   32768  1
ansi_cprng             16384  0
xts                    16384  1
gf128mul               16384  1 xts
algif_skcipher         20480  0
af_alg                 16384  1 algif_skcipher
dm_crypt               28672  1
uas                    24576  0
usb_storage            69632  1 uas
psmouse               126976  0
sdhci_pci              28672  0
i2c_algo_bit           16384  0
sdhci                  45056  1 sdhci_pci
ttm                    98304  0
drm_kms_helper        139264  0
r8169                  81920  0
mii                    16384  1 r8169
syscopyarea            16384  1 drm_kms_helper
sysfillrect            16384  1 drm_kms_helper
ahci                   36864  3
sysimgblt              16384  1 drm_kms_helper
libahci                32768  1 ahci
fb_sys_fops            16384  1 drm_kms_helper
drm                   360448  2 ttm,drm_kms_helper
fjes                   28672  0
video                  40960  1 thinkpad_acpi

quick update i was able to install the unknown driver in the additional drivers app and after restart it again got stuck so had to use recovery mode again but this time when i opened addition drivers i saw this . http://imgur.com/zTDTOtp