Debian Lenny - simple fix for Trident video card

My note for my old laptop which has Trident Cyberblade video card.

Reference:
http://www.edugeek.net/forums/nix/32431-omg-xorg-trident-video-4hours-wasted-time.html

https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+question/49247

By default Debian Lenny and Ubuntus (even the latest 9.04 version) can only show 800x600 as the maximum resolution while the correct resolution should be 1024 x 768

To overcome the problem usually I copied the xorg.conf file from any other distros (mostly Mepis and Sidux).

Today I found the above references, and it turns out that the solution is really simple, just add 2 lines in the "Monitor" section of the default xorg.conf as follows:

HorizSync 28-96
VertRefresh 50-75

(The above values I took from sidux's xorg.conf).

Now from the System > Preferences > Screen Resolution menu, I can choose the refresh rate (60, 70 or 75 Hz).

Below is the complete xorg.conf

# xorg.conf (X.Org X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
#   sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "InputDevice"
 Identifier    "Generic Keyboard"
 Driver        "kbd"
 Option        "XkbRules"    "xorg"
 Option        "XkbModel"    "pc104"
 Option        "XkbLayout"    "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
 Identifier    "Configured Mouse"
 Driver        "mouse"
EndSection

Section "Device"
 Identifier    "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
 Identifier    "Configured Monitor"
 HorizSync      28-96
 VertRefresh    50-75
EndSection

Section "Screen"
 Identifier    "Default Screen"
 Monitor       "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Xorg.conf for my desktop

For my own reference, this xorg.conf is taken from Linux Mint Elyssa on my desktop, works also for Mepis 8.0 Gnome:

# xorg.conf (X.Org X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
#   sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "InputDevice"
 Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
 Driver  "kbd"
 Option  "XkbRules" "xorg"
 Option  "XkbModel" "pc105"
 Option  "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
 Identifier "Configured Mouse"
 Driver  "mouse"
 Option  "CorePointer"
 Option  "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
EndSection

Section "Device"
 Identifier "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
 Identifier "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
 Identifier "Default Screen"
 Monitor  "Configured Monitor"
 Device  "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
 Identifier "Default Layout"
 Screen  "Default Screen"
EndSection

Yamaha YMF-754 sound card problem on Debian Lenny, my easy workaround.

I have installed Debian Lenny on my old laptop and everything works nicely except one very important thing: the sound did not work.
The sound card is Yamaha Corporation YMF-754.

This is my workaround which works for me:

Go to sidux's online manual, click on the left menu link:
Graphic Cards, Monitors & miscellaneous Drivers > Hardware needing non-free drivers

Scroll down and find this line:

Yamaha YMF724/740/744/754 audio devices:
fetch the firmware from http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/dwmw2/linux-firmware-from-kernel.git
and place it under /lib/firmware/yamaha/.



I do not know what is "fetch" means, so I just click the above link and then click "snapshot" to download the firmware (the file is compressed in tar.gz).



Extract the file to get these three files:
ds1_ctrl.fw
ds1_dsp.fw
ds1e_ctrl.fw



Create a directory for the firmware:
# mkdir /lib/firmware/yamaha/

Copy those three files to that directory.

Restart the computer, and the sound card now works.


Problem solved.

Mencoba Debian Lenny di Laptop Jadul

Setelah mencoba Mepis Gnome, jadi kepingin juga merasakan induknya yaitu Debian Lenny :)
Akhirnya saya download cd net install nya dan menginstalnya di laptop jadul (Toshiba Tecra 8200, P3 850 Mhz 256 MB RAM, 20GB HD).
Dengan mengikuti beberapa panduan dari website (seperti Howtoforge, Deviceguru dsb), instalasi berjalan cukup lancar.
Dengan koneksi ADSL netinstal selesai dalam waktu sekitar 1,5 jam.

Berikut beberapa catatannya:

Repositori:
Setelah proses instal selesai, saya tambahkan repositori “contrib non-free” dan “debian multimedia” di file /etc/apt/sources.list sehingga hasilnya sbb:

# deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 5.0.0 _Lenny_ - Official i386 NETINST Binary-1 20090214-16:03]/ lenny main

# deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 5.0.0 _Lenny_ - Official i386 NETINST Binary-1 20090214-16:03]/ lenny main

deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ lenny main contrib non-free
deb-src http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ lenny main contrib non-free

deb http://security.debian.org/ lenny/updates main contrib non-free
deb-src http://security.debian.org/ lenny/updates main contrib non-free

deb http://volatile.debian.org/debian-volatile lenny/volatile main
deb-src http://volatile.debian.org/debian-volatile lenny/volatile main

deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org lenny main

Kemudian dari terminal saya jalankan:
# apt-get update
# apt-get install debian-multimedia-keyring
# apt-get update

Wireless:
USB wifi adapter tidak dikenali karena Debian tidak menyediakan firmwarenya berhubung lisensinya non-free.
Namun firmware tsb masih tersedia di repositori contrib dan non-free sehingga sangat mudah diinstal, cukup dengan membuka terminal dan jalankan:
# apt-get install zd1211rw

Multimedia:
Untuk menginstal “flashplayer-mozilla”, pertama2 harus dimatikan dulu flashplayer versi 9.0 bawaan yang ada di browser Iceweasel.
Caranya buka Iceweasel, klik menu > Tools >Add-ons > Plugins > Shockwave Flash 9.0 > Disable Kemudian buka terminal dan jalankan:
# apt-get install flashplayer-mozilla

Setelah terinstal, lanjutkan dengan:
# cp /usr/lib/flashplayer-mozilla/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/

Selanjutnya install file2 ini agar Debian Lenny dapat memainkan aplikasi multimedia standar:
# apt-get install mozilla-mplayer , w32codecs , libdvdcss2

Aplikasi tambahan yang saya instal:
# apt-get nautilus-open terminal , nautilus-gksu , gdebi

Resolusi layar:
Resolusi layar hanya tampil 800x600, padahal seharusnya resolusi normal adalah 1024 x 768.
Laptop ini menggunakan video card "Trident Microsystems CyberBlade/XP", dan sebenarnya drivernya (trident) sudah terinstal, namun Debian tidak bisa menampilkan resolusi layar dengan benar.

Saya kurang tahu bagaimana sebenarnya masalah resolusi layar ini di atur di linux (xorg.conf), karena beberapa distro yang saya coba di laptop ini secara otomatis akan mengatur dan menampilkan resolusi dengan benar (Mepis, Puppy Linux, Mandriva, dsb).
Sedangkan beberapa distro lain seperti Ubuntu dan semua derivatifnya tidak dapat menampilkan resolusi layar dengan benar.
Untuk mengatasinya, sementara saya lakukan dengan cara mengcopy file xorg.conf dari Mepis.

Update: masalah resolusi layar ini juga bisa diatasi dengan cara yang ada postingan ini.


Agak lambat:
Selain itu Debian Lenny juga terasa agak lambat dan sedikit kurang responsif dibandingkan dengan Mepis Gnome.
Ini agak aneh karena menurut beberapa review, Debian cukup ringan dan cepat.
Sampai saat ini belum ketemu kenapa Debian terasa lambat.

Update: setelah memakai Debian beberapa lama, ternyata tidak terasa lambat lagi, normal2 saja. Bahkan terasa cukup responsif dan sangat stabil.


Sound Card:
Masalah lain adalah: sound card tidak dikenali oleh Debian.
Laptop ini menggunakan sound card “Yamaha Corporation YMF-754 [DS-1E Audio Controller] ”
Kabarnya karena masalah lisensi juga, maka Debian tidak dapat menyediakan firmwarenya dan sayangnya firmware tsb juga tidak terdapat di repositori contrib dan non-free.

Sebenarnya sound card tersebut didukung oleh alsa-project dan firwarenya juga tersedia di sana, namun sayangnya cara instalnya kurang jelas.
Dari hasil googling kelihatannya banyak juga yang dipusingkan dengan kasus ini.
Seharusnya paling tidak Debian menjelaskan cara yang mudah untuk menginstalnya.
Jadi untuk sementara laptop berjalan tanpa suara :(

Update: masalah sound sudah teratasi, lihat postingan ini.




Kesimpulan:
Ternyata cukup mudah menginstal Debian dan mengaturnya dengan hasil tidak jauh berbeda dengan distro2 yang user-friendly seperti Ubuntu atau Mepis.
Hanya sayangnya di laptop ini Debian terasa agak lambat dan yang sangat mengganggu adanya masalah dengan sound.
Mungkin lebih baik instal Mepis Gnome lagi.

Tampaknya Debian akan bertahan lama di laptop jadul ini :)

Update:

Ternyata ada CD netinst Debian yang sudah memuat non-free firmware:

http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/

Unofficial non-free CDs including firmware packages

These images are equivalent to the normal "netinst" CDs that we produce regularly, but they also include non-free firmware to make installation easier on some systems requiring proprietary but redistributable firmware.

See http://wiki.debian.org/Firmware for more details.

Mepis Gnome Remaster

Mepis Gnome Remaster is an unofficial remaster version of Mepis, changing the default desktop from KDE to Gnome.
More information including download sources is available in mepislovers forum.

Mepis is always one of my fav distro as it always works for me.
However after using Ubuntu I am getting used to gnome, so I am really glad that now there is a gnome version of Mepis.

I installed it on my aging laptop (Toshiba Tecra PIII 850Mhz 256MB RAM) and as I expected mostly everything works out of the box.

Some notes:

1. Boot up and shut down takes a little bit longer.
2. Screen resolution is perfectlly configured.
   As always, Mepis automatically recognize the trident cyberblade chip used by this laptop.
3. My wifi usb adapter works out of the box (it uses zd1211rw driver).
   By default nm-applet is not available, connection is exclusively handled by Mepis Network Assistant and so far it works flawlessly.
   (Edit: the new Mepis Network Assistant has been improved, now I can see and choose the available connections just like using gnome net work manager)
   
4. I removed the sensor applet from the panel as it showed error message.
5. I canged the default boot splash, wallpaper and theme as they are too "strong" for my taste :)
   Changed the boot splash from Applications / System Tools / Configuration Editor menu, select apps | gnome-session | options | edit splash_image.
   I also added upper panel as I am more familiar with two gnome panels.
   
   
   
   
6. Suspend to RAM works out of the box.
7. By default there is no office application, so I installed Open Office 3.0 by following the steps from here.
8. Other than Open Office I also installed gthumb (for simple picture resizing and editing) and system-config-printer-gnome (printing tools).
9. In the main menu there was "Debian" sub menu which was disabled.
   Enabling this sub menu reveals many important applications (for example: HPLIP printing/fax tools)
10. Like the original version of Mepis, multimedia support (flash, java, mp3) works out of the box, but Mplayer could not play my dvd movie.

So far using Mepis Gnome Remaster in my old laptop has been a very positive experience. Everything is just running smooth and stable.
Most notably it feels light and fast, better than any other Gnome distro I tried on this laptop.
I like it a lot.


(Last edited: 06/04/2009)