[English] README.TXT MATROX GRAPHICS INC. 2006.07.04 Matrox Parhelia Series Linux Display Driver v1.4.4 ================================================================================ Preface ================================================================================ This document and the associated software are currently only available in English. We apologize for the inconvenience. The use of the term X config file, XF86Config, XF86Config-4 and xorg.conf are used interchangeably. The actual file names to use vary depending on the X server or distribution used. These files are located in the /etc/X11 directory. The use of the term X log file, XFree86.0.log and Xorg.0.log are used interchangeably. The actual file names to use vary depending on the X server or distribution used. These files are located in the /var/log directory. Don't enter the '#' sign in the example command sequences, this represents what would be seen on the command line. Note that [ENTER] means pressing the 'Enter' key on your keyboard. Note that on some systems you may need to enter "su - root" instead of "su root" when changing to the root user account. For more information about root user, see Appendix C. ================================================================================ Contents ================================================================================ Preface - Document clarifications Section 01 - Description of this release Section 02 - Installation requirements Section 03 - Binary installation Section 04 - Sample X config files Section 05 - XFree86 & X.org driver options 1 - Single Head 2 - DualHead Independent 3 - DualHead Merged 4 - TripleHead Independent 5 - TripleHead Merged 6 - Digital Monitors 7 - Bus Mastering 8 - Xv Video Blitting Section 06 - Using AGP capabilities Section 07 - Frequently asked questions Section 08 - Troubleshooting Section 09 - Matrox technical support information Appendix A - Installer options Appendix B - Installed files Appendix C - Important preliminary informations for new Linux users ================================================================================ Section 01 - Description Of This Release ================================================================================ This release was tested with the following items: Distributions: - Redhat Enterprise Linux 3 WS (update 7) - Redhat Enterprise Linux 4 WS (update 2) - SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 - SuSE Professional 9.3 Cards: - Parhelia (PCI, AGP) - Millennium P750 (AGP) - Millennium P650, Epica TC2 (PCI, PCIe, AGP) - Parhelia APVe (PCIe) - no video input & video editing support Display configurations: - Single display - Only 1 display through the main connector. - Two displays - Independent mode: 2 displays with different display resolutions. - Two displays - Merged mode: 2 displays with the same display resolution. These 2 displays use a single frame buffer. - Three displays - Independent mode: 3 displays with the same display resolution. This mode is not available on all cards covered by this driver. - Three displays - Merged mode: 3 displays with the same display resolution. These 3 displays use a single frame buffer. This mode is not available on all cards covered by this driver. Resolutions: - Analog: 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1600x1200, 1920x1440 - Digital: 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1600x1200 Note: - The driver included in this package should also be compatible with additionnal Linux distributions provided that items outlined in Section 02 are installed and available. - Additionnal features and information about the configuration of specialized Matrox cards are described in our advanced Readme file available as a separate file along with this driver package on the Matrox Web Site. http://www.matrox.com/mga/support/drivers/latest/home.cfm ================================================================================ Section 02 - Installation Requirements ================================================================================ Some features, such as Busmastering, OpenGL, and Xv, contain functionality implemented at the kernel level and therefore require a Matrox kernel module. A kernel module must be compiled specifically for the targeted kernel. In order to compile your kernel module, the following packages need to be installed and available on your system: - X server (either XFree86 4.3.0 or X.org 6.7.0 or later). - Linux kernel 2.4 (version 2.4.18 or later) or 2.6 (2.6.0 or later) and the corresponding kernel source code and header files. - GCC compiler version 3.2 or later (up to 4.0). - Glibc 2.3.2 or later. - Binutils 2.13 or later. - Make 3.77 or later. The install script verifies that these requirements are satisfied. You can also run : # su root [ENTER] # sh mtxdriver-X.X.X-X.run --test-only [ENTER] # exit [ENTER] ================================================================================ Section 03 - Binary Installation ================================================================================ To install the driver execute the following from a shell terminal as the 'root' user : # su root [ENTER] # sh mtxdriver-X.X.X-X.run [ENTER] # exit [ENTER] Note: - On some systems you may need to enter "su - root" instead of "su root" when changing to the root user account. This starts the installation script and asks where to extract the files (usually /root). Choose the location and press [ENTER]. The installer proceeds with the installation of the X driver and related files. Once the installation is completed, you need to create a new configuration file for your current hardware so that the X server knows how to start up. This file may be called XF86Config (XFree86 v3 and v4), XF86Config-4 (XFree86 v4), or xorg.conf (X.org 6.7.0 and up) and is usually located in the directory /etc/X11 . Configuration samples can be found by running the installation package with the "--extract-only" option (See Appendix A). For example : # sh mtxdriver-X.X.X-X.run --extract-only [ENTER] You can find these samples in the 'samples' directory, where the package extracts its files to. These samples require editing to match your current installed hardware. In many instances, if this is an installation right after a clean install of the OS, the config file will reference the VESA or MGA driver. You will have to change it to use the mtx driver instead. To continue the installation, use a text editor. For more information about text editors in GNU/Linux, see Appendix C. As an example, here is the complete installation process on X.org 6.8.1 1 - Install Matrox Driver # su root [ENTER] # sh mtxdriver-X.X.X-X.run [ENTER] # exit [ENTER] 2 - Locate your Matrox hardware on the peripheral bus The location of your Matrox card will be reported by the installation script in the following format: bus:device.function. For example: 1:0.0 VGA compatible controller: Matrox Graphics, Inc. MGA Parhelia AGP 3 - Edit the X Server configuration file # vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf [ENTER] For more information on how to use the 'vi' text editor, please refer to Appendix C. 4 - Select the Matrox driver In the "Device section", replace the string 'Driver "somedriver"' with 'Driver "mtx"'. For example replace this line if the 'vesa' driver was previously installed: Replace: Driver "vesa" by Driver "mtx" 5 - Select the appropriate graphics card In the "Device" section, make sure that the BusID value matches with the one you previously identified in step 2. For example if your Bus ID was 1:0.0, edit or add the following line to read : BusID "PCI:1:0:0" 6 - In the "Monitor" section, make sure your horizontal and vertical settings are valid for your monitor. If no values are specified, the X Server may not start. If incorrect values are specified, you risk damaging your monitor. See your monitor's documentation the correct values. Typical values are: "HorizSync 30.0-95.0" and "VertRefresh 50.0-75.0" 7 - Remove unnecessary modules In the "Module" section, only the "dbe", "extmod", "freetype", "type1", "glx" (if oOpenGL is required) should be listed. Comment out any other lines if they exist by adding a '#' (pound symbol) at the beginning of the line. For example, if the "dri" module was listed as below, add '#' (pound symbol) in front of it : Before - Load "dri" After - #Load "dri" 8 - Start the X Server To start the X server from the command line, type the following line : # startx [ENTER] To switch to the graphical run level, change to the 'root' user, run the telinit application and switch to run level 5. For example one could run the following sequence. # su root [ENTER] # telinit 5 [ENTER] # exit [ENTER] For more information on the XFree86 config file format, simply type 'man XF86Config' in a shell terminal to list all available options that can be used in an X config file. Typing 'man xorg.conf' should bring up the same information for X.org users. More information can also be found at http://www.xfree86.org for XFree86 or http://xorg.freedesktop.org/wiki/ and http://wwwx.org for X.org. ================================================================================ Section 04 - Sample X Config Files ================================================================================ There are sample XF86Config files in the "Samples" directory. To use them, copy the file to your /etc/X11 directory and rename it to "XF86Config-4" or "xorg.conf" depending if you're using the XFree86 or X.org servers or as the 'root' user type (where FILENAME is the sample config file). # startx -- -xf86config /My/Path/FILENAME [ENTER] These are the available samples : Single display --> XF86Config.single 2 displays - independent mode --> XF86Config.dual 2 displays - merged mode --> XF86Config.merged 3 displays - independent mode --> XF86Config.triple 3 displays - merged mode --> XF86Config.triple_merged The following section provides more details on these various configuration options. Note: - These are samples and may require modification to be usable with your particular system configuration. ================================================================================ Section 05 - XFree86 & X.org Driver Options ================================================================================ 1 - Single display While using a single head (or output) setup, you need to edit your X config file to contain a single entry for the device, monitor and screen sections. Here's a sample X partial config section : Section "Monitor" Identifier "monitor1" HorizSync 30-95 VertRefresh 50-60 EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "device1" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Screen 0 EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "screen1" Monitor "monitor1" Device "device1" DefaultDepth 24 Subsection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubsection EndSection 2 - DualHead Independent While using DualHead Independent, both displays can have different refresh rate and resolutions. These displays can be set to be independent, or unified using the Xinerama extension. Here's a sample X partial config section : Section "Monitor" Identifier "monitor1" HorizSync 31-90 VertRefresh 50-60 EndSection Section "Monitor" Identifier "monitor2" HorizSync 31-90 VertRefresh 50-60 EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "device1" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Screen 0 EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "device2" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Screen 1 EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "screen1" Monitor "monitor1" Device "device1" DefaultDepth 24 Subsection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "screen2" Monitor "monitor2" Device "device2" DefaultDepth 24 Subsection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection Add the following section to the above config file to unify both independent displays to behave as a single desktop: Section "ServerFlags" Option "Xinerama" EndSection 3 - DualHead Merged DualHead merged enables the use of 2 displays using a single framebuffer. The following options are used to enable DualHead merged mode: MergedFB Enables merged mode Monitor2Position Sets layout orientation. Valid values are LeftOf, RightOf, Below and Above. MetaModes Specifies the Left screen - Right screen resolution to use in this mode. These should be set to one of the resolutions listed in the Modes line of the current screen subsection. Monitor2HSync The secondary monitor horizontal sync values. This can be a single value or a value range. Monitor2VRefresh The secondary monitor vertical sync values. This can be a single value or a value range. The following example sets two displays at 1600 x 1200 at 60 Hz refresh rate: Section "Monitor" Identifier "monitor1" HorizSync 30-95 VertRefresh 50-60 EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "device1" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Screen 0 EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "screen1" Monitor "monitor1" Device "device1" DefaultDepth 24 Option "MergedFB" Option "Monitor2Position" "RightOf" Option "MetaModes" "1600x1200-1600x1200" Option "Monitor2HSync" "30-85" Option "Monitor2VRefresh" "50-60" Subsection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection 4 - TripleHead Independent While using Triplehead, all 3 displays must have the same refresh rate and resolution. To enable TripleHead independent, add Option "THI" "on" to the three "device" sections of your XF86Config-4 file. Here's a sample Device Section for TripleHead: Section "Device" Identifier "device1" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Screen 0 Option "THI" "on" EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "device2" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Screen 1 Option "THI" "on" EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "device3" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Screen 2 Option "THI" "on" EndSection Note: - This mode is only available in analog mode. 5 - TripleHead Merged To enable TripleHead merged, add Option "Triplehead" to the "screen" section of your XF86Config-4 file Here's a sample "Screen" section for TripleHead: Section "Screen" Identifier "Screen1" Device "Device1" Monitor "Monitor1" DefaultDepth 24 Option "Triplehead" SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "800x600" EndSubSection EndSection To enable 2 analog + digital mode, add the following line to your "device" section: Option "DigitalScreen1" "on" 6 - Digital monitors Digital monitors are automatically detected by the Matrox driver. If your monitor can't supply this information to the driver, you can specify the type of your monitors in the "Device" section of the configuration file. Option "DigitalScreen1" "on" or Option "DigitalScreen2" "on" "DigitalScreen1" and "DigitalScreen2" correspond respectively to the digital monitor connected to the primary and secondary connector of your graphics card. When using both outputs for the Parhelia, Millennium P750 and P650 cards in merged mode, the "device" section of your X config needs to contain only the DigitalScreen1 option. 7 - Bus mastering Bus mastering allows the processor to share some tasks with the graphic chipset and results in higher performances. Bus mastering is required for accelerated 3D OpenGL and is only available for x86 and x86_64 architecture. To enable bus mastering a Matrox kernel module must be compiled specifically for your system. On most configurations the installation script seamlessly takes care of the kernel driver compilation, assuming that the kernel source code is properly installed as mentioned in Section 02. To enable or disable bus mastering, add the following to the X config file in the appropriate "Device" section: Option "Busmastering" "on" or Option "Busmastering" "off" If no option is specified, bus mastering is enabled by default, provided that your system supports it. The following "device" example illustrates its use: Section "Device" Identifier "device1" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Option "Busmastering" "off" EndSection Note: - For AGP systems using a Matrox AGP card, load the 'agpgart' module before the Matrox kernel module so that it can benefit from AGP capabilities. If 'agpgart' isn't loaded, refer to Section 06 for more information on AGP. 8 - Xv Video Blitting If you experience some problems with your video playback, Video blitting can be used instead of hardware overlays by using the "XFB" switch in the "Device" section of your X config. The following example illustrates its use: Section "Device" Identifier "device1" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Option "XFB" "on" EndSection ================================================================================ Section 06 - Using AGP Capabilities ================================================================================ The AGP bus is a dedicated bus for graphics hardware. AGP stands for Advanced Graphics Port. This technology was designed to improve performances over the standard PCI bus. To benefit from this technology, you need an AGP capable graphic card as well as an AGP capable system. Note that AGP is now being replaced by the new PCI Express (PCIe) bus architecture which offers even greater performances. If you have such a system, this section can be skipped. To use AGP capabilities make sure that the "agpgart" module has been loaded successfully. You can verify that the 'agpgart' is loaded by typing: # /sbin/lsmod | grep agpgart [ENTER] This command should output something like this: agpgart 33608 0 If this command yields no output, it means that the module isn't loaded, you can load it manually by typing: # /sbin/modprobe agpgart [ENTER] On 2.6 kernels you also need to load the module corresponding to your motherboard chipset. Available files are intel-agp, via-agp, nvidia-agp, sis-agp, sworks-agp, ali-agp, ati-agp, amd-k7-agp. You can verify that one of these is loaded by typing the following: # /sbin/lsmod | grep agp [ENTER] If the chipset kernel module isn't loaded, you can load it manually by typing ONE of the following: # /sbin/modprobe intel-agp [ENTER] # /sbin/modprobe via-agp [ENTER] # /sbin/modprobe nvidia-agp [ENTER] # /sbin/modprobe sis-agp [ENTER] # /sbin/modprobe sworks-agp [ENTER] # /sbin/modprobe ali-agp [ENTER] # /sbin/modprobe ati-agp [ENTER] # /sbin/modprobe amd-k7-agp [ENTER] *If you don't know your motherboard chipset, see to your system documentation. The following command can give you a hint: # /sbin/lspci | grep -e "AGP Bridge" [ENTER] You can then verify that the Matrox kernel module has been loaded with: # /sbin/lsmod | grep mtx [ENTER] If the Matrox kernel module isn't loaded, you can load it manually by typing: # /sbin/modprobe mtx [ENTER] Once you've identified the appropriate modules to load and you've tested your system successfully, you can automatically load these modules each time your system boots up, instead of having to retype the commands. To automatically load kernel modules, simply add their names to the following file, depending on your kernel version. # vi /etc/modules [ENTER] (for kernel 2.4.x) or # vi /etc/modprobe.preload [ENTER] (for kernel 2.6.x) You can find your kernel version by typing: # uname -r [ENTER] For example, to load the Matrox kernel module and benefit from AGP capabilities on a 2.6 kernel running on an Intel system, the '/etc/modprobe.preload' would look like this: intel-agp agpgart mtx ================================================================================ Section 07 - Frequently Asked Questions ================================================================================ Q: I'm running the installer and it stops making the kernel module, what can I do ? A: Make sure that the kernel source or kernel headers are installed. It's also possible that the kernel you've installed isn't yet supported. Verify at a later date to see if it is supported. Q: I'm trying to run OpenOffice and it fails to run. What can I do ? A: Make sure that the libglx.a and libGL.so.1.3.0 files are installed and that bus mastering is enabled. Also make sure that only the Matrox libGL.so.* files are installed. Having other versions available can prevent applications from running properly. Q: I'm trying to run a video player and my systems locks up. What can I do ? A: Enable the XFB option to force hw blits instead of using the hw video overlay. See Section 5 to enable this option. Q: My system seems to lock up when I try to run a video or OpenGL application. What can I do ? A: Try disabling fastwrites in your motherboard BIOS settings. Also, in some systems with 1GB of RAM or more, you need to pass the following switch (vmalloc=) to your boot manager (in grub on the appropriate kernel line or in lilo on the append line. Note that the ram value passed is in bytes). For example, if you want to reserve at least 128MB, you add this to your boot manager config file: vmalloc=134217728 Q: I have a system with a 1GB of RAM and cannot get any hardware acceleration and get memory allocation messages when modprobing the mtx kernel module. What can I do ? A: In some systems with 1GB of RAM or more, you need to pass the following switch (vmalloc=) to your boot manager (in grub on the appropriate kernel line or in lilo on the append line. Note that the ram value passed is in bytes). For example, if you want to reserve at least 128MB, you add this to your boot manager config file: vmalloc=134217728 Q: I'm trying to run an OpenGL application and sometimes X freezes or crashes. What can I do ? A: Make sure that you have uninstalled any reference to "DRI" from your X config file, as the driver doesn't use this architecture to provide hardware accelerated 3D. Q: Is there a way to update my graphics card BIOS from Linux ? A: Download the appropriate utility from the following link: http://www.matrox.com/mga/support/drivers/bios/home.cfm Q: I'm installing Linux and wonder what driver I should set during the OS installation ? A: During installation of your favorite Linux distribution you may be asked to set or choose a graphics card or driver. The safest option is to choose the VESA driver or card. Q: I upgraded my version of X and now my previous configuration file doesn't work. What can I do ? A: When upgrading X you need to reinstall the Matrox driver package. Q: I upgraded my kernel and now my 3D and video doesn't work. What can I do ? A: When upgrading your kernel you need to reinstall the Matrox driver package so that the appropriate driver components are reinstalled. Q: How can I find out what driver I'm using in X ? A: Open your X log file (normally found in /var/log) in your favorite text editor and look for a line that says "mtx_drv.o". The line below contains the driver version number. For example, if the installed driver package was version 1.4.3 you could see something like: (II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib64/modules/drivers/mtx_drv.o compiled for 6.8.2, module version = 1.4.3 The module version would indicate the driver version 1.4.3. Q: How can I find out what version of X the driver was compiled for ? A: Start X and open up your X log file (normally found in /var/log) in your favorite text editor and look for a line that says "mtx_drv.o". The line below contains the driver version number. For example, if the installed driver package was version 1.4.3 you could see something like: (II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib64/modules/drivers/mtx_drv.o compiled for 6.8.2, module version = 1.4.3 The version of X the driver would be indicated after the 'compiled for' and would be 6.8.2 in this case. Q: Where can I find my X config file ? A: Most distributions store this file in the /etc directory as either XF86Config, XF86Config-4 or xorg.conf. Q: Where can I find my X log file ? A: Most distributions store this file in the /var/log directory as either XFree86.0.log or Xorg.0.log when running either XFree86 or X.org X server. Q: I enabled Xinerama in my config file and when I maximize a window, it gets stretched over my two display when using Qt/KDE applications. A: Make sure that your Qt library is compiled with Xinerama support. Q: I have set up DualHead (or TripleHead) Independent mode in my config file and the X Server locks up on start up. A: The numerical values of the 'Screen' keyword in the "Device" section must match the screen index defined in the "ServerLayout" section. The 'Screen' keyword in the "ServerLayout" section is defined as: Screen screen-num "screen-id" position-information The screen index is either defined by 'screen-num' (which is optional) or the order the screens are declared in the 'ServerLayout' section. Q: Where can I find the Readme file and sample config files contained in the driver package? A: Use the --extract-only switch and choose a directory to extract the files to. For example, as root you would do the following to launch the file extraction and access the sample directory: # su root # sh mtxdriver-1.4.3.run --extract-only [ENTER] [ENTER] # cd /root/mtxdriver/samples Q: I am trying to get a Millennium P650 or Millennium P750 to do TripleHead and it doesn't work, what can I do to enable it ? A: These card require passing the regSysMmFlags=0 switch to the mtx kernel module. This can be used when modprobing (ie. modprobe mtx regSysMmFlags=0) or in the apropriate config file (ie. modprobe.conf or modules.conf by adding 'option mtx regSysMmFlags=0' to either of these files). Q: I am trying to get a G series card working with my Parhelia based card but X crashes when loading the mga driver. What can I do ? A: Make sure that the system BIOS is booting off the G series card. Q: I am trying to get a G series card working with my Parhelia based card but my system locks up. What can I do ? A: Some fixes about AGP have been incorporated into kernels 2.6.12. If upgrading your kernel is not an option for you, either disable busmastering using the Busmastering option in your X config file or disable agp transfers by setting agp kernel module option to 0. Busmastering can be disabled as shown in this sample device section: Section "Device" Identifier "Device1" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Option "Busmastering" "off" Screen 0 EndSection AGP transfers can be disabled manually as shown below: Before starting the X server, as a 'root' user, make sure that the Matrox kernel module is not loaded: # /sbin/rmmod mtx [ENTER] And then, load the Matrox kernel module with the desired option: # /sbin/modprobe mtx agp=0 [ENTER] To make this change permanent simply add the following line to /etc/modules.conf (kernel 2.4.x) or /etc/modprobe.conf (kernel 2.6.x). Note you must be the 'root' user to edit this file. options mtx agp=0 ================================================================================ Section 08 - Troubleshooting ================================================================================ 1 - Setup problems Problems may occur if you don't use the appropriate version of a library, or if a component is missing. Make sure you have the following files: # ls -l /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/mtx_drv.o [ENTER] # ls -l /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernels/drivers/video/mtx.* [ENTER] # ls -l /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.a [ENTER] # ls -l /usr/lib/libGL.so -> /usr/lib/libGL.so.1 [ENTER] # ls -l /usr/lib/libGL.so.1 -> /usr/lib/libGL.so.1.3.0 [ENTER] # ls -l /usr/lib/libGL.so.1.3.0 [ENTER] 2 - Resolving conflicts with /usr/X11R6/lib/libGL.so* [ENTER] If there are other shared libraries (files containing ".so" in their names) conflicting with Matrox libraries, ldconfig (the library manager) may create the wrong symlinks. We recommend you manually remove or move conflicting libraries, rerun 'ldconfig', and check that the correct symlinks were made. 3 - Verifying that applications use appropriate libraries You can use the 'ldd' command on a 3D application to check that it uses the appropriate libraries. For example, 'ldd glxgears | grep libGL.so' should give you: libGL.so.1 => /usr/lib/libGL.so.1 [ENTER] If this isn't the case, either remove the library that gets in the way, or adjust the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable. For more information, see the man pages for ldconfig and ldd. 4 - Stability and AGP problems Several successive improvements were made on AGP technology and the speed has been steadily increased. As the AGP rate is increased, the performance improves. However both your graphics hardware and your motherboard must support the specified rate to benefit from the increase in performance. The AGP rate is automatically determined by the driver. However, some compatibility problems may occur. Such problems include signal integrity problems and timing issues, with the combination of specific motherboard chipsets and some graphics cards. If you encounter stability issues, you may find it's best to set conservative kernel module parameters for AGP initialization. When using the mtx.o/mtx.ko kernel module, the following options can be specified: agp = [ 0: Force PCI transfers 1: Enable AGP transfers (default) ] agprate = [ 1: AGP 1x transfers (default) 2: AGP 2x tranfers 4: AGP 4x tranfers 8: AGP 8x tranfers ] The AGP rate can be set by 'root' user as follows: # modprobe mtx agprate=4 [ENTER] For AGP systems including AGP graphics card, AGP transfers are used by default. However, if your system has stability problems, you can force the use of PCI transfers using the following parameter as the 'root' user: # /sbin/modprobe mtx agp=0 [ENTER] These options can also be set automatically by adding them to the modules.conf or modprobe.conf file (on most distributions this is located in the /etc directory). For example, to enable AGP transfers but reduce their rate to 1x, simply add the following line to modules.conf (kernel 2.4.x) or modprobe.conf (kernel 2.6.x). *You must be the 'root' user to edit this file. options mtx agp=1 agprate=1 Doing so automatically sets these options any time the module is loaded. On AGP 2x and 4x systems where stability is an issue dropping to 1x may alleviate the symptoms. For 8x systems with an 8x capable card it may be preferable to switch up to 8x instead. Note this may require changing some settings in the motherboard BIOS. ================================================================================ Section 09 - Matrox Technical Support information ================================================================================ A Linux driver forum is available on the Matrox web site. In the "General Linux" section you can post questions, answer other users questions, and search the archive for previous postings. User registration is required. The site is available at http://forum.matrox.com/mga/ . ================================================================================ Appendix A - Installer Options ================================================================================ The following are valid options supported from the command line to be passed to the installer (used without the quotation marks): --test-only Used to verify that your system has everything it needs to proceed with a successfull installation. --extract-only Used to tell the installer to extract the files but not to run the installer portion. --uninstall Used to tell the installer to uninstall the current driver. --overwrite Used to tell the driver to ask the user for the files to overwrite. No backups will be created of the currently installed files. ================================================================================ Appendix B - Installed files ================================================================================ The Matrox Linux driver set consists of the following files: - An X Server driver. This driver is mainly responsible for the mode initialization and 2D acceleration. It's usually located in the following X driver path /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/mtx_drv.o - A kernel module. The kernel module mainly adds 3D core functionality, bus mastering, memory management, and interrupts management. The kernel module is made of two parts, a binary part and an open source interface part. This is because the kernel needs to be compiled specifically on your system. It's usually located in the following kernel module path /lib/module//kernel/drivers/video/mtx.[k]o - A GLX extension module. This module serves as an interface between the OpenGL library and the X server. It's usually located in the following X extensions path /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.a - An OpenGL library. This is the library that exposes the OpenGL API to 3D applications. It processes the commands and sends them to the kernel module. It is usually located in the following software library path /usr/lib/libGL.so.1.3.0 with two symlinks to /usr/lib/libGL.so and /usr/lib/libGL.so.1 ================================================================================ Appendix C - Important preliminary informations for new Linux users ================================================================================ Text Editors ------------ A lot of configuration in Linux is still done through the editing of text files. Sometimes, a graphical interface is not even available. Text editors are therefore essential to everyone wishing to configure a Linux system. Because they are so essential, some text editors now feature very powerful functionalities... but this comes at the cost of increased complexity. Here, we are presenting you with a few options. 'gedit' is simple to use, but requires a graphical environment which won't be available if the wrong driver was chosen during installation or if something else goes wrong. 'kate' is also simple to use, but it also requires a graphical environment. See 'gedit'. 'vi' is one of the most powerful text editors to use and is installed by default by most distributions. However it's not easy to use. For an overview of the vi text editor basic commands, see 'vi' Overview. Alternatively, 'mcedit' or 'nano' can be used in text mode and are relatively easy to use. However, they're not installed by default by most distributions. 'vi' Overview ------------- Because 'vi' is the most powerful but the least user-friendly text editor, we are introducing you with a very basic overview to get you started with its usage. 'vi' operates in two modes: edit and command. On start up, vi is in command mode. To enter edit mode, press i. You can then add, modify and remove text. To go back to command mode, press Escape. Now you have access to a lot of functionality, a bit similar to what a menu offers in a graphical application. Basic commands: i - Enter edit mode Esc - Enter command mode :w - Save :q - Quit root user --------- After installing, almost all distributions set up a default administrative user with the username 'root'. Many options (such as installing the Matrox kernel driver) are available only to 'root' users. There are three ways to become 'root'. You may log in as root as would do any other user, you may use the substitute user command ('su') at the command prompt as we used extensively in our examples, or, some systems come with the 'sudo' utility which allows users to run a specified program as root. To use 'sudo', simply prefix the command you need with the sudo keyword, for example: # sudo sh mtxdriver-X.X.X-X.run [ENTER] It is generally a good practice to remain root only as long as it is necessary to accomplish the task requiring root privileges.