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fglrx in ubuntu 9.04 rc


Frank Golden

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Frank Golden

Hi folks, Well Ubuntu 9.04 RC (jaunty) was released today. First, the Radeon and ATi open source drivers don't offer 3-D support, only the closed source fglrx drivers do.Fglrx, the proprietary drivers for my ATi mobility radeon x1400 video card still won't work. This has everything to do with Ubuntu devs decision to use xserver 1.6 which isn't supported by fglrx. This sucks to put it bluntly.My guess is that 9.04 Ubuntu will be a great disappointment to many users as there are a lot of ATi card users. There is supposed to be a "special" release from AMD/ATi based on the recently released Catalyst 9.4 drivers. The "special" Linux drivers are available as a release candidate from some torrent sites but isn't officially available from ATi yet. There is a fglrx version available in Synaptic that simply doesn't work, it completly breaks X. I believe the Synaptic version is based on the latest drivers from ATi, however my card isn't supported with the latest drivers. The last version of fglrx to support the "X" series was the 9.3 version released last month.Unfortunately none of the earlier versions of fglrx support xserver 1.6. If an earlier version of fglrx would work that would be acceptable as fglrxhas always provided good 3-D hardware support.Apparently the rumor has it that there won't be much development along the lines of creating a 3-D version of the open source drivers.Consequentially I have little hope for Jaunty being a usable replacement for Intrepid which supports fglrx perfectly.Did I say this situation sucks.I can only hope that by the time of the Jaunty final release next week this issue will be fixed. I personally don't think it will.My guess is that more distros will follow suit and force feed xserver to us in the future.

Edited by Frank Golden
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I think it would be better to delay the release of Ubuntu 9.04 . . . . if there is no good fglrx driver for ATI cards it will only cause a lot of bad press and that is not good for the image of Ubuntu ! Frank, what about the "radeon" driver ?? Does that work ? ( sure you will lack 3D but X will work ):"> Bruno

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Frank Golden
I think it would be better to delay the release of Ubuntu 9.04 . . . . if there is no good fglrx driver for ATI cards it will only cause a lot of bad press and that is not good for the image of Ubuntu ! Frank, what about the "radeon" driver ?? Does that work ? ( sure you will lack 3D but X will work ):"> Bruno
Hi Bruno, Yes the radeon driver works, it is installed by default but you are right, there is no 3-D. One of the things I always install is GoogleEarth which runs very choppy with the radeon driver. I doubt very much the Ubuntu folks will delay the release although they should, at least until they get a handle on this issue.I really don't see why they need to use the xserver 1.6 but that's what they did. Maybe they could produce a "special" version using the older xserver for us ATi users. I believe their stand is that ATi needs to adapt to the new x. They did the same thing with the latest xorg.I will try the final when it comes out on the 23rd but I doubt the situation will have changed.I will also be looking for the 9.4 fglrx when ATi releases it.I will report back.Looks like Ubuntu is taking a step back doesn't it.
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They just want to force us to use the free drivers... Anyway, one could stick with the radeon drivers for now until there comes up a better solution. (if any)

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Frank Golden
They just want to force us to use the free drivers... Anyway, one could stick with the radeon drivers for now until there comes up a better solution. (if any)
No this situation will force me to end my experimenting with Ubuntu at least from Jaunty forward.
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I really don't see why they need to use the xserver 1.6 but that's what they did. Maybe they could produce a "special" version using the older xserver for us ATi users.
If enough people ask, not here but on the Ubuntu board, maybe that could be included as one of the boot menu options. I'm sure they have no real desire to make ATI users angry.Then again, how many of the latest apps depend on the new xserver? What would break if they used the older xserver?I can't see the team breaking their "every six months" record in order to delay things long enough for ATI to get their act together. That might make ATI users happy but it would certainly make everyone else angry. And if ATI users are going to have to wait, why should everyone else have to wait with them? Wouldn't it make more sense for them alone to stick with Intrepid till the drivers are ready and let everyone else have the release on time? Edited by lewmur
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No this situation will force me to end my experimenting with Ubuntu at least from Jaunty forward.
Don't hold your breath they'll fix it before the final release. IMO - like Lew mentioned - they could very well revert to an older version of Xorg, avoiding the whole problem. If not, they shoot them selves in the foot. That will be an outrageous and vocal crowd once they have downloaded the final just to discover it won't work with their ATI.
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I'm just sticking with Hardy for now. Two more years of LTS before I need to worry about an upgrade. My main Linux desktop has an ATI X1250 IGP that works just fine with fglrx in Hardy. In fact, that was the first time it ever worked well with 3D.I have Intrepid running well on my test system and they have now fixed the wireless issues with Atheros 5212 chipsets and WPA.However Jaunty Beta gave me video problems with my ugly old Intel 82865G integrated graphics, so I uninstalled it.I doubt I will upgrade any version of Ubuntu any more without trying it on my test system. Looks like we may soon be back to VESA.

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Don't hold your breath they'll fix it before the final release. IMO - like Lew mentioned - they could very well revert to an older version of Xorg, avoiding the whole problem. If not, they shoot them selves in the foot. That will be an outrageous and vocal crowd once they have downloaded the final just to discover it won't work with their ATI.
I'm not saying to "revert" but to add a boot menu option, if possible, that uses the old version. Personally, I don't use the eye candy anyway so I don't really know or care what's involved with the new version. But I would guess that there must be some new features involved or why else did they choose it? My guess would be that they expected ATI to have their drivers ready and that the layoffs, caused by the bad economy threw the timing off. Can you imagine the MS media machine headlines? "UBUNTU FAILS TO MEET LAUNCH DEADLINE!!!!"My hope would be that the Linux community would "cut them some slack" rather than saying they are "going to take my ball and go home." The community really doesn't need the Windows people seeing us fight amongst ourselves. Edited by lewmur
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Frank Golden
I'm just sticking with Hardy for now. Two more years of LTS before I need to worry about an upgrade. My main Linux desktop has an ATI X1250 IGP that works just fine with fglrx in Hardy. In fact, that was the first time it ever worked well with 3D.I have Intrepid running well on my test system and they have now fixed the wireless issues with Atheros 5212 chipsets and WPA.However Jaunty Beta gave me video problems with my ugly old Intel 82865G integrated graphics, so I uninstalled it.I doubt I will upgrade any version of Ubuntu any more without trying it on my test system. Looks like we may soon be back to VESA.
Hi Ray, just don't try to update to the 9.4 catalyst version of the proprietary drivers. Your card and mine (X series) is not supported and wont work if you do.This is part of the problem, support for X series cards ended with the as yet to be officially released 9.4 Catalyst for Linux driver suite.ATi says it will fix the issue of compatibility with the new xserver but it will do so with the 9.4 driver suite. This is why the fglrx drivers in Jaunty Synaptic fail with our cards. If ATi were serious they could release a "patched" version of the 9.2 Calalyst, which includes X series card support. The 9.2 Catalyst drivers work fine in Intrepid in fact they perform better than the 9.3 version released last month.While not the same as continuing support for "older" cards it would at least give us "older" card users viable 3-D support in Jaunty and beyond.Using a laptop means I am stuck with the ATi Mobility Radeon X1400 video card. If I could I would switch to a Nvidia card in a heartbeat.Installing the fglrx drivers has always been a bit of a chore although some of the latest versions installed rather easily using the CCHTML wiki.Doing so isn't for the faint of heart though. Starting with Intrepid the latest drivers were available through Synaptic.ATi has never been Linux friendly.
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Frank Golden
I'm not saying to "revert" but to add a boot menu option, if possible, that uses the old version. Personally, I don't use the eye candy anyway so I don't really know or care what's involved with the new version. But I would guess that there must be some new features involved or why else did they choose it? My guess would be that they expected ATI to have their drivers ready and that the layoffs, caused by the bad economy threw the timing off. Can you imagine the MS media machine headlines? "UBUNTU FAILS TO MEET LAUNCH DEADLINE!!!!"My hope would be that the Linux community would "cut them some slack" rather than saying they are "going to take my ball and go home." The community really doesn't need the Windows people seeing us fight amongst ourselves.
Hi Lew, It wouldn't be the first time Ubuntu failed to meet a deadline. If memory serves Dapper 6.06 LTS was delayed 2 months because it wasn't ready. It should have been Ubuntu 6.04 LTS.MS hasn't got much to crow about, they released Vista before it was done and look at the disaster that was.I personally don't care what MS says and would rather wait to have a fully functional Ubuntu release.As far as "taking my ball and going home" all I'm saying is I'll probably stick with Intrepid for the near future.I like your idea about a boot menu option Lew.I don't use the "eye candy" either but Google Earth relies on smooth 3-D for best results. Video performance is better with fglrx. Edited by Frank Golden
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V.T. Eric Layton

This is kinda' sad. I'm a big AMD fan. All my systems use AMD CPUs. However, I've stuck with Nvidia because Ati had crappy Linux support. I sure wish AMD would hire a couple coders and set them in a room somewhere and come up with some decent Linux drivers for Ati video products one of these days. I'd probably buy an Ati card if they'd do that.

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Hi Lew, It wouldn't be the first time Ubuntu failed to meet a deadline. If memory serves Dapper 6.06 LTS was delayed 2 months because it wasn't ready. It should have been Ubuntu 6.04 LTS.MS hasn't got much to crow about, they released Vista before it was done and look at the disaster that was.I personally don't care what MS says and would rather wait to have a fully functional Ubuntu release.As far as "taking my ball and going home" all I'm saying is I'll probably stick with Intrepid for the near future.I like your idea about a boot menu option Lew.I don't use the "eye candy" either but Google Earth relies on smooth 3-D for best results. Video performance is better with fglrx.
Aw gee!! Back in 2006, when no one had even heard of them, Ubuntu was late with a release. So now, in 2009, when, whether you like it or not, they are the "flagship" Linux distro, that makes it OK for them to screw up again?But I still say, how does it help ATI users to make everyone else wait for the release? Answer that question, please!Edit: Not just ATI user, but ATI user that insist on 'eye candy.' Bottom line. This is NOT Ubuntu's failure. The failure is ATI's. But if a significant portion of the Linux community insist upon laying the blame at Ubuntu's door, then the winner is Bill Gates. Edited by lewmur
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Frank Golden
Aw gee!! Back in 2006, when no one had even heard of them, Ubuntu was late with a release. So now, in 2009, when, whether you like it or not, they are the "flagship" Linux distro, that makes it OK for them to screw up again?But I still say, how does it help ATI users to make everyone else wait for the release? Answer that question, please!Edit: Not just ATI user, but ATI user that insist on 'eye candy.' Bottom line. This is NOT Ubuntu's failure. The failure is ATI's. But if a significant portion of the Linux community insist upon laying the blame at Ubuntu's door, then the winner is Bill Gates.
You are right Lew it doesn't help anyone to make everyone wait for the release.Your also right about this being ATi failure but part of the blame should go to Ubuntu for using xserver 1.6 when the previous version worked fine. I'm upset with ATi more than anyone else. As I've said before ATi has a bad track record regarding Linux support. If I ever buy a new notebook it will have an Nvidia video card.BTW, I wasn't saying it was OK for Ubuntu devs to be late, just stating a fact. Edited by Frank Golden
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I suppose the only answer is to wait awhile and see if the open source ATI drivers eventually manage some rudimentary 3D support. I won't hold my breath. It's bad news if the fglrx driver won't support legacy hardware a bit longer.I wouldn't buy a new AMD/ATI based machine today, sadly. ;)

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Frank Golden

Hi Folks, The Ubuntu 9.04 final was released today. Still no fglrx support for the X1400 card in my notebook.Installing the fglrx drivers from the repos result in a screen full of video noise. No error messages just video noise.AMD/ATi has really screwed us owners of "older" cards. They have chosen to use the latest Catalyst 9.4 linux suiteto provide support for the new xserver 1.6. Unfortunately the latest Catalyst doesn't support many of the socalled older video cards including the X1400. That support ended with the last driver set (Catalyst 9.3 linux)This is mostly AMD's fault but the decision to use xserver 1.6 is a contributing factor. So if you have any of the unsupported video cards don't bother with Ubuntu 9.04 unless you can live with no 3-Dsupport.The installed open source radeon drivers work but not very well.BTW, I've tried to contact (email) Terry Makedon (CatalystMaker) of ATi about this issue. I will report here if he responds ad what he has to say.

Edited by Frank Golden
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Hey Frank,Have you tried the basic "ati" driver? I've installed (older versions of) Ubuntu on (vintageish P4) machines with (vintageish) ATi cards. Google Earth worked relatively well AS LONG AS 3D eye candy (Compiz) wasn't enabled. :hysterical:

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Frank Golden
Hey Frank,Have you tried the basic "ati" driver? I've installed (older versions of) Ubuntu on (vintageish P4) machines with (vintageish) ATi cards. Google Earth worked relatively well AS LONG AS 3D eye candy (Compiz) wasn't enabled. :hysterical:
Hi Urmas, Yeah, Jaunty comes with the basic "ati" driver installed by default. Google Earth "works" but not as well as it would with even the earliest fglrx onboard. It runs choppy. At least the basic driver supports my notebook's native resolution (1280x800).
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There was a note in the Mandriva Errata about ATI that might interest you:

Some ATI cards are no longer supported by ATI proprietary driver (fglrx)A new version of fglrx has been released by ATI to support new X.org server, but some cards are not supported anymore. They will be configured by default using open source drivers.Possible 3D instability with radeon and radeonhd drivers for ATI graphics cardsSome users with ATI graphics cards have reported system freezes when playing 3D games or using intensive 3D applications. For R600 and newer Radeon HD card users, this issue can be worked around by using the proprietary fglrx driver. However, people using GPU older than R600 based cards won't be able to install the proprietary fglrx driver as it no longer supports these old chips. We hope to be able to provide improved radeon and radeonhd in the future. Please consult this wikipedia page to determine your chipset revision.
The problem with ATI in previous years has always been that when a new distro was released with a new kernel the ATI drivers were not yet available for that new kernel . . . they were always lagging behind.Only the last 2 or 3 years it was somehow a bit better. . . . But apparently they are back giving problems to those owning an ATI card.:hysterical: Bruno
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  • 3 weeks later...

This site was given in the Wilders forum for the latest video drivers for Jaunty. Don't know if it will solve the problem but I thought I'd pass it along.

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