[davesurrey]

Hi, (first post)

This is my very first experience with anything PCLinux-ish and I have very little linux experience also.

Just got running pclos-gnome-2008.1 as a new install.
Am triple booting with Win XP and Ubuntu 8.04; (that's another story!)

Trying to get compiz working but PCC>Hardware>3D Desktop says

no 3D desktop effects.

Also clicking on the Compiz Fusion Icon doesn't do anything.

Hardrake identifies the video card as an nvidia GeForce 4 96XX(which I know it to be) and I have selected several of the nvidia drivers, not just the GeForce 3 to 4 that it suggests, but they all indicate no 3D effects.

I know this card/PC is capable of 3D as it worked just fine in Ubuntu.

Any ideas please?
Thanks
Dave

[don_crissti]

If you have the driver installed... check like this, should output about nvidia...

[guest@localhost ~]$ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf | grep nvidia

Have you set up the graphical server in PCC ? You're supposed to enable 3d desktop there...

[davesurrey]

Output of cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf | grep nvidia gave nothing so I dropped the pipe and just did a cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf to get after manual editing:

Section "Device"
Identifier "device1"
VendorName "nVidia Corporation"
BoardName "NVIDIA GeForce 3 to GeForce 4 (96xx)"
Driver "nv"
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Yes I did know I had to use PCC to set the graphical server. This bit doesn't seem very stable as if I select the graphics card as NVIDIA GeForce 3 to 4 it doesnt offer me a 3D option but if I set Graphical Server not under the vendor list but as nv from the Xorg list then 3D hardware Acceleration is offered.

But going back to Configure 3D desktop effects it says No 3D effects. And returning back to the graphical server it has gone back to the vendor NVIDIA GeForce settings.

Frankly the whole install has a flaky feel to it (I reinstalled tonight onto a re-formatted disk from a newly burnt CD ) and so many things are still falling over. Subject of a fresh thread.
Help!
Cheers
Dave

[don_crissti]

The vendor I don't care about.
Just install that nvidia driver and then logout as prompted, log back in set up your monitor, resolution and all that stuff. Only then try to enable 3d desktop. There is some order in all these things...
If you don't know how to install the driver search the forums as there are at least five threads about this...

[davesurrey]

Well it's the card I've been using happily for the last few years in this machine. I guess it's the same way the Ubuntu people feel about my Broadcom wifi card which doesn't work in their 8.04 but works just fine in PCLinux.

Anyway, I am sure I installed the nvidia 96XX driver before using Synaptic but when I looked just now it wasn't marked as installed so I reinstalled. Then set up (yes, in the order that I have read before) but this time I was told there was a better (driver?) available. Did I want to install it? I did and after rebooting the whole thing crashed. It asked if I wanted to repair the X-server but has now shut it down.
One thing I noticed before this happened was I got a message

failed to load, /lib/xorg/modules//extension/nvidia/libglx.so

Hope that give you a clue.
It's nearly 3am here now and starting yet another install.
Dave

[don_crissti]

If you plan to reinstall... when you finish... install the driver from Synaptic (96 or whatever is suitable for your card) logout, login then setup your monitor and resolution (you have each of these also in PCC) of course logout and login each time you're prompted to.. Don't agree to update your driver if you get that message again.
Now, after you have all installed (driver, monitor setup and resolution) reboot your pc. Next go to configure 3d desktop and see if you can enable that.

[gettinther]

Dave,

If you install the driver from the nvidia site, it will not register in synaptic and will cause the control center to fail also. Use the version in synaptic, it will be much easier to set your system.

If you install the driver from the nvidia site and then the one from synaptic, this will screw up the symlinks and cause the error your are getting (libglx.so is a link to the glx driver library).

[davesurrey]

Hi getinther,
Thanks for the input. Actually I haven't used the nvidia drivers from their site but did use the ones in Synaptic. But some how in trying things out I think I lost my way. Oh well that's how to learn.
Since my last post (sound of buggles) I have done a new install and all is very happy (fingers and mice crossed) and am really enjoying the experience. Got the drivers up and running, cubes spinning nicely in compiz (how sad!) and at last feel that I am understanding why so many folk say they love this distro.
Cheers
Dave

[davesurrey]

If you plan to reinstall... when you finish... install the driver from Synaptic (96 or whatever is suitable for your card) logout, login then setup your monitor and resolution (you have each of these also in PCC) of course logout and login each time you're prompted to.. Don't agree to update your driver if you get that message again.
Now, after you have all installed (driver, monitor setup and resolution) reboot your pc. Next go to configure 3d desktop and see if you can enable that.

All okay now after a new install. Thanks for our help.
Dave

[davesurrey]

All okay now after a new install. Thanks for our help.
Dave

Should have been thanks for YOUR help!!