Porteus

Hi there, I know it's a known prob, but I think I'm missing something.
First of all, i've tested all the hardware except the bluetooth module and everything works fine, but the graphics are really poor.
Googling around i found there's a problem with the graphic accelerator (Intel GMA 500 aka Poulsbo) but to make it short at the present moment i'm able just to run a 1024x768 vesa mode which is really slow. Native resolution is 1366x768, but even tring with xrandr and cvt i'm not able to use native resolution (just a side note, puppylinux works in native res, but i've not yet compared configurations); I've red tons of similar pages,the only thing i know for sure is that this is a not fully supported hardware.
I heard something about psb_gfx kernel driver in 2.6.39 , but in the meantime is there anyone who can help me to get native resolution and an acceptable driver ??
Thanks
Paolo

Welcome on board pdellu,

I'm sorry but i have no clue what needs to be done for getting poulsbo GPU to work in Porteus. First rc (release candidate) of upcoming Portus-1.1will be ready in about 3 weeks (with 3.1 kernel) so may be worth coming back and trying it.

As for now i would suggest you giving a shot to distros made by our friends: Quax and Mithrandill
http://fluxflux.net/?page_id=226
http://www.pixielive.org/dotclear/
as these are specialized in netbooks and i'm pretty sure that GMA500 is well supported over there.

Cheers

Thx for the links, but i do think your build is better, and waiting new 1.1 is worth;
just one more question, i've seen in the developement area you've made for testing kernel for x86_64 , do you plan releasing 1.1 for 32 bit also or do i have to try to build the new kernel i need for gpu driver by my own ??

@pdellu
i'm mainly a 64bit maintainer while brokenman is doing 32bits. i know that brokenman is currently very busy with his real life so i may give him a hand with 32bits if necessary.
i should be able to release first rc of 32bits Porteus-1.1 in 2 or maybe 3 weeks after 64bit edition.

if you dont want to wait then you can compile a custom kernel yourself as per HOWTO which i posted on the main site.

Cheers

Ok just a little update for anyone interested. After deep investigation I know that up from 2.6.39 kernel in staging modules there's a new psb_gfx module for GMA500 aka poulsbo Intel GPU; this module is a little bit rudimental but in constant developement and has been written by ----open your ears------ Alan Cox.
I managed , after several unsuccessful tries, it to work with kernel 3.0.3 compiled for Porteus 1.0 i486 arch and now i have native resolution 1366x768 with sensibly better performances on the graphics
In order to work there's a little tweaks needed, basically you have to boot in text mode disable the original old poulsbo module (modprobe -r poulsbo) and reload psb_gfx module (modprobe -r psb_gfx ; modprobe psb_gfx) ; this will make start a framebuffer console with correct native resolution. In order to make it work the X server you need to manually compile for porteus the xf86-video-fbdev (it has been removed from slackware builds in 13.x releases) driver from freedesktop.org and activate it, after activation xconf will correctly detect fbdev as driver and everything is fine.
I made new modules 000-kernel.xzm with 3.0.3 compiled with oldconfig defaults plus psb_gfx staging and some new module for ath9k wireless atheros card, xf86-video-fbdev.xzm; if anyone is interested i can upload them somewhere with new needed vmlinuz and initrd.xz to put in boot partition.

A note for fanthom and other developers:
- I was not able to patch aufs3 with kernel 3.0.4 cause some junks fail
- In order to quickly support hardware like mine (googling around we are many) IMHO kernel should be built without buggy standard poulsbo graphic driver but with staging new psb_gfx driver and fbdev modules should be recompiled and included in graphic modules
- You made a wonderful work
Slack rules

nice stuff pdellu!

i'm happy that you did not give up with this task and provided valuable guide for other "happy" poulsbo owners
pls upload your custom kernel + fbdev DDX driver for me and other users.
i will disable original poulsbo kernel module in favor of psb_gfx - no worries about aufs3.

fbdev is generic driver and provides no hw 2D/3D acceleration so please let me know in case of finding better replacement which fits GMA500/600 GPU's. i wish to try some experiments myself but unfortunately i do not posses this type of hardware.

Thanks

Ok, the needed files are hosted at http://code.google.com/p/porteus-addons/ ; as soon as i have a little more time i'll post there a small wiki.
I'll drop a note about it even in x86 modules forum
Cya
Paolo

G'day

I'm running Porteus on a aspire 751h, nice work! I hadn't heard about Porteus until last night when I was looking for something that might work with the poulsbo videoI have on board on board. I had been using Salix but cannot really tell if display is any better but the kde background looks good.

I can play you tube videos now. Audio stream is OK but I'm not sure about the video. I tried an mpg2 video that works ok on my Salix desktop but it's useless on the acer now running Porteus. Before I try to set up the new kernel at http://code.google.com/p/porteus-addons/ may I ask if I can exoect inproved video once I have it set up?

justwantin wrote:G'day
....
I can play you tube videos now. Audio stream is OK but I'm not sure about the video. I tried an mpg2 video that works ok on my Salix desktop but it's useless on the acer now running Porteus. Before I try to set up the new kernel at http://code.google.com/p/porteus-addons/ may I ask if I can exoect inproved video once I have it set up?

The new driver is at an early stage of develop, and it's not sure it will work on any desktop, that's what the developers say; this just to rememer you have to make backups in order to be able to revert to previous.
The new module work with a frame buffer device, which is nearly obsolete, but in my case it was anyway better than before, and so should be in your.
Improvements in my case are mainly the following :
1 - Native resolution (1366x768)
2 - Video playback from youtube movies, before was not fluid now it is
3 - Scrolling of web pages is sensibly improved
Let me know your experience.
P.S. Remember you need to work 4 files : kernel,initrd,vmlinuz,xf86-video-fbdev
PP.SS. New driver is a module, you can even if u don't feel comfortable keep the upgraded kernel and work with your previous driver, which is also a module
Cya
Paolo

Hi

i've 1101 Ha
I'm trying the new kernel and vga, but the vga only as 1024x778

and Wireless its not working

any help please?

many thanks

@guimenez
welcome on board,

you can give a try to first release candidate of upcoming porteus-1.1(64bit verson):
http://ponce.cc/porteus/x86_64/testing/ ... -v1.1-rc1/
it should have everything ready for GMA driver as per pdellu instructions.

if you prefer 32bit version then rc1 is nearly ready so may be worth waiting few days.

please post output of 'lspci -k' command and we will find out how to get your wifi to work.

Cheers

Thanks for replying.

When i run lspci, it says command not found

I can't run the 64 iso because my atom is 32 bits, and it says need an i686 kernel.

I'm doing something wrong?

and BIG THANKS for this GREAT PROJECT

I have a question,

How could you run a 64bit OS on 32bit CPU ??
And, the supposed error is, You need to have x86_64 cpu to load the kernel.

i don't know why i don't have lspci command.

without that, how can i seen my network card?

thanks

Are you using the official Porteus Edition and not a variant ?