# Xorg configuration questions.



## Pwkepkw (Jul 24, 2019)

Hey, firstly I want to say that I found all the help documents or topics written for the FreeBSD is very clear. That was a problem for me while I'm using GNU/Linux for even a short time.

But I couldn't really make the freebsd run smoothly on my computer. I have been sitting at my computer for two days and I just managed to run xfce4/xorg. I had and still have problem with:
Xorg -configure
Vesa driver (xorg only runs with xf86-video-intel driver)
monitoring cpu status (frequency, voltage)
Settings volume (no widget at the bottom)
Problems with xf86-video-intel driver (GPU hunging, tearing) ('tearfree' doesn't work)
Browsers are buggy (Sound continues at the background)
Firefox doesn't have a sandbox and some other components are not available as well.
I can't use the glxinfo command. It not exists.
Overheating etc.

My laptop is Aspire 5735z.

I'm not a computer/software engineer, and I don't think I will be. Do you think is it worth all the trouble?


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## SirDice (Jul 24, 2019)

First check if you have the right graphics drivers: https://wiki.freebsd.org/Graphics#Intel_Integrated_Graphics_.28aka_HD_Graphics.29

Things have changed a lot recently and the handbook doesn't reflect those changes yet.



Pwkepkw said:


> I can't use the glxinfo command. It not exists.


If I'm not mistaken it's part of graphics/mesa-demos.


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## Pwkepkw (Jul 24, 2019)

SirDice said:


> First check if you have the right graphics drivers: https://wiki.freebsd.org/Graphics#Intel_Integrated_Graphics_.28aka_HD_Graphics.29
> 
> Things have changed a lot recently and the handbook doesn't reflect those changes yet.
> 
> ...



The page not saying anything about which driver is the right one. I have both the drm-kmod and xf86-video-intel installed. Also vaapi is installed as well.
I couldn't find any documentation that clearly states what the differences between them and which one should I choose. Vesa, modeset, xf86, glamor, kmod... Also I couldn't find how to activate a specific driver. It's quite confusing to me.


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## Lamia (Jul 24, 2019)

Have you taken a look at this: https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/...-set-up-a-freebsd-desktop-from-scratch.61659/ ?
Such you have some driver issues to resolve though.
For most of these:

```
monitoring cpu status (frequency, voltage)
Settings volume (no widget at the bottom)
Problems with xf86-video-intel driver (GPU hunging, tearing) ('tearfree' doesn't work)
Browsers are buggy (Sound continues at the background)
Firefox doesn't have a sandbox and some other components are not available as well.
```
 you will have to install pkgs, such as gkrellm, conky, gnome extensions, MATE tweaks, etc.

Why not try:
1) 

DesktopBSD – KDE-based desktop-oriented distribution
GhostBSD – GTK-based distribution, that defaults Xfce and MATE as GUI
TrueOS – Qt-based FreeBSD distribution aimed at desktop users
MidnightBSD — A GNUstep-based independent fork of FreeBSD for desktops, however installer is not graphical
?


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## mark_j (Jul 24, 2019)

I thought desktopbsd was dead.
My choice out of those above would be ghostbsd. Fairly minimal but has your GUI, audio and network all ready to go.


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## Pwkepkw (Jul 25, 2019)

SirDice Lamia mark_j

Thanks. If l just need to learn its basics and read the handbook, I can do it, so I prefer FreeBSD.

I installed drm-kmod and it using the i965 driver now. The problems about configuring Xorg don't matter anymore, I guess.
installed some xfce4 taskbar plugins so I can watch the CPU usage and set the volume.

But I still need to fix overheating(undervolt,setting msr) and screen tearing. And I need to add sandbox to firefox. Do I have to install capsicum packet first and install Firefox from ports to do this?

Also what's the difference between xf86 drivers and kmod?


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## Minbari (Jul 25, 2019)

mark_j said:


> I thought desktopbsd was dead.


It is!


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## balanga (Jul 25, 2019)

It's a mistake to compare FreeBSD with some Linux distribution, mainly because FreeBSD is a complete OS in itself. You install the base and then add what you want/need. With, say Ubuntu, you get a complete package with a builtin GUI. If you are not comfortable with installing/configuring the GUI, you may want to look at TrueOS or NomadBSD. Both are versions of FreeBSD pre-assembled with GUIs. It may be that eventually you come to appreciate the underlying power and flexibility of FreeBSD after using it in such environments, without going the hurdle of setting it up. Once you understand how it works you will be better placed to build things the way you want.


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## mark_j (Jul 25, 2019)

Pwkepkw said:


> SirDice Lamia mark_j
> 
> Thanks. If l just need to learn its basics and read the handbook, I can do it, so I prefer FreeBSD.
> 
> ...



Well, cool. If you're prepared to read and fail occasionally, you will get a lot out of learning FreeBSD.
I have to say, in the many, many years I've used FreeBSD, I always found Xorg/X11 a dark art; voodoo almost (I remember the old Voodoo graphics cards, too).

kmod v xf86? Well, kmod is the kernel graphics module that drives the graphics. xf86 is the xorg driver to do the same. If you use kmod, there's no xorg driver, so no need for xorg.conf (I don't know when, but a while back Xorg began to run without the need for xorg.conf file - unless you're needing special custom settings like if you're running FreeBSD in vmware/virtualbox for the mouse in which case you have the xorg built via Xorg -configure)

That's about my extent of knowledge on kmod/xf86 and it's probably out-dated.


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## CraigHB (Jul 25, 2019)

That's what I like about FreeBSD, its' more of a sandbox compared to other flavors that sort of lock you into a particular configuration.  Of course you have to dig into the toolbox, but it can be fun (or frustrating) doing that.

I can say X windows has come a long way.  It's a lot easier to set up and use now than it was years ago.  I've done my share of hair pulling in the past over configuration.  Yeah those old 3DFX corp. graphics cards were appropriately named when it came to getting X running on one.


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## Phishfry (Jul 25, 2019)

Pwkepkw said:


> Overheating etc.


This is usually caused by ACPI not acting right.
There are several loader tweaks you can try.

Do you happen to own a Hybrid Graphics laptop? There is some recent work on the forum for Optimus laptops with Nvidia and Intel Graphics chips. They have been problematic in the past.



Pwkepkw said:


> Vesa driver (xorg only runs with xf86-video-intel driver)


Well VESA is not a hardware accelerated video driver anyway. You are best off with the Intel driver.
I hope that your i965 comment was a typo. You need to load the i915kms driver in /etc/rc.conf for some Intel chips.


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## mark_j (Jul 26, 2019)

I think this discussion on video cards brings up an issue I've had with the handbook. While some (a lot?) is getting outdated, the video driver information/tweaks/settings is just plain poor.
(I'd help collate information, but I don't use graphics cards in FreeBSD other than standard on-chip intel junk so I have no indepth or usage experience with nvidia/amd.)


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## balanga (Jul 26, 2019)

mark_j said:


> I think this discussion on video cards brings up an issue I've had with the handbook. While some (a lot?) is getting outdated, the video driver information/tweaks/settings is just plain poor.



I find that one of the problems with The Handbook is that it doesn't mention which version of FreeBSD is being referred to.  Video configuration within FreeBSD has changed quite a lot over the last few years, and it's not clear especially  when reading about setting up graphics cards which version of FreeBSD they pertain to.


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## SirDice (Jul 26, 2019)

balanga said:


> I find that one of the problems with The Handbook is that it doesn't mention which version of FreeBSD is being referred to


Most of the time the actual FreeBSD version is irrelevant. If there are indeed differences between versions then they are mentioned. But besides those a FreeBSD 12.0-RELEASE is still largely configured the same way as FreeBSD 3.0-RELEASE.

With regards to graphics, yes, I do agree the handbook could use an update. But as far as I know things are still getting worked out. So it's rather pointless to update the handbook now only to have to change it again. 

As with a lot of things with FreeBSD the documentation is also largely community driven. And there's always a need for good writers: FreeBSD Documentation Project Primer for New Contributors.


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## Phishfry (Jul 26, 2019)

SirDice said:


> If I'm not mistaken it's part of graphics/mesa-demos.


Yes `glxinfo` and `glxgears` are both part of that package.


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## balanga (Jul 26, 2019)

SirDice said:


> With regards to graphics, yes, I do agree the handbook could use an update. But as far as I know things are still getting worked out. So it's rather pointless to update the handbook now only to have to change it again.



It isn't so much an update in the contents, just a reference to the FreeBSD version the instructions pertain to.


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## SirDice (Jul 26, 2019)

balanga said:


> just a reference to the FreeBSD version the instructions pertain to.


It pertains to _supported_ versions. And that's really all the version info that's relevant.


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## shkhln (Jul 26, 2019)

Phishfry said:


> I hope that your i965 comment was a typo.



It's not a typo. Some parts of Intel driver stack are indeed named i965. Intel GPU drivers are weird.


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## Pwkepkw (Jul 26, 2019)

Overheating is not related to the system, it's just because I can't undervolt it like I could do on Windows.

1- Option "TearFree" "true" don't work. Screen tearing still persists.

2- I didn't understand the point of installing drm_kmod. I'm able to load i915kms module even without installing drm_kmod package, because there is an inbuilt drm. Also I couldn't make it use the new one, it only activates drm 1.1.1 (07.2008).

3- It's been a hour and I couldn't mount my usb drive. I couldn't understand all these 'different' commands and configurations. Writing random lines to configuration files is not something I prefer either.

Because I'm so noob to even install arch linux, I may go back to windows again. anyway, it was fun to try.


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## Sevendogsbsd (Jul 26, 2019)

Sorry you are having issues but as I think others have mentioned, FreeBSD does not hold your hand at all. After the base OS install, it is up to you to configure everything. drm_kmod worked flawlessly on my hardware - but I do have a PC and not a laptop so that may be different. I also did not use a desktop environment with heavy 3D requirements - I just always used a window manager.

Vermaden's automount works great for automounting USB thumb drives, FWIW.


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## Pwkepkw (Jul 29, 2019)

Sevendogsbsd said:


> Sorry you are having issues but as I think others have mentioned, FreeBSD does not hold your hand at all. After the base OS install, it is up to you to configure everything. drm_kmod worked flawlessly on my hardware - but I do have a PC and not a laptop so that may be different. I also did not use a desktop environment with heavy 3D requirements - I just always used a window manager.
> 
> Vermaden's automount works great for automounting USB thumb drives, FWIW.



xf86-video-intel with sna acceleration supports tearfree, I solved that issue.
But that was kinda buggy, so I'm using drm-fbsd12.0-kmod + modesetting + compton without a problem for now.

`compton -I 0.042 -O 0.042 -D 8 -C -G -i 0.93 --no-fading-destroyed-argb --shadow-ignore-shaped --vsync drm --sw-opti`

I learned how to mount usb devices. It really wasn't that hard, just had missed one command.

About undervolting, I couldn't yet found the right msr number. It seems that CPUs newer than Ivy Bridge are using the 0x150 register to apply voltages, but this register doesn't exist on older CPUs.

`root@sunucu:/usr/home/nemesis # cpucontrol -m 0x150 /dev/cpuctl0
cpucontrol: ioctl(/dev/cpuctl0, CPUCTL_RDMSR (3222037249)): Bad address`

http://kib.kiev.ua/x86docs/SDMs/335592-063.pdf


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