# Starting X - No Signal



## Ruler2112 (Oct 13, 2011)

I just went through a reinstall due to my not having soft updates enabled and trying to start X without a config file - _something_ happened to the file system which an fsck didn't fix and it was unbootable.  I wiped, reinstalled BSD 8.2 amd64, and compiled/installed Xorg & kde3 from ports.  Given my previous experience, I did NOT simply type startx and followed the configuration directions in the handbook.  The system did not die this time and I'm able to switch to different consoles using Control-Alt-F[1-8].  However, I have a problem.

Whenever I start X, my monitor goes blank and the 'no signal' box pops up on the screen.  (This is generated by the monitor itself.)  Control-C does break out and return me to a prompt though, so the reinstall must've fixed something.    Assuming that the config file needed tweaking, I loaded the xorg.conf file from my old slackware box and cut/paste some lines from there into the newly generated xorg.conf.new file.  Still no-go.  There's very little in the handbook page on X configuration on what to do if you can't get a signal.

Could anybody point out where I went wrong, what to try next, or any resources online where I could look for more information?


When X starts:

```
# Xorg -config /root/xorg.conf.new -retro

X.Org X Server 1.7.7
Release Date: 2010-05-04
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
Build Operating System: FreeBSD 8.2-RELEASE amd64
Current Operating System: FreeBSD ruler.baycity.graff 8.2-RELEASE FreeBSD 8.2-RE
LEASE #0: Thu Feb 17 02:41:51 UTC 2011     root@mason.cse.buffalo.edu:/usr/obj/u
sr/src/sys/GENERIC amd64
Build Date: 13 October 2011  01:47:17PM

Current version of pixman: 0.22.2
        Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.x.org
        to make sure that you have the latest version.
Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
        (++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
        (WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
(==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Thu Oct 13 14:48:36 2011
(++) Using config file: "/root/xorg.conf.new"
```


Xorg.conf:

```
Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier     "X.org Configured"
	Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
	InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
	InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
	ModulePath   "/usr/local/lib/xorg/modules"
	FontPath     "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
	FontPath     "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/TTF/"
	FontPath     "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/OTF"
	FontPath     "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/"
	FontPath     "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"
	FontPath     "/usr/local/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
EndSection

Section "Module"
	Load  "extmod"
	Load  "record"
	Load  "dbe"
	Load  "glx"
	Load  "dri"
	Load  "dri2"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier  "Keyboard0"
	Driver      "kbd"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier  "Mouse0"
	Driver      "mouse"
	Option	    "Protocol" "auto"
	Option	    "Device" "/dev/sysmouse"
	Option	    "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	#DisplaySize	  540   310	# mm
	Identifier   "Monitor0"
	VendorName   "HSP"
	ModelName    "HF255"

#	HorizSync    24.0 - 83.0
#Changed line to match working slackware config
  HorizSync    35-75

	VertRefresh  56.0 - 75.0

#Disabled just to see if it had any effect - it doesn't
#	Option	    "DPMS"

#Begin Added------
  # 1680x1050 @ 60.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 65.22 kHz; pclk: 147.14 MHz
  Modeline "1680x1050_60.00"  147.14  1680 1784 1968 2256  1050 1051 1054 1087 -HSync +Vsync

  # 1440x900 @ 60.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 55.92 kHz; pclk: 106.47 MHz
  Modeline "1440x900_60.00"  106.47  1440 1520 1672 1904  900 901 904 932  -HSync +Vsync

  # 1280x800 @ 60.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 49.68 kHz; pclk: 83.46 MHz
  Modeline "1280x800_60.00"  83.46  1280 1344 1480 1680  800 801 804 828  -HSync +Vsync
#End Added------

EndSection

Section "Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
        ### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option     "SWcursor"           	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "HWcursor"           	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "NoAccel"            	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "ShadowFB"           	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "UseFBDev"           	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "Rotate"             	# [<str>]
        #Option     "VideoKey"           	# <i>
        #Option     "FlatPanel"          	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "FPDither"           	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "CrtcNumber"         	# <i>
        #Option     "FPScale"            	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "FPTweak"            	# <i>
        #Option     "DualHead"           	# [<bool>]
	Identifier  "Card0"
	Driver      "nv"
	VendorName  "nVidia Corporation"
	BoardName   "NV44A [GeForce 6200]"
	BusID       "PCI:5:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier "Screen0"
	Device     "Card0"
	Monitor    "Monitor0"

#Begin Added------
    DefaultDepth 16

    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       8
        Modes       "1680x1050" "1440x900" "1280x800"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       16
        Modes       "1680x1050" "1440x900" "1280x800"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes       "1680x1050" "1440x900" "1280x800"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       32
        Modes       "1680x1050" "1440x900" "1280x800"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
#End Added------

EndSection
```


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## wblock@ (Oct 13, 2011)

Avoid Modelines, most of the time they are not needed any more.  The same goes for VertRefresh and HorizSync: let the video card get the information from the monitor.  DefaultDepth should almost always be 24, but also can be left to default.

In general, it works best to let xorg self-configure as much as possible, changing as little as possible with entries in xorg.conf.

Putting log files on pastebin.com makes them more convenient to read.


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## Ruler2112 (Oct 14, 2011)

wblock@ said:
			
		

> Avoid Modelines, most of the time they are not needed any more.  The same goes for VertRefresh and HorizSync: let the video card get the information from the monitor.  DefaultDepth should almost always be 24, but also can be left to default.
> 
> In general, it works best to let xorg self-configure as much as possible, changing as little as possible with entries in xorg.conf.
> 
> Putting log files on pastebin.com makes them more convenient to read.



I tried letting it autoconfigure and used the xorg.conf file it generated.  When that didn't work, I started adding stuff (like the modelines) from my working slackware xorg.conf.  (Even tried using the whole xorg.conf file from my slackware box, but the versions must be too different because it complains about syntax errors.)  Doesn't seem to matter what I do - all I get is 'no signal' when I try to start X.


Thanks for the link to pastebin too.  I've not heard of it before, but it's a cool concept and very slick.    I've put my full unbroken log on there.


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## wblock@ (Oct 14, 2011)

Use the proprietary driver (x11/nvidia-driver*) instead of nv.


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## Ruler2112 (Oct 14, 2011)

That did it!  Thank you for your time & help wblock.


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