# 12" PowerBook G4 867MHz - Xorg doesn't work



## shifuimam (Feb 17, 2013)

I've just finished installing FreeBSD on an old 12" PowerBook G4 867Mhz. Full hardware details are available here for reference. The relevant bits:


CPU: PowerPC 7455
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 420 Go (32MB VRAM)
Trackpad: ADB (not USB - confirmed)
We've compiled xorg and everything is there, but launching it via *startx* just displays a black screen. Using *Xorg -retro* does display the generic X11 screen - a gray background with an X-shaped cursor in the middle. The cursor does not move.

Upon killing X and going back to a command window does show a couple errors, but they seem only to be related to the ADB internal trackpad:


```
(EE) xf86OpenSerial: Cannot open device /dev/ums0
(EE) product 0x1000: cannot open input device
(EE) PreInit returned NULL for "product 0x1000"
(EE) config/hal: NewInputDeviceRequest failed (8)
```

What sort of voodoo is required to get this working? We're using the old open-source nv driver. Our intention is to get noveau working some point, though.


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## wblock@ (Feb 17, 2013)

Have you enabled hald as shown in the Handbook X11 chapter?

Please show your xorg.conf and post the complete /var/log/Xorg.0.log to pastebin.com, giving the URL here.


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## shifuimam (Feb 17, 2013)

HALD is enabled.

xorg.conf:

http://pastie.org/6205901

Xorg.0.log:

http://pastie.org/6205910


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## shifuimam (Feb 17, 2013)

Some additional info:

/dev/ums0 is an external USB optical mouse attached to the machine, by the way. I tried to change the device to /dev/ams0, which is the internal ADB trackpad, but Xorg is still trying to use the USB mouse.

The USB mouse does work at the command line interface. The ADB trackpad does not. According to *dmesg*, the keyboard is also ADB.

I also searched through *dmesg* for anything related to the GPU, and came up completely empty.


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## wblock@ (Feb 17, 2013)

I would try it without a mouse InputDevice defined at all.

The fonts are not found.  Did you install x11/xorg or x11/xorg-minimal?


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## shifuimam (Feb 17, 2013)

Removed the mouse InputDevice - no dice. We also force-stopped moused so that X could use it. No mouse in *Xorg -retro*, but no errors in Xorg.0.log, either.


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## sossego (Feb 18, 2013)

You must edit the xorg.conf file with the variables for the screen.

The VertRefresh and HiorizSync values must be put in, even for a laptop.
You must add

```
Option "UseFBDev" "False"
```
into xorg.conf.

Only install the drivers for your system and no extras.

There is a tutorial: http://forums.freebsd.org/showthread.php?t=13827 .

There is a mailing list: http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-ppc .

Go through the tutorial, subscribe to the mailing list. The former will give you a template to follow, the latter has people who use the same architecture and equipment as you.


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## ColdfireMC (Feb 18, 2013)

there are input problems(mouse) check Input section(or related entries) in Xorg.conf

can you post(or pastebin) a complete /var/log/Xorg.0.log?

you must specify Hsync and Vsync manually on these machines, and modelines if a specific mode is not available with default settings


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