GNOME, FX-5 Graphics, X-Server.

[John Suyes]

Hello,

I have installed GNOME on my C-3700. I have a FX-5 graphics card in this machine because I run 3D CAD applications. (Pro/Engineer, Ansys, Catia) I am having problems with graphics under GNOME: The images don't spin and shade well. Some applications will not run and sometimes X seems to crash. I noticed on the GNOME known issues section of this website that some machines cannot user local graphics and GNOME. The fix is to comment out the "/usr/bin/X11/X" line in the server section of the /etc/opt/gnome/gdm/gdm.conf file. This stops the X server from starting at reboot. However that doesnt solve my problem of wanting to run GNOME with my FX-5 graphics. It goes on to say that I may need to reconfigure my X server to start properly but doesn't give instructions on how to do so. This is where I need help. Does anyone know how to configure the X-Server on a C3700 with FX-5 graphics so that opengl based CAD applications can take advantage of the local graphic card while running under GNOME?

[Alex Glennie]

I suspect it is refering to a workaround to prevent gnome from not respawning on the local console which appears to be a bug : the entry in gdm.conf would be :

[servers]

#0=/usr/bin/X11/X -fp tcp/:7000 -query

However since gnome is certainly not going to be the default desktop for hpux in the near future and is currently not supported I'd advise you stick with CDE.

However the symptoms you describe may not be related to gnome but to your Xservers patch level & Xserver options see /etc/X11/X0screens.

Perhaps if you could comment on your O/S , provide graphinfo output and any errors reported or seen in /var/dt/Xerrors it may help ... did CDE display the same problems ?

[John Suyes]

I am running HP-UX 11.0

Here is a list of relevant patches.


B6268AA B.11.00.05 Graphics and Technical Computing Software



B6848BA 1.4.gm.46 Ximian GNOME 1.4 GTK+ Libraries for HP-UX 11.00 and 11i
B6852BA 1.4.gm.46 Ximian GNOME 1.4 Desktop for HP-UX 11.00 and 11i

HPUXEng64RT B.11.00 English HP-UX 64-bit Runtime Environment
HWE1100 B.11.00.0203.5 Hardware Enablement Patches for HP-UX 11.00, March 2002
OnlineDiag B.11.00.20.09 HPUX 11.0 Support Tools Bundle, Mar 2002
QPK1100 B.11.00.56.5 Quality Pack for HP-UX 11.00, March 2002
UnlimUserLic B.11.00.02 HP-UX Unlimited-User License
XSWGR1100 B.11.00.47.08 General Release Patches, November 1999 (ACE)

The only uncommented line I have in the /etc/X11/X0screens file is:

Screen /dev/crt

CDE does not have these problems. Some how it seems to me that if CDE on the same machine can run these applications I ought to be able to trick GNOME to do the same thing. GNOME is great. I wish HP would support it. It sure would make my GUI addicted users happier.

Here are the relevant lines from my /var/dt/Xerrors file:


Setting ogld_PrivateErrorHandler for screen #0
AUDIT: Wed Mar 19 13:59:03 2003: 1779 X: client 17 rejected from local host
AUDIT: Wed Mar 19 14:30:11 2003: 1779 X: client 20 rejected from local host
OpenGL protocol rendering process (ogld) has died,
Please restart Xserver to restore OpenGL protocol rendering capability.

Thanks for your help.

JOhn Suyes

[John Suyes]

I have uploaded a file called graphinfo.txt which is a redirect of the screen output of the graphinfo command. Once again thanks for your help.

Thanks Again,

John Suyes

[Alex Glennie]

a) yes I wish they would too, it's nice eye candy and would make a change from answering CDE questions all year ;-)

b) It's sounding like this maybe specific to gnome since CDE is unaffected but it could possibly be a problem with the applications ... I doubt anyones tested Catia etc on the new desktop for obvious reasons ... you're one 15

Why don't my screen colors look right? -OR- What can I do about color allocation errors?

GNOME applications use colors extensively. The X display server on some HP-UX systems uses a default visual setting of 8-bit PseudoColor. This setting does not allow GNOME to make effective use of colors and shading. If you have a 24-bit display device, you may want to change the default visual to 24-bit TrueColor, which will greatly enhance the visual appeal of the GNOME desktop. You can change this setting through the Display icon in sam(1), or manually, by editing /etc/X11/X0screens. The following example entry for X0screens will force the X server to use a 24-bit TrueColor visual in the image planes.

Screen /dev/crt
DefaultVisual
Class TrueColor
Depth 24
Layer Image

On 8-bit displays, a TrueColor visual is also available, and can be selected, but the resulting colors may not look quite right.

If you are unable to use 24-bit TrueColor, then you need to reduce your applications' use of colors. Here are some suggested ways to limit your applications' color usage.

* Run the command imlib_config, and select the "small color set" option. This will leave more colors available for your applications.
* Use a simple (or no) background image.
* Select a plain GTK theme that does not use shading.
* Select a basic sawfish theme without shading.
* Use the -install option when you run netscape.

For more information about HP graphics devices and their configuration, refer to the links below.
[Skip graphics links link group]
Tech Note 1: How GNOME Uses X Visuals
graphics administration guide for hp-ux 11.x
of the first I've heard of.

c) However it appears you have an fx-10 ? Is this correct, if not maybe it's indicative of something else

d) I note from your X0.screens file you are not running gnome in the recommended visual ... from my J6700 11.00 with an fx-10 and running gnome I have

Screen /dev/crt
DefaultVisual Class TrueColor Depth 24 Layer Image

From faq's :

You can use sam to change the Xserver options of just edit the file and restart X.

see http://www.software.hp.com/products/GNOME/docs/tech01-visuals.txt

and http://www.software.hp.com/products/GNOME/specs.html#sysreq

Realistically someone from HP's WTEC organisation or one of the guys in the US RC would be better suited to assist with this since I'm a bit on my own in the UK .... Rick are you reading this ?

alternatively why not report this to Ximian see http://www.ximian.com/support/