Etch Xserver no screens found

[Tralfas]

ok so the first off i have debian etch installed on a 320gb sata. everything installed great except for this error it gives me when it tries to start the xserver, it says that no screens were found. i figured it to be something with my graphics card which is a nvidia 8600. soo to try and fix that i used "nv" and i followed the steps in this guide to install the proprietary kernel. then i installed the nvidia-glx driver. you would think that it would work after this but noooooo. so then i changed "nv" to "nvidia" and i guess i made some improvement because now it gives me a black screen but nothing else.

heres my xorg.conf

# /etc/X11/xorg.conf (xorg X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the /etc/X11/xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man /etc/X11/xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
#   sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "Files"
	FontPath	"/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc"
	FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc"
	FontPath	"/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic"
	FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic"
	FontPath	"/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled"
	FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
	FontPath	"/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled"
	FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
	FontPath	"/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1"
	FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
	FontPath	"/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi"
	FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi"
	FontPath	"/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi"
	FontPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi"
	# path to defoma fonts
	FontPath	"/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType"
EndSection

Section "Module"
	Load	"bitmap"
	Load	"ddc"
	Load	"dri"
	Load	"extmod"
	Load	"freetype"
	Load	"glx"
	Load	"int10"
	Load	"vbe"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier	"Generic Keyboard"
	Driver		"kbd"
	Option		"CoreKeyboard"
	Option		"XkbRules"	"xorg"
	Option		"XkbModel"	"pc104"
	Option		"XkbLayout"	"us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier	"Configured Mouse"
	Driver		"mouse"
	Option		"CorePointer"
	Option		"Device"		"/dev/input/mice"
	Option		"Protocol"		"ImPS/2"
	Option		"Emulate3Buttons"	"true"
EndSection

Section "Device"
	Identifier	"nVidia Corporation NVIDIA Default Card"
	Driver		"nvidia"
	BusID		"PCI:1:0:0"
	Option		"UseFBDev"		"true"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Generic Monitor"
	Option		"DPMS"
	HorizSync	28-64
	VertRefresh	43-60
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Default Screen"
	Device		"nVidia Corporation NVIDIA Default Card"
	Monitor		"Generic Monitor"
	DefaultDepth	24
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth		1
		Modes		"1280x1024" "1280x960" "1280x854" "1280x800" "1280x768" "1200x800" "1152x864" "1152x768" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth		4
		Modes		"1280x1024" "1280x960" "1280x854" "1280x800" "1280x768" "1200x800" "1152x864" "1152x768" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth		8
		Modes		"1280x1024" "1280x960" "1280x854" "1280x800" "1280x768" "1200x800" "1152x864" "1152x768" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth		15
		Modes		"1280x1024" "1280x960" "1280x854" "1280x800" "1280x768" "1200x800" "1152x864" "1152x768" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth		16
		Modes		"1280x1024" "1280x960" "1280x854" "1280x800" "1280x768" "1200x800" "1152x864" "1152x768" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth		24
		Modes		"1280x1024" "1280x960" "1280x854" "1280x800" "1280x768" "1200x800" "1152x864" "1152x768" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier	"Default Layout"
	Screen		"Default Screen"
	InputDevice	"Generic Keyboard"
	InputDevice	"Configured Mouse"
EndSection

Section "DRI"
	Mode	0666
EndSection

this is all the further i have gotten with debian. any help in getting my debian install to work would be very very greatly appreciated!!!

thanks in advance!

[devils casper]

Hi and Welcome !

Section "Device"
	Identifier	"nVidia Corporation NVIDIA Default Card"
	Driver		"vesa"
	BusID		"PCI:1:0:0"
	Option		"UseFBDev"		"true"
EndSection

First of all, try vesa driver instead of Nvidia. Once you get working GUI, we'll try to fix Nvidia problem.

[Tralfas]

when i change nvidia to vesa it doesnt give me an error it just gives me a black screen with white letters that says this video mode cannot be displayed.

[devils casper]

Okk ! Try Envy to install Driver again.

[coopstah13]

envy isn't supported by him really anymore, its legacy and it doesn't work, i tried it, what is your motherboard chipset? If you have an nforce4 chipset on your motherboard well then I'm afraid you're out of luck with that geforce 8600 because I had both of those and they will NOT work together.

[Tralfas]

this is my motherboard. its an older one and i think they stopped making it. i also tried "vga" as a driver after i tried vesa and that gave me the same no screens error.

[FeestBijtje]

Best way to install nvidia drivers is to download the driver from nvidia.com
Then installing it when GDM has stopped running. (No gui)

[Tralfas]

how would i do that with no gui in the first place?

[FeestBijtje]

First prepare your system by downloading your sources.

Login on the root terminal

# uname -r
copy the kernel version.
# apt-get install linux-image-<paste>

# apt-get install nvidia-kernel-common module-assistant
# m-a -i prepare

Download your nvidia drivers to desktop.

# /etc/init.d/gdm stop

NOTE: After doing this gnome will be killed!

Login on root

 # cd /home/username/Desktop
# chmod +x NVIDIA*.run
# sh NVIDIA*.run

If the install was an success (no errors or fails)

# cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf-NVIDIA
# nano -w /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Change "nv" to "nvidia"

/etc/init.d/gdm start

And it should work.

[Tralfas]

wow thanks for all the help everyone. i finally got my desktop to work. i think this described my mood yesterday when i got it to work !

for the drivers that i had to download i just used wget and then the url for the 8600 driver. i installed it and everything works fine if i dont turn my computer off .now i just have to figure out how to keep nvidia running the way it is.

thank you very much!!