X problems... graphical card?

[rsilvapt]

Hi!

I've installed Slackware 13.37 in an old Asus laptop but I'm experiencing some problems....

I have Gnome 3 and it is fast and works properly.... until X freezes or gets with strange graphical effects.

Where do you think the problem is? In the graphics card?, an "Intel 852GM/855GM x86/MMX/SSE2"

I've run xorgsetup and even downloaded new drivers (xf86-video-intel-2.15.0).

Changing the color depth didn't help...

Thank you,

Rui

[rigelan]

Slackware 13.37 doesn't typically come with Gnome as a window manager. Did you add it separately?

On another note: I've had problems getting an Intel 865G to work properly on a desktop. I finally gave up and put in an old nvidia card to make it work. Some integrated intel graphics controllers work better than others, I suppose. It could be your hardware - it is possible.

[rsilvapt]

Hi rigelan,

Yes, I added Gnome 3 separately... It works really fine and it is fast

My only problem is related with X when it freezes or gets with "strange graphical effects". It's really bad because I need to use Slack and I only have this laptop for now...

Do you have any suggestion on how I can overcome this problem?

Thank you!

[dopplerduck]

Hi rigelan,

Yes, I added Gnome 3 separately... It works really fine and it is fast

My only problem is related with X when it freezes or gets with "strange graphical effects". It's really bad because I need to use Slack and I only have this laptop for now...

Do you have any suggestion on how I can overcome this problem?

Thank you!

I've been trying to get rid of the X freeze on this graphics chip for a long time and it doesn't really work, at least with the i915/i945 driver. The freeze persists, showing up from time to time. The display getting all funny is one thing that does get fixed on KDE3 by turning off KDE desktop effects. It is something to do with translucency I think.

[rsilvapt]

Hi dopplerduck,

Thank you for your post

I've tried KDE3 but it is a little bit "heavy" to my old laptop... even without all those fancy effects.

[MASONTX]

Have you tried the LXDE or XFCE desktop instead?

[rigelan]

I do suspect it is the video card / drivers.

If you test other window managers - and they also crash or fail, then you could be sure that it is either the card or the drivers or the power supply. I had what seemed like a video card issue with my NVIDIA - it would crash occasionally here or there, usually when using flash or something else. I replaced the power supply on the computer and have had no more crashing issues. Bad power can make a difference.

If other window managers don't fail - then the problem is that Gnome 3 is using some function of your video card typically not used, and perhaps you should switch window managers to one that seems to work with your card. (Or maybe there is a switch called 'desktop effects' that you can turn off that will disable advanced usage of your card - making it more stable).

Can't say I'm an expert in hardware and drivers. But I do have a few ideas.