XBMC Live with ATI/AMD graphics controller boots to black screen?

Hi,

First off, brilliant been waiting for this!

Now the problem.... I have tried the new XBMC Live CD with my Think pad T43 (Intel CPU with AMD X300 graphics) and it boots through the splash screen and appears to finish loading but then goes direct to a black screen and thats all.

I have tried both from the cd and from a Live USB created using option 0 in the boot menu (this was created fine), but both just lead to the black screen.

Any ideas? I have my docking station all connected to the TV and Amp just waiting for this!

TIA, tom

Hello,

I have to second that.
My system: Intel Core2Duo E6400, 2GB RAM, ATI/AMD Radeon X1950X 256 MB, 22" HP TFT 1680x1050.
The system boots up (I choose #2, ATI/AMD Graphics) the startup scripts in /etc/init.d are executed fine, but as soon as it start the X server the screen goes black and it looks like it's searching for a proper video mode.
Ubuntu 8.10 (which is also installed on that computer) works fine without any problems(using the open source video drivers).
I'm a quite experienced linux user, so if you need more infos for debugging, let me know.

Regards,
Patrick

To confirm further, I have tested the same cd on my vaio laptop (intel cpu and nvidia grahpics) and it works fine (but vaios can't boot from usb....)

To second the above Ubuntu 8.10 works fine on my T43 w/AMD graphics

if you have a working xorg.conf, create a directory on the XBMC Live USB drive called "config" (no quotes) and place a copy of the working xorg.conf there. That way the file will be merged into the live filesystem and used by Xorg.
ATI/AMD X drivers are quite picky and require some efforts to get to a properly configured xorg.conf.
Let us know how it goes.

Hi,

thanks for the hint. I'm trying it right now and I have a suggestion:
Prior to choosing the right device, it would be nice to see the output of fdisk -l to make sure you choose the right device. I had to switch to another VT to find the device.
Okay, the installation is finished, my xorg.conf (which is quite empty, because the Xorg server autodetects everything) is in the /config directory.
My system boots from the usb storage. Which option should i choose now? Neither 2 or 3 is working for me.
I guess I have to fiddle around with my xorg.conf.

Regards,
Patrick

EvilDevil Wrote:Prior to choosing the right device, it would be nice to see the output of fdisk -l to make sure you choose the right device.

point taken, there should ba a trac ticket already for this.

EvilDevil Wrote:Okay, the installation is finished, my xorg.conf (which is quite empty, because the Xorg server autodetects everything) is in the /config directory.
My system boots from the usb storage. Which option should i choose now?

if you have an NVIDIA choose 1, for AMD choose 2

EvilDevil Wrote:I guess I have to fiddle around with my xorg.conf.

unfortunately

Hi,

is there some documentation available on how the boot process is working?
I think it would be nice to have an boot option to use Xorg's open source drivers for the graphic cards instead of loading the fglrx/nvidia drivers.

Regards,
Patrick

I am having the same issue. Athlon 64 X2, Radeon X850.

I can't even kill the Xserver or switch to another terminal. It seems to completely lock the system. Maybe add an option to select a failsafe xorg driver so people can at least get in and edit the xorg.conf file.

I am booting off a CD. I tried installing to a flash drive but it failed because the drive was only 1gb in size. The first screen says the drive needs to have 1gb of free space, and then the next screen says the drive needs to be 2gb or larger.. . kind of misleading.

EvilDevil Wrote:I think it would be nice to have an boot option to use Xorg's open source drivers for the graphic cards instead of loading the fglrx/nvidia drivers.

remember that XBMC needs accelerated OpenGL, that are still not available with the opensource drivers, so no luck!

jfatica Wrote:Maybe add an option to select a failsafe xorg driver so people can at least get in and edit the xorg.conf file.

look at this thread, it may help.

jfatica Wrote:The first screen says the drive needs to have 1gb of free space, and then the next screen says the drive needs to be 2gb or larger.. . kind of misleading.

that was a last-minute typo, already fixed.

tdw197 Wrote:To confirm further, I have tested the same cd on my vaio laptop (intel cpu and nvidia grahpics) and it works fine (but vaios can't boot from usb....)

To second the above Ubuntu 8.10 works fine on my T43 w/AMD graphics

They sure can.
I booted on my vaio, press F2 during the Vaio screen and enable external device boot.