Attempting to run cwm on FreeBSD

M

mikethe1wheelnut

[And.. I've just realized that this should be in "window managers" or "display servers". I was previously unaware of these categories. The other thread clued me in.]

Alternate title: "xrandr: can't install i915kms driver from ports."

All this is happening on a Dell Latitude E7450 laptop, with 'HD Graphics 5500', Intel. Version is 14.2-RELEASE-p1 GENERIC amd64.

Part 1: I am trying to launch cwm (calm window manager) using startx, as per this youtube tutorial. The very end of this page appears to confirm that what the tutorial says to do is correct, that I need

exec cwm
Click to expand...

in ~/.xinitrc, and then I run startx.

In this case, I get plenty of output, including: "Fatal server error: .. no screens found".

Part 2: Noticing that the ~/.xinitrc of the github page includes an "xrandr" statment at the top, and that section 5.4.4 of the handbook on monitors also mentions xrandr, it seemed appropriate to check this out. That gives me "Can't open display".

Following this post, which is very recent, it seems clear that to resolve this,

$ xrandr
Can't open display
Click to expand...

I must first "Following instructions earlier in chapter 5, <install> the i915kms driver from ports."

Because my

$ kldstat | grep i915
Click to expand...

claims there is nothing there, so that really narrows down the problem.

I have tried installing i915kms from ports, and failed.

According to section 5.3, I am looking for either "drm-kmod" or "i915kms". I have looked for both of these in the ports tree, and found drm-kmod. So, apparently, I need to navigate to "/graphics/drm-kmod" in "/usr/ports" (so, /usr/ports/graphics/drm-kmod), and then run

make install
make clean

..except that it claims that a previous version is already there, so I have to first

make deinstall
Click to expand...

..it still doesn't work, so clearly I haven't figured it out yet. Removing the file I created in "xorg.conf.d", following instructions in section 5.4.3, for intel video cards, the error, on running startx, returns to:

Cannot run in framebuffer mode. Please specify busIDs for all framebuffer devices
Click to expand...

..note that the "drm-next-kmod" mentioned here (obsolete?) appears to reference a port that has been deleted. I suspect that other threads are also out of date.

..I'll come back to this tomorrow, continue the research..
 
Hi mikethe1wheelnut,

so i have read your post but i'm ignoring everything except install cwm. I have no idea why you are watching some video on youtube to perform the simple task of pkg install cwm. I have a virtualbox and it is simply a matter of installing the wm and utilizing cwm in the .xinitrc file. Your problems are related to the graphics driver and not xorg or cwm. Do you actually have an intel chip? I do not care to research the Dell system but here are some links to help you out:

docs.freebsd.org

Chapter 5. The X Window System

This chapter describes how to install and configure Xorg on FreeBSD, which provides the open source X Window System used to provide a graphical environment
docs.freebsd.org docs.freebsd.org

if you install the correct drivers for your graphics card and you have xorg installed (su/doas/sudo pkg install xorg), then you simply need to install cwm. try pkg search cwm and specify the wm. see my attached photos for reference.
 

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johnjohn said:
Hi mikethe1wheelnut,

so i have read your post but i'm ignoring everything except install cwm. I have no idea why you are watching some video on youtube to perform the simple task of pkg install cwm. I have a virtualbox and it is simply a matter of installing the wm and utilizing cwm in the .xinitrc file. Your problems are related to the graphics driver and not xorg or cwm. Do you actually have an intel chip? I do not care to research the Dell system but here are some links to help you out:

docs.freebsd.org

Chapter 5. The X Window System

This chapter describes how to install and configure Xorg on FreeBSD, which provides the open source X Window System used to provide a graphical environment
docs.freebsd.org docs.freebsd.org

if you install the correct drivers for your graphics card and you have xorg installed (su/doas/sudo pkg install xorg), then you simply need to install cwm. try pkg search cwm and specify the wm. see my attached photos for reference.
Click to expand...

So, I'm really sorry for not being clearer. I forgot the rule of clearly listing everything I did. I have run "pkg install cwm". And I have xorg. They are both there. I did that before I went looking for tutorials, and I checked the handbook as well before searching for tutorials.
 
Perhaps my post seems rude. I did not intend to sound rude. My apologies if you think that i am being rude. I am new to FreeBSD, as in i have only used Windows since 1999. I just think that you are overthinking here and you certainly do not need a video to install cwm, especially a video that installs packages in addition to cwm (alacritty, rofi, picom, vim etc). Sinply install cwm.

You have over 140 posts here, so you are no new to The Beast (FreeBSD). Thus, i wonder, how is your FreeBSD setup working before you tried to install cwm? were you able to launch Xorg with other window managers? have you ever used a Desktop Environment? if so, then your graphics were configured and you simply needed to install cwm. Otherwise, you have not had a graphics driver the entire time you have been a member here? Then, you will need to sort this out before using xorg or any other graphical software. We need to get to the core of the problem, which appears to be graphics driver.

The forum has lots of pros and you are better off posting questions here than following some youtube video.

So let everyone know the laptop specs and have you been using graphical software before without errors (what happened with other window managers when you executed startx?)

I hope that you can get this sorted...
 
johnjohn said:
Perhaps my post seems rude. I did not intend to sound rude. My apologies if you think that i am being rude. I am new to FreeBSD, as in i have only used Windows since 1999. I just think that you are overthinking here and you certainly do not need a video to install cwm, especially a video that installs packages in addition to cwm (alacritty, rofi, picom, vim etc). Sinply install cwm.

You have over 140 posts here, so you are no new to The Beast (FreeBSD). Thus, i wonder, how is your FreeBSD setup working before you tried to install cwm? were you able to launch Xorg with other window managers? have you ever used a Desktop Environment? if so, then your graphics were configured and you simply needed to install cwm. Otherwise, you have not had a graphics driver the entire time you have been a member here? Then, you will need to sort this out before using xorg or any other graphical software. We need to get to the core of the problem, which appears to be graphics driver.

The forum has lots of pros and you are better off posting questions here than following some youtube video.

So let everyone know the laptop specs and have you been using graphical software before without errors (what happened with other window managers when you executed startx?)

I hope that you can get this sorted...
Click to expand...

"You have over 140 posts here, so you are no new to The Beast (FreeBSD)."

140 posts??? ..you have gotta be kidding me.. (I haven't counted)

As for my history with FreeBSD, you actually have an excellent point, it could be confusing. I originally put it on the machine in question.. years and years ago when I was first exploring both bsd and linux. At that time, I ended up settling on ubuntu because I did speed tests of the program I was intending on using, and ubuntu won. I now know that that's likely because of all the effort that has gone into making linux fast in that particular way. And I have researched the bsd's much more so that I understand much more what they are all about and so why one would want to use them even if they aren't quite as fast for a given application. So I played around with it, like 4-5 years ago, and have been using ubuntu since. That ancient installation is long gone, this is a brand-new one. Assuming that the desktop environments mentioned in the handbook would work without problems, I didn't even try them. I will now, for the sake of the debug :)

"The forum has lots of pros and you are better off posting questions here than following some youtube video."

My understanding of the ethic of these forums is that you search for answers everywhere you can before asking for help, and you document everywhere you have searched, everything you have tried. I simply forgot to mention what I thought were the obvious easy things of installing cwm and xorg.

"especially a video that installs packages in addition to cwm (alacritty, rofi, picom, vim etc). Sinply install cwm."

That is precisely what I am trying to do :) Once cwm works, I'll consider the other things :)

..meanwhile, it's 3:30 here.. I really should try to get to sleep..
:)
 
so i found a thread discussing Intel HD Graphics 5500:
Lordestark

Thread 'Intel Graphics 5500'

Any FreeBSD support for Intel graphics 5500?

if you undo changes that you made to xinitrc and any xorg.conf file, then you should have your graphics driver working. In that case, just install cwm and test it with startx after adding it to the xinitrc file. Once it is working, you can install other packages for cwm and customize...
 
johnjohn said:
so i have read your post but i'm ignoring everything except install cwm.
Click to expand...

That is unfortunate, seeing as I am quite sure that cwm itself isn't the problem.

kldstat | grep i915
Click to expand...

, see my original post, clearly indicates that the right driver is not installed, which is almost certainly the problem. Everything else about cwm is (was) my attempt to clarify for everybody what I am actually trying to do.
 
johnjohn said:
so i found a thread discussing Intel HD Graphics 5500:
Lordestark

Thread 'Intel Graphics 5500'

Any FreeBSD support for Intel graphics 5500?

if you undo changes that you made to xinitrc and any xorg.conf file, then you should have your graphics driver working. In that case, just install cwm and test it with startx after adding it to the xinitrc file. Once it is working, you can install other packages for cwm and customize...
Click to expand...
..I can't quite remember why I came back online, there was something to check, to add to my post. Regardless, thanks for the thread you linked, I will have to consider it further tomorrow. :)
 
drm-kmod will install the correct driver to the system.
to my knowledge, you need to add the driver in /etc/rc.conf.
kld_list="/boot/modules/i915kms.ko"

did you have graphics working before this post? you didn't answer this question. why are you now istalling drivers instead of when you installed the system?

if you had graphics working before, then you just install cwm.

The guide will tell you what to do:
docs.freebsd.org

Chapter 5. The X Window System

This chapter describes how to install and configure Xorg on FreeBSD, which provides the open source X Window System used to provide a graphical environment
docs.freebsd.org docs.freebsd.org

well, you should get some sleep and try tomorrow. I hope that you get the problem sorted. Also, my point-of-view to be clear: i assume that you have had a working system before this cwm situation because you seem to be running and using FreeBSD. Thus, i cannot understand why you are trying to install graphics drivers well beyong initial installation of FreeBSD. I assume that you had a working driver before and that you have tried to change it based upon a video that you watched on youtube. Certainly you would know if your driver wasn't working before now. Follow the guide and get it sorted, the you can simply istall cwm.

sleep well, mikethe1wheelnut :)
 
johnjohn said:
so i found a thread discussing Intel HD Graphics 5500:
Lordestark

Thread 'Intel Graphics 5500'

Any FreeBSD support for Intel graphics 5500?

if you undo changes that you made to xinitrc and any xorg.conf file, then you should have your graphics driver working. In that case, just install cwm and test it with startx after adding it to the xinitrc file. Once it is working, you can install other packages for cwm and customize...
Click to expand...

Ok, I've checked that thread out, and I can see, so far, two suggested solutions. The second one: x11-drivers/xf86-video-intel, I'm currently.. oh, it has finally stopped. Damn, that port seemed to download the entire internet. It kept on asking me if I wanted to install this that and the other thing, and I just said yes to all of it because.. well, I'm not going to say no, am I?

..and.. that doesn't seem to have solved it. Of course, my system -might- be a complete mess now, so we shouldn't rush to conclusions..

The First suggestion leads to this which is clearly advanced, and therefore unlikely to be the solution. This -should- be fairly easy to solve, in terms of the number of commands to execute, the amount of reading to do..
 
johnjohn said:
drm-kmod will install the correct driver to the system.
Click to expand...
..Let this be the third thing that you have told me to do that I already did. I suppose there will be others. sigh.
johnjohn said:
did you have graphics working before this post? you didn't answer this question. why are you now istalling drivers instead of when you installed the system?
Click to expand...
No. I -am- installing drivers now, as I am installing the system. ..or are you talking about the installation procedure with the blue-screen and the menus where you select options? If I somehow did -that- wrong, it's news to me.
johnjohn said:
Graphics - FreeBSD Wiki
Click to expand...
This sends me back to the handbook and all the things we have already discussed.
johnjohn said:
well, you should get some sleep and try tomorrow. I hope that you get the problem sorted. Also, my point-of-view to be clear: i assume that you have had a working system before this cwm situation because you seem to be running and using FreeBSD. Thus, i cannot understand why you are trying to install graphics drivers well beyong initial installation of FreeBSD. I assume that you had a working driver before and that you have tried to change it based upon a video that you watched on youtube. Certainly you would know if your driver wasn't working before now. Follow the guide and get it sorted, the you can simply istall cwm.
Click to expand...
I thank you for your typing efforts. I will observe that, just as in some forums where the instructions are to post a single problem at a time, your efforts may be more efficient if you first ask clarifying questions and wait for the answers. And I, in turn, will be much more careful in the future to lay out as precisely as I can what I have done, -including- those things that I was 100% sure were correct. I may not be able to anticipate -every- misunderstanding, but there are several things that I did that I should have clarified that I did. :)
 
have you added your username to the video group?
Code: 
$ groups <username>

if not, then (as root):
Code: 
$ pw groupmod video -m <username>

have you checked the Xorg log file?
Code: 
$ cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log

what do you see when you type the following command (as root):
Code: 
$ pciconf -lv | grep -B4 VGA

what do you see at vtvga0 when running the following command (as root):
Code: 
$ dmesg | grep -i "drm|vga"

to my knowledge, i915 is supposed to work for your Intel graphics. One should be fine with the following instructions:
Code: 
$ pkg install drm-kmod
$ sysrc kld_list+=i915kms
$ shutdown -r now
$ kldstat
 
johnjohn said:
have you added your username to the video group?
Click to expand...
Yes.
johnjohn said:
have you checked the Xorg log file?
Click to expand...
Apparently it isn't there.
johnjohn said:
what do you see when you type the following command (as root):
Click to expand...
What I expect to see, similar to what is in the handbook. Would take a long time to type out. 'HD Graphics 5500' is part of it.
johnjohn said:
what do you see at vtvga0 when running the following command (as root):
Click to expand...
Nothing. The entire dmesg gives nothing.
johnjohn said:
to my knowledge, i915 is supposed to work for your Intel graphics. One should be fine with the following instructions:
Click to expand...
Now, -this- is interesting. This is the first time I've seen mention of a shut-down (and reboot). Will test that next. Maybe it's there in the handbook, but way down the page..

For the record, I have done a fresh install, to try to isolate the problem. Will post the commands I used shortly, if the reboot doesn't work.
 
Hi Mikethe1wheelnut,

I'm happy that you have made some progress :-) we need to get this working for you. I hate to see you have these problems but if we can find what is stopping the driver from working, then maybe a FreeBSD expert will have a suggestion.

rebooting, to my knowledge, is not required using FreeBSD.
However, you still need to load newly installed drivers:
$ kldload <driver>
for example: $ kldload i915kms
I just prefer to reboot, probably from Windows usage. LOL

I hope that you get it working. Let us know how it is going ...
 
Again, for the record, I have now "extended" the test to launching cwm, and it -does- appear to work. In the sense that I -eventually- end up with a completely black screen with a single mouse pointer that -will- move if I ask it to. I already know a fair bit about how to configure it, when ready, assuming it -is- working.

Emphasis on the "eventually". One issue now is, for the sake of putting it here for now and not in a fresh thread, yet, because I'm tired and haven't researched it yet,

xauth: timeout in locking authority file /home/user/.Xauthority
Click to expand...

which appears several times before cwm actually launches.
 
johnjohn said:
Hi Mikethe1wheelnut,

I'm happy that you have made some progress :-) we need to get this working for you. I hate to see you have these problems but if we can find what is stopping the driver from working, then maybe a FreeBSD expert will have a suggestion.

rebooting, to my knowledge, is not required using FreeBSD.
However, you still need to load newly installed drivers:
$ kldload <driver>
for example: $ kldload i915kms
I just prefer to reboot, probably from Windows usage. LOL

I hope that you get it working. Let us know how it is going ...
Click to expand...
..unless I miss my guess, now that it's installed, and the computer rebooted, I'll have to uninstall it and go through the procedure again to test this. Somehow, the motivation for that is lacking just now. Maybe later today, for the sake of others finding this thread later. Break time. :)
 
johnjohn said:
Hi Mikethe1wheelnut,

I'm happy that you have made some progress :-) we need to get this working for you. I hate to see you have these problems but if we can find what is stopping the driver from working, then maybe a FreeBSD expert will have a suggestion.

rebooting, to my knowledge, is not required using FreeBSD.
However, you still need to load newly installed drivers:
$ kldload <driver>
for example: $ kldload i915kms
I just prefer to reboot, probably from Windows usage. LOL

I hope that you get it working. Let us know how it is going ...
Click to expand...
And, your tone in this message is very pleasant. Thank you :)
 
Code: 
xauth: timeout in locking authority file /home/user/.Xauthority

seems like a permissions issue? try running
Code: 
ls -la
in your home directory to verify that you are the owner of the .Xauthority file (not root) and that you have write access to your home directory.

I am happy for you to be making progress :-) I hope that i did not seem rude at first, sometimes i come off that way but i certainly do not intend for it to happen.

I hope that you enjoy your break time :-) try not to push too hard. I think that you will find a resolution and the forum has lots of FreeBSD experts that can help. Please relax now and i hope that you have a pleasant day.

I am in Germany and it is almost 9pm here. I go to bed soon. I have to get up at 6am to get my son ready for school.

I'll check the thread tomorrow. Good night mikethe1wheelnut :)
 
johnjohn said:
in your home directory to verify that you are the owner of the .Xauthority file (not root) and that you have write access to your home directory.
Click to expand...
The files aren't there, not when I search for them (with ls -la). To be researched further later :)

..I learned quite a bit of german at one point.. ..along with spanish.. ..and arabic and sigh-language.. I would need a lot of practice to become functional. ..Ich habe fur ein yahre deutsch gelernt, und zwei yahre spanish.. Ich habe harry potter gelezen.. :)
 
mikethe1wheelnut said:
Now.. what that actually -does-, haven't the foggiest..
Click to expand...
change owner recursively (directory has other directories and files, which also need to be addressed)

I cannot see your system and i have no clue what you know and what you do not know. Are you logging in as root or have you configured a user? I imagine that you have configured a regular user and added that user to wheel, operator and video groups. The lock error seems like it is a permissions issue, so if you are not root, then you need read and write permissions on the .Xauthority file. See my attachment as an example using my user,group info (john:john).

So have you tried startx? is everything working now? I hope so :)

A useful tool for gleaning system info is dmidecode. In the future, you can use this tool to gather info about your system, which could be useful for installing drivers. I have used a similar tool on Windows to setup a system in VirtualBox using vboxmanage. I was able to successfully activate Windows because all of the system data was present from the actual hardware. dmidecode tools are very nice for collecting such information.

I hope that you have your driver and xorg working. Let us know if you have solved this problem ...

Have a nice day :)
John
 

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