SuSE Linux: Versions since 7.0
XFree86: Versions since 4.0
Warning: Install these files at your own risk! In case of difficulties, our installation support desk will not be able to help you solve the big diversity of problems that might arise. For problems concerning an XFree update, you can contact our Advanced Support service Monday through Friday, 0900 - 1700h, at the following chargeable phone numbers:
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If your graphics card is old, check first whether the new packages support it or not. This can be verified at the XFree home page or under http://www.xfree.org/#news. The link "driver status document" always takes you to the latest version and to an overview of the manufacturers.
The newest drivers are not necessarily the best. In few cases, it might be necessary to the XFree to obtain a stable graphic driver for old graphics cards.
You can use a variety of commands to find out the chipset used by your graphics card. First, you execute
sax2 -p
This command produces all relevant information on your graphic card, for example:
Chip: 0 is -> ATI Rage 128 RF 01:00:0 0x1002 0x5246 AGP r128
Here an explanation of the output details:
Chip: 0 = First encountered graphics chipset. ATI Rage 128 RF = Graphics card model. 0x1002 0x5246 = Manufacturer and card number. AGP = This is an AGP card. r128 = The driver module SaX starts with if no other parameters are assigned.
In addition, you can use the command
/sbin/lspci | grep VGA
which also provides detailed information on your graphics card. Linux systems do not read the name of your graphics card, but the chipset!
If you download the packages with Linux, create a new directory (/tmp/xfree86) in which to save all packages. Directories are created under Linux with the command:
mkdir directory_name
For example, the command:
mkdir /tmp/xfree86
creates the directory xfree86 at /tmp.
ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/suse/ftp.suse.com/suse/i386/supplementary/X/XFree86/
The latest version of SaX2 is available at:
ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/suse/ftp.suse.com/suse/i386/supplementary/X/XFree86/SaX2/
You can update the XFree86 files by downloading the whole content of the current directory (approx. 56 MB).
The packages have been successfully downloaded with Linux and have been saved in a specific directory. The following example assumes that you have created a directory xfree86 at /tmp. If you have opted for another position, modify the command path accordingly:
rpm -Uvh /tmp/xfree86/*.rpm
The packages have been downloaded with another operating system and the files have been written to a CD-ROM in the directory xfree86. Mount the CD-ROM with:
mount /cdrom
Change to the CD-ROM drive and to the directory where the files are saved:
Install the packages with:
rpm -Uvh /cdrom/xfree86/*.rpm
Proceed as follows to install from a ZIP drive:
Load the kernel module for your ZIP drive with
modprobe ppa
or
modprobe imm
Then mount the ZIP drive with:
mount /dev/sda4 /mnt
(this is designated as hdX4 in IDE ZIP drives, where X must be replaced with the drive letter) and change to the corresponding directory to install the files. The following article provides additional information on attaching a ZIP drive
"IOMEGA ZIP drive" (http://sdb.suse.de/en/sdb/html/mantel_1.html)
Install the packages as described above.
Once the packages have been installed, activate SaX2 to start the X configuration.
For detailed information about the configuration with SaX2, refer to
"X Server Configuration with SaX2" (http://sdb.suse.de/en/sdb/html/wessels_sax2.html)