The video chip used in the Toshiba 6100 is the NVIDIA GeForce 4 420
Go.
Depending on the exact model of 6100 you have, the video RAM may be 16M
or 32M - check this from the specifications before going any further.
During RH Linux 7.3 installation, the chip is incorrectly probed as
NVIDIA GeForce 2 and the "nv" driver is selected.
This will cause the X-server to crash on startup
, so it is important to over-ride the chip selection with NVIDIA
GeForce 4 initially. For the monitor, use "Generic Laptop 1024x768",
and select a maximum colour depth of 16-bit.
This invokes a standard VESA driver and will work reasonably well.
For a really sparkling display, you will need to get the correct Linux
drivers, as follows...
Download driver packages appropriate for your distro from the video chipset manufacturer, Nvidia .
The NVchooser application is very handy for helping you decide which files to download:
$ sh NVchooser.sh
For the Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100 running RedHat Linux 7.3 you will need:
NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-2960.i386.rpm
NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-2960.rh73up.i686.rpm
Install the GLX and kernel packages:
rpm -ivh NVIDIA_*
(For full instructions, read carefully the contents of the README file).
Modify your XF86 Config (/etc/X11/XF86Config-4) as follows:
"Module" section:
"Monitor" section:
For a basic setup, all you need is:
Identifier "Custom"
VendorName "Unknown"
ModelName "Unknown"
HorizSync 31.5-100
VertRefresh 50-100
Modeline "1024x768" 106.50 1024 1040 1216 1328 768 768 780 802
Option "ddc" "off"
"Device" section:
It's very important that the Driver line is changed from "nv" or "vesa" to "nvidia".
Be careful about the VideoRam - my PC has 32 MB, others may have only 16 MB.
Identifier "NVIDIA GeForce 4 420 Go"
Driver "nvidia"
BoardName "Unknown"
VideoRam 32768
Option "BackingStore" "On"
"Screen" section:
You can add more modes as required, but note that each must have a valid modeline in the "Monitor" section. The "Virtual" line disables the display panning that would otherwise occur by default, and forces the driver to display everything within the confines of the screen dimensions.
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "NVIDIA GeForce 4 420 Go"
Monitor "Custom"
DefaultDepth 24
Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768"
Virtual 1024 768
EndSubSection
Once the modified file has been saved, you can try starting the X-server:
$ startx
and with a bit of luck, you will have a functioning display. If not, check the /var/log/XFree86.9.log file for pointers to what went wrong. Useful key commands at this stage are:
<Ctrl> <Alt> <BkSp> to kill the X-server and revert to text mode
<Ctrl> <Alt> <Fn> <;> to switch screen modes (if you have more than one)
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you make a mistake and get a bright white screen, kill the X-server immediately to avoid irreparable damage to the LCD display. All of the above instructions are given without any warranty. They may not work in your case, and worse, they may cause damage to your PC. Use them at your own risk!
Assuming all is well, you will now want to get rid of the black vertical line at the right hand side of the screen. To achieve this, add the following line to /etc/modules.conf :
options NVdriver NVreg_SoftEDIDs=0 NVreg_Mobile=2
and re-boot.