[LI] Final attempt at SiS 6215c!!!

[Joy Sarkar <sarkars@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi guys,
	 I am genuinely pained to see so many mails from you guys still having
problems with this damned SiS 6215c card. Look, I struggled a lot and finally
got this card working in my PC with resolution: 1024x768 and 8bpp colour.
(that, after a blown monitor! experiments can be costly, but satisfying if
ultimately successful!). The words in brackets are meant to be a "disclaimer".

Nevertheless, I want all of you to succeed in configuring this card
and get down to working as soon as possible. Hence this mail...

The following lists in detail how i got this thing working. There might (and i
am sure there is) be better solutions but if everything fails, give this a last
try...

1.Log in as root in the text mode.

2. If you are are using RH 5.2 (with the update scripts) that came with PCQ
march, then you can skip this step. If you are using RH 6.0 or RH 6.1 then
go the following way. First, uninstall the XF86_SVGA (/usr/X11R6/bin/XF86_SVGA)
server that came with RH 6.0 and 6.1 (in text mode). By issuing the command:

#rpm -e XF86_SVGA  

3. Then install the same but older XF86_SVGA server from the old PCQ March CD by
issuing the command 
rpm -i /mnt/cdrom/pcq-linux/rh52updates/XFree86-SVGA-3.3.3.1-1.i386.rpm
after mounting the cdrom of course...

3. now start XF86Setup and select the card SiS SG86c215 from the card
database. Then go the detailed setup and select "sis86c215" as the chip-set and
the videoram as "1Mb" or whatever videoram you actually have.
You will find some additional but commented lines added in the window and the
first line saying that uncomment the following lines if necessary. Dont
uncomment any lines now. Also, leave the rest of the parameters uncommitted.

4. Go to the monitor setup and put in the monitor Horizontal and Vertical Scan
frequencies (sync rates) as they are given in the monitor manual. NOTE: these
values are very important for the working of the SVGA server. GET THE RIGHT
VALUES AND PUT THEM IN. 

5. Go to the other Mode selection and click on 1024x768 and 8bpp. If you have
more than 1 Mb Video Ram you can try 16 bpp.

6. Save the hard days' work and complete the configuration. The XF86Setup will
try to run the server and will in all probability succeed(!!!!). When you get a
screen saying that "congratulations" and stuff like that save the
configuration and exit. DONT run xvidtune. (thats how i managed to damage my
monitor.)

7. from the command line run startx... and pray: that's all that is left to do!

If you can get X running but there is any minor display problem, uncomment the
lines in (3.) one by one and experiment. I did not need to uncomment any of
them.

My results: I have been happily running X at 1024x768 with 8 bppp ever since i
got that monitor(microtek digital) repaired. I cannot however, get 800x600 with
16bpp (which happens to be my favourite resolution...) coz there's too much
snowing after sometime. but 1024x768 @ 8bpp works fine i guess...

In case you want to have look at my /etc/XF86Config file, mail me personally
at joysarkar@xxxxxxxx and i will send it as a attachment. but be careful to use
it ONLY after suitable modification to suit your system....


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			Joy Sarkar
Home :  Calcutta.			Acads: IIT Kharagpur.
Email: joysarkar@xxxxxxxx		Email: joysarkar@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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