Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Firefox and kernel panics.

[Dale]

Mark Knecht wrote:
> On Sun, Jul 10, 2011 at 10:03 PM, Dale<rdalek1967@×××××.com>  wrote:
>
>> Mark Knecht wrote:
>>
>>> DAle,
>>>     PLEASE look at bullet item #3 in this NVidia release:
>>>
>>> http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux-display-amd64-275.09.07-driver.html
>>>
>>> <QUOTE>
>>>
>>> Fixed a bug that caused freezes and crashes when resizing windows in
>>> KDE 4 with desktop effects enabled using X.Org X server version 1.10
>>> or later.
>>> <QUOTE>
>>>
>>> Sure sounds familiar to me...
>>>
>>> - Mark
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> Yea, that does sound familiar.  Trying to recall who could have had that
>> problem.  Hmmmm.  Oh, it was me !!  lol  This is my card info:
>>
>> 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation GT200 [GeForce GT 220]
>> (rev a2)
>>
>> Drivers:
>>
>> x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers-270.41.19
>>
>> That is the latest for my card that is in the tree.
>>
> No! It is not the latest. It's just what portage is offering you. The
> link I sent you clearly (!?) stated that you need to be running the
> latest 'Certified' driver revision 275.09.07 to get this fix. Just
> because the Gentoo devs haven't marked it as stable does (to me) mean
> that I should take their word for it. The company that makes the GPU
> AND designed the driver says to upgrade, so in this case I do what
> NVidia tells me.
>
> mark@c2stable ~ $ eix nvidia-drivers
> [I] x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers
>       Available versions:  96.43.19!s 173.14.28!s 173.14.30!s
> (~)256.53!s 260.19.44!s 270.41.06!s (~)270.41.19!s (~)275.09.07!s
> {acpi custom-cflags gtk kernel_linux multilib}
>       Installed versions:  275.09.07!s(10:21:39 AM 06/24/2011)(acpi gtk
> kernel_linux multilib -custom-cflags)
>       Homepage:            http://www.nvidia.com/
>       Description:         NVIDIA X11 driver and GLX libraries
>
> mark@c2stable ~ $
>
> Do the right thing for your machine. Keep it up to date as per
> portage, not downgrading to old Xorg stuff, and use the driver NVidia
> tells you to use.
>
> Happy, happy.
>
>
>> Now keep in mind, going
>> back to the older xorg fixed the Konsole and resizing issue I had.  So far,
>> I'm not sure Firefox has its problem fixed.  I'm going to try it here in a
>> few.  Just close everything I can, type in sync and open the thing and see
>> if the smoke gets out.  Oh, got to install it again too.  Almost forgot
>> that.
>>
>> It's funny in a way.  I haven't been to the nvidia website in ages.  I just
>> sort of guess at a version, try it and see if it works.  If not, try another
>> one until I find one that does.  There isn't that many in the tree.  I never
>> use the latest because I have never had that new of a card.  :/
>>
> New drivers AREN'T only for new cards. They are also for old cards
> that develop new problems. I.e. - a resizing problem in KDE4 with a
> new Xorg package.
>
> In this one case of NVidia hardware, if I'm going to use the closed
> source driver then it seems to me the controlling authority of what to
> use is NVidia and a Gentoo dev who doesn't have this problem. I
> suspect if a Gentoo dev had the problem you're having this driver
> would have been marked stable weeks ago!
>
> Cheers,
> Mark
>
>

Since I only use portage to install things, if it isn't in portage, I 
don't see it.  Yea, I could most likely download and install it manually 
from Nvidia but I like the way portage does it.  That's why I use Gentoo 
to begin with.  Even when I used Mandrake, I didn't like installing 
things outside of what Mandrake installed itself.  Nvidia was one of 
those but I don't think they put the drivers in their list of packages 
anyway.  Sort of had no choice with them.  I just wonder why no one has 
updated this in the tree yet?

As for xorg, if going to a older version will fix something, then a 
older version it is.  It's no different than me running something 
masked/keyworded to fix a issue.  Heck, I have ran several packages that 
were masked/keyworded because it had a fix for some problem.  I suspect 
most all of us have done that at some time or other.

Also, I do know that drivers get updated even for older cards.  They are 
always coming out with some fix, new feature or just a new bug.  lol   I 
upgrade them sometimes on my old rig with a FX-5200 card.  It happens 
often enough.

Dale

:-)  :-)