generating xorg.conf does not work

[Chris Petrik]

On 08/31/15 17:24, doug at safeport.com wrote:
> On Fri, 28 Aug 2015, Warren Block wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 28 Aug 2015, doug at safeport.com wrote:
>>>
>>> Maybe I should have taken the questions one at a time. My highest 
>>> priority question is that the handbook is in error on how to 
>>> generate xorg.conf.
>>> startx is just not correct.
>>
>> I don't understand what you are saying there.
>
> This part got cut from my first post. The handbook says:
>
>     To generate the configuration file and start the X system, issue
>     this command:
>
>     % startx
>
> This is clearly wrong. 5.4 also says autoconfiguration is the 
> preferred method. I found a post to forums.freebsd.org on 8/4/15 from 
> wblock@ saying: "Auto-generating xorg.conf is not recommended any more."
>
> Hence my confusion. The next part I understand and will try. But it 
> seems to me that Xorg -configure, if it is there, should work. I was 
> asking should this be reported as a bug (I could find nothing) or is 
> there another way just not documented yet?
>
>>> The next issue (Xorg -confgure), I only noted in passing. My 
>>> question here is this a FreeBSD issue or should it be PR'd to Xorg. 
>>> For starters 'Xorg -configure' selected the vesa driver, 
>>> autoconfiguration picked the ATI Radeon driver. The vesa driver 
>>> could not negociate a setting. Note even if it did the screen 
>>> resolution would be 1026x760 or whatever the current one-size fits 
>>> all resolution is. This is clearly an error in the Xorg command. 
>>> There may have been other errors in the generated xorg.conf file, 
>>> but the first one was the vesa driver could not get something out of 
>>> the BIOS it liked. Earlier versions of Xorg this all worked albeit 
>>> with the vesa driver.
>>
>> Back up for a second.  Exactly what video hardware do you have? If 
>> you have onboard Intel video along with an add-on Radeon card, it 
>> would probably be best to disable the Intel video in the BIOS.
>
> If this not a depreciated method, I can report it and/or provide all 
> the data. That was not really my question as clearly the radeon driver 
> works. Again I was going for, "is this just a documentation error"?
>
>> Otherwise, try this for xorg.conf.  Do not add this to an existing 
>> file, this is the *entire* file:
>>
>> Section "Device"
>>     Identifier  "Card0"
>>     Driver      "radeon"
>> EndSection
>
> I assume I can then also add the font commands as needed. I could find 
> no documentation in the FreeBSD wiki or on Xorg that indicated X would 
> just piece all this together. I assume this would now go in 
> /usr/local/etc/X11.
>
> Thanks
>
> _____
> Douglas Denault
> http://www.safeport.com
> doug at safeport.com
> Voice: 301-217-9220
>   Fax: 301-217-9277
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Hi,

I think what wblock meant was the old Xorg -configure is no longer 
recommended. Also this is the wrong list to be complaining that the docs 
are wrong these are mainly for questions freebsd-docs@ is what you want 
to chit chat about doc issues. Or just fetch the code and edit to what 
you think it should say. I am rather interested to see said patch.