Member Avatar for elpablo

Hi,

I'm very new to linux and I have some problems installing Mandrake 10 on VMWare 4.5. Everything goes well until I test my video configuration. The screen just goes crazy! It splits in four and I can barely read what's between the fuzzy lines.

I tried the default VMWare Video Adapter under many resolution and I always get the same result. I tried to install Mandrake 10 four times and I'm thinking to abandon Linux OS...

  • I don't want to download another distribution since I already waste time downloading 3 CDs.
  • I don't want to install a dual boot, since this is my office computer.

Here are the devices that may cause the problem:
- P4 - 1.8 GHz
- ATI Rage 128 Pro
- Daytek 17 inch monitor

Another question, I had a dual boot on my home computer, but I lost it since I rebuilt the windows boot. Can someone tell me how to create a floppy boot for my Mandrake 10?

Thank you

El Pablo

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by barnamos

Dani AI

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A couple of diagnosis notes and practical fixes that build on what suggested and that address the symptoms you described, .

The guest inside VMware does not talk to your ATI card or monitor directly — it sees a virtual SVGA adapter provided by VMware. The installer can sometimes auto-detect the wrong driver for that virtual device, which produces the “split” or garbled screen you saw. The safest remedy is to force a generic driver and a low resolution/color depth so X can start reliably, then enable the better driver later.

If X is already broken, use the installer/recovery console (or boot into a non-graphical runlevel) and back up the existing X configuration before editing it. Replace the current X config with a minimal, generic configuration (generic/vesa-like driver and 800x600 or similar). After X is stable you can install VMware’s guest tools so the correct VM video driver is used and then raise resolution/colour depth. Always keep a copy of the original config so you can revert.

VMware-side settings help too: increase the virtual machine’s video memory if the option exists, disable any experimental 3D acceleration while troubleshooting, and make sure the VM’s guest-OS type is set to a Linux variant. If problems persist, try a newer VMware build or update the guest tools, since older VMware releases sometimes had compatibility issues with newer X servers.

To create a Mandrake boot floppy: look on the Mandrake CD for a floppy-image (a small boot image file). On Linux use a raw-write such as dd to write that image to a blank floppy device. On Windows use a raw-write utility (RawWrite/WinImage) to write the image to the floppy. Always verify the image name on your CD before writing and keep a working copy of any config files you change.

Member Avatar for barnamos

You can use CD1 as a boot CD. Press F2 (I think) for options and head to rescue mode.

Run /usr/X11R6/bin/xf86config as root and choose minimal resolutions to at least get ya going.

Hi,

I'm very new to linux and I have some problems installing Mandrake 10 on VMWare 4.5. Everything goes well until I test my video configuration. The screen just goes crazy! It splits in four and I can barely read what's between the fuzzy lines.

I tried the default VMWare Video Adapter under many resolution and I always get the same result. I tried to install Mandrake 10 four times and I'm thinking to abandon Linux OS...

  • I don't want to download another distribution since I already waste time downloading 3 CDs.
  • I don't want to install a dual boot, since this is my office computer.

Here are the devices that may cause the problem:
- P4 - 1.8 GHz
- ATI Rage 128 Pro
- Daytek 17 inch monitor

Another question, I had a dual boot on my home computer, but I lost it since I rebuilt the windows boot. Can someone tell me how to create a floppy boot for my Mandrake 10?

Thank you

El Pablo

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