I'm getting there. It has taken me two weeks to get to this point. I will never give up! :-)
I still can not install freeBSD with the graphical interface KDE. I get through the installation process ok and then when I restart, login as root (or any other acct) and invoke "startx" this is what happens: The KDE desktop initializes and displays fine, but the mouse jitters and jerks and stays in the upper left hand corner of the screen. It responds to input, (when I move the mouse it jerks out of the corner then back in, and I cannot control it. For now I wouldn't mind not using the mouse, but I don't know how to make the pointer move without it in KDE (is there virtual mouse utility like in X?). Let me tell something about my hardware and settings, maybe this will reveal something obvious and blaring to you, but hidden to me. IRQ Problems: I am running WindowsXP on an ASUS P2B motherboard. It is a dual processor board, but I only have one P2 (450mhz) processor (I am running hal.dll). When I run Winmsd.exe (in safe mode). I show the display adapter (Matrox G400 Max) at IRQ 16. In the BIOS I have the PnP OS variable set to OFF. When I power up the machine and I see the display of most of the system devices, their address, names and IRQ values. Here, the display adapter resides at IRQ 12. During the installation probe of freeBSD there is no option to set the display adapter IRQ. The mouse comes up as IRQ 12 and will not let me edit it. So I think I have an IRQ conflict, but I don't know how to resolve it on the pc end or the freeBSD end. I even tried fooling the BIOS into thinking that the display adapter had a different IRQ so that it would not occupy IRQ 12. Alas, to no avail. I would love to send the startup log, but I haven't figured out how to do that. The machine "assumptions" are different every which way I look at them. In windows safe mode I see what looks to be a complete accounting of config values. In normal mode, running Winmsd.exe I get a different set of values. Looking at the device manager reveals some different twists. The machine level/BIOS "assumptions" have subtle but important differences, and finally the freeBSD probe reveals different values all together. For me it is a little like hitting a moving target that is on a moving target (while I am moving). Here is where I could use some help. 1. I need a tool or procedure that I could use to DEFINATIVELY capture IRQ, I/O and memory addresses (all I care about is wow they will work in freeBSD). 2. A way to view and edit IRQ information on the freeBSD side other than the initial installation. It takes a LONG time to re-install the system, when you just want to change one value and test it (something like the system probe). I have re-installed the system, probably 30 times now (I'm a little stubborn). I am a newbie to be sure, but I really want to learn. I have a definite goal in mind for setting this up. I want to set up an FTP and mail server, and I have consistently heard that the BSD platform is THE way to go (I also love this sort of challenge). I will not be deterred or discouraged. Many thanks for any help. Stephen ________________________________________ Stephen Randall [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
