The following sections discuss dCore graphic servers and drivers. Refer to the dcore X Window System page and the Essential dCore README links to get a graphic system up and running.

The Xvesa graphic server, also known as the tiny X server, and it's associated VESA driver is included in some dCorePlus-*.iso downloads but will slowly be phased out. To install Xvesa run sce-import -b Xvesa (capital x). Xvesa should not be confused with X.org's 'xorg-vesa' driver. The Xvesa server is a lighter, older alternative to X.org. As the Xvesa link indicates, it should only be used in trusted environments.

Similar to running Xvesa in Tiny Core, specific boot codes may be used to set desired screen resolution. For reference, review boot codes explained and Tiny Core boot codes, especially vga=*. Reboot and test system graphics.

Noted 1024×768 appears to be the maximum resolution available and some Window Managers or Desktop Environments no longer work with Xvesa. For example, FLWM worked fine but LXDE did not work at all. Ensure Xvesa, Xprogs and the preferred Window Manager is listed in sceboot.lst, but not any of the xorg-* extensions.

Upon first run if graphic resolution is poor, press Ctrl-Alt-Delete to exit to TTY, run xsetup.sh, choose desired screen resolution and mouse, enter startx to restart Xvesa session. If the scroll mouse does not work, try appending ',5' (comma five) in the first ~/.xsession line, as below. If Xvesa resolution is still not adequate or it does not work with the desired Window Manager, remove Xvesa and install either xorg-all or a more specific xorg-* extension.

/usr/local/bin/Xvesa -br -screen 1024x768x24 -shadow -mouse /dev/psaux,5 -nolisten tcp -I >/dev/null 2>&1 &

All xorg-* drivers are based on X.org. The xorg-all extension is convenient for initial system setup if uncertain regarding graphic hardware. The driver must be installed to load onboot and a system reboot after installation is required for proper testing.

• Install the xorg-all graphic driver by running the sce-import -b xorg-all command.
• Reboot and test system.

As most systems require only a single graphic driver (eg. Intel, NVidia), installation of the specific driver vs xorg-all is preferred if familiar with the graphic hardware. The driver must be installed to load onboot and a system reboot after installation is required for proper testing. Basic steps to identify hardware and install the correct video driver:

• Import and load either 'pciutils', 'hwinfo' or 'lshw'.
• Run the appropriate command to identify graphic hardware. If the xorg-all extension is already loaded the lspci command will also specify the driver being used. For example, install and load the pciutils package, run the command lspci -v or even lspci -nnk | grep -i vga -A3 to check which driver is in use (eg. Intel i915).
• Install the appropriate graphic driver. For example, for xorg-intel run the command sce-import -b xorg-intel to import the xorg-intel driver onboot. If uncertain regarding the extension name, the -c (contains) option may also be used with the sce-import command. For example, run sce-import -b -c xorg, then select the appropriate xorg-* driver for installation.
• If xorg-all was previously installed, ensure it is no longer listed in /etc/sysconfig/tcedir/sceboot.lst.
• Reboot and test system.
• Upon successful testing, optionally run sce-remove to remove SCEs no longer required (eg. pciutils, xorg-all).

Although not fully resolved, there is a dCore forum thread on proprietary NVidia drivers.

> Return to the dCore Wiki Welcome page

Additional notes that may help set up a graphic system:

• The extension being installed may contain video drivers plus additional data. For example, xserver-xorg-video-intel also contains the packages xserver-xorg-video-vesa and xserver-xorg-input-{all,wacom,mouse,vmmouse,synaptics}.
• Extensions to identify hardware, such as pciutils, can be removed when no longer required.
• The Xprogs extension is now a dependency of any xorg-* extension.
• Although most hardware should not require old school configuration, an xorg.conf file may be needed to achieve the desired resolution, desired colour depth or to enable graphic driver options. See the dCore xorg.conf example below.

If an xorg.conf file is required to obtain proper graphic resolution:

• Create an /etc/X11/xorg.conf file
• Add this full pathway to /opt/.filetool.lst for persistence: etc/X11/xorg.conf

Example xorg.conf file for an old Intel i810 system:

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier   "Monitor0"
	HorizSync       28.0 - 96.0
  	VertRefresh     50.0 - 75.0
    	Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
        ### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option     "NoAccel"            	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "SWcursor"           	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "ColorKey"           	# <i>
        #Option     "CacheLines"         	# <i>
        #Option     "Dac6Bit"            	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "DRI"                	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "NoDDC"              	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "ShowCache"          	# [<bool>]
        #Option     "XvMCSurfaces"       	# <i>
        #Option     "PageFlip"           	# [<bool>]
	Identifier  "Card0"
	Driver      "intel"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier "Screen0"
	Device     "Card0"
	Monitor    "Monitor0"
	DefaultDepth    16
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth 16
		Modes "1152x864"
	EndSubSection
EndSection

> Return to the dCore Wiki Welcome page