Newer Graphics Hardware in BunsenLabs

Head_on_a_Stick · 2016-12-17 15:59:47

For any graphics hardware newly introduced after mid-2014, the support in BunsenLabs is likely to be sub-optimal.

To improve performance with such devices, the jessie-backports repository can be used:

https://backports.debian.org/

The steps depend on the hardware, this guide presumes that a single card is used; for Optimus systems see https://wiki.debian.org/Bumblebee

Intel

Full guide here:

https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic.php?id=1185

Users of NVIDIA will have to resort to binary blobs yikes

NVIDIA

Reference: https://wiki.debian.org/NvidiaGraphicsDrivers

First, check which driver is best for your card:

sudo apt install nvidia-detect && nvidia-detect

To add the jessie-backports repositories, use:

sudo apt edit-sources

Then add this line and save the file:

deb http://httpredir.debian.org/debian stretch-backports main contrib non-free

Then update the database:

sudo apt update

The jessie-backports kernel & headers should be used:

sudo apt install linux-image-amd64/stretch-backports module-assistant

Then reboot into the backported kernel and install the headers with:

sudo m-a prepare

Finally, build the custom kernel module with:

sudo apt install -t stretch-backports nvidia-driver

If newer drivers are required then they can be built locally from SVN:

https://wiki.debian.org/NvidiaGraphicsD … s_from_SVN

AMD/ATI

First install the backported kernel, as described above.

Then install the new amdgpu driver:

sudo apt install -t stretch-backports xserver-xorg-video-amdgpu firmware-linux-nonfree libgl1-mesa-dri

Finally, reboot into the new kernel.

Note:
I have no way of testing the NVIDIA & AMD methods so any feedback would be appreciated.

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2018-06-06 05:59:22)

mradovan · 2016-12-17 20:12:39

I recently bought a GTX 1060, output via HDMI. Max resolution xrandr would give me out of the box was 1024x768.

This sequence of steps sorted it out:
https://wiki.debian.org/NvidiaGraphicsD … 2Jessie.22

GreenMartian · 2017-01-24 01:48:07

This is such an important thread for users who may be a bit more non-techie.

Excellent!

Choven · 2017-02-28 16:24:31

Thanks for the info. This helped me get dual-display working on my Radeon card. I did run into dependency issues when trying to install the new kernel. I had to install linux-base:

sudo apt-get install linux-base/jessie-backports

Next, I had to install the 4.9 kernel:

sudo apt-get install linux-image-4.9.0-0.bpo.1-amd64

Once I did this, then the linux-headers-amd69 from jessie-backport would install. When I rebooted into the new kernel, my dual display worked. So, I didn't bother with setting the module-assistant or specifying fglrx (I should be using the radeon driver from xorg since fglrx-driver is not installed).

Last edited by Choven (2017-02-28 16:32:07)

stevep · 2017-02-28 23:38:37

Debian's abandoned the fglrx-driver upstream and in jessie-backports, so there's no version available in the Debian repositories that will build against any recent kernels. I have a patched version in an openSUSE Build Service repository which will build on kernels up to and including 4.9. I've tested the dkms packages for i386 and amd64 on 4.9 kernels and they build, but don't have any AMD graphics hardware to test the drivers with.

https://software.opensuse.org/download. … lrx-driver

Note that the commands to add the repository key also must be run as the root user but not with sudo; HOAS had a modification somewhere that allowed use of sudo...but it's also simple to switch to root with "sudo su" in the terminal.

If you want the debianized source files, you can surf into the repository address that's in the instructions and download them: http://download.opensuse.org/repositori … ebian_8.0/

Last edited by stevep (2017-02-28 23:42:08)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-03-01 07:26:46

stevep wrote:

Note that the commands to add the repository key also must be run as the root user but not with sudo; HOAS had a modification somewhere that allowed use of sudo...

For Bash, I would use `sudo` with the `tee` command and a shell syntactic feature called a here string:

sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/fglrx-driver.list <<< "deb http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/stevepassert:/fglrx-driver-4.6-kernel/Debian_8.0/ /"

http://mywiki.wooledge.org/HereDocument

Alternatively, to get a root shell, use:

sudo -i

smile

johnraff · 2017-03-01 09:14:31

^ Curious - is there a subtle difference (envvars or such) between 'sudo su' and 'sudo -i'
...
Answer my own question: sudo -i has a much bigger set. (Run 'set' to see.)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-03-01 21:02:05

johnraff wrote:

is there a subtle difference (envvars or such) between 'sudo su' and 'sudo -i'

Well, this is closer to `sudo -i` in terms of environmental variables:

sudo su -

But it still lacks any modifications conferred by /etc/sudoers, I think that most users would expect those to apply in a root shell.

For Helium/stretch, to attain a "clean" (ie, variable-free) root shell, this command can be used:

sudo machinectl shell

https://packages.debian.org/stretch/systemd-container

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-08-13 13:45:00

Bumping this guide to note that the new amdgpu driver is now available in jessie-backports so I have removed references to the nasty old fglrx abomination and replaced them with the new, "clean" alternative.

The package should offer a significant boost for AMD users, any feedback would be interesting glasses

#1 2016-12-17 15:59:47