Qubes doesn't include a driver for the XGI Z9s graphic chipset.

[tlaurion]

Hi!

Qubes would be a perfect use case for the newly (june 28 2015) liberated libreboot motherboard, the ASUS KFSN4-DRE! A DDR2 motherboard supporting 2 hexcores and 64 gigs of ram! I bought cpus mobo and ram for 167 through ebay.

One thing missing to use this cheap beast would be the integration of the XGI Z9s video driver!!! Please make this first liberated server dream come true!

[tlaurion]

Follow resolution hints.

Are vesafb and vga16fb kernel builtin instead of modules, which prohibits sisfb from being loaded?
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=457205

[tlaurion]

I downloaded qubes-builder and cheked actual kernel config file.

Actually, sisfb is not even compiled by actuall kernel:
"# CONFIG_FB_SIS is not set"

As pointed out by really old bug above (redhat), vesa fb module is inkernel:
"CONFIG_FB_VESA=y"

It may cause problems:
"As mentioned there, this can't be fixed in Fedora unless you rebuild your kernel
because vesafb and vga16fb (honestly I don't recall which one) are/is not built
as modules like in Debian based systems, it's built-in.
The fix is just to make it a module and also build sisfb as a module."

Correction: From current kernel, it is impossible to put vesafb as a module.
vesa16fb comes as a module already.

Creating a patch and applying it upstream is possible? Is there any philosophical reason why fedora chooses to build vesafb in kernel instead of as a module?

I'm following @marmarek "Making customized build", compiling new kernel conf and beginning blind tests (I have not yet received serial to usb converter I bought to receive boot diag from libreboot.)

[tlaurion]

Compiling and testing patch below. Will need to buy a used DVD drive before being able to test this since usb support is broken from coreboot upstream on this motherboard.

Kernel boot param that seems relevant:
video=sisfb:mode:1024x768x32,rate:70,mem:4096
(SRC: http://gentoo-en.vfose.ru/wiki/Framebuffer#sisfb)

Patch:
--- /mnt/Qubes/qubes-builder/qubes-src/linux-kernel/config.git
+++ /mnt/Qubes/qubes-builder/qubes-src/linux-kernel/config
@@ -4456,7 +4456,9 @@

CONFIG_FB_ATY is not set

CONFIG_FB_S3 is not set

CONFIG_FB_SAVAGE is not set

-# CONFIG_FB_SIS is not set
+CONFIG_FB_SIS=m
+CONFIG_FB_SIS_300=y
+CONFIG_FB_SIS_315=y

CONFIG_FB_VIA is not set

CONFIG_FB_NEOMAGIC is not set

CONFIG_FB_KYRO is not set

Note: it is said here https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=457205 that vesafb and sisfb conflicts. Maybe sisfb will need to be included in kernel instead of being compiled as a module. Will see.

[tlaurion]

"make iso" was failing because ln was hardlinking files, not softlinking them.

Error:
make iso
-> Preparing for ISO build...
warning: bogus date in %changelog: Mon Apr 08 2008 Jesse Keating [email protected] - 1.2.14-1
warning: bogus date in %changelog: Wed May 04 2006 Chris Lumens [email protected] 0.27-1
--> Removing old rpms from the installer repos...
---> Cleaning up repo: dom0-updates...
---> Cleaning up repo: installer...
---> Cleaning up repo: qubes-dom0...
--> Copying RPMs from individual repos...
ln: will not overwrite just-created ‘/mnt/Qubes/qubes-builder/qubes-src/installer-qubes-os/yum/qubes-dom0/rpm/anti-evil-maid-dracut-2.0.12-1.fc20.x86_64.rpm’ with ‘pkgs/fc20/x86_64/anti-evil-maid-dracut-2.0.12-1.fc20.x86_64.rpm’
/mnt/Qubes/qubes-builder/qubes-src/builder-fedora/Makefile.fedora:126: recipe for target 'update-repo' failed
make[1]: *** [update-repo] Error 1
Makefile:431: recipe for target 'iso' failed
make: *** [iso] Error 1

fix:
diff /mnt/Qubes/qubes-builder/qubes-src/builder-fedora/Makefile.fedora /mnt/Qubes/qubes-builder/qubes-src/builder-fedora/Makefile.fedora.git
127c127

< @cd $(ORIG_SRC) &amp;&amp; ln -sf $(packages) $(UPDATE_REPO)/rpm/

  @cd $(ORIG_SRC) && ln -f $(packages) $(UPDATE_REPO)/rpm/

[tlaurion]

Compiled FB_SIS inkernel, and not against marmarek git following errors I keep getting in template repository errors I am not understanding.

The boot line addition will look like:
video=sisfb:mode:1024x768x16,rate:75,mem:12288

(REF: http://users.sosdg.org/~qiyong/lxr/source/Documentation/fb/sisfb.txt?a=x86_64)

[tlaurion]

In fact, the fb driver is this one and is not present with release 3 kernel. Haven't investigated yet why
http://cateee.net/lkddb/web-lkddb/FB_XGI.html

And the xorg driver got borrowed from centos6. Weird behavior on my testing server: build an iso, got it booted graphically but then never booted again. Working in it, but it us not sis driver like I thought previously.

[tlaurion]

Those motherboards are currently on sale by the libreboot maintainer itself.

Please help libreboot supported devices to run Qubes.

http://www.coreboot.org/pipermail/coreboot/2016-January/080821.html

[tlaurion]

Contact Francis directly.

Was also published here: http://lists.nongnu.org/archive/html/libreboot/2016-01/msg00005.html

[tlaurion]

I think this is won't fix, reopen otherwise