Screen Scrambled when MX-Linux is Booting and Loaded [Solved]

[Charlie Brown]

Edit: Oh, it's already here on QSI, on live session:

res: 1680x1050 hz: 77

So, still an ARandR output and an

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xrandr

output on live session may be good.

[fbagnato]

Hello Charlie Brown,

Actually there are both 4.19 and 4.9 here , in fact I was going to suggest 4.9, just didn't for the support ended for 4.9 in general , but you did well trying that.

I only saw 4.9 in my list. I have attached a photo of the screen I got.......

https://i.postimg.cc/hPWtzTbF/Kernels-Screen.jpg

It may not show the refresh rate of the installed system when chrooted (not sure). However we can see what rate it is on live session and make a script according to that and place it on installed MX's autostart.. Something like:


xrandr --output DP-0 --primary --mode 1920x1080 --rate 75 --pos 0x0 --rotate normal

The Quick System Info you got me to attach says the following:

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Monitor-1: default res: 1680x1050 hz: 77

Is this what you are after??

However it's still weird that you have to use nomodeset even on live session..

I got this information from a webpage about installing MX-Linux on this model Apple iMac. I tried without nomodeset and the booting processes stops to a black screen before fully booting up. The author of that webpage stated that he was able to install MX-Linux by adding the nomodeset parameter and I experienced the same; without nomodeset = freeze partially into the booting, nomodeset = successful boot into X. A glitch booting up MX-Linux on this model iMac (maybe other Mac models too, don't know).

Also the xrandr (thus the script) won't work at Grub stage ...

Do you mean I can't install the script if it is starting through Grub as the Live DVD does start with Grub or can I install once fully loaded into the X session?

Shortly: You can install ARandR on live session and either "save as" the output to somewhere (when screen is according to your liking) and post here (if no such rate is stated there, we can add it according to your observation, say 60 is good on Windows ... )

As mentioned above I think the information was in the Quick System Info of Monitor-1: default res: 1680x1050 hz: 77

Is it the same on all distros? (Have you tried 1-2 others?)

I can try other Distros. I have backed up the setup just before trying the earlier Kernel so it is no effort to put it back once I try other Distros.

I would guess that an earlier 32-Bit Distro of Ubuntu would be best. What do you think?

I tried running Live CDs of the 3 variants of Plop Boot Manager but had no success.

The results: Plop Boot Manager 5 (plpbt.bin v5.0.15 Live CD) gave a non-response squashed screen. PlopKexec v1.8 wouldn't boot. The CD produced a normal problem with booting non-Mac bootable discs on a Mac where it displays a screen asking whether to load 1) or 2) and the keyboard doesn't work so you can't do anything more. The bootable USB (tried 3 variants of method) wasn't recognised by the Mac. Plop Boot Manager 6 v20221118 (which is in early testing stage) froze detecting hardware (froze on detecting PATA).

Thanks for being so patient with me. I understand this is an annoying problem.

Guess it is because I'm trying to run Linux on a Mac and not an IBM-Compatible.

Regards,

fbagnato




Moderator: image changed to link, please read the forum rules.

[fbagnato]

Hi Charlie Brown,

OK, have the info you requested....

The output of xrandr is as follows:

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$ xrandr --verbose
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 1680 x 1050, current 1680 x 1050, maximum 1680 x 1050
default connected 1680x1050+0+0 (0x522) normal (normal) 0mm x 0mm
	Identifier: 0x521
	Timestamp:  796604
	Subpixel:   unknown
	Clones:    
	CRTC:       0
	CRTCs:      0
	Transform:  1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
	            0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
	           filter: 
	non-desktop: 0 
		supported: 0, 1
  1680x1050 (0x522) 135.828MHz *current
        h: width  1680 start    0 end    0 total 1680 skew    0 clock  80.85KHz
        v: height 1050 start    0 end    0 total 1050           clock  77.00Hz

The output of ARandR is as follows:

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#!/bin/sh
xrandr --output default --mode 1680x1050 --pos 0x0 --rotate normal

Is the output of ARandR just that or have I done something wrong?

Regards,

fbagnato

[fbagnato]

Hi Charlie Brown,

HOLD THE FORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I downloaded and burnt a CD containing Super Grub2 Disk v2.06s2-beta1 Live CD and guess what?

MX-Linux starts booting ok without the screen scrambling!

I suspect there is an issue with rEFInd.

Super Grub2 Disk v2.06s2-beta1 is a bootable CD containing a Boot Manager that you select to search for bootable partitions once you load it.

Then you can select any of the bootable systems it finds.

It found the Linux system and I selected it and it started booting fine, no scrambling.

Unfortunately it stopped halfway through the boot process.

I then edited the entry by pressing "e", added nomodeset and and waiting for it to fully boot into MX-Linux

What are your thoughts?

Regards,

fbagnato

[Charlie Brown]

... Is this what you are after??

Yep. And it seems you have already just 2 options: either 77 or 80.85

or have I done something wrong?

That's ok. We could just add --rate 77 to that...

so it is no effort to put it back once I try other Distros...

You can simply try on live session, don't have to install (at least to see whether they boot without nomodeset etc. and whether

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inxi -Gaz

shows radeon drivers loaded ( inxi -Fxxxza would be better to compare in case it boots successfully)


Though these are not the same machines exactly, same chips: 1002:71c5

And it boots normally here with 1440x900~60Hz

I suspect there is an issue with rEFInd.

It seems to be so... But.. had you tried it straightforward without/before installing rEFInd ? Just an installation .. In the meantime, there is also a similar option on MX live (welcome) screen : "Boot Rescue Menus"

What are your thoughts?

(Loudly thinking)
I would say "maybe OpenGL or Mesa versions ... but this time we come back to the same point: It boots with the same OpenGL when live ...

..Or.. maybe firmware needed: But they're all installed ootb: amd , linux-free / linux-nonfree etc ...

And I don't think the xrandr script will work: Either for it takes effect a bit late, and as you see: It booted (though with nomodeset) without playing with refresh rate etc ...

The only question: Even though you managed to boot indirectly , this or that way, you still have to use nomodeset and (cause) it doesn't load Radeon drivers.. There's something preventing that ...

[fbagnato]

Hello Charlie Brown,

You can simply try on live session, don't have to install (at least to see whether they boot without nomodeset etc. and whether

Sorry but I don't understand. What would you like me to try?

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inxi -Gaz

I did this on the live system, I don't know if that is what you meant. The output is as follows:

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$ inxi -Gaz
Graphics:  Device-1: AMD RV530/M56-P [Mobility Radeon X1600] vendor: Apple MacBook Pro 
           driver: N/A alternate: radeon bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:71c5 class-ID: 0300 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 driver: 
           loaded: ati,vesa unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,radeon display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1 
           Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1680x1050 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 445x278mm (17.5x10.9") 
           s-diag: 525mm (20.7") 
           Monitor-1: default res: 1680x1050 hz: 77 
           OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 11.0.1 128 bits) v: 4.5 Mesa 20.3.5 compat-v: 3.1 
           direct render: Yes 

shows radeon drivers loaded ( inxi -Fxxxza would be better to compare in case it boots successfully)

I did this on the live system, I don't know if that is what you meant. The output is as follows:

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demo@mx1:~
$ inxi -Fxxxza
System:    Kernel: 5.10.0-20-686-pae i686 bits: 32 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1 
           parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/antiX/vmlinuz quiet splasht nosplash nomodeset 
           Desktop: Xfce 4.18.0 tk: Gtk 3.24.24 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm 4.18.0 vt: 7 
           dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: MX-21.3_386 Wildflower January 15  2023 
           base: Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye) 
Machine:   Type: Desktop System: Apple product: iMac5,1 v: 1.0 serial: <filter> Chassis: 
           type: 13 v: Mac-F4228EC8 serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Apple model: Mac-F4228EC8 v: DVT serial: <filter> UEFI: Apple 
           v: IM51.88Z.0090.B08.0612151336 date: 12/15/06 
CPU:       Info: Dual Core model: Intel Core2 T7400 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Core Merom 
           family: 6 model-id: F (15) stepping: 6 microcode: D1 cache: L2: 4 MiB 
           flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 8655 
           Speed: 999 MHz min/max: 1000/2167 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 999 2: 999 
           Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled 
           Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: EPT disabled 
           Type: mds status: Vulnerable: Clear CPU buffers attempted, no microcode; SMT disabled 
           Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI 
           Type: mmio_stale_data status: Unknown: No mitigations 
           Type: retbleed status: Not affected 
           Type: spec_store_bypass status: Vulnerable 
           Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization 
           Type: spectre_v2 
           mitigation: Retpolines, STIBP: disabled, RSB filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected 
           Type: srbds status: Not affected 
           Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected 
Graphics:  Device-1: AMD RV530/M56-P [Mobility Radeon X1600] vendor: Apple MacBook Pro 
           driver: N/A alternate: radeon bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:71c5 class-ID: 0300 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.11 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 driver: 
           loaded: ati,vesa unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,radeon display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1 
           Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1680x1050 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 445x278mm (17.5x10.9") 
           s-diag: 525mm (20.7") 
           Monitor-1: default res: 1680x1050 hz: 77 
           OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 11.0.1 128 bits) v: 4.5 Mesa 20.3.5 compat-v: 3.1 
           direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio 
           vendor: SigmaTel STAC9221 Codec driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 
           chip-ID: 8086:27d8 class-ID: 0403 
           Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.10.0-20-686-pae running: yes 
           Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 14.2 running: yes 
Network:   Device-1: Marvell 88E8053 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet driver: sky2 v: 1.30 port: 1000 
           bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 11ab:4362 class-ID: 0200 
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Broadcom BCM4321 802.11a/b/g/n vendor: Apple AirPort Extreme 
           driver: b43-pci-bridge v: N/A modules: ssb,wl port: 1000 bus-ID: 03:00.0 
           chip-ID: 14e4:4328 class-ID: 0280 
           IF-ID-1: wlan0 state: down mac: <filter> 
Bluetooth: Device-1: Apple Bluetooth HCI type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8 bus-ID: 5-1:4 
           chip-ID: 05ac:8206 class-ID: fe01 
           Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 1.2 lmp-v: 2.0 
           sub-v: 7ad hci-v: 2.0 rev: 7ad 
           Info: acl-mtu: 384:8 sco-mtu: 64:8 link-policy: rswitch hold sniff park 
           link-mode: slave accept service-classes: rendering, capturing, object transfer, audio 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 291.13 GiB used: 1.84 GiB (0.6%) 
           SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required. 
           ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Western Digital model: WD2500JS-40TGB0 
           size: 232.89 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 1.5 Gb/s type: N/A 
           serial: <filter> rev: 6C04 scheme: GPT 
           ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 type: USB vendor: Generic model: STORAGE size: 58.24 GiB 
           block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: N/A serial: <filter> rev: 1404 
           scheme: GPT 
           SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure? 
Swap:      Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) 
           ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 2.79 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 
           dev: /dev/sda4 maj-min: 8:4 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 38.0 C mobo: N/A 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 874 
Info:      Processes: 183 Uptime: 4m wakeups: 1 Memory: 2.92 GiB used: 811.8 MiB (27.2%) 
           Init: SysVinit v: 2.96 runlevel: 5 default: 5 tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: N/A 
           alt: 10 Packages: note: see --pkg apt: 1955 lib: 982 flatpak: 0 Shell: Bash v: 5.1.4 
           running-in: xfce4-terminal inxi: 3.3.06

Though these are not the same machines exactly, same chips: 1002:71c5

And it boots normally here with 1440x900~60Hz

Yes the same video adapter. But that was Linux Mint, I don't know if that was a dual-boot with a Mac OS, had or didn't have rEFInd and it is a different computer.

fbagnato wrote: ↑Thu Jul 27, 2023 12:43 pm
I suspect there is an issue with rEFInd.

It seems to be so... But.. had you tried it straightforward without/before installing rEFInd ? Just an installation ..

I will try that in about 5 hours when I am back home.

In the meantime, there is also a similar option on MX live (welcome) screen : "Boot Rescue Menus"

Tried this and it didn't find the Linux installation.

The only question: Even though you managed to boot indirectly , this or that way, you still have to use nomodeset and (cause) it doesn't load Radeon drivers.. There's something preventing that ...

Don't know....as I said the webpage I found where a user installed MX-Linux on an iMac 5,1 had to use nomodeset for it to boot and I experienced the same thing.

As I mentioned earlier I will try installing without rEFInd installed and see what happens.

If I have time today I may also try some other Distros just to see what happens.

PS. In the meantime I have sent an email to the author of rEFInd to see if he has any ideas as to why I am getting the screen scrambling with rEFInd/Mac OS/MX-Linux.

Regards,

fbagnato

[Charlie Brown]

... Sorry but I don't understand...

:) I mean when trying "other" distros.. you don't have to install them one by one.. just live session is enough to try them (try whether it boots directly (without having to use any parameters like nomodeset) etc.. )

[fbagnato]

Hello Charlie Brown,

Well.......I have some good news.

I restored a Clonezilla backup at the checkpoint of Mac OS X being fully installed and rEFInd or Linux not installed yet.

I partitioned the drive in prep for the MX-Linux install then installed MX-Linux (nomodeset on) with Grub selected.

I tried leaving it with no nomodeset but it hangs during the booting process.

The good news is that the installed MX-Linux boots perfectly and even better no modeset parameter is required on the installed MX-Linux.

It boots fine without it.

I am convinced there is an issue with the combination of rEFInd and MX-Linux on this iMac 5,1.

It might be as specific as that combination or more broader, I don't know.

I think I am going to have to settle for grub instead of rEFInd as the Boot Loader/Manager.

Now I need to do some research on how to configure grub for my Mac OS X partition.

I think that we have kicked its butt now. Thanks to you of course.

I will do some reading up on grub and post my results here.

Regards,

fbagnato

[Charlie Brown]

So glad to hear that. Thank you, too for the feedback :)

[fbagnato]

Hi Charlie Brown,

Well it isn't 100%.

Its booting up the Mac OS but it either crashed during the boot process and would reboot (reboot loop) or it crashed and rebooted shortly after logging in the Mac OS.

There was no stability whatsoever in the Mac OS setup.

If I booted up pressing the "Option" key to select the Mac OS instead of using grub to boot up the Mac OS, Mac OS worked fine.

I checked there were no updates to the grub program in the MX Package Installer.

I added the Mac OS to grub doing the following:

1) Added the following codes to /etc/grub.d/40_custom

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menuentry "OS X" {
	insmod hfsplus
	insmod hfspluscomp
	insmod part_apple
	insmod chain
	search --set=root --file /System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi
	chainloader /System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi
}

and then ran

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sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

I am wondering whether to locate the official grub site and reporting a bug.

I'm not sure whether this problem is to do with the custom setup I have of a higher Mac OS X than is officially supported on this model iMac as it is patched to allow a newer version of the Mac OS X to be installed or if it is a bug with grub. There is little information on the internet about a Dual-Boot Mac OS X and Linux.

I may have to leave it as is and have it so I have to press and hold the option key when turning it on to boot into Mac OS X and boot up normally and select MX-Linux off the grub menu to boot into Linux.

What are your thoughts?

Regards,

fbagnato