Linux easier to use? Yea sure. Installing ATI drivers Windows vs Linux.

From: Schlomo Geffen (the_truth_genie_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 03/27/04 

Date: 27 Mar 2004 10:40:33 -0800

Here are the official instructions on how to install ATI drivers with
Linux:
Contents

        * Before you install
        * Installation using RPM
        * Possible Installation Issues
        * Advanced Installation Topics

Before you install

Make sure the following software is already installed on your system:

        * glibc version 2.2 or 2.3
        * XFree86 version 4.1.0, 4.2.0, or 4.3.0
         
How do I build and install a kernel module for the ATI Proprietary
Linux Driver?

A special driver file (or "kernel module") is necessary for the ATI
driver to provide hardware graphics acceleration. For this kernel
module to work properly, it must be tailored to your specific system
configuration.

The ATI driver package attempts to build and install this module at
install time. If installation was completely successful, then a kernel
module should already be installed for you and manual installation
should not be necessary.

However, in order for acceleration to work properly, it will be
necessary to manually rebuild and reinstall the kernel module under
the following circumstances:

        * Errors occurred during initial driver install
        * Whenever a new kernel has been installed since installing
the driver

If any errors occurred during install, then it may be necessary to
resolve those issues before proceeding further.

Before attempting to run these scripts, it will be necessary to have
the bash (or sh) shell installed, which is standard on most Linux
systems. Enter the command which sh to make sure it is installed.
Building the fglrx kernel module:

    1. cd /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod
    2. sh make.sh

Installing the fglrx kernel module:

    3. cd /lib/modules/fglrx
    4. sh make_install.sh

Note any error messages that appear during this process.

The following message (or similar) should appear when the ATI kernel
module has been installed successfully:

    ==============================
    - creating symlink
    - recreating module dependency list
    - trying a sample load of the kernel module
    Warning: loading
/lib/modules/x.x.xx-x/kernel/drivers/char/drm/fglrx.o will taint the
kernel: non-GPL license - Proprietary. (C) 20XX - ATI Technologies,
Starnberg, GERMANY
    See <http://www.tux.org/lkml/#export-tainted> for information
about tainted modules
    Module fglrx loaded, with warnings
    done.

The with warnings part is expected, and should not affect
functionality.
Download the correct ATI driver package for the XFree86 version you
have installed. If you are not sure which, you may download and run
the following script to make sure:

        * Check.sh

Installation using RPM

For each of these steps you will have to be logged on as the root
user.

       1. cd to the directory containing the ATI Driver rpm package

       2. Issue the following command:

              rpm -Uh --force <ati_package_name>.rpm

          Note any error messages that may occur while installing (see
below)
       3. Run the fglrxconfig utility to configure the driver
              * Answer the questions as prompted
              * When asked to generate an XF86Config-4 file, answer y

       4. Restart and log into X-Windows

       5. Run fglrxinfo to verify the driver is installed correctly

If the output reads OpenGL vendor string: ATI Technologies Inc. then
your ATI drivers are installed and configured correctly.

Otherwise, if fglrxinfo indicates that MESA Indirect (software)
Rendering is being used, then you may want to repeat the steps listed
above, while paying careful attention to the following:

        * Any error messages during install (see below)
        * All answers given during fglrxconfig

The following messages may appear while installing the ATI Proprietary
Linux Driver:

        * "no kernel module build environment"
        * "Warning: loading fglrx.o will taint the kernel"
        * "conflicts with file from package
XFree86-Mesa-libGL-4.3.0-2"
        * "The QT based control panel application did not load in any
version"
        * unresolved symbols

Advanced Installation Topics

How can I:

        * uninstall or remove the ATI Proprietary Linux Driver?
        * enable AGP Support in Linux?
        * build and install the ATI (fglrx) kernel module manually?
        * configure multiple monitors in Linux?
"no kernel module build environment" Error message during RPM install

The information in this article applies to the following
configurations:

        * XFree86
        * ATI Proprietary Linux Drivers

The following error message may appear while trying to install:

    *** Trying to install a precompiled kernel module.
    *** WARNING ***
    Tailored kernel module for fglrx not present in your system.
    You must go to /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod subdir
    and execute './make.sh' to build a fully customed kernel module.
    Afterwards go to /lib/modules/fglrx and run './make_install.sh'
    in order to install the module into your kernel's module
repository.
    (see readme.txt for more details.)

    As of now you can still run your XServer in 2D, but hardware
acclerated
    OpenGL will not work and 2D graphics will lack performance.

    failed.
    *** Error: no kernel module build environment - please consult
readme.

The ATI Proprietary Linux Driver requires a matching kernel build
environment in order to generate the fglrx module. The kernel source
directory should be prepared to match your running kernel. The
kernel-source rpm or deb package is often included in Linux
Distribution CDs, however it is known that certain distros do no
include kernel-source on CD. Should this be the case, you may check
the distro's mirror sites for the specific kernel-source rpm or deb
package that matches your running kernel.

A special driver file (or "kernel module") is necessary for the ATI
driver to provide hardware graphics acceleration. For this kernel
module to work properly, it must be tailored to your specific system
configuration.

The ATI driver package includes a few bundled versions of this kernel
module to work with most systems. If your system matches one of these
configurations, then a pre-packaged kernel module should be installed
for you and the information below should not be necessary.

However, if your system does not match any of these configurations,
then the installer will try to build a custom module for you from
scratch. This process will require the following software to be
installed:

        * Kernel source code
        * Kernel header (include) files
        * GCC compiler
        * Make Utility

NOTE: Kernel source code and header files must match the version of
the kernel you are using.

NOTE: Your kernel may have restrictions on which compiler versions can
be used. Please check your Linux documentation for more information on
installing kernel source code.

Once the kernel sources have been properly installed, you should be
able to manually build and install the kernel module.

For assistance in building and installing the kernel module manually,
please refer to "How do I build and install a kernel module for the
ATI Proprietary Linux Driver?".

Creating a symbolic link /usr/src/linux

It is also possible that the kernel source code is installed, but the
/usr/src/linux symlink has not been created.

Proceed as follows to make sure this link exists (you may need to be
logged in as root):
NOTE: "kernel-source-x.x.x" is an example only - the name of your own
kernel source tree should be used instead. Yours may be named
"linux-x.x.x" or something else entirely. Check your kernel
documentation if you're not sure.

1. cd /usr/src

2. ls -l

The following (or similar) should appear in the directory listing
(where x.x.x is your kernel version):

linux -> kernel-source-x.x.x

If so you may disregard the remaining step

3. If "linux" (just "linux") is not in the listing, then create a
symbolic link as follows:

ln -s kernel-source-x.x.x linux
Warning: loading fglrx.o will taint the kernel" message when loading
kernel module

The information in this article applies to the following
configurations:

        * XFree86
        * ATI Proprietary Linux Drivers

The following warning message appears while trying to install the
fglrx kernel module:

    Warning: loading
/lib/modules/x.x.xx-x/kernel/drivers/char/drm/fglrx.o will taint the
kernel: non-GPL license - Proprietary. (C) 20XX - ATI Technologies,
Starnberg, GERMANY
    See <http://www.tux.org/lkml/#export-tainted> for information
about tainted modules
    Module fglrx loaded, with warnings

This warning message should appear whenever the kernel module is
loaded, if it has been installed and configured correctly. It will
also appear in /var/log/XFree86.0.log whenever X starts.

The warning indicates that our kernel module is not governed by the
GPL user license - it is NOT open source. In all other respects the
driver should work as expected on your system. This warning message
should have NO impact on performance or functionality.

However, if you have a strict requirement to ONLY use open-source
software on your system, then you should consider using an open-source
display driver from the Linux community instead of the ATI Proprietary
Linux Driver.

Conflicts with file from package XFree86-Mesa-libGL-4.x.x-x

The information in this article applies to the following
configurations:

        * XFree86
        * ATI Proprietary Linux Drivers

The following error message may appear while trying to install the RPM
package:

    file /usr/X11R6/lib/libGL.so.1.2 from install of fglrx-4.x.x-x.x.x
conflicts with file from package XFree86-Mesa-libGL-4.x.x-x

This error (or similar) occurs when a third party OpenGL solution is
already installed in the system. XFree86-Mesa-libGL is a common
example.

The ATI Proprietary Linux Driver is meant to replace other "software
only" OpenGL solutions in order to provide hardware 3D acceleration.
The ATI libGL is backward compatible to the default XFree86-Mesa.

This issue can be resolved in either of two ways:

        * Force the ATI driver install to overwrite existing files
        * Remove the other OpenGL software BEFORE installing ATI
drivers

Force the ATI driver install to overwrite existing files

We recommend using the --force rpm option to install the ATI
Proprietary Linux driver as follows:

    rpm -Uh --force <ati_package_name>.rpm

This will force the installer to overwrite any existing files
including the conflicting libGL, which should allow the ATI driver to
install properly.

If for some reason you do not wish to use the --force rpm option, then
you may still work around this error message by removing the other
(non-ATI) OpenGL software first, as explained below.

Remove existing OpenGL software BEFORE installing ATI drivers

    1. Ensure that no 3D OpenGL programs are running

    2. Remove the existing libGL installation using the following
command:

        rpm -e --nodeps XFree86-Mesa-libGL

    (You need the --nodeps option because some screen savers, qt-3,
and some parts of XFree86 might depend on libGL. Installing the ATI
package afterwards will restore these dependencies.)

    3. Reinstall the ATI Proprietary Linux driver

        rpm -Uh <ati_package_name>.rpm

    (you may ignore the --force option in this case, since the
conflicting libGL has been removed already)

         
"unresolved symbol" error message during kernel module install

The information in this article applies to the following
configurations:

        * XFree86
        * ATI Proprietary Linux Drivers

The following error message may appear while trying to install the
fglrx kernel module:

    : unresolved symbol

This error (or similar) occurs when the kernel source code is not
installed properly or does not match the currently installed kernel.

In some cases, the kernel source is the correct version, but the
necessary dependencies are missing. In this case, it may be possible
to workaround the error as follows:

    1. cd /usr/src/linux

    2. make cloneconfig && make dep
    (note any errors)

    3. restart the system

    4. rebuild and reinstall the kernel module
    For assistance in building and installing the kernel module
manually, please refer to "How do I build and install a kernel module
for the ATI Proprietary Linux Driver?".

  
 Then you need the kernel-sources (on the Mnd10-CDs) installed and
then do this as root:

Building the fglrx kernel module:
 
1. cd /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod
2. sh make.sh

Installing the fglrx kernel module:

3. cd /lib/modules/fglrx
4. sh make_install.sh

then you should use fglrxconfig and restart the x-server.

So how is this done under Windows?

install.exe and it is done.

So tell me again how Linux is easier to use?

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