First, you will want a fresh pup001 file to avoid any potential conflicts. Back up any pup001 files you have and boot to the live CD, creating a new pup001 file in the process.
Second, set up your Internet connection as usual. (I personally use xeznet with chat=no option since nothing else works for me.) Download your favorite window manager with PupGet and switch to it to prevent problems later (I use fvwm95, the default window manager in previous versions of Puppy.)
Now the fun begins. Download xorg682c.pup to a safe place, like ~/my-documents. When that finishes, you can launch it from ROX. It will then ask for your confirmation to overwrite files, so just let it install. Once that finishes, you will not be able to change your resolution the old way anymore (via Xvesa Video Wizard.) You will be using the new video driver the next time you restart X, so we will need to set it up first:
Exit to a prompt and type xorgconfig in order to set up your video and mouse. Follow through the questions, answering as conservatively as possible if you are unsure of the answers. Since I know that I can get 1280*1024 with 24-bit color and 85 Hz refresh rate in Windows, I answer the prompts accordingly. I also select "** Intel 810 (generic)" even though mine is actually an Intel 815. The video memory question is the tough one. In my case, answering 4096K is too much, since it was generating extra lines on the screen. Answering 2048K is safe for an Intel 815, although I have been successful answering with 3072K. Once you find out how much memory works best, you can always lower it later on to lower your resolution. Finally answer the default color depth that you prefer (e.g. 24-bit) and allow it to write the config file.
Now start X by typing xwin and (hopefully) everything should look better. If there is any indication of extra lines on the screen, flashing, or distortion, then hit Control-Alt-Backspace to get back to a prompt and go through the setup again, this time picking more conservative values (i.e. lower refresh rate range or less RAM.) With trial and error, you should be able to find the right settings.
One of the first things you may notice is that your fonts are suddenly very small, even in 800*600 resolution. It is most noticeable on menus in most programs, as well as any text that you type in leafpad. In order to fix this problem, I followed MU's suggestion on this forum to add the following line to /etc/.Xdefaults:
Code: Select all
Xft.dpi: 108
Now when you have everything the way you like it, you might notice that your mouse wheel no longer scrolls, but still functions as the middle mouse button. If you are also affected by this, there is a simple fix. First, browse to /etc/X11/ and backup the xorg.conf file. You will be making a simple change to this file. Look for part of the file that looks something like the following:
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# **********************************************************************
# Core Pointer's InputDevice section
# **********************************************************************
Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier and driver
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Code: Select all
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5" # Enable the scroll wheel
Final notes:
You might notice that Puppy may not properly shutdown the first time you use the new driver. I am not sure why, but it appeared to clear itself for me. I also noticed that this new video driver fixed the Caps Lock / Num Lock bug that has been plaguing Puppy since version 1.04. That is, you had to press each key FOUR times to toggle on/off rather than two. This is especially noticeable in fvwm95, where the Alt-Tab key sequence only works when the Num Lock is off. This has also repaired the right Alt key as well, which did not appear to do anything previously. I tried to fix all these things by trying out other PupGet packages, DotPups, and custom-made iso's, but to no avail. In a nutshell, Xorg682c has fixed almost all these problems for me.
I hope this helps anyone else who has been fighting video options. Good luck with the new video driver!