Using Live USB installer to fix GhostBSD install.

DHOC_TAZH

Edit: never mind... overlooked the backup feature, I am back on now using the scfb video driver. Guess I'll have to upgrade or rebuild the i915kms and nvidia drivers via ports. IDK why I can't get either driver to work for me as is! 8th Gen intel i7 from 2018, GTX 1050 GPU. I think I have to use a newer version for the Intel iGPU?

When I checked the time stamps on the modules for both, I saw them marked with dates from yesterday, March 30.

In the meantime, have to reinstall all the updates and a few apps, and then make another backup once that's all working. Then get around to recompiling the video drivers...

---original post below---

Is it possible? After updating the software, and installing ports + the GhostBSD dev files, I decided to run xconfig to try the Intel DRM driver for integrated video. It was running on the scfb driver. Wanted to get away from that so I could have some 3D acceleration going on for some apps and games.

Ran xconfig then rebooted. Now I can't boot into the system and am stuck at the infamous white box in the upper left corner of the screen, along with the stuck mouse pointer.

May I use the Live USB installer? I've already tried similar fixes that were outlined in the nvidia drivers one, the one about it not loading from the Live USB.

vimanuelt

DHOC_TAZH
I suggest trying the following instead.

Fix Video Driver Issue Using scfb in GhostBSD

Step 1: Reboot and Enter Boot Loader

Restart your computer.

When you see the GhostBSD boot menu, press:

to escape to the loader prompt.

Step 2: Set the scfb Driver

At the OK prompt, type the following:

set kld_list="scfb"
boot

This will force the system to load the scfb (framebuffer) driver and continue booting.

Step 3: Make It Permanent After Boot

Once you've booted successfully into the desktop environment:

a. Open a Terminal.
b. Run this command to persist the scfb driver across reboots:

sudo sysrc kld_list="scfb"

c. (Optional) If there's already a problematic driver in kld_list, remove it:

sudo sysrc -x kld_list
sudo sysrc kld_list="scfb"

DHOC_TAZH

I'll take note of this fix. I have created several boot environments as backups and for the moment, won't be installing anymore programs.

I'm planning to recompile the i915kms and nvidia drivers. I'll describe some of this in future posts, or go on Telegram if I need more help. I am also reading lots of docs and poring through a ton of details over at the FreeBSD forums. It's really important for me to try to get some 3D acceleration as I want to run 3D apps in GhostBSD, including a third party metaverse viewer for Second Life. One of them runs natively in FreeBSD, namely Megapahit.

vimanuelt

DHOC_TAZH That is a good approach. If the graphic support does not exist in FreeBSD, then it is safe to assume that the graphic support does not exist in GhostBSD as well.

DHOC_TAZH

My newer PC has UHD 630 graphics on a 8th Gen Intel i7 CPU. The dGPU is a Nvidia GTX 1050, all inside a laptop from 2018. So it's really baffling to me that I can't get either of these to provide me with hardware acceleration. My Windows 11 and Linux installs have next to zero issues with this. I've already inspected the drivers that come with the latest GhostBSD install, so I'm really surprised that either GPU doesn't work for me right now OOTB in GhostBSD!

Yeah, I'm appreciative of the help I'm getting here for sure. Also, briefly tried a FreeBSD install before coming here. That one was a huge clusterf for me, ended up having to reinstall Windows and Linux via backups because of unrecoverable bootloader issues. We'll see what I get out of recompiling as that seems to be the last option I have left.

Maybe if a Kabylake driver is available for the i915kms in GhostBSD, I might be able to work with that as it's what's recommended for Coffee Lake era CPU's according to FreeBSD docs and many FreeBSD forum posters. The Nvidia... might be forced to start from scratch with that one with source code from Nvidia. I recall having to do that years ago (mid 2000's) with Debian... yup. Fun times lol!

vimanuelt

DHOC_TAZH
Yes, both FreeBSD and GhostBSD face hardware support challenges. Some of these stem from user requests to keep GhostBSD flexible rather than locking down and removing options. For instance, we could simplify things by standardizing on a single bootloader like rEFInd and dropping Legacy BIOS support. While that would make installations on modern systems easier, it would exclude users with older hardware.

Another community-driven request is to keep the minimum memory requirement for installing GhostBSD at 4 GiB. This constraint limits what can be bundled and which approaches can be taken to assist users.

Despite these trade-offs, the GhostBSD project has remained remarkably responsive, aiming to serve the greatest good for the widest range of users.