[Installation] Fatal server error: no screens found

osalbahr

Hello,

I wanted to experiment with GhostBSD on an old Thinkpad W520.

However, upon booting into GhostBSD-25.01-R14.2p1.iso, I get the following xorg error:

Fatal server error:
no screens found

How can I resolve it?

For reference, I have the following screen devices:

Nvidia card: GF106GLM [Quadro 2000M]
Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller

Unfortunately, I am getting "Uploading files of this type is not allowed." so I could not upload screenshots. I tried jgp and jpeg. So I added temporary Discord links from the GhostBSD Discord server:

Error message:

Log file:

brianthehughes

You’ll need the nvidia 304 driver.

Since you’re landing at a command line.

Removing the current nvidia detect drivers and kernel module, then installing the correct nvidia driver should get you going.

https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/x11/#x-configuration-nvidia

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/details/123712/

vimanuelt

FYI. Support for the 304 branch was officially discontinued in 2018.

osalbahr

Thank you for suggesting installing an alternative nvidia driver. Quadro 2000M is listed in 390's supported hardware so I'm trying to install nvidia-driver-390.

However my issue now is that I'm not connected to wifi. Is there a friendly command line interface for connecting to wifi on GhostBSD? Or what is the GhostBSD way?

brianthehughes

https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/network/#network-wireless

A few command line steps and you should be off to the races. 🙂

brianthehughes

The GhostBSD way is typically with the networkmgr gui.

osalbahr

Thank you for providing the wireless documentation. I ended up using Ethernet.

Running pkg install nvidia-driver-390 I was surprised that it was already installed and it got upgraded. Still can't startx and getting the same error.

Running pkg remove nvidia-drm-kmod I get No packages matched for pattern 'nvidia-drm-kmod'. The same for nvidia-driver-470.

osalbahr

I just rebooted and running pkg info | grep nvidia and the only driver installed is nvidia-driver-390-390.154.1402000_1 Nvidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering. So I'm at a loss.

WB7ODY

This is the dual gpu Optimus configuration? Nvidia and Intel. In the BIOS , can you turn off one gpu or the other gpu. Search here in telegram, or in the ghostbsd forums; search on word 'optimus' see if you can read about solution for GPU settings for GhostBSD.. Better to turn off the nvidia GPU and use intel GPU.
pciconf -lv or pciconf -lv | grep intel.

What goal or purpose are you wanting to achieve using the fine GhostBSD operating system? share results and ask more questions. Best of luck in your journey.

osalbahr

WB7ODY This is the dual gpu Optimus configuration? Nvidia and Intel.

I don't know what Optimus is. But I am guessing so because pciconf -lv | grep -B3 display does show two display devices: Nvidia GF106GLM [Quadro 2000M] and Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller.

WB7ODY In the BIOS , can you turn off one gpu or the other gpu. Search here in telegram, or in the ghostbsd forums; search on word 'optimus' see if you can read about solution for GPU settings for GhostBSD.. Better to turn off the nvidia GPU and use intel GPU.

Thx, I'll look into that. Though I will mimic the FreeBSD docs for setting up intel graphics first.

WB7ODY What goal or purpose are you wanting to achieve using the fine GhostBSD operating system? share results and ask more questions. Best of luck in your journey.

Thx! I don't have any specific goals. Just a general interest in operating systems and I hope to contribute, at least with forums and docs. I didn't like the amount of installation steps for FreeBSD and heard that GhostBSD is more user-friendly and wanted to give it a shot.

osalbahr

Update: Switching to the Integrated GPU in the BIOS made GhostBSD installer boot just fine

Though it seems strange that it doesn't switch to using the integrated GPU by default

If anyone is wondering how to switch the GPU in the BIOS settings, keep clicking F1 upon startup until you hear a chime, then go to Config > Display > Graphics Device > Integrated Graphics (instead of NVIDIA Optimus).

osalbahr

Unfortunately the BIOS GPU setting does not persist across reboots, so I have to remember to do it each time I turn on the laptop.