generating xorg.conf does not work

[doug at safeport.com]

On Fri, 28 Aug 2015, Warren Block wrote:

> On Fri, 28 Aug 2015, doug at safeport.com wrote:
>> 
>> Maybe I should have taken the questions one at a time. My highest priority 
>> question is that the handbook is in error on how to generate xorg.conf.
>> startx is just not correct.
>
> I don't understand what you are saying there.

This part got cut from my first post. The handbook says:

     To generate the configuration file and start the X system, issue
     this command:

     % startx

This is clearly wrong. 5.4 also says autoconfiguration is the preferred method. 
I found a post to forums.freebsd.org on 8/4/15 from wblock@ saying: 
"Auto-generating xorg.conf is not recommended any more."

Hence my confusion. The next part I understand and will try. But it seems to me 
that Xorg -configure, if it is there, should work. I was asking should this be 
reported as a bug (I could find nothing) or is there another way just not 
documented yet?

>> The next issue (Xorg -confgure), I only noted in passing. My question here 
>> is this a FreeBSD issue or should it be PR'd to Xorg. For starters 'Xorg 
>> -configure' selected the vesa driver, autoconfiguration picked the ATI 
>> Radeon driver. The vesa driver could not negociate a setting. Note even if 
>> it did the screen resolution would be 1026x760 or whatever the current 
>> one-size fits all resolution is. This is clearly an error in the Xorg 
>> command. There may have been other errors in the generated xorg.conf file, 
>> but the first one was the vesa driver could not get something out of the 
>> BIOS it liked. Earlier versions of Xorg this all worked albeit with the 
>> vesa driver.
>
> Back up for a second.  Exactly what video hardware do you have?  If you have 
> onboard Intel video along with an add-on Radeon card, it would probably be 
> best to disable the Intel video in the BIOS.

If this not a depreciated method, I can report it and/or provide all the data. 
That was not really my question as clearly the radeon driver works. Again I was 
going for, "is this just a documentation error"?

> Otherwise, try this for xorg.conf.  Do not add this to an existing file, this 
> is the *entire* file:
>
> Section "Device"
> 	Identifier  "Card0"
> 	Driver      "radeon"
> EndSection

I assume I can then also add the font commands as needed. I could find no 
documentation in the FreeBSD wiki or on Xorg that indicated X would just piece 
all this together. I assume this would now go in /usr/local/etc/X11.

Thanks

_____
Douglas Denault
http://www.safeport.com
doug at safeport.com
Voice: 301-217-9220
   Fax: 301-217-9277