Lubuntu 14.04 installed on an old XP desktop, which has an Intel Celeron 2.00GHz, SiS 651 graphics chipset, and 2GB DDR RAM.
Why does the sisfb module not load on my computer?
I have added the line sisfb to /etc/modules. I have changed the line GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash" to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="video=sisfb quiet splash" in /etc/default/grub.
I have discovered that sisfb is blacklisted in both /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-framebuffer.conf and in /etc/modprobe.d/fbdev-blacklist.conf, and have commented out the blacklist sisfb line in both files (by adding # at the beginning of the line).
Yet the /var/log/Xorg.0.log file still says "sisfb not found". Why will sisfb not load?
Xorg.0.log file:
[ 35.083]
X.Org X Server 1.15.1
Release Date: 2014-04-13
[ 35.088] X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
[ 35.088] Build Operating System: Linux 3.2.0-75-generic i686 Ubuntu
[ 35.088] Current Operating System: Linux iqondesktop 3.13.0-68-generic #111-Ubuntu SMP Fri Nov 6 18:18:09 UTC 2015 i686
[ 35.088] Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.13.0-68-generic root=UUID=972fb678-4a5f-45f1-a64d-0773fb7b3169 ro video=sisfb quiet splash vt.handoff=7
[ 35.089] Build Date: 12 February 2015 02:49:46PM
[ 35.089] xorg-server 2:1.15.1-0ubuntu2.7 (For technical support please see support)
[ 35.089] Current version of pixman: 0.30.2
[ 35.089] Before reporting problems, check
to make sure that you have the latest version.
[ 35.089] Markers: (--) probed, (*\*) from config file, (==) default setting,
(++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
[ 35.090] (==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Fri Nov 13 19:56:43 2015
[ 35.091] (==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf"
[ 35.091] (==) Using system config directory "/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d"
[ 35.097] (==) ServerLayout "X.org Configured"
[ 35.097] (*\*) |-->Screen "Screen0" (0)
[ 35.097] (*\*) | |-->Monitor "Monitor0"
[ 35.098] (*\*) | |-->Device "Card0"
[ 35.098] (*\*) |-->Input Device "Mouse0"
[ 35.098] (\**) |-->Input Device "Keyboard0"
[ 35.098] (==) Automatically adding devices
[ 35.098] (==) Automatically enabling devices
[ 35.098] (==) Automatically adding GPU devices
[ 35.098] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic" does not exist.
[ 35.098] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 35.098] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/" does not exist.
[ 35.098] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 35.099] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/" does not exist.
[ 35.099] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 35.099] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1" does not exist.
[ 35.099] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 35.099] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi" does not exist.
[ 35.099] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 35.099] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi" does not exist.
[ 35.099] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 35.099] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic" does not exist.
[ 35.099] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 35.099] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/" does not exist.
[ 35.099] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 35.099] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/" does not exist.
[ 35.099] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 35.099] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1" does not exist.
[ 35.099] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 35.104] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi" does not exist.
[ 35.104] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 35.104] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi" does not exist.
[ 35.104] Entry deleted from font path.
[ 35.104] (\**) FontPath set to:
/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc,
built-ins,
/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc,
built-ins
[ 35.104] (\**) ModulePath set to "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
[ 35.104] (WW) Hotplugging is on, devices using drivers 'kbd', 'mouse' or 'vmmouse' will be disabled.
[ 35.104] (WW) Disabling Mouse0
[ 35.104] (WW) Disabling Keyboard0
[ 35.104] (II) Loader magic: 0xb77376c0
[ 35.104] (II) Module ABI versions:
[ 35.104] X.Org ANSI C Emulation: 0.4
[ 35.104] X.Org Video Driver: 15.0
[ 35.104] X.Org XInput driver : 20.0
[ 35.105] X.Org Server Extension : 8.0
[ 35.115] (--) PCI:*(0:1:0:0) 1039:6325:1043:8081 rev 0, Mem @ 0xf0000000/134
217728, 0xe7800000/131072, I/O @ 0x0000d800/128
[ 35.115] Initializing built-in extension Generic Event Extension
[ 35.116] Initializing built-in extension SHAPE
[ 35.116] Initializing built-in extension MIT-SHM
[ 35.116] Initializing built-in extension XInputExtension
[ 35.116] Initializing built-in extension XTEST
[ 35.116] Initializing built-in extension BIG-REQUESTS
[ 35.116] Initializing built-in extension SYNC
[ 35.116] Initializing built-in extension XKEYBOARD
[ 35.116] Initializing built-in extension XC-MISC
[ 35.116] Initializing built-in extension SECURITY
[ 35.116] Initializing built-in extension XINERAMA
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension XFIXES
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension RENDER
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension RANDR
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension COMPOSITE
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension DAMAGE
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension DOUBLE-BUFFER
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension RECORD
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension DPMS
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension Present
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension DRI3
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension X-Resource
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension XVideo
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension XVideo-MotionCompensation
[ 35.117] Initializing built-in extension SELinux
[ 35.118] Initializing built-in extension XFree86-VidModeExtension
[ 35.118] Initializing built-in extension XFree86-DGA
[ 35.118] Initializing built-in extension XFree86-DRI
[ 35.118] Initializing built-in extension DRI2
[ 35.118] (II) "glx" will be loaded. This was enabled by default and also spe
cified in the config file.
[ 35.118] (WW) "xmir" is not to be loaded by default. Skipping.
[ 35.118] (II) LoadModule: "glx"
[ 35.124] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so
[ 35.157] (II) Module glx: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 35.157] compiled for 1.15.1, module version = 1.0.0
[ 35.157] ABI class: X.Org Server Extension, version 8.0
[ 35.157] (==) AIGLX enabled
[ 35.157] Loading extension GLX
[ 35.158] (II) LoadModule: "sis"
[ 35.160] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/sis_drv.so
[ 35.161] (II) Module sis: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 35.161] compiled for 1.15.0, module version = 0.10.7
[ 35.161] Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[ 35.161] ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 15.0
[ 35.161] (II) SIS: driver for SiS chipsets: SIS5597/5598, SIS530/620,
SIS6326/AGP/DVD, SIS300/305, SIS630/730, SIS540, SIS315, SIS315H,
SIS315PRO/E, SIS550, SIS650/M650/651/740, SIS330(Xabre),
SIS660/[M]661[F|M]X/[M]670/[M]741[GX]/[M]760[GX]/[M]761[GX]/[M]770[GX],
SIS340
[ 35.162] (II) SIS: driver for XGI chipsets: Volari Z7 (XG20),
Volari V3XT/V5/V8/Duo (XG40)
[ 35.162] (++) using VT number 7
[ 35.163] (WW) Falling back to old probe method for sis
[ 35.163] (--) Chipset SIS650/M650/651/740 found
[ 35.163] (II) SIS(0): SiS driver (2005/09/20-1, compiled for X.org 1.15.0.0)
[ 35.163] (II) SIS(0): Copyright (C) 2001-2005 Thomas Winischhofer <thomas@wi
nischhofer.net> and others
[ 35.163] (II) SIS(0): See /linuxsisvga.shtml
[ 35.163] (II) SIS(0): for documentation and updates.
[ 35.164] (--) SIS(0): sisfb not found
[ 35.164] (--) SIS(0): Relocated I/O registers at 0xD800
[ 35.165] (II) Loading sub module "ramdac"
[ 35.165] (II) LoadModule: "ramdac"
[ 35.165] (II) Module "ramdac" already built-in
[ 35.166] (==) SIS(0): Depth 24, (--) framebuffer bpp 32
[ 35.166] (==) SIS(0): RGB weight 888
[ 35.166] (==) SIS(0): Default visual is TrueColor
[ 35.172] (--) SIS(0): Video BIOS version "1.10.08" found (old SiS data layou
t)
[ 35.172] (==) SIS(0): Using HW cursor
[ 35.173] (==) SIS(0): Color HW cursor is enabled
[ 35.173] (II) SIS(0): Using VRAM command queue, size 512k
[ 35.173] (==) SIS(0): Hotkey display switching is enabled
[ 35.173] (II) SIS(0): WARNING: Using the Hotkey might freeze your machine, r
egardless
[ 35.173] (II) SIS(0): whether enabled or disabled. This is no drive
r bug.
[ 35.173] (==) SIS(0): SiSCtrl utility interface is disabled
[ 35.173] (II) SIS(0): For information on SiSCtrl, see
http://www.winischhofer.eu/linuxsispart1.shtml#sisctrl
[ 35.173] (==) SIS(0): DRI disabled
[ 35.173] (II) SIS(0): Checking OS for SSE support is not supported in this v
ersion of X.org
[ 35.173] (II) SIS(0): If your OS supports SSE, set the option "UseSSE" to "on".
[ 35.174] (--) SIS(0): DIMM0 is DDR SDRAM
[ 35.174] (--) SIS(0): DIMM1 is DDR SDRAM
[ 35.174] (--) SIS(0): DIMM2 is not installed
[ 35.174] (--) SIS(0): DIMM3 is not installed
[ 35.174] (--) SIS(0): DRAM type: DDR SDRAM
[ 35.174] (--) SIS(0): Memory clock: 267.268 MHz
[ 35.174] (--) SIS(0): DRAM bus width: 64 bit
[ 35.174] (--) SIS(0): Linear framebuffer at 0xF0000000
[ 35.174] (--) SIS(0): MMIO registers at 0xE7800000 (size 64K)
[ 35.174] (--) SIS(0): VideoRAM: 32768 KB
[ 35.174] (II) SIS(0): Using 32192K of framebuffer memory at offset 0K
[ 35.175] (--) SIS(0): SiS650 revision ID e0 (651)
[ 35.175] (--) SIS(0): Hardware supports two video overlays
[ 35.175] (==) SIS(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
[ 35.175] (II) SIS(0): Gamma correction is enabled
[ 35.175] (II) SIS(0): Separate Xv gamma correction is disabled
[ 35.175] (--) SIS(0): Memory bandwidth at 32 bpp is 534.536 MHz
[ 35.175] (II) Loading sub module "ddc"
[ 35.175] (II) LoadModule: "ddc"
[ 35.175] (II) Module "ddc" already built-in
[ 35.781] (--) SIS(0): CRT1 DDC probing failed
[ 35.782] (II) Loading sub module "ddc"
(I've stopped here, as I have now gone past the sisfb not found line)
UPDATE: while looking through my kern.log file in /var/log/ I have found a clue on this
Nov 27 10:37:40 iqondesktop kernel: [ 1.720375] vesafb: mode is 640x480x32, linelength=2560, pages=0
Nov 27 10:37:40 iqondesktop kernel: [ 1.720383] vesafb: scrolling: redraw
Nov 27 10:37:40 iqondesktop kernel: [ 1.720389] vesafb: Truecolor: size=8:8:8:8, shift=24:16:8:0
Nov 27 10:37:40 iqondesktop kernel: [ 1.720834] vesafb: framebuffer at 0xf0000000, mapped to 0xf8480000, using 1216k, total 1216k
Nov 27 10:37:40 iqondesktop kernel: [ 1.726543] Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 80x30
Nov 27 10:37:40 iqondesktop kernel: [ 1.731846] fb0: VESA VGA frame buffer device
...
Nov 27 10:37:40 iqondesktop kernel: [ 2.621286] agpgart-sis 0000:00:00.0: SiS chipset [1039/0651]
Nov 27 10:37:40 iqondesktop kernel: [ 2.633082] agpgart-sis 0000:00:00.0: AGP aperture is 64M @ 0xe8000000
Nov 27 10:37:40 iqondesktop kernel: [ 2.673595] sisfb: Video ROM found
Nov 27 10:37:40 iqondesktop kernel: [ 2.673685] tsc: Refined TSC clocksource calibration: 2017.968 MHz
Nov 27 10:37:40 iqondesktop kernel: [ 2.701226] sisfb: Fatal error: Unable to reserve 32MB framebuffer memory
Nov 27 10:37:40 iqondesktop kernel: [ 2.701234] sisfb: Is there another framebuffer driver active?
According to this, vesafb starts before sisfb during kernel startup. So sisfb is not able to reserve the framebuffer memory and exits with a fatal error. I have blacklisted vesafb in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-framebuffer.conf and run sudo update-initramfs -k all -u. However I cannot find the file /boot/grub/menu.lst, possibly because Lubuntu does not have this file while Xubuntu does.
Ok, /boot/grub/menu.lst does not exist in grub2, and my boot loader is grub2. Instead grub2 is configured with the /etc/default/grub file and the files inside /etc/grub.d/, but at the moment I don't know how to do the equivalent of "remove the vga= line from /boot/grub/menu.lst" in grub2.
