HOWTO: XGL/Compiz on a Thinkpad x60s with Gentoo
There’ve been quite a lot hits on my last blog entry about running XGL/Compiz on a Thinkpad x60s, so I’ve decided to write a more detailed howto. This article will focus on the prearrangement and the configuration of the hardware to run Xgl.
- Desktop cube with XGL/Compiz
First of all: XGL/Compiz actually runs on my x60s without problems. I’ve no idea why some people proclaim something else. The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 is fully supported by the official Intel i810 driver 1.6.0, which is currently masked with the ~x86 keyword. So you have to tell Gentoo that you want to use the newest i810 version, at least >=1.6.0. i810 only works with the modular Xorg >=7.0.:
Unmask the required package:
# echo "x11-drivers/xf86-video-i810 ~x86" >>\
/etc/portage/package.keywords
Make sure that i810 is added to your VIDEO_CARDS in /etc/make.conf. You should keep vesa and/or fbdev for backup reasons:
/etc/make.conf:
[..]
VIDEO_CARDS=”i810 vesa fbdev”
[..]
Update your system. The new i810 driver will be automatically emerged as a dependency:
emerge -avUdTN world
Now edit your /etc/X11/xorg.conf and configure the i810 driver. Edit the corresponding “device” section after you’ve made a backup copy of your xorg.conf:
/etc/X11/xorg.conf
[..]
Section “Device”
Identifier “Intel i810″
Driver “i810″
Option “RenderAccel” “true”
Option “AllowGLXWithComposite” “true”
EndSection
[..]
Now go to the “Module” section and make sure that the following modules are loaded. Leave the others as they are.
/etc/X11/xorg.conf
[..]
Load “dri”
Load “glx”
[..]
You should delete or uncomment Load "GLcore". This module is needed, but it will mess up if it’s not loaded at the right time. If you delete or uncomment it, Xorg will automatically load GLcore as a dependency at the right time.
Now your x60s is properly configured for the XGL/Compiz stuff. Continue now with the general XGL howto. I would recommend the compiz-quinnstorm packages, as they offer more features and provide a powerful GUI.
References:
[1] http://farmerzonen.dk/x60s
[2] http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:X60s
[3] http://flickr.com/photos/submariner/246313348/
