Works! [Was: Recomended hardware doesn't work. Does anything?]

[scorf]

<Ignore this silly rant... I got it working, see posts below.>

I have a new Asus M2NPV-VM -- the recommended/tested/working motherboard used in the convincing video.  I spent over $1,000 on hardware -- all on the "recommended" list.  Today -- none of it works.

The component RGB didn't work -- it looked like the R of the RGB was disconnected.  I tried everything I know and everything from these forums and others.  Didn't work.

I am a unix admin, and have had a heck of a time even getting to the term prompt to test, vi, etc...  I still can't -- and am loosing interest.

Then I tried the DVI output thinking I could go from the DVI-D to HDMI of my Panny.  Looked pretty good at first... the wizard then asked me what sound options I wanted... I chose analog two speaker and that's where it eneded.  The Panny interface went black and my pc monitor showed the wizard screen back and where you choose your video options... only, you could only see about a 16th of the screen.  (What happened to the audio test?)

OK, so the RGB and the DVI didn't work on the recommended motherboard -- what did they use in the video? VGA?  (They don't say.)

I'm tired of this -- to those of you lurking, this doesn't work as advertised.  Look elsewhere.  Some of us will continue to waste our evenings and weekend to get a crappy conglomerate of programs working... but if you're looking for a media center... well, it aint here.

[teedge77]

 

[CrafyZA]

I dont know about the rest of you guys/ gals, but im very happy with what the media centre has offered me so far. Granted im still busy setting it up, and here and there I do run into some problems, but all of these are fixable. Every day I find new little features and gadgets built in that amaze me even more. Even my girlfriend (who is not a technical fundi) is amazed at what this thing can do, and how easy it is.

[Zaerc]

A "unix admin" that can't get to a terminal prompt... 

These flame-baits are getting funnier al the time.

[delta_9]

scorf your story does not surprise me stick at it pore your whole life in to it. maybe then it will work... um hang on this is an unfinished linux project will take years shit you should probably get vista home premo in between time buy a mce remote every one will beat up MS. but at least the have waited till it worked before setting it free . 

( OMG DID I JUST SAY THAT Zaerc thats a open door flame on i have consumed plenty of water to piss on it )

[1audio]

I have a new Asus M2NPV-VM -- the recommended/tested/working motherboard used in the convincing video.  I spent over $1,000 on hardware -- all on the "recommended" list.  Today -- none of it works.

The component RGB didn't work -- it looked like the R of the RGB was disconnected.  I tried everything I know and everything from these forums and others.  Didn't work.

1) Check that you have the latest Bios. Its 1001. They may still be using 0304 on production boards and it doesn't work right with Linux.
2) Asus hardware isn't always perfect. You could have a bad analog interface card or cable.
3) How did you install? CD's or DVD?
4) At the video wizard press 1 for DVI, 2 for VGA and I think 3 for component. Check the Wiki for other options.. You may have been in composite mode or something else. Check the xorg.conf file to see how its set.

I have installed on this hardware many times successfully.

[scorf]

1) Check that you have the latest Bios. Its 1001. They may still be using 0304 on production boards and it doesn't work right with Linux.
2) Asus hardware isn't always perfect. You could have a bad analog interface card or cable.
3) How did you install? CD's or DVD?
4) At the video wizard press 1 for DVI, 2 for VGA and I think 3 for component. Check the Wiki for other options.. You may have been in composite mode or something else. Check the xorg.conf file to see how its set.

1audio -- thanks for your help:

1) The first thing i did before installing anything was update to 0901 as recommended.  1001 is beta, but it's worth a try -- I'll do that - thanks.
2) It shows full color when displaying the ASUS splash screen, [Update: this was an error on my part as the ASUS splash screen doesn't show red -- I want this to be clear in case anyone in the future has this problem -- see below, it was a bad MB video out card] so I'm thinking it's a driver issue.  I've since switched from component to DVI-HDMI -- colors are good during the wizard, but I get no video when it reboots (I hear her talking, but just have a blank screen -- both my vga monitor and DVI outs are blank.)
3) I installed clean using the DVD. (in fact, have reinstalled several times just to clean the slate)
4) Thank you, that is helpful -- I'm vi'ing the xorg.conf file now.

Sorry about my rant -- I thought by getting the recommended hardware, I could bypass issues with nVidia drivers etc., and get to work customizing this thing.

My rant wasn't helpful -- but your response is.

[scorf]

It works!!!

Thank you 1audio!

I'm not sure if it was:

• Updating the bios from 0901 to 1001
• Updating the nVidia drivers per instructions on the wiki
• stumbling on the right combination of video options in the AVWizard

I'm using the DVI out of the ASUS M2NPV-VM -> DVI-HDMI converter cable -> Panasonic plasma.
720p

I sure wish I could remove the original rant -- looks silly when I re-read.   

Now on to other (more fun) issues...  but at least I know it's possible with my hardware.

[teedge77]

i had that same problem with my board. i dont actually know which BIOS version i am using now. i will have to look and see if that one you were talking about being beta will be ready soon.

[1audio]

The Fiire engines are shipping with the 1001 bios and it seems to be stable. The 0901 also seems to work fine for me here.

Its not uncommon to get very frustrated by this system on setup since its so big and complex and most have never seen it run. Once you get past the hardware incompatibilies everything starts to fall in place. But that first step can be agonizing (like upgrading to Vista. . .).  And when you look at the price and the cost of your time the Fiire stuff is not too much of a premium.

Good luck with it and keep us posted on your progress.

[colinjones]

Glad you came round scorf ... may have had to flame you

[scorf]

Update:

I did indeed have a bad analog interface card that came with the motherboard.  I exchanged the entire board for another and the install went flawless.  It turns out the R of the RGB was flaky.  (Also, the new board came with 1001 pre-installed.)

One note: I decided to replace my linux firewall/Squid/Dansguardian system I built years ago with this one.  DG is an internet filter (I have young children) and it may have been blocking some of linuxmce's access (blocked binary downloads, etc.).  I'll set up DG as a proxy on a stick for our home computers.  This also makes it easier to get to the command prompt via the net using ssh, etc.  (The single nic with eth0 and eth0:0 was ugly.)

Of course, "flawless" might be a little strong: Mythtv is giving me fits, but there's another thread running with others having the same issues.

[marrandy]

I dont know about the rest of you guys/ gals, but im very happy with what the media centre has offered me so far. Granted im still busy setting it up, and here and there I do run into some problems, but all of these are fixable. Every day I find new little features and gadgets built in that amaze me even more. Even my girlfriend (who is not a technical fundi) is amazed at what this thing can do, and how easy it is.

Can you provide a list of components that you use on the server/back-end and the client/front-end ?

I'm sure it would be helpful for many people here.