new guy hoping to make it work

[dabull69]

ok so over the last month i have been piece by piece putting together a htpc and im really wanting to get linuxmce running on it.  so this  my setup i put alot of research into this build but what i neglected to check out was compadability issues with mce as my original plans were to build a mythbox.

--asus m3a78-em motherboard which i got a really good deal on open box but i dont have any of the drivers and such
--AMD Athlon X2 4850e 2.5GHz cpu
--Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
--old 250w powersupply and case from old gateway tower.

im trying to hook it up to my big screen via dvi but have been having alot of problems gettin that goin so i just hooked up a monitor via vga to set it up.
well i run the disk and get everything installed no prob but when it gets the the first page of the setup where the lady is saying "if you can see and hear me..." i can hear her and i can see the rest of the screen but the box is just black where her picture should be. i have tried several reinstalls using all the different options and even redownlaoding and reburning new install disks 3 times. i can go through the install fine but can not see the video of her at any point. beyond that im just having a terrible time gettin my display settings working right with my monitor and my tv. and also gettin my wireless pci card and the onboard ethernet working right.  if someone could just point me in the right direction i have done alot of research and have found several answers but none that really have worked so far. im really hoping to find someone with a similar setup that can let me know whats working for them as i find hands on knowledge is usually the best. i am soo impressed with mce i really wanna get it running.

thanks in advance

[lmce3000]

Hi,

I think the Asus M3A78-EM comes with an onboard ATI Radeon HD 3200 VGA card, are you using the onboard
VGA? cause if you are, you're in for a lot of frustrations. ATI cards are not supported right out of the box in Linux MCE
but with a bit of tweaking, you can make it work albeit with UI1 not UI2 / overlay.
You're better off bying and NVIDIA card. It's all here. http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Category:Graphic_Cards

John.

[seth]

I am using this motherboard as a core in my house currently.

I have never had much luck with the video working on it, so  purchased a Nvidia 7200 card for it's pci express slot. However the steps to try to get ATI cards working are outlines here:
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Display_Drivers
And the steps to get the onboard network card to work are here, as well as a recompiled driver:
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Realtek_8168#Asus_M3A78-EM

The forum entry I posted about getting this board to work is here:
http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6806.0

More than that I can not give you. A quick search of the forums and wiki should have given you those links, but I figured I would chime in as I am using this board as a core/hybrid daily.

Hope that helps. And Save YourSelf the Stress, and snag an nvidia card. Until we get better ATI support working well, you won't regret having done so.

Best Regards,

Seth

[dabull69]

ok so just forget about the on board graphics. that sucks as it was one of the main reasons i got the board. oh well i guess just hope for future support. ok so instead of gettin a dedicated video card is there a good tuner card that i could use for both pvr function and as a video solution???  if not then what would be a good video card if im wanting to add a blu-ray drive in the near future. im pretty hip to ATI stuff but havnt really looked alot into nivida. am i gonna need a 9 series or would a 7 be able to handle blu-ray playback??  and 1 side note... my grandmother is loosing her vision and when i was browsin around i came across a program that would read the tv guide info and such over the speakers but for the life of me i cant find it again anywhere. if anyone could point me in the right direction for some possible solutions for that it would be greatly appreciated by me and my grandmother.

thanks in advance,
brandon

[dabull69]

ok so i ran another clean install of the 32 bit version and this time i could see and hear her in the setup and everything was goin fine. but after i was all done and it comes up and acts like its starting but it then goes to the terminal screen and and gives me some error about not connecting to the X server.  i dunno what the problem is. i am waiting for my new video card i got an nvidia one so do u think this is something that will be resolved by the video card or am i missin sumthin else???  im just gettin really frustrated i have been goin at this for over a month now so if anyone could help me out it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance,
brandon

[emu_mtl]

Hi there
I also am having the same issues with this same setup.

Im looking more into it and ill post any of my findings also.

please keep this thread alive.

John

[totallymaxed]

Hi there
I also am having the same issues with this same setup.

Im looking more into it and ill post any of my findings also.

please keep this thread alive.

John

Generally ATI  GPU's will work if you use install updated fglrx drivers... then UI1  or UI2 + Overlay are usually achievable. See the wiki for more info.

Andrew

[lmce3000]

ok so i ran another clean install of the 32 bit version and this time i could see and hear her in the setup and everything was goin fine. but after i was all done and it comes up and acts like its starting but it then goes to the terminal screen and and gives me some error about not connecting to the X server.  i dunno what the problem is. i am waiting for my new video card i got an nvidia one so do u think this is something that will be resolved by the video card or am i missin sumthin else???  im just gettin really frustrated i have been goin at this for over a month now so if anyone could help me out it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance,
brandon

Hi Brandon,

Have you received your Nvidia Video Card yet? Which series and model did you order? Anything in series 6-7-8, should work.


John.

[dabull69]

ok so just ordered ASUS GeForce 6200LE video card, an x10 usb transciever and an x10 wirless tranciever/lamp module, and a usb to serial cable (to opefully control my STB). i really hope this video card fixes my problems as i am really anxious to expand my project. a little mroe info on my set-up, i will be using this pc as a hybrid in my living room hooked up to my 72in mitsu rear projection tv via dvi. i want to use my hp pavillion laptop (curently running ubuntu 8.10) as a diskless md for remote control of my system. i also have a xbox 360 i want to intergrate into the system but from what i can find there isnt much i could do with it that right??
well any input or sugestions are greatly appreciated especially if anyone knows about any software for mce that can read the guide info and such for the tv as my grandmother is going blind and it would be a great help for her.

thanks in advance,
brandon

[tschak909]

Just so you know, your x-10 USB transciever won't work. You need a CM11A, which as I remember, never was made in USB.

-Thom

[dabull69]

wow really so i need the one with the serial interface its called the firecracker right?.  ok but my MB doesnt have a serial conection would it still work if i used it through a usb to serial adapter??

[tschak909]

The Firecracker is the CM15. You need the original CM11A, and yes, it works via a USB to serial adaptor.

anyone who wishes can make a new driver for the new hardware.

-Thom

[dabull69]

ok so toss the x-10 ill just use it with my laptop to play around with. so is x-10 not the best choice for automation hardware?  i honestly just picked it b/c of how cheap the modules all were and it just seemed to be the most simple. but who has what working? and what would you all suggest maybe insteon or new wave??? i know i might be gettin a little ahead of myself since i dont even have the system up and running yet lol but im just gettin anxious.  keep the advice coming.

thanks in advance,
brandon

[seth]

 
Well X10 is still a good option. Unless you have the $$ for Z-Wave. I bought a CM11A on ebay for about $17 shipped to the door. I also have this board as a core. I use a USB to Serial adapter that I picked up at a local computer store for about $12. It works just fine, and is mostly plug and play. I also have Insteon devices in my installation, but they are currently being controlled by the CM11a, I assigned them X10 addresses. The Insteon PLM is broken, and no longer works for me, but the CM11a does a wonderful job.

Also on ebay I have bought several X10 switches and lamp dimmers. Usually they come in a 3 pack for about $13 to $20 dollars.

Just a thought.

Regards,

Seth

[dabull69]

ok so is this what i need http://cgi.ebay.com/HC60RX-CM11A-X10-ACTIVEHOME-Software-RCA-Interface_W0QQitemZ310085488590QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item310085488590&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318