Via Chrome9 HC, Ubuntu 9.04 - 3D Hardware Rendering

UPDATE (12/25/2009): Did some searching recently, and found this: http://blog.lingquest.org/2009/11/ubuntu910-hpmini2133-chrome9-driver/

While I can't say for sure that the above will work under 9.04, I have tested it under 9.10 and can verify that it does work (at least for me anyway).

Warning: At the moment this does not work, there's a problem with via_drv.so and Xorg 7.2. While I'm still looking for a solution to this (one that doesn't involve downgrading Xorg), I figure someone else might be able to solve the problem while I take a break from it. As such, I'm posting what I've got so far.

I've been debating over the past week whether or not I should attempt to get 3D working before Via posts their new drivers for 9.04. However, despite the nagging feeling that they'll give them out as soon as I do so, I'm writing down my attempts to get hardware acceleration working. A few people have reported getting things working using the kernel packaged with 8.10, but none have told exactly how to do so if you haven't upgraded from 8.10 to 9.04. Unfortunately, that's where I come in.

Some things here might be specific to the HP Mini 2133 (1280x768 display size), or the Via CN896/VN896/P4M900 GPU. While I'll do my best to make it clear, I might miss some, so watch out.

Keep in mind, all of this is done using the terminal, if you don't know where to find it, you can always use xterm. To start it, press alt+f2, this will bring up the 'Run Application' dialog (or something similar, depending on your desktop environment), then type 'xterm' (without the quotes) into the dialog box and click 'Run'. If you've mapped 'Run Application' to something else, I can't help you, you're on your own.


Downloading the Kernel and Drivers
First things first, we need the Linux kernel that came in 8.10:
wget http://launchpadlibrarian.net/19356984/linux-image-2.6.27-7-generic_2.6.27-7.16_i386.deb
wget http://launchpadlibrarian.net/19356986/linux-headers-2.6.27-7-generic_2.6.27-7.16_i386.deb
wget http://launchpadlibrarian.net/19356987/linux-headers-2.6.27-7_2.6.27-7.16_all.deb

We'll also be needing the Via drivers:
wget http://www.viaarena.com/Driver/5.74.33.85a-44597.tar.gz


WiFi Drivers
Note: I you have a Broadcom card that isn't supported by the b43xx driver, or if you're using the STA driver, you might want to switch to using the Windows driver for it.

To install the Windows version of the wireless driver, at least if you have a Broadcom BCM4312 WiFi card, follow the instructions under Wireless Driver at (at the time of writing, it was number 8 on the list):
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LaptopTestingTeam/HP2133#Drivers and Fixes

After that, you'll probably have to blacklist the STA driver:
sudo sh -c 'echo "blacklist wl" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf'

Should something go wrong, and you need the STA driver back, just use:
sudo sh -c 'grep -v "blacklist wl" /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf > /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf'


Installing
Next we'll move on to installing the new (old) kernel, and the Via drivers.

Install the kernel and headers:
sudo dpkg -i *linux*2.6.27-7*.deb


Before proceeding, you'll need to reboot, be sure to hit escape when you see grub, then select the 2.6.27-7-generic kernel from the list.


Next we'll install the via drivers.

First, unpack the drivers:
tar -xzf 5.74.33.85a-44597.tar.gz

Next, cd to the directory, and run the installer:
cd 5.74.33.85a-44597/
sudo ./vinstall

After that we need to revert to the via_chrome9.ko that came with the kernel:
mv /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/kernel/ubuntu/via_chrome9/via_chrome9.ko /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/kernel/ubuntu/via_chrome9/via_chrome9.ko.brk
mv /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/kernel/ubuntu/via_chrome9/via_chrome9.ko.viabak /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/kernel/ubuntu/via_chrome9/via_chrome9.ko

Add via and via_chrome9 to the list of modules to load:
sudo sh -c 'echo "via" >> /etc/modules; echo "via_chrome9" >> /etc/modules'


Configuring X
Lastly, we need a working xorg.conf, I used the one described here, though it needs modification to work at 1280x768 (the resolution that this particular laptop uses):
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LaptopTestingTeam/HP2133/DisplayConfig810#xorg.conf for 3D


And now the problems
Reboot, don't forget to hit esc when you get to grub, and select the correct kernel. If all goes well, it should work. If your setup is anything like mine though, it won't, you'll end up with a blank screen, and a non-working X. This is because via_drv.so is somewhat incompatible with Xorg 7.2.

The interesting bits from my :0.log.1:
/usr/X11R6/bin/X: symbol lookup error: /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers//via_drv.so: undefined symbol: xf86GetVersion

And a link to the Xorg.0.log:
http://www.rummik.com/f/log/Xorg.0.log


Some googling seems to point to the need to downgrade Xorg in order to get it to work, not something I really want to do, as it could potentially break OpenChrome in the process. I'll have to keep looking.

Should anyone stumble on to this post who has another idea, feel free to let me know.


Reverting
To go back to using the OpenChrome driver from 9.04, we need to remove the /etc/X11/xorg.conf that we put in:
sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Then reboot once more, be sure to let grub do its thing, and you'll be back to using OpenChrome.