On Sat, 2010-09-04 at 13:31 -0400, Gilbert Sullivan wrote: > On 09/04/2010 12:40 PM, Sven Joachim wrote: > > You could also try wicd-curses if that's installed, or use X with the > > vesa driver. Here's an /etc/X11/xorg.conf for that: > > > > --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8--- > > Section "Device" > > Identifier "n" > > Driver "vesa" > > EndSection > > --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8--- > > > > Thanks, Sven! I got the Panasonic system connected using ifup, grabbed > the 2.6.32-20 linux-image from the snapshot server, and transferred it > from the Dell notebook to the Panasonic notebook over the network. > > However, just as I was about to roll up my sleeves and really start > messing the system up I got your response. I hadn't even thought about > reverting to vesa using /etc/X11/xorg.conf. > > I decided to experiment. The system seems to make an abortive attempt at > loading gdm with a different login background from the one I have > designated, and then it succeeds! I'm able to boot using the new kernel! > Is there any reason why I shouldn't just continue this way (using vesa)? > > I can see that the system is slightly slower than it was, but it > honestly isn't enough to bother me. I use these systems strictly for > office applications, e-mail, remote access to other systems, and Web > browsing. Obviously with no proprietary stuff installed I don't use them > for watching movies or playing games online or anything like that. > > > It gets a bit more complicated if the package to be downgraded has tight > > versioned dependencies forcing you to downgrade other packages, but that > > is the basic recipe, and it should work in this case. > > I'll remember that if I decide to proceed with the kernel downgrade. > > > I run "aptitude autoclean" every once in a while, but only when I'm > > reasonably sure there are no major problems with the currently installed > > packages. > > Maybe I'll be a little more circumspect about going all the way with > upgrades from now on.
Install apt-listbugs. That way before the packages installs, you will get a list of reported bugs against that package and you can decide if you want to continue or not. > > ;-) > > >> But having my display subsystem blacklisted doesn't seem to be > >> something I can work around. > >> > >> Do you have any specific suggestions as to how I could go about this? > >> Is it time to retire this subnotebook (at least from use with Debian)? > > > > It is a bit early to say this, but users of Intel 8xx graphics have been > > hosed for a while due to frequent GPU lockups, and no satisfactory > > solution has been found so far. > > Yes. This is where I've really been pretty boneheaded. You see, I've > seen Intel 8xx graphics users complaining bitterly for quite a while > now, but I've never had the least bit of trouble with this system, and > it gets used for many hours every day. I imagine I just don't use > applications that tend to give rise to GPU lockups, but I'm running Xfce > with all of the desktop compositing bells and whistles enabled. > > Anyway, I've just been shrugging my shoulders and figuring that maybe > there was something special about this Panasonic's particular > implementation of the graphics hardware that wasn't subject to the > problems people were seeing. It didn't occur to me that my display > subsystem might get blacklisted at some point. > > > The downgraded kernel has a big security hole already (CVE-2010-2240), > > but as long as you don't have malicious local users there is not too > > much to worry about. > > This is a single-user system, and I'm usually not malicious -- well, not > intentionally anyway. As we've seen, sometimes stupidity can accomplish > what one might ordinarily be tempted to attribute to malice. > > :-D > > I'm thinking I should just forge ahead using the vesa driver and keeping > up with the updates. Do you think that's a tenable approach? > > I really appreciate your help, Sven. > > -- Damon da...@damtek.com -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/1283622259.16031.12.ca...@dam-main.hsd1.ga.comcast.net.
