1. Introduction

This document has a very specific purpose; to help people who are failing to get X working on Intel's i810 graphics chipset (hereafter "the i810"). It is written by a beginner (me), and it is imagined that it will be of use primarily to other beginners. The author would be flattered to hear that he has helped anyone more skilled than he. Furthermore, I know that the i810 works with XFree86 3.3.6, but I personally have not trod that path. My experience comes purely from XFree86 4.0 (hereafter "X4.x") and the i810/agpgart support available in the 2.2.18 and 2.4.x kernels, and consequently this HOWTO tackles that solution, or procedure, alone. The instructions that follow were written to the 2.4.x compile tune, but the procedure is similar enough to be translatable to the 2.2.18. Use your head, as Tony Buzan would say, and read the READMEs to be sure of any required alterations of method.

Even though I know this procedure works I feel obliged to point out that what I have recorded here is mostly that which I have worked out in my own bumbling way. It may well be that others know a quicker and more efficient method than that which follows. If so I will be happy to hear from them. As I mentioned previously, the i810 will work with XFree86 3.3.6, if one also uses some drivers designed by Intel for the task (namely XFCom_i810-1.2-3 and I810Gtt-0.2-4) but, in the interests of Linux purity, and of course knowing one does not have to use Intel's software, I recommend the method detailed here. It does not need Intel drivers.

Finally, no introduction would be complete without the following words of caution; this HOWTO should be regarded as a 'bare bones' set of instructions and should therefore be followed with all relevant README literature to hand. What follows is not exhaustive by any stretch of the imagination, and needs, at least for beginners, said README stuff.