Bug #10841

Ship xserver-xorg-video-intel from jessie-backport

Added by goupille 2016-01-03 14:49:01 . Updated 2016-01-27 13:31:59 .

Status:
Resolved
Priority:
Normal
Assignee:
Category:
Hardware support
Target version:
Tails_2.0
Start date:
2016-01-03
Due date:
% Done:

100%

Feature Branch:
feature/10841-xserver-xorg-video-intel-backport
Type of work:
Code
Blueprint:

Starter:
Affected tool:
Deliverable for:

Description

installing this version of xserver-xorg-video-intel would increase the hardware compatibility with newer intel graphics (such as Intel Broadwell). users can’t install it through the additional softwares since the installation requires X to restart.

Files

lspci (1464 B) mjenglish, 2016-01-04 01:26:24

Subtasks

History

#1 Updated by intrigeri 2016-01-03 15:33:05

  • Assignee set to goupille
  • QA Check set to Info Needed

> installing this version of xserver-xorg-video-intel would increase the hardware compatibility with newer intel graphics (such as Intel Broadwell).

I quickly considered it a few weeks ago, but I have my doubts that installing the newer X.Org driver will help in anyway, if we don’t also install a newer Linux kernel (most of the driver lives in the kernel nowadays), that is Feature #10298. So we’ll need more info from you before we can decide anything here:

> users can’t install it through the additional softwares since the installation requires X to restart.

Maybe I’m missing something, but this works fine for me:

root@amnesia:~# apt update && apt install xserver-xorg-video-intel/jessie-backports && service gdm3 restart

So the question we need an answer to is: are there graphics adapters that are badly supported on Tails 2.0~beta1, but are better supported after running the previous set of commands? (Ideally, the output of the lspci command for any such machine would be useful.)

Maybe you can ask that to the user who suggested installing the backport in the first place?

#2 Updated by mjenglish 2016-01-04 01:26:39

Hello,

I originally reported the bug. That command does work, but it is unrealistic for users to run it at every boot. Upgrading xserver-xorg-video-intel to the version in jessie-backports significantly improves graphics performance on newer Intel processors. I have actually found that updating the kernel does not change much for me. Attached is the output of lspci on my laptop. I ask that you keep my laptop specifications private.

#3 Updated by intrigeri 2016-01-04 09:38:19

  • Subject changed from consider shipping xserver-xorg-video-intel from jessie-backport to Ship xserver-xorg-video-intel from jessie-backport
  • Category set to Hardware support
  • Status changed from New to Confirmed
  • Assignee changed from goupille to intrigeri
  • Target version set to Tails_2.0
  • QA Check deleted (Info Needed)
  • Type of work changed from Research to Code

OK, got it, thanks! I’ll try to sneak it into 2.0~rc1, and worst case into 2.2.

#4 Updated by intrigeri 2016-01-04 11:46:12

  • Assignee changed from intrigeri to anonym

#5 Updated by mjenglish 2016-01-04 14:41:24

When I installed xserver-xorg-video-intel from jessie-backports, it introduced a new bug in which display brightness was set to maximum on each boot. This might be a problem with my specific laptop configuration and it is less of a problem in Tails since it is a live OS. Still, I would be careful testing the updated software’s behavior to make sure that it does not introduce any new problems.

#6 Updated by intrigeri 2016-01-04 16:59:14

Sure, we’ll test on 4+ Intel graphics before applying this change.

#7 Updated by mjenglish 2016-01-09 23:24:01

I should clarify that the brightness is set to maximum at boot only when I use the updated display driver from jessie-backports with the acpi_backlight=vendor boot option. I need to enter acpi_backlight=vendor in order to have control over display brightness on my laptop.

#8 Updated by anonym 2016-01-10 21:07:19

  • Status changed from Confirmed to In Progress

Applied in changeset commit:3b8ccbc2684a8e7a94f78ed8f5ad12573c96c0ac.

#9 Updated by anonym 2016-01-10 21:10:24

  • Assignee changed from anonym to intrigeri
  • % Done changed from 0 to 50
  • QA Check set to Ready for QA
  • Feature Branch set to feature/10841-xserver-xorg-video-intel-backport

I’ve tested the feature branch on several systems (see below) and each time I checked that:

  • the correct resolution was used with a reasonable DPI
  • it has full brightness on start
  • the brightness control works
  • kernel mode setting is enabled (inteldrmfb)

This is what I tested (successfully, unless otherwise stated):

  • Intel HD Graphics 6000 (Broadwell). This wasn’t a laptop, so I had no brightness controls to test.
  • Intel HD Graphics 4600
  • Intel HD Graphics 4000 (two laptops)
  • Intel HD Graphics first generation (i.e. first generation Intel Core). It has full brightness on start, but the brightness controls do not work (when the keyboard shortcuts are used, GNOME changes its brightness meter). I think it’s always been like this whenever I’ve run Linux on it.
  • Intel 915GM(!) [Side note: This is a laptop with an Intel Pentium M 733 (1.1GHz ULV) and 1280 MiB of RAM. Tails/Jessie works really well on it, except that (even USB) boot is slow (a bit more than two minutes].

So it looks good!

#10 Updated by intrigeri 2016-01-10 21:48:01

  • % Done changed from 50 to 60

Code review passes (no kidding!), will build and test on a few systems here.

#11 Updated by intrigeri 2016-01-11 00:00:20

  • % Done changed from 60 to 100
  • QA Check changed from Ready for QA to Pass

The same tests as anonym did were successful on:

  • ThinkPad X61 (GM965/GL960)
  • ThinkPad X200 (Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller rev 07)

#12 Updated by intrigeri 2016-01-11 00:01:09

  • Status changed from In Progress to Fix committed

Applied in changeset commit:7264686642f2811960b266a0c784fb9235b64e3b.

#13 Updated by intrigeri 2016-01-11 00:01:40

  • Assignee deleted (intrigeri)

#14 Updated by anonym 2016-01-27 13:31:59

  • Status changed from Fix committed to Resolved