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Differences between the 2 FGLRX graphics drivers

I currently installed Ubuntu 11.10 and when I am prompted to install Additional Drivers, I get confused on which to use between the 2 FGLRX graphics drivers:

• ATI/AMD proprietary FGLRX graphics driver (post-release updates)
• ATI/AMD proprietary FGLRX graphics driver

These 2 appear but I am not sure what to choose. Previously, on 11.04, only the latter appears (the one without the post-releae updates).

What's the difference between these 2 drivers?

ATI driver re-install fail

I know this is a common topic, I myself have even helped others with ATI issues. Unfortunately now I find myself in the position of having ATI driver issues. The 12.1 driver is out, and I heard some issues with the screen flicker have been fixed. Ok, so I said I uninstall my current one, and get the new one.

So for uninstall I did:

sudo apt-get remove --purge fglrx fglrx_* fglrx-amdcccle* fglrx-dev*

And then I installed it normally by running the executable:

sh ./ati-driver-installer-11-10-x86.x86_64.run

The driver wouldn't install cause it was saying a current one is already there, so...like a dumb a*** I used --force

sh ./ati-driver-installer-11-10-x86.x86_64.run --force

This run through the installer apparently without issues.

Unfortunately while installing I realized I should have used the following commands:

sh ./ati-driver-installer-11-10-x86.x86_64.run --buildpkg Ubuntu/oneiric
sudo dpkg -i fglrx*.deb

Well, now I already run the force one, so I rebooted to see what the result is. After failed attempt to start xserver, I managed to log into the 2D fallback version.

Now if I try to run the installer directly I get a warning message:

A previous install of fglrx driver has been detected....

If I try to build the fglrx package with:

sh ./amd-driver-installer-12-1-x86.x86_64.run --buildpkg Ubuntu/oneiric

I get the error:

objdump: debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/alt_ld.so.conf: File truncated
objdump: debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/ld.so.conf: File format not recognized
objdump: debian/fglrx/usr/lib/pxpress/alt_ld.so.conf: File truncated
objdump: debian/fglrx/usr/lib/pxpress/ld.so.conf: File format not recognized
   debian/rules override_dh_shlibdeps
make[1]: Entering directory `/tmp/fglrx.wV9uQm'
dh_shlibdeps -l/tmp/fglrx.wV9uQm/debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx:/tmp/fglrx.wV9uQm/debian/fglrx/usr/lib32/fglrx -Xlib32
dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libAMDXvBA.so.1.0 contains an unresolvable reference to symbol dlsym: it's probably a plugin.
dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: 23 other similar warnings have been skipped (use -v to see them all).
dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/bin/atieventsd contains an unresolvable reference to symbol XauFileName: it's probably a plugin.
dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libGL.so.1.2 contains an unresolvable reference to symbol XOpenDisplay: it's probably a plugin.
dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: 31 other similar warnings have been skipped (use -v to see them all).
dpkg-shlibdeps: error: no dependency information found for /usr/share/ati/lib64/libQtCore.so.4 (used by debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/bin/amdnotifyui).
dh_shlibdeps: dpkg-shlibdeps -Tdebian/fglrx.substvars debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libaticalcl.so debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/dri/fglrx_dri.so debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libatiuki.so.1.0 debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/bin/atieventsd debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/bin/amdnotifyui debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/bin/aticonfig debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/bin/atiode debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/bin/fgl_glxgears debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/bin/atiodcli debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/bin/fglrxinfo debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libAMDXvBA.so.1.0 debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libaticalrt.so debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libatiadlxx.so debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libOpenCL.so.1 debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libXvBAW.so.1.0 debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libGL.so.1.2 debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libSlotMaximizerAg.so debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libamdocl64.so debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libaticaldd.so debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/xorg/modules/glesx.so debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/xorg/modules/linux/libfglrxdrm.so debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/xorg/modules/amdxmm.so debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/xorg/modules/drivers/fglrx_drv.so debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libSlotMaximizerBe.so debian/fglrx/usr/lib/fglrx/libfglrx_dm.so.1.0 returned exit code 2
make[1]: *** [override_dh_shlibdeps] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/tmp/fglrx.wV9uQm'
make: *** [binary-arch] Error 2
dpkg-buildpackage: error: debian/rules binary gave error exit status 2
Removing temporary directory: fglrx-install.Yubgiq

Using: Ubuntu 11.10; ATI HD4870;

15.04 Installed fglrx AMD/ATI drivers -- won't boot

I installed the proprietary AMD/ATI drivers on Ubuntu 15.04 64-bit, and restarted my PC. Now, it will show the Ubuntu logo, but won't go to the login screen. I can't switch to a terminal via CTRL+ALT+F1, CTRL+ALT+F2, etc.

I'm unsure how to uninstall the fglrx drivers if I can't boot to the login screen or terminal.

Running Ubuntu GNOME 15.04 64-bit w/ GNOME 3.14 on Acer Aspire laptop (model 8943G-9319, ATI Mobility Radeon HD5850)

Thanks in advance!

What is the difference between fglrx and fglrx-updates?

What is the difference between the two ATI drivers fglrx and fglrx-updates, and what one should I install with a machine with an AMD R7 260X video card? I have found outdated information on the Steam Forums that said there were the same driver, and where can I find up to date information on these two drivers?

Permanantly set monitor as primary

I am running Ubuntu 12.04 (beta) with a triple head setup and GNOME 3 desktop (ie "GNOME" selected not "Ubuntu" at login screen). It seems that it handles multiple monitors by blessing one monitor to receive the Activities bar, Clock, Login Menu, etc. Let's call this the "primary" monitor. How do I change it (permanently) ?

Update: Ok so:

$ xrandr --output DFP4 --primary

Does the trick temporarily. How do I make it permanent? I'm using latest fglrx ATI Catalyst driver

Boot screen in low graphics/text mode

My ubuntu boot screen shows up in a strange low resolution, almost text mode, instead the usual and sleek white "ubuntu" over dark background. It's not a big issue because when GDM loads everything becomes ok, but If there's an easy way to fix it I would like to give it a try.

How does the fglrx package's version relate to AMD's version numbers, like Catalyst 12.3?

When I learn about a new version of AMD's graphics driver, I usually see something like "Catalyst 12.3." However, the fglrx package in Ubuntu has a version like 2:8.960-0.

Are these two version numbers related? How can I find the (better-known) official version number, like 12.3, for the fglrx package in Ubuntu's repository? Can I do this without needing to install the package?

How do I remove the FGLRX drivers after I've installed them by hand?

I installed ati-driver-installer-11-9-x86.x86_64.run downloaded from the ATI Website.

However I installed the generic version instead of building a distribution specific installer.

Now I have the gnome-shell graphic glitches that are associated with having the old Fglrx drivers installed.

How can I remove these drivers? They do not show up in the additional drivers dialog, and I cannot install any other drivers till these are removed.

How do I get AMD/Intel Hybrid Graphics drivers to work?

On Ubuntu 12.04 my Sony Vaio VPCSE with Intel® HD Graphics 3000 and AMD Radeon™ HD 6630M worked fine with the Catalyst Control Center version 12.6. Also the switching between integrated and discrete graphic card was working.

In both cases, I followed this tutorial.

But it is not working on Ubuntu 12.10.

I tested the tutorial with the Catalyst Control Center from the Ubuntu Software Center, the version 12.8 and version 12.9. Always the same problem: After installation process I am able to boot in the login-screen. But after entering the password for my username, only the background-image appears. Unity seems not to be starting. I am only able to reach the context-menu by right clicking the mouse button.

I also tried his fix, but is also does not work for me.

Any ideas what to do to fix this problem?

Update: Same problem on Ubuntu 13.04!

Update: Solution for 13.04 ist not working on Ubuntu 13.10!

How do I remove the proprietary ATI drivers?

I've installed 11.10 and the proprietary ATI drivers using "additional drivers" The performance of my system is absolutely awful and it shouldn't be. I tried to remove the proprietary drivers using the Additional Drivers tool and it appears to remove them. However after I reboot I cant get back into my desktop properly (the panel and launcher go missing). This doesn't seem to be an isolated problem in 11.XX. This guide covers how to restore the desktop (panel and launcher), but the guide doesn't fix my problem though.

Whenever I do sudo unity --reset it runs through its normal processes until it hangs at setting update "run_key" and never gets past that. I must reinstall the proprietary drivers using jockey-text or jockey-gtk in order to get back to my proper desktop.

Interestingly enough the system performance seems improved while it is in its "broken" state (missing panel and launcher).

I think restoring the default drivers may solve my problems but I cant figure out how to do it.

Why is Xorg taking up so much memory and CPU?

I recently reinstalled Ubuntu 11.04 Natty after a massive hard drive failure.

Now, for some reason, compiz and Xorg decide it's a fun idea to start eating up my RAM and CPU - GB by GB. Starts out at normal amounts, but quickly balloons to 1-2+GB and starts using most of my CPU. This never happened before, but none of my hardware has really changed. The only difference being that I installed 11.04 cleanly, whereas before I had upgraded from 10.10.

For example: Rebooted my computer last night. Only program running is Transmission. Come back this morning - Xorg is using 1.5GB RAM and over 50% of my CPU. There is NOTHING else running or installed. I haven't activated any fancy Compiz plugins at all. What gives?

I'm running 11.04 on a 4x AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 640 Processor with 8GB RAM. I'm using the integrated ATI Radeon HD3300 GPU with the AMD Catalyst 11.5 driver - but this problem occurs with the 11.4 AND built-in fglrx drivers as well.

I can give any other logs or sysinfo if that is needed.

Radeon HD 2000, 3000, 4000 on Ubuntu 12.04.2 and higher: fglrx (legacy) unsupported, what to do?

After upgrading to 12.10 quantal, the packaged version of fglrx no longer works. I discovered that this is because there is a separate 'legacy' fglrx driver for the HD 2k-4k series cards, but it is incompatible with the xorg server on 12.10.

This is the most current version of the driver for HD 2000 through HD 4000 series cards. You can't use the non-legacy fglrx driver, but you can use the open-source radeon driver if you prefer your WM compositing to be laggy and your YouTube videos to play like they would on a Pentium MMX series:

http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/catalyst126legacyproducts.aspx

Usually this driver can be installed in the following way, necessary because apt-get install fglrx would pull in the non-legacy driver:

wget http://www2.ati.com/drivers/legacy/amd-driver-installer-12.6-legacy-x86.x86_64.zip
unzip amd-driver-installer-*
sudo sh ./amd-driver-installer-*.run --buildpkg Ubuntu/quantal
sudo dpkg -i fglrx*.deb
sudo aticonfig --initial -f

If you use a different version of fglrx (for example, a newer 12.9 that doesn't support those cards) then the final command will give you an error no supported hardware detected or something similar. However, everything works at this point and you will get a reasonable xorg.conf:

... other stuff

Section "Device"
        Identifier  "aticonfig-Device[0]-0"
        Driver      "fglrx"
        BusID       "PCI:1:5:0"
EndSection

... other stuff

At this point you're supposed to reboot and everything will be working with the fglrx driver. However, upon rebooting, you'll be treated to the following errors in Xorg.0.log when fglrx attempts to load:

(EE) Failed to load /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/fglrx_drv.so: /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/fglrx_drv.so: undefined symbol: noXFree86DRIExtension

Some searching around will show that this is a problem with the legacy ATI drivers not supporting xserver 1.13 or newer. (Arch Linux thread) ATI has released a fixed driver for its most recent (HD 5000 series or later) cards, but not for the 'legacy' cards yet. The non-legacy ATI drivers can't be used with the old cards.

What should an Ubuntu user, using one of these HD 2000-4000 series cards, do?

1. Wait for an updated 'legacy' ATI driver that properly works with xserver 1.13?
2. Downgrade back to 12.04 Precise, which uses xserver 1.11?
3. Try to downgrade xserver on 12.10 Quantal to 1.12, which could possibly break Unity and GNOME?
4. Forced upgrade to HD 5000 series or later card? (Not possible with integrated graphics...)
5. Some other 1337 action that fixes this problem painlessly?

Google Chrome "Flickering"

I am having a problem with Google Chrome on Ubuntu 12.10 64.

On about 20-30% of web sites the page comes up and starts "flickering". It seems like there is a different or partial rendering of the page in a different buffer and several times per second the page swaps between the two screen buffers, causing a kind of epileptic flashing of different images.

I can also not scroll the page when it is in this flickering state, any attempt to scroll causes the page to go to the top again on the next flicker.

I am using the fglrx driver if that means something:

$ fglrxinfo
display: :0  screen: 0
OpenGL vendor string: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series
OpenGL version string: 4.2.12002 Compatibility Profile Context 8.961

Chrome version is:

Google Chrome   25.0.1364.172 (Official Build 187217) 

Any ideas?

13.10 hangs on waking from suspend except when suspended from console

I know waking from suspend is an issue, but this looks like a separate bug.

When I suspend 13.10 on HP Pavillion dv6 (AMD 6770M/fglrx 13.10.10) from x, it suspends normally but freezes when waking. I get a black screen with a frozen cursor.

But when I suspend from console with sudo pm-suspend, it wakes normally, and I can then get back my x with Ctrl+Alt+F7.

If I suspend by closing lid under x, also freezes when waking up. If I suspend by closing lid under console, it wakes up into the x (?) login, then into a clean session.

UPDATE. I checked my syslog, kern.log and pm-suspend.log, they appear to show a standard suspend procedure which is completed normally, then followed by many blank lines (000s), then normal start procedure after hard reset. I may be wrong but looks like kernel panic to me.

Also, if I suspend with dbus (How can I suspend/hibernate from command line?) instead of pm-suspend, outcome is same.

Trouble installing additional driver

I tried to enable ATI/AMD FGLRX graphic driver (I'm currently using ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 Graphics card.) using System / Administration / Additional Drivers. However, every time I tried, I got the message something like "Install failed. Check /var/log/jockey.log log file."

I can't paste the entire log, since its length is more than 5 times of maximum length of question. In the log, I found that the first error of the log is ERROR: modinfo: could not find module fglrx. Below is first parts of the log file.

2011-06-26 18:54:05,662 DEBUG: fglrx is not the alternative in use
2011-06-26 18:54:05,708 DEBUG: fglrx is not the alternative in use
2011-06-26 18:54:05,747 DEBUG: fglrx is not the alternative in use
2011-06-26 18:54:13,166 DEBUG: fglrx is not the alternative in use
2011-06-26 18:54:16,365 DEBUG: Installing package: linux-headers-2.6.32-30-generic
2011-06-26 18:54:16,600 DEBUG: Package linux-headers-2.6.32-30-generic does not exist, aborting
2011-06-26 18:54:16,733 DEBUG: Installing package: fglrx
2011-06-26 18:54:44,051 DEBUG: install progress statusChange dpkg-exec 0.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:44,411 DEBUG: install progress statusChange patch 0.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:44,512 DEBUG: install progress statusChange patch 4.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:46,599 DEBUG: install progress statusChange patch 8.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:46,697 DEBUG: install progress statusChange patch 12.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:47,028 DEBUG: install progress statusChange dkms 12.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:47,128 DEBUG: install progress statusChange dkms 16.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:48,023 DEBUG: install progress statusChange dkms 20.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:48,088 DEBUG: install progress statusChange dkms 24.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:48,409 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fakeroot 24.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:48,510 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fakeroot 28.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:49,331 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fakeroot 32.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:49,447 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fakeroot 36.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:49,877 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx 36.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:49,977 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx 40.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:53,823 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx 44.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:53,896 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx 48.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:54,095 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx-amdcccle 48.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:54,196 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx-amdcccle 52.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:54,968 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx-amdcccle 56.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:55,051 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx-amdcccle 60.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:55,145 DEBUG: install progress statusChange man-db 60.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:57,608 DEBUG: install progress statusChange ureadahead 60.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:57,953 DEBUG: install progress statusChange dpkg-exec 60.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:58,022 DEBUG: install progress statusChange patch 60.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:58,119 DEBUG: install progress statusChange patch 64.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:58,202 DEBUG: install progress statusChange patch 68.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:58,268 DEBUG: install progress statusChange dkms 68.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:59,127 DEBUG: install progress statusChange dkms 72.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:59,197 DEBUG: install progress statusChange dkms 76.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:59,269 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fakeroot 76.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:59,352 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fakeroot 80.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:59,462 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fakeroot 84.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:59,563 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx 84.000000
2011-06-26 18:54:59,848 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx 88.000000
2011-06-26 18:55:37,663 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx 92.000000
2011-06-26 18:55:38,080 DEBUG: install progress statusChange python-gmenu 92.000000
2011-06-26 18:55:38,656 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx-amdcccle 92.000000
2011-06-26 18:55:38,747 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx-amdcccle 96.000000
2011-06-26 18:55:38,814 DEBUG: install progress statusChange fglrx-amdcccle 100.000000
2011-06-26 18:55:38,889 DEBUG: install progress statusChange initramfs-tools 100.000000
2011-06-26 18:55:45,978 DEBUG: install progress statusChange libc-bin 100.000000
2011-06-26 18:55:46,237 DEBUG: install progress statusChange python-support 100.000000
2011-06-26 18:55:48,242 DEBUG: Selecting previously deselected package patch.
(Reading database ... 201909 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking patch (from .../patch_2.6-2ubuntu1_amd64.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package dkms.
Unpacking dkms (from .../dkms_2.1.1.2-3ubuntu1.1_all.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package fakeroot.
Unpacking fakeroot (from .../fakeroot_1.14.4-1ubuntu1_amd64.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package fglrx.
Unpacking fglrx (from .../fglrx_2%3a8.780-0ubuntu2_amd64.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package fglrx-amdcccle.
Unpacking fglrx-amdcccle (from .../fglrx-amdcccle_2%3a8.780-0ubuntu2_amd64.deb) ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Processing triggers for ureadahead ...
ureadahead will be reprofiled on next reboot
Setting up patch (2.6-2ubuntu1) ...
Setting up dkms (2.1.1.2-3ubuntu1.1) ...
Setting up fakeroot (1.14.4-1ubuntu1) ...
update-alternatives: using /usr/bin/fakeroot-sysv to provide /usr/bin/fakeroot (fakeroot) in auto mode.
Setting up fglrx (2:8.780-0ubuntu2) ...
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/fglrx/ld.so.conf to provide /etc/ld.so.conf.d/GL.conf (gl_conf) in auto mode.
update-initramfs: deferring update (trigger activated)
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-30-generic
Loading new fglrx-8.780 DKMS files...
First Installation: checking all kernels...
Building for 2.6.32-30-generic and 2.6.35-28-generic
Building for architecture x86_64
Module build for the currently running kernel was skipped since the
kernel source for this kernel does not seem to be installed.
Building initial module for 2.6.35-28-generic
Done.

fglrx.ko:
Running module version sanity check.
 - Original module
   - No original module exists within this kernel
 - Installation
   - Installing to /lib/modules/2.6.35-28-generic/updates/dkms/

depmod.......

DKMS: install Completed.
update-initramfs: deferring update (trigger activated)
Processing triggers for python-gmenu ...
Rebuilding /usr/share/applications/desktop.POSIX.cache...
Setting up fglrx-amdcccle (2:8.780-0ubuntu2) ...
Processing triggers for initramfs-tools ...
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-28-generic
Processing triggers for libc-bin ...
ldconfig deferred processing now taking place
Processing triggers for python-support ...

2011-06-26 18:55:48,391 WARNING: modinfo for module fglrx failed: ERROR: modinfo: could not find module fglrx

2011-06-26 18:55:48,391 WARNING: /sys/module/fglrx/drivers does not exist, cannot rebind fglrx driver
2011-06-26 18:55:48,391 ERROR: XorgDriverHandler.enable(): package or module not installed, aborting

What caused this error? How can I install the driver?