Re: [Xen-users] [REQUEST] Request for Xen Users to Attempt Jean David Techer's Xen 4.2-unstable VGA Passthrough Documentation

["Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming)" <singapore.mr.teo.en.ming@gmail.com>]

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Dear Casey DeLorme and Tobias Geiger,

It appears that Xen users requesting for assistance on VGA Passthrough 
are not getting any help from the Xen developers at all. Every time 
somebody asks for help on Xen VGA Passthrough, the Xen developers keep 
quiet and won't reply.

Please read Thomas Richard's case here:
http://marc.info/?l=xen-devel&m=127713854025100&w=2

Casey DeLorme,

Thomas Richard also had the same problems as us.

[QUOTE=Thomas Richard]

I got pretty excited when reading about the VGA Passthrough features in
>>  Xen 4.0 so i decided to give it a go. I've had partial success, like some
>>  other in here. I've got output on my VGA port but my windows HVM guest
>>  reports that the VGA doesn't work. Windows XP says: Couldn't start device
>>  (10) and Windows 7 says: Windows has stopped the device because it reported
>>  problems (40).
[/QUOTE]

Thomas Richard also reported PARTIAL SUCCESS with Xen VGA Passthrough, like us.

-- 
Yours sincerely,

Mr. Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming)
Singapore





On 30/03/2012 02:35, Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming) wrote:
> Dear Casey DeLorme,
>
> This guy, Sebastien Gauthier, also has the same problems as us. He was 
> using Xen 4.1.0 and an ATI Radeon 4550. He applied Mr. Wei Huang's 
> patch. After installing the latest ATI/AMD Catalyst drivers, he got a 
> BSOD with Xen VGA Passthrough to Windows 7.
>
> Please read Sebastien Gauthier's case here:
>
> http://readlist.com/lists/lists.xensource.com/xen-users/11/59090.html
>
> Hence Sebastien Gauthier reported Xen VGA Passthrough with PARTIAL 
> SUCCESS, like us.
>
> Dear Tobias Geiger,
>
> You were saying that with ATI VGA cards, you do not need to apply any 
> Xen VGA Passthrough patches. But this guy Sebastien Gauthier applied 
> Mr. Wei Huang's patches to Xen 4.1.0 and got a BSOD after installing 
> ATI Catalyst drivers. Sebastien Gauthier did not get 100% success with 
> Xen VGA Passthrough to Windows 7 using an ATI VGA card.
>
> -- 
> Yours sincerely,
>
> Mr. Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming)
> Singapore
>
>
>
>
> On 29/03/2012 23:50, Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming) wrote:
>> On 29/03/2012 12:29, Casey DeLorme wrote:
>>> My mistake for not hitting "Reply to All", sorry.
>>
>> No worries Casey.
>>
>>>
>>> It might be of some value to mention that my tests were with Windows 
>>> 7, I have no interest in using XP anymore.  Also, I did all of my 
>>> testing through remote VNC, not once did I actually get video, even 
>>> 2D, working.
>>
>> I bought 2 copies of Windows XP Home Edition in the past because it 
>> is cheap, at S$145. I did not buy Windows 7 because it is expensive. 
>> I got video working all right, but only 2D. I cannot get 3D graphics 
>> working.
>>
>>> However, my errors are exactly as you described:
>>>
>>> 1.  Windows recognizes the model (GTX 460), not "unknown PCI device".
>>> 2.  Device code 43.
>>> 3.  No resources assigned to the device.
>>
>> We have the same set of errors.
>>
>>>
>>> Might be worth mentioning, I was able to run the latest nVidia 
>>> driver installation without errors, but after rebooting there was no 
>>> change, same error code, still no video.
>>
>> Same situation here with the latest NVIDIA drivers. But I only have 
>> 2D video working. I can't get 3D video to work.
>>
>>>  To me this would be evidence that driver version isn't a problem, 
>>> but then again I didn't have anything actually working.
>>
>> I agree that driver version isn't a problem. Something is wrong 
>> somewhere.
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I am an IT student in college, so my experience is limited to mostly 
>>> programming with very little knowledge of the inner-workings of 
>>> hardware.  So, forgive me for being unable to help with regards to 
>>> memory addresses on the cards.
>>
>> I am hoping that Intel engineers and Xen developers would be able to 
>> help.
>>
>>>
>>> I've been using *nix for about 4 years, and Windows since I my age 
>>> was a single digit.  I have had experience setting up server 
>>> features such as web, database, and application servers but I am 
>>> still green when it comes to kernel or hardware configuration.
>>
>> I started learning Linux/UNIX since the year 2005, that is about 7 
>> years ago. I started using Windows when it was version 3.1. I love 
>> compiling the latest Linux kernel and assembling my own computer 
>> hardware.
>>
>>>
>>> My Xen adventure began 35 days ago, and it is no exaggeration to say 
>>> that in those 35 days I have learned more about linux than I had in 
>>> the past two years.  I like challenges as much as the next IT 
>>> person, but I ran out of time and ideas for debugging my nVidia 
>>> problems.  The nVidia stretch of my adventure lasted for 24 days 
>>> through 54 fresh linux installations accompanied by over 200~ pages 
>>> worth of documented failures and not a single pixel sighted.
>>
>> Why not make your documentation into PDF? It is a very popular 
>> document format.
>>
>>>
>>> The ATI card took me a day, less than 12 hours of relatively easy 
>>> debugging by comparison to the aforementioned testing.  I do fully 
>>> understanding financial constraints, but it is a working solution 
>>> and worth mentioning.  I do not know what the prices are like in 
>>> Singapore, but in the states I was able to buy an ATI Radeon HD 6870 
>>> for $160.  For me it came down to weighing my objectives against my 
>>> curiosity.
>>
>> That ATI Radeon HD 6870 would cost me $279, I think.
>>
>>>
>>> If you do continue your nVidia endeavors I wish you success, but as 
>>> in my former email VGA passthrough is a new frontier, not even 
>>> Guru's like David may not be able to help beyond their own hardware 
>>> experiences.
>>
>> I don't think VGA passthrough is a new frontier. Oracle VirtualBox 
>> and Linux KVM supports VGA passthrough as well. Xen ATI VGA 
>> Passthrough works out of the box, as Tobias Geiger suggested, but 
>> NVIDIA requires patches.
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Documentation is one problem I agree with you on 100%.  I came into 
>>> this knowing relatively little about Linux & hardware, and nothing 
>>> about Xen, and most every guide I found assumed I had been in a deep 
>>> relationship with Linux for many years and had a basic understanding 
>>> of Xen commands.
>>
>> I started learning Xen since the year 2007, which is about 5 years ago.
>>
>>>
>>> Like you, I intend to use those documented failures as well as my 
>>> recent success to create a comprehensive guide with photographs, 
>>> screen captures, and perhaps even videos going from "assembled 
>>> computer" to "Complete Xen Dom0 /w HVM & VGA Passthrough".  Provided 
>>> the wiki will allow me to upload the screenshots, I'll be certain to 
>>> post it there.
>>
>> I will be looking forward to your documentation and videos. Right now 
>> Xen wiki allows uploading image files and PDF files. Why not create a 
>> PDF document and share it with all of us? It is known as portable 
>> document format and is very popular, but it appears that xen mailing 
>> lists don't like PDF format.
>>
>> _*I don't like wiki pages because anybody can edit and fundamentally 
>> mess up the wiki pages, even providing bogus and erroneous 
>> information. That's why I don't like creating wiki pages. Anybody can 
>> edit and mess up the information you have painstakingly created on 
>> the wiki pages. So please take note.*_
>>
>> -- 
>> Yours sincerely,
>>
>> Mr. Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming)
>> Singapore
>>
>>
>>>
>>> ~Casey
>>>
>>> On Wed, Mar 28, 2012 at 10:21 PM, Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming) 
>>> <singapore.mr.teo.en.ming@gmail.com 
>>> <mailto:singapore.mr.teo.en.ming@gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>>     Dearest Casey DeLorme,
>>>
>>>     Thank you very very much for your kind feedback and input. I
>>>     would also like to thank Mr. Tobias Geiger, again, for providing
>>>     his suggestion on exposing the fourth memory region in
>>>     tools/firmware/hvmloader/acpi/dsdt.asl. _In any case, either
>>>     exposing the first 3 memory regions only or exposing all the 4
>>>     memory regions does not work._ Sadly, Tobias Geiger is unable to
>>>     help me further.
>>>
>>>     I have asked Jean David Techer, what about the 4th PCI memory
>>>     region? Why only expose the first 3 PCI memory regions? I don't
>>>     understand, of course. Jean David Techer did not reply to my
>>>     question.
>>>
>>>     I have decided to post your prompt reply to the xen-users and
>>>     xen-devel mailing lists, in case people think that I am finding
>>>     fault with Jean David Techer, or trying to irritate him, or
>>>     trying to make him angry, or trying to aggravate him. Jean David
>>>     Techer replied me with an email saying that I _spent too much
>>>     time_ and _too bent_ on solving the yellow exclamation mark
>>>     glitch for my NVIDIA Geforce 8400GS in Device Manager in Windows
>>>     8 Consumer Preview and Windows XP Home Edition, and that I sent
>>>     *_stupid_* requests. Stupid requests? Did he read my emails
>>>     carefully, word by word?
>>>
>>>     Casey DeLorme, please, can I confirm with you again that you are
>>>     getting the following errors after applying Jean David Techer's
>>>     Xen 4.2-unstable VGA Passthrough patches:
>>>
>>>     *_(1) Yellow exclamation mark besides your NVIDIA GTX 460 in
>>>     Device Manager
>>>     (2) Windows has stopped this device because it has reported
>>>     problems. (Code 43)
>>>     (3) This device isn't using any resources because it has a
>>>     problem._*
>>>
>>>     Jean David Techer insists that our technical issues are due to a
>>>     NVIDIA driver problem. He insists that you have to install
>>>     NVIDIA driver versions 275.33 WHQL and 275.50 BETA. Any other
>>>     NVIDIA driver versions (above 280.XX) will not work, according
>>>     to Jean David Techer. *_However, I have tried installing NVIDIA
>>>     driver versions 275.33 and 275.50 from www.softpedia.com
>>>     <http://www.softpedia.com>, as he suggested, but it caused my
>>>     Windows XP Home Edition HVM virtual machine to be
>>>     destroyed/terminated/crash after a few minutes and my dom0 to
>>>     crash as well._* NVIDIA driver versions 275.33 and 275.50 for
>>>     Windows XP 32-bit is not available from the official NVIDIA website.
>>>
>>>     So it is definitely not a NVIDIA driver problem. I suspect that
>>>     the technical issue has to do with *_MMIO BARs pBAR:vBAR 1:1
>>>     matching_*. I don't think there is any problem with
>>>     vgabios-pt.bin extracted out from our NVIDIA VGA cards, because
>>>     I have performed a "hexdump -C" on my extracted VGA BIOS EEPROM,
>>>     or Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory.
>>>
>>>     Secondly, it does seem strange that Jean David Techer was able
>>>     to attain *_100%_*, ie. *_perfect success_* with Xen
>>>     4.2-unstable VGA Passthrough to his Windows XP 32-bit and 64-bit
>>>     HVM domU. Have you watched his Youtube video? It is only 4
>>>     minutes. Please do watch Jean David Techer's Youtube video at
>>>     the following URL:
>>>
>>>     Jean David Techer's Xen 4.2-unstable VGA Passthrough to Windows
>>>     XP x64 HVM domU Youtube video link:
>>>     *_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SaYO0ERW44_*
>>>
>>>     I am *_appalled_* and *_baffle__d_* that he has attained *_100%
>>>     success_* while both of us have only attained *_partial
>>>     succes__s_* (*_i.e. less than 100%_*) on Xen 4.2-unstable VGA
>>>     Passthrough to Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Windows XP.
>>>
>>>     *_Solving the yellow exclamation mark issue is important because
>>>     we would not be able to run 3D graphics benchmarks and play 3D
>>>     games without solving it. I am not sending silly emails about
>>>     some yellow marks, as Jean David Techer suggested. I can't even
>>>     run Unigine Heaven DX11, and 3dmark11 3D display benchmarks,
>>>     because of the yellow exclamation mark for NVIDIA Geforce 8400
>>>     GS in Device Manager._*
>>>
>>>     Casey DeLorme, with your report on relatively easy success with
>>>     ATI VGA cards, I think I would go the ATI way, but I would have
>>>     to spend a few hundred dollars compared to my cheap SGD$44
>>>     NVIDIA Geforce 8400 GS card. And while deciding to go the ATI
>>>     way, I would also like to continue troubleshooting with the
>>>     NVIDIA problem, because I consider it to be a technical challenge.
>>>
>>>     In essence, Jean David Techner is considered to be a "boss", or
>>>     business owner, or proprietor, or technopreneur, or
>>>     entrepreneur, or technical support officer, or customer support
>>>     officer, or IT helpdesk engineer, providing services like his
>>>     forward-ported Xen 4.2-unstable VGA Passthrough patches and the
>>>     documentation on his blog. I repost Jean David Techer's official
>>>     website here:
>>>
>>>     Jean David Techer's Xen 4.2-unstable VGA Passthrough blog:
>>>     *_http://www.davidgis.fr/blog/index.php?2011/12/07/860-xen-42unstable-patches-for-vga-pass-through_*
>>>
>>>     Jean David Techer's official website is his business venture.
>>>
>>>     Basically, I am Jean David Techer's *_"customer"_*, trying to
>>>     obtain technical support from him. Of course, he is *_not
>>>     obliged_* to provide technical support to me since he is
>>>     providing *_free_* services. It is, after all, an open source
>>>     software project. Nobody is obliged to provide anybody with
>>>     technical support. *_To do Jean David Techer justice, he replied
>>>     most of my questions while avoiding some of my questions._*
>>>
>>>     Finally, I have also failed to obtain technical support from Xen
>>>     developers like Ian Campbell from *_Citrix Corporation_* and
>>>     Konrad Wilk from *_Oracle Corporation_*. _*I have always
>>>     provided all the steps which I have taken, the configuration
>>>     files and necessary documentation, and kernel messages and error
>>>     logs*_ to xen-users and xen-devel mailing lists, but they keep
>>>     insisting I did not provide the information they required. I
>>>     wondered why. I think they did not read my emails carefully.
>>>     They told me they would not reply to me any more if I do not
>>>     provide the information they requested. _*But the problem is
>>>     that I have always provided information they requested!*_ I
>>>     think they missed some of my emails, or did not read my emails
>>>     carefully enough. I am an *_ardent supporter_* and *_SERIOUS
>>>     software tester_* for open source Xen virtualization/hypervisor
>>>     but they treated me lightly. _*I always read my emails WORD BY
>>>     WORD.*_ I have even went to the point of making a video on the
>>>     *_BUG_* and uploading my video to Youtube. The video is only
>>>     THREE minutes.
>>>
>>>     _*As everybody says, a picture is worth a thousand words. A
>>>     video is worth a BILLION words!*_
>>>
>>>     I have also failed to obtain technical support from Xen
>>>     developers regarding Xen 4.2-unstable VGA Passthrough.
>>>
>>>     I am hoping Xen 4.2 would have official support for Xen VGA
>>>     Passthrough for both NVIDIA and ATI cards.
>>>
>>>     Casey DeLorme, thank you very much once again. I will be making
>>>     changes to my Xen, Linux Kernel and Xen VGA Passthrough
>>>     Documentation and will be releasing Version 1.7 shortly. Jean
>>>     David Techer's documentation assumes some level of advanced
>>>     Linux technical knowledge, so I am writing documentation on my
>>>     own so that everybody, not just advanced Linux and Xen users,
>>>     can follow. I have made references to Jean David Techer's
>>>     documentation in my own documentation.
>>>
>>>     I would be very happy if people would use my documentation. Of
>>>     course, it satisfies my ego and my vanity. Haha.
>>>
>>>     I have been un-employed for nearly three years now, and I would
>>>     hesitate to spend a few hundred dollars on an ATI VGA card. I
>>>     quit my job as an IT engineer 3 years ago because my father
>>>     suffered from lacunar infarct, or more commonly known as stroke.
>>>     My NVIDIA Geforce 8400 GS costs only S$44. Please understand why
>>>     I hesitate to buy an ATI VGA card. The cheapest one costs SGD$279.
>>>
>>>     I have a diploma in Mechanical+Electronics engineering from
>>>     Singapore Polytechnic and a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical
>>>     Engineering from the National University of Singapore. But I do
>>>     not have qualifications in Computer Science or Information
>>>     Technology. I have worked as an Information Technology engineer
>>>     in Defense Science and Technology Agency, Ministry of Defense,
>>>     Singapore, National Computer Systems Pte Ltd, Asiasoft Online
>>>     Pte Ltd, and Ishinemax Singapore Pte Ltd.
>>>
>>>     Google search terms: Frenchman Jean David Techer, Singaporean
>>>     Teo En Ming's Xen, Linux Kernel and Xen VGA Passthrough
>>>     Documentation, Xen 4.2-unstable VGA Passthrough to Windows 8
>>>     Consumer Preview and Windows XP HVM Virtual Machines
>>>
>>>     Thank you very much for reading my lengthy email. I am always
>>>     courteous, saying "Please help me. Please. Please. Please." and
>>>     "Thank you very much for your kind assistance" in my emails.
>>>
>>>     Thank you very much.
>>>
>>>     -- 
>>>     Yours sincerely,
>>>     Mr. Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming)
>>>     Singapore Citizen
>>>
>>>     cc: His Excellency The Prime Minister Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, Prime
>>>     Minister's Office, Republic of Singapore
>>>
>>>     On 29/03/2012 03:53, Casey DeLorme wrote:
>>>>     Hi Teo,
>>>>
>>>>     I tried David's patch files a while ago *_without success_*.  I
>>>>     had Xen compiled with the patch files and my GTX 460 VGA BIOS
>>>>     rom, _*but I got the same as you, either a BSOD or Code 43 in
>>>>     Device Manager.*_
>>>>
>>>>     You sound plenty competent, but it's important to remember that
>>>>     you are pioneering a technology that for consumers is still in
>>>>     its infancy.  Very few people are testing this with consumer
>>>>     equipment, so finding results seems to be a rarity.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>     _______________________________________________
>>>     Xen-users mailing list
>>>     Xen-users@lists.xen.org <mailto:Xen-users@lists.xen.org>
>>>     http://lists.xen.org/xen-users
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>



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