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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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, 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 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.

My computer hardware:

Intel Pentium Dual Core E6300 2.8GHz with Intel Virtualization 
Technology (VT-x)
Intel DQ45CB Desktop Board with Intel Virtualization Technology for 
Directed I/O (VT-d)
6 GB DDR2-800 Memory
NVIDIA Geforce 8400 GS PCI Express x16 VGA card

My computer software:

Ubuntu 11.10 amd64 Release with Xen virtualization/hypervisor 
4.1.3-rc1-pre and Xen 4.2-unstable
Linux Kernel 3.3.0 Final
Windows 8 Consumer Preview 64-bit English HVM domU
Windows XP Home Edition SP3 32-bit HVM domU
Fedora 16 x86-64 Paravirtualized (PV) domU
Debian Squeeze Paravirtualized (PV) domU

-- 
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.
>
> I spent a lot of time googling, and found a post someone made of 
> success with Windows 7 and a GTX 460, they applied Tobias Geiger's 
> patches, which to my knowledge are not maintained for the latest Xen 
> like David's, and I also though I read that David used those patches 
> in his own.  In any event, might be worth a look, but applying those 
> patches might be a lot of manual editing:
> http://xen.1045712.n5.nabble.com/Secondary-VGA-Passthrough-nvidia-win7-success-report-td5126062.html
>
> I went ahead and took everyones recommendation to buy an ATI card, 
> which wasn't an outrageous request since I already bought a bunch of 
> components to try out VT-d.
>
> Yesterday I succeeded in getting VGA Passthrough going in one day with 
> relatively little difficulty on pre-packaged (aptitude) Xen 4.1.2.
>
> ATI appears to have people submitting patches for their own devices, 
> unlike nVidia, so if you want to be on the forefront of this 
> technology it seems like ATI is the way to go.
>
> If you are dead set on nVidia, it might be a year before someone finds 
> the solution nVidia owners are waiting on.
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 28, 2012 at 11:57 AM, Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming) 
> <singapore.mr.teo.en.ming@gmail.com 
> <mailto:singapore.mr.teo.en.ming@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     Dear Xen Users,
>
>     I have _partial_ (that is, less than 100%) success following Jean
>     David Techer's Xen 4.2-unstable VGA Passthrough Documentation. In
>     both Windows 8 Consumer Preview HVM and Windows XP Home Edition
>     HVM, I get yellow exclamation mark besides NVIDIA Geforce 8400 GS
>     in Device Manager. NVIDIA Geforce 8400 GS in Device Manager reports:
>
>     1) Windows has stopped this device because it has reported
>     problems. (Code 43)
>     2) This device isn't using any resources because it has a problem.
>
>     So, in Xen VGA Passthrough to Windows 8 Consumer Preview HVM and
>     Windows XP Home Edition HVM, I can only surf the internet and
>     watch Youtube videos but I cannot run 3D graphics benchmarks. This
>     is very very important because you cannot play 3D games. I can
>     only run 2D graphics benchmarks, meaning I can only play 2D games.
>     But nobody plays 2D games nowadays.
>
>     Jean David Techer, who is French, told me that it is a NVIDIA
>     driver problem. According to his documentation, you have to use
>     NVIDIA drivers 275.33 and 275.50 strictly. Any other NVIDIA driver
>     versions WILL NOT work. Hence, I have attempted to install NVIDIA
>     drivers 275.33 WHQL and 275.50 BETA in Windows XP Home Edition HVM
>     domU. Common sense tells you I did not install both driver
>     versions at the same time, of course. Installing NVIDIA driver
>     versions 275.33 and 275.50 causes Windows XP Home Edition HVM domU
>     to be DESTROYED (in Xen speak) and also causes my domain 0 to crash.
>
>     But if I install the LATEST NVIDIA drivers above 280.XX, it WILL
>     NOT cause my Windows XP HVM domU and domain 0 to crash. But there
>     will be a yellow exclamation marks besides NVIDIA Geforce 8400 GS
>     in Device Manager. Why do I keep complaining about the yellow
>     exclamation mark? Is it because I have nothing better to do and
>     irritate David Techer? It is because I simply CANNOT run 3D
>     graphics benchmarks and play 3D games. I can only surf the web and
>     play Youtube videos.
>
>     Jean David Techer's Xen 4.2-unstable VGA Passthrough documentation
>     is available at the following URL:
>
>     Jean David Techer's Blog link:
>     http://www.davidgis.fr/blog/index.php?2011/12/07/860-xen-42unstable-patches-for-vga-pass-through
>
>     Any Xen user with the following computer hardware specifications,
>     please try out David Techer's documentation.
>
>     Intel Processor with Virtualization Technology
>     Motherboard with VT-d support
>     Motherboard BIOS with VT-d option to enable or disable
>     NVIDIA PCI Express x16 display card
>
>     Any Xen user who can attain 100% success with David Techer's Xen
>     4.2-unstable VGA Passthrough documentation, please let all of us
>     at xen-users mailing list know.
>
>     Why do I keep on troubleshooting? Because I consider this to be a
>     technical challenge, although I am not an expert programmer. I
>     have only learnt very basic C programming more than 15 years ago
>     at Singapore Polytechnic and I have forgotten most of it by now. I
>     am a Linux/UNIX system administrator with experiences in Apache
>     web server, qmail and Postfix Email Server, DNS Server, DHCP
>     server, OpenLDAP server, phpBB forum, MySQL database, Xen
>     virtualization, VirtualBox, VMware, Snort Intrusion Prevention
>     Systems, OSSEC Host Intrusion Detection Systems, Nagios monitoring
>     software, and various Linux and BSD distributions. But I am by no
>     means a software developer. I did not study computer science. I
>     studied mechanical engineering at National University of Singapore.
>
>     It is too bad software engineer Han Weidong has left Intel
>     Corporation last year, otherwise he would be able to help me. I
>     got 100% success with Xen 3.5-unstable VGA Passthrough 3 years
>     ago, back in the year 2009. Han Weidong et al are the original
>     developers of the Xen VGA Passthrough patches, which only worked
>     with Xen 3.5-unstable. Jean David Techer forward ported Han
>     Weidong's patches to Xen 4.2-unstable with his programming
>     knowledge, C/C++ and Java. I have read his CV.
>
>     According to Intel engineers Zhang Xiantao and Ren Yongjie,
>     Intel's current policy is to focus on IGD VGA passthrough, so it
>     is understood that they won't be able to help me with my issue. It
>     is company policy, so they cannot afford the time and resources to
>     help me.
>
>     If everybody who follows Jean David Techer's Xen 4.2-unstable VGA
>     Passthrough documentation with 100% success without glitches, then
>     I must be technically incompetent.
>
>     I would like to thank Xen users in advance if they are able to
>     lend a helping hand.
>
>     -- 
>     Yours sincerely,
>
>     Mr. Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming)
>     Singapore
>
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     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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