loaded mali kernel modules + xf86-video-modesetting from linaro rootfs = X server fails to start

[ssvb]

Linaro rootfs has xf86-video-modesetting xorg ddx driver preinstalled. It gets automatically loaded, tries to use mali, but fails and takes down the X server.

http://irclog.whitequark.org/linux-sunxi/2013-03-24#3345058;
http://irclog.whitequark.org/linux-sunxi/2013-03-24#3345226;

sunxi-bsp hwpack installs /etc/modules

[rzk]

I confirm this. Linaro 13.* needs to be told to load fbdev for no accel. or it will try to use modesetting and fail.

[libv]

This is due to the horrorshow that is drm, and the idiocy of simply mashing everything into one. kms should've been separated out from the getgo.

While the "modesetting" driver should be smart enough to notice that there is no kms, it apparently isn't, and it apparently crashes the Xserver. Someone did not implement Probe properly.

Only proper solution is to use an xorg.conf, to explicitly load fbdev or fbturbo driver. The fbturbo packages at packages.linux-sunxi.org provide this.