How to turn off ATI Radeon HD 7730M (on Dell inspiron 7520)?

Question

I need to create an objectdatasource from a datatable. I currently have a method, that generates a datatble:

static DataTable GetTableForDropDown()
    {

        DataTable dt = new DataTable();
        DataRow dr = null;
        dt.Columns.Add(new DataColumn("DurationType", typeof(string)));

        dr = dt.NewRow();
        dr["DurationType"] = "Hours";
        dt.Rows.Add(dr);

        dr = dt.NewRow();
        dr["DurationType"] = "Days";
        dt.Rows.Add(dr);

        dr = dt.NewRow();
        dr["DurationType"] = "Weeks";
        dt.Rows.Add(dr);

        dr = dt.NewRow();
        dr["DurationType"] = "Months";
        dt.Rows.Add(dr);
        return dt;
    }

And i need to create and objectdatasource and load it into it. I have found very little documentation or on how to do this. I found the following code to try and convert it, but it just throws an error when i try it.

var edgeDataSource = new ObjectDataSource(
            "MyNamespace.MyClass, MyNamespace.MyClasss, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=ce8ab85a8f42a5e8",
            "GetTableForDropDown") {ID = "EdgeDataSource"};

Solution 1

The ATI driver available at Ubuntu Additional Drivers don't install correctly. To fix this issue, install the latest stable version from the ATI suporte site and you'll get the AMD Catalyst Control Center, a GUI with an option to Switchable Graphics.

To install it, follow the instructions below.

1) First, check the software sources, then paste this command into the terminal to install the dependencies:

sudo apt-get install build-essential cdbs dh-make dkms execstack dh-modaliases fakeroot

1-A) ONLY IF you have a 64 bit system, do this EXTRA step:

sudo apt-get install ia32-libs-multiarch:i386 lib32gcc1 libc6-i386 ; cd /usr ; sudo ln -svT lib /usr/lib64

2) Paste these commands into the terminal to create a new folder and download the latest catalyst driver:

 mkdir ~/amd-catalyst-driver; cd ~/amd-catalyst-driver/
 wget -c wget -c http://www2.ati.com/drivers/linux/amd-driver-installer-catalyst-12.10-x86.x86_64.zip
 unzip amd-driver-installer-catalyst-12.10-x86.x86_64.zip

3-A) IF you have Intel HD graphics AND discrete ATI GPU, then do this, click NEXT > NEXT > etc (and reboot):

 sudo sh amd-driver-installer-catalyst-12.10-x86.x86_64.run

3-B) ONLY IF you have just the ATI Graphics card, then try to do this instead, but it could take a while:

 sudo sh amd-driver-installer-catalyst-12.10-x86.x86_64.run --buildpkg Ubuntu/precise
 sudo dpkg -i fglrx*.deb

4-A) Overwrite the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file(anyway):

 sudo amdconfig --initial -f

4-B) Force the use of the new xorg.conf file:

 sudo amdconfig --input=/etc/X11/xorg.conf --tls=1

6) Reboot the computer and you're done:

 sudo reboot

7) To verify your installation, in terminal type:

 fglrxinfo ; fgl_glxgears

8) To switch between the GPUs, run one of the following commands and re-start X to take effect

8-A) Activate discrete GPU (High-Performance mode), must re-start X to take effect

 sudo aticonfig --px-dgpu
 fglrxinfo ; fgl_glxgears

8-B) Activate integrated GPU (Power-Saving mode), must re-start X to take effect

 sudo aticonfig --px-igpu
 fglrxinfo ; fgl_glxgears

SOURCES:

http://blog.wapnet.nl/2012/07/ubuntu-12-04-install-ati-videodrivers/ http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Hardware http://support.amd.com/br/gpudownload/linux/Pages/radeon_linux.aspx http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=191&t=112234 http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1930450

Solution 2

I have the same computer. Unless I'm totally blind, the BIOS does not have a mux switch. As far as I can tell the best way to switch off the card is to use vgaswitcheroo:

# echo "OFF" > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch

If you don't ever use the card (like me), you could run this command in a startup script.

Comments

[Mr Programmer]

Thank you for the answer. I've already tried finding an option in the BIOS, and couldn't find any option there.

[Mahesh]

The iso offered on the download page, is the official one, and there is no separate ubuntu certified iso. There are however different versions, for different architectures. The solution is to power off the graphics card. See the Ubuntu Community documentation on hybrid graphics for full details

[Mahesh]

We prefer answers that are detailed. Though this may work, it lacks enough detail to be of good use to future visitors. I suggest you expand the answer including detailed steps to accomplish the same, and include references/links to better-compatible drivers.

[thirtythreeforty]

I should add that udev seems to autodetect these cards in a random order, so sometimes I just get a black screen instead of the Plymouth bootsplash. Running that command on boot via a script always switches back over to the Intel chip.

[Muhammad Gelbana]

What do you mean by "Check the sources" ?