I've been using various Linux distros and finally settled on CRUX, which I really like because it feels a lot like FreeBSD. However, I'm struggling to get AMDGPU support to work for my AMD RX6500XT. I've tried downgrading kernels several times over the last few days and have been troubleshooting issues, but I keep hitting wall after wall. I'm able to use the amdgpu driver, but it leads to a black screen, forcing me to reboot using recovery media. I'm currently on kernel 6.12.9, though I tried the version that came with CRUX and also the latest kernel 6.19.0. I'm positive I have the necessary firmware installed and that AMD support is enabled in my kernel configuration. I've come close to giving up and considering switching to a more mainstream distro just to get this working. If anyone has suggestions or if I need to switch distros for AMD support, please let me know. I'm quite frustrated and plan to take a break from compilation tomorrow. Thanks for any help!
2 Answers
Have you provided more details on the issues you're encountering? It would be super helpful if you could post any relevant journalctl logs, which could give insight into what's going wrong.
To tackle this AMDGPU issue, start with the basics:
1. Ensure the amdgpu module and firmware are in your initramfs.
2. Check if it's working on more common distros like Fedora or Ubuntu to narrow down the issue.
3. If it works on Windows, there's likely a bug in your Linux setup.
After these checks, boot into a terminal with amdgpu blacklisted and SSH from another machine. Use `sudo dmesg -wH` to monitor logs. Once you run `sudo modprobe amdgpu`, save the log output and upload it to a pastebin.
I had it working fine on Gentoo, Void, and Arch, but not sure if I was using additional firmware or a different kernel configuration there. I tried installing the latest firmware from the source with the latest kernel, but it didn't resolve the issue. AMDGPU is included in the initramfs with Dracut's `add_dracutmodules` option, but I'm uncertain if it needs to be configured elsewhere. Also, I really don't want to install Windows just for testing; I know the hardware is functional. Unfortunately, `dmesg -wH` won't terminate correctly, but here’s the usual output from `sudo dmesg`: [Log Output](https://0x0.st/PBXl.txt).
There isn't a journalctl in CRUX. Regardless, when I boot without the nomodeset, the system tries to load the amdgpu module which leads to a black screen, making it impossible to reach the terminal. If you have suggestions on getting to the tty without loading amdgpu, I can use modprobe to load it for logs. Previously, it printed errors about early init failure for amdgpu, but now that error has vanished after some adjustments. Here's a related link from a Manjaro user with the same error: [Manjaro Forum Post](https://forum.manjaro.org/t/amdgpu-driver-fails-to-load/161974).