Error during installation of GFx driver: “No package 'libdrm_intel' found”

Question

Major noob question, I fear...

I'm trying to install an Intel xf86 graphics driver (for an integrated Intel G33 GFx chipset) in 12.04 and come up with the following error:

checking for DRMINTEL... no
configure: error: Package requirements (libdrm_intel >= 2.4.29) were not met:

No package 'libdrm_intel' found

Consider adjusting the PKG_CONFIG_PATH environment variable if you
installed software in a non-standard prefix.

Alternatively, you may set the environment variables DRMINTEL_CFLAGS
and DRMINTEL_LIBS to avoid the need to call pkg-config.
See the pkg-config man page for more details.

Over on "Lunar Linux" I've found reference to the same error (reported under slightly different circumstances) and reference to a different but similar error which are allegedly "solved by recompilation of cairo".

No idea what the latter really means, but I found this on the cairo homepage:

sudo apt-get install libcairo2-dev

Which installed ok, but doesn't solve the problem. So I don't know if that command didn't recompile it, or whether it did, but I have a different problem.

What to do now?

Answer 1

Ok, so having done a little digging, responses to problems when installing older bespoke GFx drivers seems to focus around is there actually a problem? If not, just use the default drivers.

The facts are: a) Displays work, I just can't tell how effectively. No obvious glitching though. The rare occasion I play a game with 3D texturing it seems to work ok- being integrated GFx it was never going to be earth-shattering anyway. b) The required max resolution is achieved on my LCD, being 1680 x 1050.

So, to address myself- you don't really have a problem here; so the system says "Graphics: Unknown", that's not a problem- it seems to be working as much as you need it to, and with a generic driver for a multi-purpose Intel chipset family it might not give any more useful info! And if you were doing proper GFx intensive stuff you'd be fitting a dedicated card, with decent drivers.

(Although I reserve the right to correct myself if I find something that works in the future!)

Answer 2

Try adding the PPA xorg-edgers and installing libdrm-dev package from that PPA by issuing these commands in a terminal window. I fixed a similar problem by doing this.

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:xorg-edgers
sudo apt-get update  
sudo apt-get install libdrm-dev