How do I configure an Intel HD Graphics 4000?

First off, please note that last night I already posted this question to a launchpad mailing list, so this could be considered a cross post. However, I think this is a better place to ask the same question

The question:

How can I configure my Ubuntu 12.04, with upgraded kernel (3.6), to use the Intel HD Graphics 4000 adapter? (Intel HD 4000 is the standard of 3rd gen Intel Core i7 (Ivy Bridge) graphics adapter)

For me this is the first step to getting things working with the 2 video cards the system has (one is in the docking station). If at all possible, I would like to use both adapters (see below). Apparently someone got that working on a predecessor model, but I can't seem to adapt that information to be useful for my system. So eventually, I want to use all the computing power of all adapters that are connected, and be able to connect external displays to any adapter. I do not want to lock to the Intel adapter.

System details

I do get an X desktop on this laptop. However, dragging windows around and other animations look terrible. The system has two graphics adapters, the second one is an AMD Radeon HD 6700M in a laptop docking station. It doesn't matter whether I boot with/without the docking station connected, the X desktop I'm getting is on the built-in screen only and always looks the same. Below, you'll find some X logs.

Some output:

$ glxinfo

name of display: :0
X Error of failed request:  BadRequest (invalid request code or no such operation)
  Major opcode of failed request:  154 (GLX)
  Minor opcode of failed request:  19 (X_GLXQueryServerString)
  Serial number of failed request:  12
  Current serial number in output stream:  12

$ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf this is probably the farthest from what it should be

Section "Screen"
    Identifier  "Default Screen"
DefaultDepth    24
EndSection
Section "Module"
    Load    "glx"
EndSection

$ lspci I only listed the lines I think are relevant. If you want more info in order to help me, please comment :)

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Ivy Bridge Graphics Controller (rev 09)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation Panther Point High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)
16:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Whistler XT [AMD Radeon HD 6700M Series]
16:00.1 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Turks HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 6000 Series]

Logs Booting without the dock yields the following logs: (Apparently I cannot add more than 2 links)

  • [Xorg.0.log][3] http://pastebin . com/UmsxLkJY
  • [Xorg.0.log.old][4] http://pastebin . com/krK3s1BJ

Booting with the dock:

  • [Xorg.0.log][5] http://pastebin . com/x2xRQ4Ne
  • [Xorg.0.log.old][6] http://pastebin . com/Q2ycB7j3

Drivers The Additional Drivers dialog shows the following entries:

  • ATI Radeon (activated; present when booted with the dock)
  • ATI/AMD proprietary FGLRX graphics driver (not activated; present when booted with the dock)
  • "ATI/AMD proprietary FGLRX graphics driver (post-release updates)" (not activated; present when booted with the dock)
  • USB video class driver (activated)

Solution 1:

The Xorg.0.log's you have posted show us the cause of the issues with graphics performance in your current installation, specifically, the following line indicates problems between your kernel and X drivers:

[    10.800] (EE) GLX error: Can not get required symbols.

When you boot from the live CD you are running properly matched drivers and logs. You have no (EE) lines in your Xorg.0.log and, as a result, you have appropriate graphics performance.

To address the issues you are experiencing both with the Intel graphics and with your Thunderbolt based video card I suggest that you try the 12.10 live CD (and, if even moderately successful, installing it).

http://releases.ubuntu.com/12.10/

The fix that you need for thunderbolt is merged into the 12.10 kernel:

http://kernel.ubuntu.com/git?p=ubuntu%2Fubuntu-quantal.git&a=search&h=HEAD&st=commit&s=c61e2775873f603148e8e998a938721b7d222d24

Hopefully this will allow you to use both video cards successfully.