[olug] Ubuntu 8.10 RC X.Org Resolution problems

Thu Oct 30 03:47:31 UTC 2008

Amy,
You might be having the same issue I did. I run Ubuntu and also have an
Nvidia GeForce. My screen resolution was not set correctly, and I was unable
to change it using System => Preferences => Screen Resolution. When I
selected an option, it would change the screen to the option for a few
seconds, flash a blank screen, and return to the initial screen resolution.
You said you already have the driver, but just in case, here's how to get
it.

1. Open a terminal and make a backup copy of xorg.conf by typing:

sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup

2. Then type:

sudo apt-get install nvidia-glx

3. And finally,

sudo nvidia-glx-config enable

By the way, to double-check that you are now running accelerated graphics,
you can type:

sudo glxinfo | grep rendering

If the output is "direct rendering: Yes," you're good.

4. Type "exit" to close the terminal. Close any open programs. Press
CTRL+ALT+F1 because you're going to stop the display manager. Type:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop

5. Then:

sudo nvidia-xconfig

6. Then:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm start

7. Press CTRL+ALT+F? (the ? being whatever it takes to return you to the
desktop, in my case F7).

8. Don't know if you'll have the same experience as this, but I had shutdown
my computer, and when I booted up again. my login screen was really big
(hanging off the screen), and I could not see the "username" box, so I had
to edit xorg.conf to fix it (I could still login by typing my username,
pressing enter, typing the password, and pressing enter, just like normal).
If you have to do this too, open a terminal and remember to make another
copy of xorg.conf before editing by typing:

sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup

9. Then, type:

sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

10. Find the line that says:

Section "Screen"

and look below it for a line that starts with the word "Virtual." On mine,
after "Virtual" it said "1400 ?" (the ? being another number. I don't
remember the other number). You'll see one number, followed by a space,
followed by another number. I eventually changed the Virtual line to read
"800 600" after trying this a few times because the login screen was still
too big after changing it to anything else. Finally, after changing the line
to "800 600," I was able to get a normal-looking login screen.

11. Of course, at this point, I still could not change my screen resolution,
so to fix that, open a terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install nvidia-settings

12. Then:

sudo nvidia-settings

13. Select "X Server Display Configuration," change the resolution to the
desired resolution, click OK to change it, click apply, and click "Save to X
Configuration File." From there just follow the prompts. In the future, any
time you want to change your screen resolution, do it as I've described
using Nvidia settings rather than System => Preferences => Screen
Resolution.

I don't know if any of the above steps are unnecessary since I sort of
stumbled through them, but I hope this helps you out. Let me know if it
doesn't and I'll see if I can think of anything else.

Good luck!
Jennifer

On Wed, Oct 29, 2008 at 10:02 PM, Amy Mason <amason80 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hey,
>
>  I have an X.Org issue.  I can't get the resolution to offer better than
> 800x600 no matter what I try.  Here are the stats of the box in question:
>
> Compaq Presario 6029
>
> AMD Athlon XP 2100 (1.73GHz)
> 512MB RAM (pc2100)
> DVD -RW Drive
> 48x CD Drive
> Nvidia GeForce2 (integrated)
> 56k Modem
> NIC
> Dell 19 inch widescreen monitor running through a Trendnet KVM swith.
>
> X.Org is 7.4, I believe in this distro, and I read that the Legacy NVidia
> drivers are not compatible with this version of X.
>
> Yes, I know I shouldn't be playing with a RC version of anything until I
> know more, but Ubuntu 8.04, and 7.10 did the same damn thing, and Mandriva
> One 2009 won't even boot the LiveCD on this system. (I know my Mandriva
> disk
> is fine, it works great on my other box.)  Any time I installed the legacy
> drivers in the other distros X would crash and I would have to restore
> xorg.conf from backup, or fix it using the tool in recovery mode. (Ubuntu
> 7.10, and 8.04, which was a network upgrade.)
>
> When I installed 8.10, it appeared to use the NV driver on install and
> first
> boot, but the proof of that seems to have disappeared on subsequent boots,
> and I still can't get a decent resolution.  Any thoughts?
>
> I would appreciate advice for either fixing this problem or finding a
> differnt distro that meets a few criteria.
>
> A. Works with this Video card
> B. Fairly newb friendly. (I am happy to go to the terminal, but I tend to
> still need step by step instructions, and will probably ask a lot about
> what
> I am doing.)
> C. Needs to run with gnome as the GUI (it has the accessibility framework I
> need).
> D. Prefer Debian based, though my attempts with Mandriva should say how
> important this actually is.
>
> Honestly, I am comfortable with either option. I would minimally prefer to
> fix this install, but I don't mind distro-hopping either.
>
> Thank you so much for taking the time to look at this, and help me. I have
> spent hours on the Ubuntu forums and Google, and my twitter is littered
> with
> comments on my failed attempts to fix the issue.
>
> Also, let me know if there is any more information you need.
>
> Amy
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