VGA mode not supported

[David McGlone]

On Friday 21 November 2008 7:20:58 am Art Alexion wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 5:43 AM, Eberhard Roloff <tuxebi at gmx.de> 
wrote:
> > David McGlone wrote:
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> With the last couple releases of kubuntu I have not been able to 
install
> >> kubuntu on my desktop using the live CD because when it boots,
> >> everything is way  too big for the screen and it's impossible to
> >> navigate, so I always use the alternate cd ,which also after
> >> installation is HUGE, but I have managed to navigate around 
enough to
> >> enable the restricted drivers for my video card and after a reboot, 
all
> >> is well.
> >>
> >> Well I just installed 8.10 on my desktop with the alternate cd and 
low
> >> and behold, I can't even get a HUGE desktop, all I get is my 
monitor
> >> complaining VGA mode not supported.
> >
> > When do you get this message? At the very beginning of booting 
the PC or
> > when X should be started?
> >
> >> I have a 17" flat monitor that can do from 640x480 up to 
1280x768.
> >> my video card is and ATI radeon x300se RV370.
> >
> > Are you sure? A 4:3 17" TFT should support 1280x1024 imho.
>
> Ah, but he said 1280x768 which suggest wide screen, not 4:3.
>
> I have had the same issues with live CDs (which hate my graphics and
> don't read LVs within LVM partitions as far as I know).
>
> I also had similar graphis problems with Intrepid on ATI with wide
> screen on the 10/31 release date, so I moved that computer to Debian
> Lenny for now.  I was thinking of retrying Intrepid today to see if
> those and other (invisible mouse) issues were fixed.
>
> Anybody else with the invisible mouse problem have any luck?
>
> >> I tried booting into safe mode and that doesn't work like it used to 
in
> >> previous releases where a desktop would come up. I even tried 
dpkg-
> >> reconfigure xserver-xorg and it doesn't let the xserver be 
configured
> >> anymore, just the keyboard.
> >>
> >> What should I do?
>
> I had the same issues with dpkg-reconfigure which always used to fix
> things, but didn't this time, as well.
>
> > maybe start with "sudo lspci |grep VGA", thus letting us know about 
your
> > graphics board?

I managed to get a half working X. Enough to enable the restricted 
driver for my graphics card.
-- 
David McG.