Changing screen resolution

[thephotoman]

I'd like to be able to get a higher screen resolution than the default 
1024x768, but I cannot seem to remember the configuration file I need to 
edit to do this.  I also do not want to run dpkg-reconfigure, as that 
will cause more problems than it will solve (it's a laptop, so I won't 
get my touchpad or keyboard after I do such a thing).

Can anybody help me?