X and laptop

[Johan Ramm-Ericson]

On Fri, 2006-10-27 Eric S. Johansson wrote:
> Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2006 12:20:14 -0400
> From: "Eric S. Johansson" <esj at harvee.org>
> Subject: X and laptop 
> To: ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com
> Message-ID: <ehtbk8$d88$1 at sea.gmane.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
> 
>   the last time I tried to use this laptop was about three or four 
> months ago but dapper had serious problems with the video.  Unfortunate, 
> I ran out of time and energy to deal with the problem.  So here I am 
> with edgy and have found that X11 has failed me yet again in a different 
> way.  Or maybe it's the configuration tool.  Doesn't matter.  The 
> display doesn't work right.
> 
> Summarizing, the laptop is a Compaq 1700t.  video is a ATI Technologies 
> Inc Rage Mobility P/M AGP 2x.  Edgy sees it as a generic video car 
> "vesa" with a generic Monitor.  As a result, it only displays video up 
> to 1024x768.  The screen can do 1400 x 1050.  When I use the resolution 
> tool to move the screen resolution higher, I get a blocky, garbled 
> display with pieces of graphics replicated across the screen.
> 
> I hope to give this laptop as a gift to a fellow writer so I'd like make 
> it work and hopefully be supportable since you know no good deeds go 
> unpunished.  :-)
> 
> If I can get the screen to work on the next thing I'll be asking about 
> is soft modems and AOL (since that's what she uses).
> 
> ---eric

Not really an answer but some links that I found that may help you. By
the way; most seem to indicate that running at 1024 x 768 is the way to
go:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=273633
http://denbourdon.free.fr/development/linuxpresario1700t/linuxpresario1700t_en.htm
http://user.cs.tu-berlin.de/~gregorrg/compaq/presario17xl470.html
http://poli.cs.vsb.cz/linux/somrak-presario-1700/
http://guillaume.valerie-et-guillaume.com/C1700T/


However; I did find this XF86Config file that has everything configured
at 1400 x 1050 (note that it uses the ati driver!):
http://zurich.ai.mit.edu/pipermail/omnibook/2000-December/000040.html

HTH,
Johan