Resolution Problems

[Charlie Kravetz]

On Sun, 2008-05-25 at 15:41 -0700, Jeffrey Tooker wrote:
> Charlie Kravetz wrote:
> > On Sun, 2008-05-25 at 12:43 -0700, Jeffrey Tooker wrote:
> >   
> >> Hello:
> >>
> >> I am having resolution problems.  I have been searching online for a 
> >> solution but I have found none that work for me.  System info:
> >> Dell    1.7M CPU
> >> OS       Ubuntu 7.10
> >> Dual Boot    XP/Ubuntu each on separate drive
> >> Monitor    Dell    E772C
> >> Graphics Card   Intel 845
> >> Driver   VESA   -generic VESA compliant card
> >> I am marginal at CLI.
> >>
> >> Problem started last week.  System kept reverting to default 
> >> resolution.  I find default resolution very hard to read over time.  I 
> >> found  and went through the resolution edit.  System came up and said 
> >> the monitor was running on minimum resolution.  I tried several times to 
> >> get the system back up and was only able to get it back up by accepting 
> >> the minimum (640 X 480) resolution.  It appears to be locked in now as I 
> >> can not change it from the screen resolution app.  640 X 480 is the only 
> >> choice. While in this resolution I ran into several problems with being 
> >> able to see the bottom of some windows on the screen.  This morning the 
> >> top panel ended up on the left hand side.  I tried to get it back to the 
> >> top, but is so compressed I can not get a handle on it.  I believe I 
> >> have to get the resolution problem fixed so I can go onto other 
> >> problems.  I found online Xorg-edit  
> >> "http://linuxappfinder.com/package/xorg-edit" and downloaded it to 
> >> "Applications", however I can not open it because the top panel is on 
> >> the left hand side and so compressed that Applications will  not open. 
> >>
> >> All help greatly appreciated.
> >>
> >> Jeffrey Tooker
> >>
> >>     
> > I am not an expert on these things, but I have found that with Ubuntu 7.10, gutsy, sometimes the easiest way to fix the video is to start over. What I mean is go into a terminal, using the following commands rename the X-Org file, then delete the rest and let the system rebuild it.
> >
> > Start with 
> > $ cd /etc/X11
> > $ sudo cp xorg.conf.? xorg.conf.keepthis - ? is whatever the highest
> > number is, 1,2,3...
> > $ sudo rm xorg.conf
> > $ sudo rm xorg.conf.failsafe  - or similar
> > $ sudo rm xorg.conf.?
> >
> > now close the terminal window, and restart your system, using the quit,
> > restart. When it restarts, it will rebuild the file and you should be
> > able to reset the resolution. 
> >
> > Also, check out the bug reports in launchpad:
> >
> > https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+bug/3731
> >
> > It starts out on Ubuntu 5.10, but goes on into Ubuntu 7.10
> >
> > good luck,
> >
> >   
> Charlie:
> 
> Thank you for the info. I will get to it as soon as I can. Looking at 
> the chronology of this thread it seems I was looking up bugs about the 
> same time you were. I have come across several references to an Intel 
> i915 driver which seems to be a more up to date driver, which corrects a 
> lot of problems of the previous drivers.
> 
> I am using a Dell which was originally an XP machine. I have had to dump 
> the Lexmark printer for an HP. It seems that Ubuntu has been fighting 
> this driver/resolution problem for about 30 months. I will try the 
> suggested solutions. However I wonder if there is a better graphics 
> card. The i845 I have is several years old. I guess I will start 
> searching for info on drivers for E772C Dell monitors.
> 
> Jeffrey Tooker
> 
Might be worth going to Dell's support site on the monitor. They may
have a Linux driver listed. Even for older equipment, they now list some
drivers for us. As for the i845, I think you may have better luck with
the "-intel" driver. If I recall correctly, that contains the updated
i915 drivers, which are backward compatible and more cooperative than
the i810 drivers. I had to use the -intel driver on one of my other
units with the i810 chipset. Something to keep in mind for later, maybe?

good luck,

-- 
Charlie Kravetz 
Linux Registered User Number 425914          [http://counter.li.org/]
Never let anyone steal your DREAM.           [http://keepingdreams.com]