x server crashing - sometimes

[Stephen]

Stephen wrote:
> Ray Parrish wrote:
>> Stephen wrote:
>>> Stephen wrote:
>>>   
>>>> Dear All
>>>>
>>>> Kubuntu 8.10
>>>>
>>>> I want to reduce the resolution as a way of improving the graphics and 
>>>> text size as these are to small.  I have seen these setting in two places:
>>>> 1) K > System > System Settings > Display
>>>> 2) K > System > KR and RTray Screen Resize & Rotate
>>>>
>>>> When I chose either of these, the server exits to a login screen and I 
>>>> have to login again.  Odd, as I have used these before.
>>>> The most recent change I have made was in K > System > System Settings > 
>>>> Desktop -All Effects tab, where I unticked most of the 3D options and 
>>>> improved performance.
>>>>
>>>> I would also like to reduce colour depth.  When I last looked at the 
>>>> settings for changing the resolution I did not see anything about 
>>>> reducing the colour depth.  I have looked around System Settings.
>>>>
>>>> Any help appreciated
>>>>
>>>> Stephen
>>>>
>>>>     
>>> Dear All
>>>
>>> This issue has proved problematic to resolve.  I have tried some
>>> suggestions about editing /etc/X11/Xorg.conf, but what doesn't crash X
>>> at start up makes no difference to the display.
>>>
>>> I still have the problems of
>>> 1) most of the time I cannot access Display or KR and RTray Screen 
>>> Resize & Rotate.
>>> 2) When I maximise a window it is too wide for the screen and goes off 
>>> the right edge so losing the X out icon and other bits
>>> 3) Windows render slowly
>>> 4) I cannot control the resolution enough to have text on screen of a
>>> size that I can read - it is all too small
>>> 5) When I had a 17inch screen I used a res on 1024 X 768, now I have a
>>> wide screen 17inch (16/9 ratio), I think I want a res of 1280 X 768.
>>> But I cannot access the display options to change it.
>>>
>>> I have looked in the BIOS and up to 8MB of memory is allocated to the
>>> onboard graphics.  The pc has 1GB of RAM.  If I installed a PCI graphics
>>> card I would not have to make a change in the BIOS as it is already
>>> configured to select a user installed graphics card if one is installed.
>>> One of the editions of Linux Format had an article that mentioned
>>> onboard/Intel graphics are problematic.  Now I am fed up with the problem.
>>>
>>> I want to explore installing a graphics card.  Has any one any 
>>> recommendations that will allow me to overcome these problems and not 
>>> have to be fiddled with.
>>>
>>> I appear to have two PCI slots and a very short slot above that - not 
>>> sure what it is.
>>>
>>> Any recommendations welcomed.
>>>
>>> Stephen
>>>   
>> Hello,
>>
>> Since you have 1 GB RAM, you have plenty to spare that can be assigned 
>> to your on board video card's use. You state that the BIOS shows 8 MB's 
>> currently assigned to the video card.  This is way too low, and you 
>> should be able to change that setting  right there where it's displayed 
>> in the BIOS. On my motherboard I have selections that start at 8 MB's, 
>> and go all the way up to 256 MB's.
>>
>> Currently I have this set to 64 MB's out of my 512 MB's of available 
>> system RAM. This setting allows running in the highest graphics mode 
>> with 3D acceleration, all of the eye candy features of Compiz enabled, 
>> all with no problems whatsoever.
>>
>> When I got this computer, it was set to use 128 MB's for  the video card 
>> and this seemed to work pretty good, but at times programs would gray 
>> out and be unresponsive for a few seconds up to as much as a minute or 
>> two. Now that I have reduced the video card to 64 MB's, I no longer have 
>> the gray out problem.
>>
>> An easy way to test and change video resolutions is with xvidtune. It 
>> works in conjunction with a terminal, but is actually a small GUI 
>> program. You start it from Terminal, and it then uses the terminal 
>> screen to write modelines fetched from your system or which you create 
>> with xvidtune to so you can inspect or copy them. On the GUI portion of 
>> it, there are buttons which allow cycling through your available video 
>> resolutions in either the up or down direction. The resolution changes 
>> take place when you press one of these buttons immediately.
>>
>> xvidtune also presents you with sliders to change the hsyncstart, 
>> hsyncend, vyncstart, and vsyncend values for the current mode, and a 
>> Test button to try any changes you make to those settings. xvidtune will 
>> then warn you if your selections result in an invalid combination.
>>
>> There are also Apply and Restore buttons which allow you to write your 
>> changes to the xorg.conf file.
>>
>> Later, Ray Parrish
>>
> Dear Ray
> 
> Thanks for the responses.  I tried the BIOS to adjust the video memory 
> and it only allows selection between 1MB and 8MB.  Nice idea but thwarted.
> 
> xvidtune was revealing.  I started it as root as I assumed it had to 
> write to Xorg.conf, and it showed that my res is 1440 X 900.  I could 
> indeed use the Left/Right, Wider/Narrower, up/down, shorter/taller 
> buttons.  No sliders I am sorry to say.
> 
> However, when I adjusted using Narrower/Shorter and then pressed Test I 
> got an error message that "Sorry you have requested a Mode-Line that is 
> not possible, or not supported by your hardware or configuration"
> 
> Not sure if this is user error.  Should I have logged out of the GUI (if 
> so not sure how to do that)?
> 
> Should I have used Wider/Taller?
> 
> Dell have replied to my  enquiry and confirmed that  can only use PCI 
> (not PCI express) graphics cards.  Any recommendations if I am not able 
> to increase onboard video memory
> 
> Hope to hear from you
> 
> Stephen
> 
> 

Dear All

Thanks to all who have tried to assist with this problem.

Dell have confirmed that the BIOS cannot allocate anything more than the 
8MB option.  So I am very likely to purchase the Nvidia GE Force 6200 
(PCI, and 256 MB RAM) graphics card as a way of overcoming the 
limitation of only 8MB system RAM allocated to my onboard graphics card.

It appears supported as well.  The ubuntu website has stated that the 
package I need is nvidia-glx.

Does anyone have any knowledge of this graphics card ?

Hope to hear

Thanks

Stephen