Resolution Problems

[simonnance]

OK, i have a lovely NEC 20WGX2 1680x1050 res widescreen.

Prob is, i cant find it in the NEC monitors, and the "generic 1680x1050" wont give me that resolution. I tried changing xorg.conf, but all that does is force a 1680x1050 on a 1280x1024 output, meaning i have to scroll the screen to see the whole thing.

How on earth do i set this up, no WS on a WS monitor looks wrong, and im loosing pixels that i paid for!

[askrieger]

Re: Resolution Problems

After a bit of Googling, I found that your monitor has a Horizontal Sync range of 31.5 to 82.3 kHz and a vertical refresh rate range of 56 to 75 Hz. Accordingly, I am going to suggest that you engage in some major surgery on your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file.

Right click on the desktop. Click on "Run Command". Enter the command "kdesu kate /etc/X11/xorg.conf" Enter your password when requested. You should now see your xorg.conf file. The first thing to do is to make sure that automatic backup is activated (if you haven't already). Click on "settings>"configure kate">"open/save". Find the section called "Backup on Save". It's the bottom one. Make sure that the box labeled "Local Files" is checked.

Now, add the character '#' at the start of every line in the entire stanza labeled Section "Monitor". This results in making appear as comments. and replace the section with this (note that <tab> means hit the tab key):

Section "Monitor"
<tab>Identifier<tab>"NEC 20WGX2"
<tab>Option<tab>"DPMS"
<tab>HorizSync<tab>32-82
<tab>VertRefresh<tab>"56-75"
EndSection

Now find the section called Section "Screen". # comment out the line Monitor<tab>"Generic Monitor" (or whatever it says) and replace it with

<tab>Monitor<tab>"NEC 20WGX2"

make sure that the default depth is set to 24. Now for the major surgery. Go to ALL of the subsections labeled SubSection "Display" AND DELETE ALL ENTRIES in the lines labeled "Modes" EXCEPT "1680x1050".

While you're performing major surgery, you might want to do a small cosmetic job as well. Look up "wacom" on this site and follow the instructions to remove all the useless references to wacom tablets from your xorg.conf file. They cause confusing error messages when you try to debug hardware problems.

Now save the modified file. The original file will still be there (in case of a typographical error) as /etc/X11/xorg.conf~. Restart your Xserver (or reboot, if you wish). You should have a full width screen.

[simonnance]

Re: Resolution Problems

ok, ended up screwing over xorg.conf, so much so that i couldnt boot, but i wanted to try the 64bit version anyway, so thats fine.

New problem though, now i cant access the Monitor&Display menu at all, it tells me:

Module could not be loaded

Pos Reasons:
-Error occured during KDE upgrade leaving orphaned control module
-You have old 3rd party modules lying around

Prob is, its a fresh install, from the Live CD, with adept only run once to update. Only thing i have downloaded is firefox!

[simonnance]

Re: Resolution Problems

OK, screw this, ran the xorg config function to try and get thing working, put in all the right info, including the correct monitor res (and only the correct one), rebooted, and now Kubuntu wont boot again (blank screen into which i can type, does totally nothing.

Im going back to Ubuntu, at least i got that working, even if i prefer the GUI of Kubuntu

[Ant2ne]

Re: Resolution Problems

you should have
"cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.bkup"
before
"kdesu kate /etc/X11/xorg.conf"

[askrieger]

Re: Resolution Problems

That's a good example of suspenders-and-belt paranoid system administration, which I applaud. But if the O.P. followed my advice to verify that KATE was set up to backup on file saves, it was unnecessary. What the O.P. missed was that he could have deleted the new file, removed the '~', and been back to where he started in two seconds. Unfortunately, (reading between the lines), he didn't know about "Recovery Mode" on the Grub menu.

[simonnance]

Re: Resolution Problems

the annoyance of Kubuntu dying on me at 3am having faded, im giving it one last shot.

Fresh install, and this time the monitor settings are actually accesable, and KDE hasnt died just by me trying to run the xorg config function.

Looked up the "wacom" problem, and i think i have sorted it.

Xorg.config:

Section "Files"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi"
# path to defoma fonts
FontPath "/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "bitmap"
Load "dbe"
Load "ddc"
Load "dri"
Load "extmod"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx"
Load "int10"
Load "record"
Load "v4l"
Load "vbe"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
Driver "kbd"
Option "CoreKeyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "uk"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
EndSection

#Section "InputDevice"
# Driver "wacom"
# Identifier "stylus"
# Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
# Option "Type" "stylus"
# Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
#EndSection

#Section "InputDevice"
# Driver "wacom"
# Identifier "eraser"
# Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
# Option "Type" "eraser"
# Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
#EndSection

#Section "InputDevice"
# Driver "wacom"
# Identifier "cursor"
# Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
# Option "Type" "cursor"
# Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
#EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "ATI X1950Pro 256MB"
Driver "ati"
BusID "PCI:2:0:0"
EndSection

#Section "Monitor"
# Identifier "NEC 20WGX2"
# Option "DPMS"
# HorizSync 32-82
# VertRefresh 56-75
#EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Device "ATI X1950Pro 256MB"
Monitor "NEC 20WGX2"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 1
Modes "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 4
Modes "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "Default Screen"
InputDevice "Generic Keyboard"
InputDevice "Configured Mouse"
# InputDevice "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"
# InputDevice "cursor" "SendCoreEvents"
# InputDevice "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"
EndSection

Section "DRI"
Mode 0666
EndSection

Anything else that should be there but isnt, or shouldnt be there and is?

Many thanks for all the help!

[simonnance]

Re: Resolution Problems

OK, now its stuck at 1400x1050 acording to the Monitor & Display settings

[askrieger]

Re: Resolution Problems

Frankly, I'm surprised you're getting anything at all. You seem to have #commented out your monitor section completely without providing an alternative! My conjecture is that under these circumstances the xserver uses some form of generic monitor, between that and the fact that you seem to be using the open source "ati" driver for your card, I'm conjecturing that your current software setup may not be able to handle your monitor. You should be using the ATI provided (and restricted) "fglrx" driver.

So I suggest the following fixes:
(0) Save your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file with a slightly different name.
(1) Install the package, "linux-restricted-modules" for your kernel. Which kernel is that? Run the konsole command "uname -r" and copy down the result. That's your kernel, so look for that version of the restricted modules.
(2) In /etc/xorg.conf, change your device driver from "ati" to "fglrx" in the appropriate stanza.
(3) Try the system this way.
(4) If worst comes to worst. reboot into "Recovery Mode" (the second entry on the boot menu). This is a full screen black and white console. Use the command "cd /etc/X11" to get to the correct directory, then use "mv xorg.bak xorg.conf" to get back to the unsatisfactory but working configuration, where I'm assuming that you used the name xorg.bak for the file that you saved. If the "mv" command gives you an error message about permissions, preface it with the word "sudo" and enter your password when requested.

Don't despair, just try to remember the first time you saw windoze.

[simonnance]

Re: Resolution Problems

you're right, KDE stopped working again..... hmm, how do i recover to my previous settings? all i get is an empty screen which i can type in but doesnt seem to actualy DO anything, eg trying to restart KDE using sudo /etc/init.d/kdm start does nothing at all.

Cant seem to access and edit through the Live CD either..... can read the file, just not edit it, wont even ask me for my password.

[askrieger]

Re: Resolution Problems

Did you try to boot to "Recovery Mode"?

[simonnance]

Re: Resolution Problems

OK, reverted both my sources and xorg files.... now i can get as far as the login menu (which is an improvement), but cant login.... it just goes to a blank screen, then back to login menu.

[askrieger]

Re: Resolution Problems

Please try booting again in recovery mode, then give the command "startx". Please, copy any error messages that you see as precisely as you can. Of course, it might "just work", then there won't be any error message.

[sdlnxgk]

Re: Resolution Problems

you're right, KDE stopped working again..... hmm, how do i recover to my previous settings? all i get is an empty screen which i can type in but doesnt seem to actualy DO anything, eg trying to restart KDE using sudo /etc/init.d/kdm start does nothing at all.

Cant seem to access and edit through the Live CD either..... can read the file, just not edit it, wont even ask me for my password.

Trying using this software !!! http://www.albertomilone.com/nvidia_scripts1.html

I had problems with my new SLI video setup on a 24" LCD widescreen but this program ROCKS !!!

Another reason I love this program is it works on the CLI

[askrieger]

Re: Resolution Problems

WARNING! What the Envy script does is to install a more recent version of the nVidia or ATI proprietary drivers than the one installed from the Ubuntu repositories. Some people have had great success with these drivers. Others haven't. It's impossible to give statistics on percentage of successes to failures, but there seem to have been about as many posts reporting problems as posts praising the Envy script.