Linux question (ubuntu)

[cryptique]

I'm hopeful that there are some Linux fiends here who can help me out with this.

 

I have an old Dell laptop (Inspiron 8200, bought in December '02) on which I recently installed Ubuntu Linux 8.04 LTS. The graphics card in the laptop can't handle all of the fancy stuff that Ubuntu offers, so it's installed in a slightly downgraded graphics mode (I'm not sure exactly what this entails -- there was a guy helping me out with this).

 

My problem is that my screen resolution seems to be fixed at 1600 x 1200. If I open the Screen Resolution window to change it, there are no other choices.

 

I did a few searches and found some possible solutions, but haven't found anything yet that works. I tried one solution last night, which was to add several lines to a config file (sorry, I'm at work and I don't remember exactly which config file, but it's the one that controls this kind of stuff). Previously the config file had no mention of screen resolution -- it only identified a monitor and a couple of other things (which I believe were displayed as "Fixed configuration," or something like that). It had none of the screen resolution info that the proposed solution said I should expect to see.

 

That solution didn't work. Didn't seem to have any effect whatsoever.

 

I can operate the computer at this highly jacked resolution, but it's not the best thing for my aging eyes. Any other ideas?

[aricandover]

credit to http://www.tesuji.org/

 

with the resolutions added into the xorg.conf file, he should

be able to directly affect X's resolution. They should look

something along the lines of:

 

Section "Screen"

Identifier "Screen0"

Device "Card0"

Monitor "Monitor0"

DefaultDepth 24

SubSection "Display"

Viewport 0 0

Depth 32

Modes "1600x1200" "800x600" "640x480"

EndSubSection

EndSection

 

 

With these modes, the window manager may not automatically

figure out that these other resolutions are available, but you

can always force X to change resolutions by, I think, using

CTRL+ALT+KEYPAD-/+, keypad + should cycle up in resolutions

and keypad - should cycle down.

[cryptique]

Thanks, but that's similar to what I tried last night. Didn't work.

 

I restored the original xorg.conf file ... here's what that is...

 

Section "InputDevice"
       Identifier      "Synaptics Touchpad"
       Driver          "synaptics"
       Option          "SendCoreEvents"        "true"
       Option          "Device"                "/dev/psaux"
       Option          "Protocol"              "auto-dev"
       Option          "HorizEdgeScroll"       "0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
       Identifier      "Configured Video Device"
       Driver          "vesa"
       Option          "UseFBDev"              "true"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
       Identifier      "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
       Identifier      "Default Screen"
       Monitor         "Configured Monitor"
       Device          "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
       Identifier      "Default Layout"
       Screen          "Default Screen"
       InputDevice     "Synaptics Touchpad"
EndSection

That's the entire file. Seems like some stuff's missing, but I'm a Linux newbie so I really don't know.

 

For what it's worth, the version that I tried last night was this:

 

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

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier	"Configured Mouse"
Driver		"mouse"
Option		"CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier	"Synaptics Touchpad"
Driver		"synaptics"
Option		"SendCoreEvents"	"true"
Option		"Device"		"/dev/psaux"
Option		"Protocol"		"auto-dev"
Option		"HorizEdgeScroll"	"0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier	"Configured Video Device"
Driver		"vesa"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier	"Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier	"Default Screen"
Device		"Generic Video Card"
Monitor		"Generic Monitor"
DefaultDepth	24
SubSection "Display"
	Depth	1
	Modes	"1280x800" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
	Depth 4
	Modes "1280x800" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
	Depth 8
	Modes "1280x800" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
	Depth 15
	Modes "1280x800" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
	Depth 16
	Modes "1280x800" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
	Depth 24
	Modes "1280x800" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier	"Default Layout"
Screen		"Default Screen"
InputDevice	"Synaptics Touchpad"
EndSection

 

That didn't work either. When I go to System / Preferences / Screen Resolution, the screen in the Monitor Resolution Settings dialog says "Unknown," the Resolution field is stuck on 1600x1200, the Refresh Rate is stuck at 61 Hz, Rotation is Normal, and the Detect Displays button doesn't seem to do anything.

 

Am I stuck with this?

[aricandover]

Am I stuck with this?

 

 

I can run it by my buddy tomorrow and see if he has any ideas.

[cryptique]

I can run it by my buddy tomorrow and see if he has any ideas.

Thanks. From what I'm reading online, this doesn't seem real easy to fix. I'll keep trying other solutions as I find them, but I'm getting on a plane in a few hours (with this laptop) so it's lower priority for me than it might normally be.

 

The computer is usable in the meantime, of course ... I just wish it were easier to see everything. Oddly, the site that's hardest to make out is this one -- it shows up in a tiny font that looks like Courier, and so far I haven't been able to increase the font size.