My Linux wants a wide screen

[adatole]

I've seen things alluding to this, but nothing hinting at a solution has worked yet.Mandrake 10Dell GX2701024x768 flat screenThe install ran great, but my virtual screen size is bigger than the actual screen. Moving the mouse gets me to the other parts of the screen.As far as I can see, there is no DRAK panel that shows the difference. I've tried 1024x78, 800x600 and 640x480 at various sets of colors. While it changes the amount I scroll, the icons remain humungous on the screen.I have made a couple of minor modifications to the X config (XF86Config-4), but nothing made a dent in it.Thanks in advanceLeon

[Bruno]

Hi adatoleThis is because your "virtual"screen settings are not correct . . . look for this part in your XF86Config-4:

 Subsection "Display"Depth 8Virtual 1024 768EndSubsectionSubsection "Display"Depth 15Virtual 1024 768EndSubsectionSubsection "Display"Depth 16Virtual 1024 768EndSubsectionSubsection "Display"Depth 24Virtual 1024 768EndSubsectionEndSection

These are the correct "virtual"settings if you use 1024 x 768B) Bruno

[teacher]

A couple of things:1. System --> Configuration --> Hardware --> Screen Resize and rootate puts an icon in the system tray area that alllows on the fly changing of screen resolution.2. System --> Configuration -->Configure Your Computer/Mandrake Control Center -->Hardware --> Screen Resolution lets you adjust your resolution. If ound it works best if both are set to the same number. I keep mine at 1024 x 768. That way they match the size of the display.

[teacher]

Cross post Bruno!!! :w00t:There you have it. Two different ways to accomplish the same thing.

[Bruno]

LOL . . . another option: This is a good excuse to buy a bigger flat screen ( Just joking get the virtual settings in order and you will be set ) Bruno

[adatole]

OK, so what if the DISPLAY area in XF86Config-4 exactly matches Bruno's, and what if under System, Configure, Harware there is NO option for Screen Size and Rotate?Thanks so far.Leon

[teacher]

Does it work? That is what is important? I might have installed a thing or two that gives me a few more options when I did my last install. I tend to explore a lot through the options with every new instal.l. Don't forget to reboot before you judge it as sometimes things don't take effect immediately.

[adatole]

Teacher:No, there was nothing to change - the Display area matched Bruno's suggestion already, and the feature you mentioned doesn't exist. So I had nothing to make different to alter the existing environment.Thanks again. I'll keep looking at it and checking for new ideas.Leon

[teacher]

This is confusing. When the actual size and the displayed size are different it is because a virtual setting is different than the actual. This is one feature that I do not like but seems to be popping up in the different distros. It is too easy to get one different from the other. Good luck. Let us know if you find the silver bullet that fixes this one.

[Bruno]

Hi LeonPlease post me your XF86Config-4 so I can see what is wrong . . . Bruno

[adatole]

Here it is. As a side note, there is a posted issue with Dell Gx270 and the Intel video boards. The latest wisdom (that I've seen) is to upgrade to BIOS A04. I did that, but not change. I'm hoping I don't have to reinstall to see a fix.********************# File generated by XFdrake. # **********************************************************************# Refer to the XF86Config man page for details about the format of# this file.# ********************************************************************** Section "Files" # Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together) # By default, Mandrake 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of # the X server to render fonts. FontPath "unix/:-1"EndSection Section "ServerFlags" #DontZap # disable <Crtl><Alt><BS> (server abort) #DontZoom # disable <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching) AllowMouseOpenFail # allows the server to start up even if the mouse doesn't workEndSection Section "Module" Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension Load "v4l" # Video for Linux Load "extmod" Load "type1" Load "freetype" Load "glx" # 3D layer Load "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.a"EndSection Section "InputDevice" Identifier "Keyboard1" Driver "Keyboard" Option "XkbModel" "pc105" Option "XkbLayout" "en_US" Option "XkbOptions" ""EndSection Section "InputDevice" Identifier "Mouse1" Driver "mouse" Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2" Option "Device" "/dev/mouse" Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"EndSection Section "Monitor" VendorName "Generic" ModelName "Flat Panel 1024x768" HorizSync 31.5-48.5 VertRefresh 40-70 # Sony Vaio C1(X,XS,VE,VN)? # 1024x480 @ 85.6 Hz, 48 kHz hsync ModeLine "1024x480" 65.00 1024 1032 1176 1344 480 488 494 563 -hsync -vsync # TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output. # 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync ModeLine "768x576" 50.00 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630 # 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync ModeLine "768x576" 63.07 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "device1" VendorName "Intel Corporation" BoardName "Intel 865" Driver "i810" Option "DPMS"EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "screen1" Device "device1" Monitor "monitor1" DefaultColorDepth 16 Subsection "Display" Depth 8 Virtual 1024 768 EndSubsection Subsection "Display" Depth 15 Virtual 1024 768 EndSubsection Subsection "Display" Depth 16 Virtual 1024 768 EndSubsection Subsection "Display" Depth 24 Virtual 1024 768 EndSubsectionEndSection Section "ServerLayout" Identifier "layout1" InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard" InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer" Screen "screen1"EndSection

[Bruno]

Hi LeonI miss one line in your file

"Section "Monitor"    VendorName "Generic"    ModelName "Flat Panel 1024x768"    HorizSync 31.5-48.5    VertRefresh 40-70

I have

Identifier "monitor1"

in there too . . . and because some lines down it referes to "monitor1" this could be the problem . . . So make that section:

Section "Monitor"    Identifier "monitor1"    VendorName "Generic"    ModelName "Flat Panel 1024x768"    HorizSync 31.5-48.5    VertRefresh 40-70

Then reboot ( bercause logging out does not restart X ) and let us know what it did . . . :'( Bruno

[quint]

This might work:

[quint@localhost quint]$ xvidtuneVendor: Monitor Vendor, Model: S/T 97/96BDFNum hsync: 1, Num vsync: 1hsync range 0:  30.00 -  85.00vsync range 0:  50.00 - 160.00"1024x768"  94.50 1024 1088 1184 1376    768  769  772  808 +hsync +vsync

Run "xvidtune", click "left or right, etc." to where you have the display you want, click "apply", then click "show", and lastly "quit". Copy/Paste the line you get from "show" (in the Konsole") here: (in red)

Section "Monitor"VendorName "Generic"ModelName "Flat Panel 1024x768"HorizSync 31.5-48.5VertRefresh 40-70ModeLine "1024x768"  94.50 1024 1088 1184 1376    768  769  772  808 +hsync +vsync (this is mine, your's will be different.)

HTH.

[Bruno]

LeonBack up the present file before you start editing:

# cp  /etc/X11/XF86Config-4  /etc/X11/XF86Config-4-BACKUP

That way you can always return to the backup if things go really wrong.:'( Bruno

[adatole]

Bruno:My fault, I didn't grab the Identifyer line, but it was in there.Quint:I run xvidtune and the last line reads:Video are not settable on this chipWonderful.I didn't realize about logon/logoff not really resetting X, so I did just for good measure. No luck though, but at least I know for the future.So here is the good news - I got it working.Let's just say that I don't think listing "linux-smp" as the first choice is the best decision the kind folks at Mandrake ever made. I'm not sure what "smp" stands for, but it sure isn't "symetric multi-processor".By arrowing down twice (past "linux" to "263-7") I had a kernel that would allow me to acutally change the bit depth. Dialing don to 8, I had a screen that was just one screen.I'll quibble about the 256 colors later - I'm just happy to have a screen where I can see everything without feeling like I have a degenerative retinal condition.Thank you to EVERYONE who had patience enough to help, and I welcome additional thoughts on how to get past 8 bits to the wide and crazy size of video in the thousands of colors (millions is too much to hope for.)Leon

[Bruno]

Hi LeonThat is quiet odd . . .

I'm not sure what "smp" stands for, but it sure isn't "symetric multi-processor".

you are shatterring a dream here, because that is what I thought too . . . :'( ;PAnyway will you try this: boot the 263-7 and do

[code$ ]su< password ># XFdrake[/code]

And see if you can configure your graphics there, then run the "test" button in XFdrake to see if the settings are correct and reboot . . . Hope that will get the screen settings okay . . BrunoPS: You can also run XFdrake outside X if things really get messed up, but in general it is a good thing to have a backup of your /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file

[adatole]

OK, we finally have a full solution. Here are the salient points:First, this was very hardware-specific:Dell GX270Intel 865 chipset graphics card (i810?)1) Assuming your machine is new enough, upgrade the BIOS to theA04 version. You can get it here:ftp://ftp.dell.com/bios/gx270a04.exeThe trick here is (ha ha!) you are probably running Linux. If you are like me, you don't have a bootable windows/dos partition. So make sure you can make a DOS/WIndows boot floppy, and then run the BIOS upgrade from there.2) Go into BIOS setup and change the Video Legacy settings to 8Mb (from 1Mb which is the default)3) At least for me, I had to change the boot from "Linux-smp" to "263-7". I'm not sure if that is voodoo or not.Once all those things were done, I was able to go into Mandrake Control Center, hardware, Hardware, 865 Chipset and click "Run Config Tool". Then I could set things to 1024x768 16k or 16m colors and I was fat, dumb and happy. Or at least 2 out of 3.Thanks to EVERYONE for helping me get in the right direction for this...Hope this helps someone else!Leon

[ross549]

Fat, dumb, and happy is a good place to be! Glad it worked for ya!

[Bruno]

Hi LeonGlad you found the solution and the screen is acceptable now ! I would not have been happy with the 256 colors either ;)Does this mean that the Dell BIOS was to blame for this mis-configuration ? Well, goes to show that the solution is sometimes in places where you would not look first . . . Bruno

[adatole]

Just another update for those seeking wisdom later...For reasons that bother me (Mandrake's auto-partitioner set up a 250Mb /tmp partition on a system with 40Gb disk and 512Mb RAM - what's up with that?!?) I had to completely re-install the system. No big deal since I didn't have anything but time on it and at least now I knew exactly what the setup was.This time, the install went flawlessly and the graphics stuff was detected without any other fiddling.That means that setting up the BIOS really was the hitch. Once that was in place and configured correctly, Mandrake knew what to do.FYI. Live and learn.

[Bruno]

a 250Mb /tmp partition on a system with 40Gb

A /tmp partition ?? They must have lost their witts . . . this sure is a bug that was never noticed . . . ;)Glad the install went smooth ! Bruno