Resolution problem

Forum: X and Fluxbox
Topic: Resolution problem
started by: Unknown User

Posted by Unknown User on Feb. 23 2007,17:20

I am using DSL 3.2 Live CD, but I can´t see the lower panel, and I think the whole desktop it´s not working how it should be. My screen resolution is 1400x900, but there is available only 1400x1050. 1024x768 works, but picture quality is too bad. Graphics card is Nvidia GeForce Go5200. What could be the problem?

Posted by WDef on Feb. 23 2007,18:54

I assume you using XFree86.dsl with the nvidia driver from the repo?

You may need to add a modeline to /etc/x11/XF86Config-4

Posted by Unknown User on Feb. 23 2007,20:56

There is no file... Do I have to install drivers?

Posted by WDef on Feb. 23 2007,21:40

Installing XFree86 and then nvidia drivers may well fix your problem.

Unfortunately setting up XFree86.dsl can be a little challenging if it's your first time. First get it working with the default vesa driver (then do nvidia).

You'll need to search this forum and read the extension info files for details - sorry I'm very sleepy (yawn)

Posted by Unknown User on Feb. 24 2007,09:25

Ok. So how do I install XFree86.dsl? Everything else is "easy"... And how I can change desktop font?

Posted by Unknown User on Mar. 09 2007,12:15

Could somebody explain how to install this XFree86?

Posted by curaga on Mar. 09 2007,12:50

Right-click on the desktop. Select Apps > tools > MyDSL extension browser
Click System
find Xfree86.dsl
Select ok
It will download and install it

If you don't back it up, you have to install it again if you reboot..

Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on Mar. 09 2007,14:09

To see the resolutions available in default xvesa... try `xvesa -listmodes`

To use the XFree86.* extension make sure you read the .info
Which config file depends on which video driver you plan to use - if you plan on using official accelerated ones, you'll also need to grab the nvidia drivers, or you could start with the "vesa" driver to get things working first.

Posted by Unknown User on Mar. 09 2007,14:18

Quote (^thehatsrule^ @ Mar. 09 2007,16:09)

I tried earlier today install it, but .info was little hard to understand... So it didnt worked. What do I have to do to get it work? I have now downloaded XFree86.dsl. Do I have to replace xserverrc with XFree86 xserverrc -file or what?

Posted by Unknown User on April 07 2007,14:43

How to install XFree86

Posted by Juanito on April 07 2007,17:03

To use XFree86 you have to do 4 things:

1. load the XFree86.dsl or unc extension
2. Replace the existing xserverrc file with one pointing to XFree86
3. Put an appropriate XF86Config-4 file in /etc/X11/
4. Start or re-start X

To find a suitable XF86Config-4 file for your graphics card/mouse, I would suggest you search using Google on XF86Config-4 and the name of your graphics card - good luck

Posted by Unknown User on April 07 2007,17:33

Thanks, I will try it. XF86Config-4 is just a text -file?

Posted by Juanito on April 07 2007,17:53

Yes

Posted by Unknown User on April 07 2007,18:05

I found one config -file. By the way, am I able to try this with live CD? Netcard is not working after installation, netcardconfig says no supported cards found. My netcard is Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast. What could be the problem?

Posted by Unknown User on April 07 2007,18:32

It doesn't work. I replaced xserverrc with XFree86 -xserverrc but everytime when I restart x, original comes back. And I don't have folder "X11R6". I put the config file in /etc/X11, but nothing happened. :angry:

I think we can forget this... I think I will start using Ubuntu again.

Posted by Juanito on April 08 2007,04:08

You can use XFree86 with the live CD but you'll need to do some typing at the terminal screen:

1. At the boot prompt, type "dsl 2" <cr>. This will boot you into a terminal window
2. Type "mydsl-load /path-to-file/XFree86.dsl"
3. Type "sudo nano /home/dsl/.xserverrc", edit the file to read "exec /usr/X11R6/bin/XFree86 -nolisten tcp" and save the file.
4. Type "cp /path-to-file/XF86Config-4 /etc/X11"
5. Type "startx"

If the XF86Config-4 file is right for your graphics card then this should work.

Posted by Unknown User on April 08 2007,05:04

My card is Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 Go and I have downloaded the right one...

"Path-to-file" could be anything, like /tmp? But if I boot to the terminal, how can I download config -file?

Posted by Juanito on April 08 2007,05:12

Quote

"Path-to-file" could be anything, like /tmp?

Sure - I just used this to mean wherever you had temporarily saved the copies of XFree86.dsl and XF86Config-4

Posted by Unknown User on April 08 2007,05:21

Ok DSL is now installed and my netcard is working! Now I try to install it how you explained at the first time?

Edit: I tried it and it almost worked, but it said "nvidia drivers" module not found and something else too and "screens not found"

Edit2: I changed config -files "drivers section" to vesa and i got picture but then it crashed. It said "synaptics modules not found".

Posted by Unknown User on April 08 2007,05:52

Hey it's working. I changed drivers section to "nv" . But resolution is still bad, how I change it?

Edit: After rebooting X didn´t started, it said "failed to initialize core devices"

Posted by Juanito on April 08 2007,06:05

Quote

Edit: I tried it and it almost worked, but it said "nvidia drivers" module not found and something else too and "screens not found"

This sounds like the nvidia driver for XFree86 is not present in XFree86.dsl - I thought it was - you would need to check in /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/input (or something like that - look to see where the i810 module is, it would be in the same place) to see if it is there.

Quote

Edit2: I changed config -files "drivers section" to vesa and i got picture but then it crashed. It said "synaptics modules not found".

This sounds like the XF86Config-4 file you have is set up for a synaptics or alps touchpad and not for a mouse. For a mouse, there should be a section in XF86Config-4 that looks something like this:

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "yes"
EndSection

If you see a section that starts like this, comment it out and try again:

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "TouchPad"
Driver "synaptics"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "alps"
...
EndSection

Posted by Unknown User on April 08 2007,06:23

There is no i810 module. I will try again.

Posted by Juanito on April 08 2007,06:24

'Looks like we made the last posts at the same time. You don't need the i810 module - I just used that as an example of where to find the nvidia driver since I know the i810 module is included with XFree86.dsl.

Quote

Edit: After rebooting X didn´t started, it said "failed to initialize core devices"

This sounds like you need to edit the server layout section in XF86Config-4 so that the mouse (and not a touchpad - see line commented out) and keyboard are specified something like this:

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "XFree86 Configured"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
#InputDevice "TouchPad" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Note that there is an XFree86 log in /var/log that might be helpful in troubleshooting.

Posted by Unknown User on April 08 2007,06:33

My config looks like this>

# XF86Config-4 (XFree86 X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the XF86Config-4 manual page.
# (Type "man XF86Config-4" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xfree86 package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xfree86
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following commands as root:
#
# cp /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 /etc/X11/XF86Config-4.custom
# md5sum /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 > /var/lib/xfree86/XF86Config-4.md5sum
# dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86

Section "Files"
FontPath "unix/:7100" # local font server
# if the local font server has problems, we can fall back on these
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "bitmap"
Load "dbe"
Load "ddc"
Load "extmod"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx"
Load "int10"
Load "record"
Load "speedo"
Load "type1"
Load "synaptics"
Load "vbe"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
Driver "keyboard"
Option "CoreKeyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "be"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "USBMouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "synaptics"
Identifier "touchpad"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
Option "LeftEdge" "1900"
Option "RightEdge" "5400"
Option "TopEdge" "1900"
Option "BottomEdge" "4000"
Option "FingerLow" "25"
Option "FingerHigh" "30"
Option "MaxTapTime" "180"
Option "MaxTapMove" "220"
Option "VertScrollDelta" "100"
Option "MinSpeed" "0.02"
Option "MaxSpeed" "0.18"
Option "AccelFactor" "0.0010"
Option "SHMConfig" "on"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "NVIDIA Corporation NV34M [GeForce FX Go 5200]"
Driver "nvidia"
VideoRam 32000
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Generic Monitor"
HorizSync 28-49
VertRefresh 43-72
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Device "NVIDIA Corporation NV34M [GeForce FX Go 5200]"
Monitor "Generic Monitor"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 1
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 4
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "Default Screen"
InputDevice "Generic Keyboard"
InputDevice "touchpad" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "USBMouse" "SendCoreEvents"
EndSection

Posted by Unknown User on April 08 2007,07:09

How do I open the XF86 log -file?

Posted by Juanito on April 08 2007,07:13

I'll assume that you do not have a touchpad - and that you have a USB mouse and not a PS/2 port type mouse.

1. In [Section "Module"] remove/comment out [Load "synaptics"]
2. In [Section "InputDevice"/Driver "synaptics"] remove/comment out the entire section.
3. In [Section "ServerLayout"] remove/comment out [InputDevice "touchpad" "CorePointer"]
4. In [Section "ServerLayout"] modify [InputDevice "USBMouse" "SendCoreEvents"] to read [InputDevice "USBMouse" "CorePointer"]

You may need to add [Load "name-of-nvidia-driver"] to [Section "Module"] but I don't think so.

Posted by Unknown User on April 08 2007,07:18

In fact I have touchpad, but it not work even in windows.

Edit: It worked, NVIDIA logo appeared, BUT mouse didn't. Maybe because I have touchpad, but I still copied what you wrote.

Posted by Juanito on April 08 2007,07:28

Quote

How do I open the XF86 log -file?

Navigate to /var/log using emelFM, highlight the file with XFree86 in it's name, right-click and select "view".

Quote

In fact I have touchpad.

What kind of touchpad - Alps, Synaptics, or? What kind mouse do you have - USB, PS/2, or?

Posted by Unknown User on April 08 2007,07:30

Quote (Juanito @ April 08 2007,10:28)

Quote

How do I open the XF86 log -file?

Navigate to /var/log using emelFM, highlight the file with XFree86 in it's name, right-click and select "view".

Quote

In fact I have touchpad.

What kind of touchpad - Alps, Synaptics, or?

It is synaptics and mouse is USB Logitech wireless.

Posted by Juanito on April 08 2007,08:32

For the synaptics touchpad to work, you will need to download the synaptics driver from < here > and copy it to /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/input/

After that you will could try this in XF86Config-4:

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "Default Screen"
InputDevice "Generic Keyboard"
InputDevice "touchpad" "AlwaysCore"
InputDevice "USBMouse" "CorePointer"
EndSection

I don't think that both the mouse and touchpad can have [Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"] so you could try either:

a. change that line in the touchpad section to [Option "Device" "/dev/input/mouse1"]
or
b. change that line in the mouse section to [Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"]

Finally, you can put back [Load "synaptics"] in the modules section.

Posted by Unknown User on April 08 2007,08:57

OMG!!! It's working!!! So how do I change the right resolution?

Posted by Juanito on April 08 2007,09:33

Quote

OMG!!! It's working!!!

'Glad to hear it - does that mean the display, touchpad and mouse are all working?

Quote

So how do I change the right resolution?

What resolution is the display using at the moment?

I do not have my XF86Config-4 set up to use more than one resolution as I never bothered to find out how you could swap between resolutions. You could always just state one resolution in your XF86Config-4 file, eg:

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Device "NVIDIA Corporation NV34M [GeForce FX Go 5200]"
Monitor "Generic Monitor"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Posted by Unknown User on April 08 2007,09:39

Display is using at the moment 1024x768 but I want 1400x900. Mouse and display are working but touchpad isn't, because it's broken.

Edit: I tried to change the resolution, but it only changed color depth...

Posted by Juanito on April 08 2007,10:13

I assume you edited [Section "Screen"] and changed [Modes "1024x768"] to [Modes "1400x900"] and it didn't work.

Without having a nvidia card to check, all I can suggest is:

1. Check that the nvidia XF86 driver can support more than 1024x768 - it's perhaps not a coincidence that your original XF86Config-4 file did not contain a resolution higher than this.
2. Check your nvidia card has enough memory to support 1400x900.
3. Check your display can support 1400x900.

Posted by Unknown User on April 08 2007,10:32

Ok. Thank you very much.