what are the exact refresh-rates dsl uses?

Forum: X and Fluxbox
Topic: what are the exact refresh-rates dsl uses?
started by: keeperofthekeys

Posted by keeperofthekeys on May 15 2005,16:26

I usually use DSL for testing purposes, this to great satisfaction.
Now recently I have installed Debian/testing (at the moment aka sarge) on an old laptop someone gave to me. But now I am trying to set up X and having great trouble to get the screen to function correctly.
The laptop is an AMS Roadster 15CTA, online there is one site about installing linux on this very laptop, but their refreshrates for some reason don't work for me.
Now when booting DSL on the same laptop it works fine, but I cannot find the used refreshrates because I can't find the X config file.
Can anyone tell me what they are?

Posted by ke4nt1 on May 15 2005,17:08

60 hz.

Posted by keeperofthekeys on May 15 2005,17:28

60Hz is vertical, I also need horizontal, that's the part which is messing me up at the moment.

Posted by keeperofthekeys on May 15 2005,19:20

Could it be that DSL does not always report exactly accuratly what it boots for X?
It would seem to be from all the research I have been doing the past hours that the laptop I have here would never be capable of booting 1024x768x32 as DSL reports it's doing. This because of several reasons, first of all the TFT/LCD only goes up to 800x600, second of all it would seem that the memory available to the Video Card, 2MB, is not nearly sufficient to provide such a resolution.

Posted by SaidinUnleashed on May 15 2005,20:51

Default X settings are 1024x768x32.

There is no X config file. Xvesa/Xfbdev is completely controlled by command line flags.

Also, it only does one refresh rate - 60Hz, and I'm not sure it does horizontal refreshing.

Whenever I use it on a screen that doesn't like 60Hz, there is just horizontal flickering.

Posted by keeperofthekeys on May 15 2005,20:58

So is it possible that DSL reports running at it's default whereas it really changed to a lower mode?

Posted by cbagger01 on May 16 2005,17:25

DSL uses VESA 2.0 standard graphics modes.

It does not set the vertical or horizontal refresh rates.

These are set by the video card's VESA BIOS program.

Typically, they are 60Hz for horizontal and vertical according to the standard defined for that display resolution.

Try a lower resolution like:

dsl vga=normal xsetup

and then choose xvesa and a lower resolution like 800x600x16bit

Posted by keeperofthekeys on May 16 2005,19:03

In DSL graphics work fine even without passing any special parameters at boot-time, however it seems to be that they are not working at the setting DSL reports to have chosen, ie. 1024x768x32.
So my hunch is that eventough DSL says it's working @1024x768x32 it is actually only working @800x600x16 because that appears to be the max. my laptop display can pull off, or are the settings I am attempting just not good and is it possible to run my screen @1024x768x32?

Posted by cbagger01 on May 17 2005,21:51

Your laptop may support 1024x768x32 when it is plugged into an external monitor, yet it may be limited if you are running from the internal display.

Posted by sega01 on May 21 2005,01:54

is there anyway to change the hertz inside dsl? i just got a huge 21 inch crt for 20 bucks at a garage sale, except the herz rating in dsl isnt high enough for it.

Posted by cbagger01 on May 21 2005,04:33

If you carefully follow the instructions and install the XFree86.dsl extension, you should be able to adjust the refresh rate inside the XFConfig-4 file.

Posted by sega01 on May 21 2005,13:05

ok, will do.

Posted by cbagger01 on May 22 2005,16:19

Oops.

Meant to say:

XF86Config-4

file.