Set graphic card refresh rate

Forum: Other Help Topics
Topic: Set graphic card refresh rate
started by: orisoncek

Posted by orisoncek on May 03 2006,07:57

How could I set refresh rate to 85 Hz,by default goes to 60 Hz . Graphic card Ati rage pro II,monitor Crt 15 inch. Under windoze works fine at 1024x768 85 Hz.
Thanks

Posted by kerry on May 03 2006,08:10

I read, in xvesa it's set and can't be changed, you would have to install XFree86 to do that.

Posted by orisoncek on May 03 2006,15:31

Thanks Kerry,but I am newbie ;-( . Could you please guide me step by step...What is XFree86 ? TNX

Posted by mikshaw on May 03 2006,18:10

XFree86 is an alternative X server to the tiny one included with DSL. The X server allows you to run graphical applications in unix-like systems.

for installing XFree86 on DSL
< http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub....sl.info >
The actual XFree86.dsl package is in this same directory as the info file, or can be downloaded and installed through the MyDSL system.
< http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/Installing_MyDSL_Extensions >

Posted by orisoncek on May 03 2006,21:46

Guys thank you very much for your help,but this exceeds my abilities ;-(((
I just wanted to reincarnate an old celeron 366/128Mb/3 Gb. Suse 9.1 worked well, but was tooooo slow. I would use this machine for internet(cable 128/64k) only.
Any idea ? Just don´t send me to microsoft back :angry:

Tnx Jan

Posted by kerry on May 03 2006,21:50

You could try the knoppix cheat codes see this thread->
< http://damnsmalllinux.org/cgi-bin....t=13193 >

Posted by mikshaw on May 03 2006,22:48

If you want opinions on other distros, Slackware will run ok on that box....just use Fluxbox or some other lightweight window manager instead of KDE. Fortunately you have a decent amount of ram, which should help balance with the slower processor.

Honestly, though, installing XFree on DSL is pretty easy, and should work fine with 128mb. It comes with some example config files for various hardware.

Posted by clacker on May 04 2006,02:01

Quote (orisoncek @ May 03 2006,17:46)

Guys thank you very much for your help,but this exceeds my abilities ;-(((
...
Tnx Jan

Jan, are you so sure this exceeds your abilities? It's not that hard.

First open Firefox, right click on this link for the < XFree86.dsl > file, and choose "Save Link As" to save the file. You could also download it some other way and place it in a drive that dsl can access. Open emelfm from it's icon on the desktop, select the XFree86.dsl file by clicking on it once and hit the MyDSL button (the one in the middle on the top). You can close emelfm now.

Click on the ATerminal icon in the upper left corner of the screen. Copy and paste these two lines into that window. To copy a line select it by left clicking and dragging the cursor over the text. Paste the text into the terminal window by placing the cursor over that window and pressing the middle mouse button. Hit the enter key after each paste.

cp XFree86_config_files/.xserverrc_for_XF86 .xserverrc
sudo cp XFree86_config_files/XF86Config-4_vesa /etc/X11/XF86Config-4

Now right click on a clear area of the screen and choose Window Manager->Exit. When you are in the text screen that results type startx and it should bring you back. If that fails, you can always type xsetup.sh and startx and you can get back to where you were before. Chances are that much work will be enough. One download, two pastes, a menu choice, and typing startx certainly isn't more than you're capable of.

If that worked for you, and your refresh rate still looks too slow, you can try changing the refresh rate. Click on the ATerminal icon again, type sudo beaver and then open the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file. Scroll down to the bottom and in the Section "Monitor" section you can uncomment the line for VertRefresh and change the high end to what you need. Do a filesave and again chose Window Manager->Exit from the right click menu. Type startx again and you should be all set. Of course it's possible that the refresh rate was good for you before this last step.

It's not that much work. After you get your feet wet, you can play around with other settings and improving things. Just don't push your monitor farther than it was designed to go.