Monitor not at native resolution - Xubuntu 16.04
 

I recently downloaded Xubuntu 16.04 LTS and I'm having an impossible time getting my screen to render at its native resolution of 1280*1024.

The computer is an old Lenovo M55e with a Core2Duo E4500 with onboard Intel Graphics. The chipset is Intel 946GZ Express. According to the Intel Graphics for Linux website, this chipset is supported.

The monitor is an old BenQ T701.

I used the suggestions given here and was able to edit the /etc/lsb-release file to convince the Intel Graphics Installer that I was using 15.10 wily. The Intel Graphics Installer completed successfully and prompted me to reboot. Before rebooting, I restored the original /etc/lsb-release file.

Upon rebooting, I still cannot set the monitor to its native resolution of 1280*1024. It is still at 1024*768. I have tried other monitors with the same resolution and higher resolutions and still have the same problem. The max resolution I can select is 1024*768.

Does anyone know how to correct this problem?

The command "sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg" used to give the option to change the screen resolution, but I'm not sure if this is the case anymore. Might still be worth a try, though.

Unfortunately, that doesn't solve the problem... resolution still 1024x768

The driver is in two parts, kernel driver and Xorg driver. How the first one is loading can be sen in dmesg, while Xorg driver loading can be seen in ... you guessed it, in Xorg log. It looks like generic VESA driver is used, Intel driver must have some sort of failure.

Found something here that may help: http://www.tuxradar.com/answers/445

Thanks very much for the link. It took me quite a bit of work to get to the point of editing the xorg.conf file. In 16.04 the xorg.conf file apparently no longer exists; first, you have to log in as root, run X -configure and then copy the file from root with cp /root/xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf

After copying as above, I was eventually able to edit the xorg.conf file. The original xorg.conf file had the following section:

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Unknown"
VendorName "Unknown"
EndSection

I found two references via Google which quoted the HorizSync and VertRefresh and so edited the above section to:

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor1"
VendorName "Unknown"
ModelName "BenQ T701"
HorizSync 31.0 - 81.0
VertRefresh 56.0 - 75.0
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Unfortunately, now, the login screen never appears. After selecting Xubuntu in Grub, the screen goes black with a blinking cursor at top left with no prompt.

In trying to solve this whole issue, it seems that the big problem is that the old monitor does not provided Extended Display Identification Data and so Linux never gets the info to provide proper resolution options. When you combine this with the ancient intel graphics chipset that my computer has, it seems to be unrealistic to get this to work.

I have to get a new monitor anyhow, so maybe I'll try again with that.

Thanks again for the link... at least I now know what I'm up against.

Missing EDID is not a showstopper, it can be overridden.

I'll see what happens with a new monitor--I have to get one anyway.

I've spent over two days trying to get this to work, and can't afford to spend so much time just to get the screen resolution correct. Hopefully with a new monitor things will go smoother.

Well, good luck. In case generic VESA driver is in use (as I suspected) replacing the monitor will not fix your issue. I'd look at logs as I recommended instead of "spending two days" and "getting new monitor". But this is your computer and your time ...