Samsung SyncMaster 793MB refresh rate problem
 

Dear Friends,
I'm facing a peculiar problem with my Samsung SyncMaster 793MB monitor on Suse 10.0.
The problem is with my refresh rate. I'm currently using my display at 1280 x 1024 @ 60 Hz, and trust me, this is not a treat for the eyes as the display keeps on flickering slightly.
I've tried my best to increase the refresh rate to 65 Hz (my monitor supports 1280 x 1024 @ 65 Hz), but to no avail.
When I go to the control centre, I don't get 65 Hz as an option, and when I go to the 'configure desktop' option, even then there's no 65 Hz in sight.
Is there a solution?
(I have a dual boot system, and my windows runs on 1152 x 864 smoothly. I also can't use the boring 1024 x 768 option.)
Please help before I go blind! :P
Thank you all in advance...
Cheers.

:(
 

Anyone? Please?

Have you tried running sax2?

Hi Jay,
Thanks for the reply... but what is sax2? I'm sorry I sound lame, but I'm still new to Linux...

So I assume you haven't installed any video drivers yet? Unless they were installed by Suse, you could well be using a generic driver - that would account more for the poor display quality than the refresh rate if you ask me.

Now, this sax2 is a command that allows you to set up your GPU and monitor. Just type (+enter after each command):
su -
root password
sax2

Then you should be able to do some fine-tuning. When you're done, just reboot and see whether it has helped any.

As it comes out, it was sax2 that I had been trying to use before too.
It displays the same data;
Card: Intel 915G
Monitor: SAMSUNG SYNCMASTER 793MB
What do I do next?

As a next option, you could try adjusting the refresh rates manually.

Have a look at the xorg.conf file under /etc/X11 to find out what horizontal and vertical refresh rates are currentlly being used. Compare those with what your monitor actually supports. I suppose you should have 65 vertical. Just edit the xorg.conf file accordingly(but don't set the values too high, or you'll lose your display!) and save it before your reboot.

Hello,
If you have got to sax2 then go to frequencies and confirm that suse got your scan frequencies correct..I looked up your monitor and I found that the Horiz should be 30-70KHZ and the vertical should be 50-160HZ.. look over all the parameters in sax including size and color depth and make sure nothing looks out of order..Also double check your video card settings to see if sax got the correct model listed..
Goodluck,
jolphil:twocents:

I'm sorry for being such a pain in the ass, but thanks guys.
Here's my xorg.conf file:
Section "Monitor"
Option "CalcAlgorithm" "XServerPool"
DisplaySize 310 230
HorizSync 30-71
Identifier "Monitor[0]"
ModelName "SYNCMASTER 793 MB"
Option "DPMS"
VendorName "SAMSUNG"
VertRefresh 50-160
UseModes "Modes[0]"
EndSection


Section "Modes"
Identifier "Modes[0]"
EndSection


Section "Screen"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1280x1024" "1280x960" "1280x800" "1152x864" "1280x768" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1280x1024" "1280x960" "1280x800" "1152x864" "1280x768" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1280x960" "1280x800" "1152x864" "1280x768" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 32
Modes "1280x1024" "1280x960" "1280x800" "1152x864" "1280x768" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1280x1024" "1280x960" "1280x800" "1152x864" "1280x768" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
Device "Device[0]"
Identifier "Screen[0]"
Monitor "Monitor[0]"
EndSection


Section "Device"
BoardName "915 G"
BusID "0:2:0"
Driver "i810"
Identifier "Device[0]"
Screen 0
VendorName "Intel"
EndSection


Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Layout[all]"
InputDevice "Keyboard[0]" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse[1]" "CorePointer"
Option "Clone" "off"
Option "Xinerama" "off"
Screen "Screen[0]"
EndSection

Section "DRI"
Group "video"
Mode 0660
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
EndSection

Now, what I want to ask (just to make sure I dont loose my display or anything), do I have to add some lines below the:
Section "Modes"
Identifier "Modes[0]"
??
If yes, then do I type them and save them in the same format as in the section "Monitor" ?

Thanks a lot guys... I'll look forward to your replies.
And to jolphil, well, thanks man, I've checked all information. The Graphics driver is correct, and so is the monitor. And you're right about the rates you've mentioned. Thanks!

hello again,
I take it your MB has an onboard video chip?
I am only guessing at this point but two things come to mind(what little is left)..
First it looks as though your monitor uses a 4/3 aspect ratio..I would try the 1024x768 ratio to see if that helps increase the refresh choices..
If no good, go into your bios and see if your video chip is allocated enough shared memory..(At least 64kb)
After that I am out of ideas..
BTW if I remember correctly,sax will also let you fiddle with the aspect ratio..worth a try..
Goodluck,
jolphil:twocents:

But what changes will I need to make to my xorg.conf file to get my display to run at 1280x1024 @ 65 Hz? Or 1152x864 @ 75 Hz? I can definitely settle for 1152x864 @ 75 Hz, as my monitor manual says that its safest to use 1152x864 @ 75 Hz as it causes least eye strain.
Thanks guys.

If you use sax2, then you shouldn't have to worry about xorg.conf: it appears to get ignored on values that were set using sax2. For example, my Suse had some trouble with the monitor during install so xorg.conf set rather modest values; I raised them considerably after installign a video driver and although xorg.conf still shows the original low values, I do get the higher ones set using sax2.

Ummm...
But there's no option left for me but to edit the xorg.conf file. My sax2 dialog shows nothing about 1152x864 pixels, and there are no options about frequency other than 60 Hz... :(
I don't think sax2 is going to help me here... and the only way to get things right is by editing the xorg.conf file.
Back to my previous question: What do I add to my xorg.conf file to get things working on 1152x864 @ 75 Hz? My windows runs perfectly on the same res.

I started my suse 10 box and went into sax2..I have a old 17inch mag monitor with an nvidia fx5600 agp card and the Nvidia driver installed..similar to yours except the video chip and driver..I would try
to go into sax2 again but instead of useing the samsung selection use the vesa one..BUT and a big BUT you must set the scan frequencies(H=30-70KHZ)(V=50-160HZ) be sure to verify those as you can fry your monitor if you put in wrong numbers..
Then see if you can get the resolution/refresh rate selection you want..If you make a selection be sure to TEST it and make any fine adjustments(size and centering)..It will ask you to save the configuration, do save it and either end the session or reboot..If you cannot satisfy your test, change it back to where you started and save that setting..
Please keep in mind the 1280x1024 resolution is the monitor very maximum...If you save sax settings you do not need to edit xorg.conf...
If the selection you seek is not listed then the only obvious difference I think,would be the graphics device you system has..Did you respond as to what was you graphics chip, the I810 suggests it is an onboard Intel video device with limited performance..
again goodluck
jolphil:twocentEdit heres what I mean aboutlinited performance...

The Intel 8xx and 9xx families of integrated graphics chipsets has a unified memory architecture and uses system memory for video ram. For the i810 and i815 family of chipset, operating system support for allocating system memory for video use is required in order to use this driver. For the 830M and later, this is required in order for the driver to use more video ram than has been pre-allocated at boot time by the BIOS. This is usually achieved with an "agpgart" or "agp" kernel driver. Linux, and recent versions of FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD have such kernel drivers available.

By default 8 Megabytes of system memory are used for graphics. For the 830M and later, the default is 8 Megabytes when DRI is not enabled and 32 Megabytes with DRI is enabled. This amount may be changed with the VideoRam entry in the config file Device section. It may be set to any reasonable value up to 64MB for older chipsets or 128MB for newer chipets. It is advisable to check the Xorg log file to check if any features have been disabled because of insufficient video memory. In particular, DRI support or tiling mode may be disabled with insufficient video memory. Either of these being disabled will reduce performance for 3D applications. Note however, that increasing this value too much will reduce the amount of system memory available for other applications.

Well... I think I should give up on this...
I tried that Vesa thing, but it seems like my PC know what I want and does not want to give that to me.
None of the monitors I selected there offered what I wanted. I first selected a monitor: 1152x864@75 Hz. I then looked everywhere for a 1152x864 setting, but it was nowhere to be found. Instead, my desktop started running on 1024x768@85.
Then I also selected other resolutions, but my pc never let me switch to what I wanted. I never found 1152x864@75 as an option anywhere... And there were no options with the frequency as well... :(
I don't know what to do... :(

Maybe we could make some suggestions if we actually got to see your xorg.conf file. Why not post it here?

Btw, just which are you trying to adjust from sax2, the monitor, the videocard, both?

I've been trying to adjust only the monitor as of now...
Here's my xorg.conf file:
# /.../
# SaX generated X11 config file
# Created on: 2007-03-09T07:13:07+0530.
#
# Version: 7.1
# Contact: Marcus Schaefer <sax@suse.de>, 2002
#
# Automatically generated by [ISaX] (7.1)
# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE!
#

Section "Files"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/local"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/URW"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/PEX"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin7/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/baekmuk:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/japanese:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/kwintv"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/truetype"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/uni:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/CID"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/ucs/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/ucs/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/ucs/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/hellas/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/hellas/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/hellas/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/hellas/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/sgi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/xtest"
FontPath "/opt/kde3/share/fonts"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS0"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS1"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS2"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS3"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS4"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS5"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS6"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS7"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS8"
InputDevices "/dev/psaux"
InputDevices "/dev/logibm"
InputDevices "/dev/sunmouse"
InputDevices "/dev/atibm"
InputDevices "/dev/amigamouse"
InputDevices "/dev/atarimouse"
InputDevices "/dev/inportbm"
InputDevices "/dev/gpmdata"
InputDevices "/dev/mouse"
InputDevices "/dev/usbmouse"
InputDevices "/dev/adbmouse"
InputDevices "/dev/input/mice"
InputDevices "/dev/input/event0"
InputDevices "/dev/pointer0"
InputDevices "/dev/pointer1"
InputDevices "/dev/pointer2"
InputDevices "/dev/pointer3"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
Option "AllowMouseOpenFail"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "freetype"
Load "type1"
Load "dbe"
Load "glx"
Load "extmod"
Load "v4l"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "kbd"
Identifier "Keyboard[0]"
Option "Protocol" "Standard"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
Option "XkbModel" "pc104"
Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
EndSection


Section "InputDevice"
Driver "mouse"
Identifier "Mouse[1]"
Option "Buttons" "5"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Name" "ImPS/2 Logitech Wheel Mouse"
Option "Protocol" "explorerps/2"
Option "Vendor" "Sysp"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection


Section "Monitor"
Option "CalcAlgorithm" "XServerPool"
DisplaySize 345 259
HorizSync 31-70
Identifier "Monitor[0]"
ModelName "1152X864@75HZ"
VendorName "--> VESA"
VertRefresh 50-75
UseModes "Modes[0]"
EndSection


Section "Modes"
Identifier "Modes[0]"
EndSection


Section "Screen"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 32
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
Device "Device[0]"
Identifier "Screen[0]"
Monitor "Monitor[0]"
EndSection


Section "Device"
BoardName "915 G"
BusID "0:2:0"
Driver "i810"
Identifier "Device[0]"
Screen 0
VendorName "Intel"
EndSection


Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Layout[all]"
InputDevice "Keyboard[0]" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse[1]" "CorePointer"
Option "Clone" "off"
Option "Xinerama" "off"
Screen "Screen[0]"
EndSection

Section "DRI"
Group "video"
Mode 0660
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
EndSection

By the way, thank you so much guys... I really appreciate your help and time... :)

OK, first make a backup if you haven't done so yet:

cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak

As a first step I suggest you remove the Modes section or, even better, comment it out (i.e. place a # before each line of that specific section; such lines are ignored by the sytem; if you need them back, you just remove the # again - that's a bit more convenient than retyping the lines).

Also comment the UseModes line under section Monitor (only that one line, not the whole section!).

Adjust the vertRefresh rate; I believe jolphil pointed out you could go as high as 160 with this monitor.

That's it for now. In case it still doesn't help, I'm in the middle of reinstalling my own Suse; I should be able to get more specific after that.

Hello,
Looks like we may be whipping a dead horse..I don't recall
if you mentioned whether this computer is a tower or a laptop..Unless one of the guru's can suggest something else,
I can only offer,if you can buy or borrow a dedicated video card to try may shed some light as to the problem..Of course you would have to set the bios to allow the new card to have priority over the onboard card...Thats not difficult though..
Other than that I am fresh out of ideas..
I will keep thinking about your problem and If I get a brainstorm i will post it but don't hold you breath..
Goodluck,
jolphil:twocents:
Edit: jay73 has some good suggestions but keep in mind that the max vert. refresh is dictated by hardware and your selected resolution/colordepth etc..not 160hz..Thats the max of the monitor only under specific conditions..

FYI. You can add different resolutions in SaX. You can instead use the gtf program to generate modelines.
gtf 1152 864 70 -x
The above lines will generate a modeline for 1152x864 at 70hz refresh rate.
I would recommend removing the ".00" from the end of the label. I.E. "1152x864@70.00" -> "1152x864@70".
If you have a Modelines section, add it there. Otherwise add it to the monitor section.

Monitor + Graphics controller
 

Hi ashesh.

In configuring video hardware are some things that are, well, like boulders when you are doing landscaping. There just there and you have to deal with them

The first thing is your graphics controller --whether it's a card or onboard, it can only pump out the signal range it was designed to pump out.

Second is the monitor: it can only receive and display within the signal range for which it was designed.

Looking at the specs for Samsung SyncMaster 793MB, I see it is a 17" flat-screen CRT monitor. According to Samsung, it's maximum screen resolution is 1280x1024 at 65Hz. But the recommended res is 1024x768 at 85Hz

http://www.samsung.com/Products/Moni...Specifications


However, since the screen res you want lies between those figures, it is possible to adjust your xorg.conf file to get what you want.

I'll post this message to give you some hope, then do the calculations and get back to you!
:)

Good information SilverBear2006,
I noticed right off that your specs show 96khz horizontal
scan frequrncy whereas i looked on line and found 70khz..
I wonder which is correct? Ashesh may have to check his book to determine the correct value and if that may make a significant difference..
Do you think his video chip has enough oomph(techincally speaking grin) to reach what he desires? I guess try and see at this point..not a lot to lose trying for it..
jolphil
edit: take a peek at this site http://intellinuxgraphics.org/man.html

Hi jolphil!
:)
I downloaded the manual from Samsung now, and that's got to be as close as we can get without putting it on a test bench, right? :p
It specifies:
Horizontal 30 ~ 70 kHz
Vertical 50 ~ 160 Hz


I'd like to see if he has the xorg.conf.bak that Jay73 suggested he make. I'd rather help him edit that than mess with the saX generated thing.

I computed a modeline for him
# 1152x864 @ 75.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 67.65 kHz; pclk: 104.99 MHz
Modeline "1152x864_75.00" 104.99 1152 1224 1352 1552 864 865 868 902 -HSync +Vsync

which looks to me to be inside the specs the manual sets.

Hey, Ashesh: get back to us and we'll get into more details, OK?
I'm sure we can get you where you want to be.
:D

Manual
 

BTW, I got that at:
http://org.downloadcenter.samsung.co...362A-00Eng.pdf

if you want to double-check things. His monitor model is about 2/3 of the way down in the document.

I run FC, so this may or may not apply. Livna (the non standard repo for FC) just released a new nvidia module for FC. It fixed a bunch of problems for refresh rates and resolutions (1440x900 @76,60 etc). I assume that means that a lot of the problem was nvidias driver and that they have released a new linux version. Maybe this would help you situation as well.

Good Luck
Lazlow

Yep thats what I saw..Your post Sounds like a plan to me..
Hope ashesh gets it going..At least everyone is trying
to help as best they can..
jolphil:)

That's what it's all about, right? :)
Being able to take control of as powerful and advanced a tool as a computer is not easy. Those of us who are grateful that we got help understanding at least some of the benefits of Linux can do no less than to pass it on. . .

But, yeah, Jolphil, I have no doubts we can have him going away happy on this one!

"Strangers on this road we are on. . .?
We are not two --we are one."
-- Dave Davies, Founder/Lead Guitarist of The Kinks

Hey guys, I'm sorry for the late reply... Thank you all so much!
I'm getting back home in a while, I'll try out everything each one of you has suggested... after all, your help has made it all make sense at last!
Thank you so much. I'll keep you updated. Please keep looking out for my reply.

Well, I've posted my xorg.conf file here in this thread itself. Can anyone of you tell me exactly what I have to and should do, without losing my display?
Moreover, here's my xorg.conf again:
# /.../
# SaX generated X11 config file
# Created on: 2007-03-11T10:59:01+0530.
#
# Version: 7.1
# Contact: Marcus Schaefer <sax@suse.de>, 2002
#
# Automatically generated by [ISaX] (7.1)
# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE!
#

Section "Files"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/local"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/URW"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/PEX"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin7/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/baekmuk:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/japanese:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/kwintv"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/truetype"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/uni:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/CID"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/ucs/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/ucs/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/ucs/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/hellas/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/hellas/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/hellas/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/hellas/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/sgi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/xtest"
FontPath "/opt/kde3/share/fonts"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS0"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS1"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS2"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS3"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS4"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS5"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS6"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS7"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS8"
InputDevices "/dev/psaux"
InputDevices "/dev/logibm"
InputDevices "/dev/sunmouse"
InputDevices "/dev/atibm"
InputDevices "/dev/amigamouse"
InputDevices "/dev/atarimouse"
InputDevices "/dev/inportbm"
InputDevices "/dev/gpmdata"
InputDevices "/dev/mouse"
InputDevices "/dev/usbmouse"
InputDevices "/dev/adbmouse"
InputDevices "/dev/input/mice"
InputDevices "/dev/input/event0"
InputDevices "/dev/pointer0"
InputDevices "/dev/pointer1"
InputDevices "/dev/pointer2"
InputDevices "/dev/pointer3"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
Option "AllowMouseOpenFail"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "extmod"
Load "glx"
Load "v4l"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "kbd"
Identifier "Keyboard[0]"
Option "Protocol" "Standard"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
Option "XkbModel" "pc104"
Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
EndSection


Section "InputDevice"
Driver "mouse"
Identifier "Mouse[1]"
Option "Buttons" "5"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Name" "ImPS/2 Logitech Wheel Mouse"
Option "Protocol" "explorerps/2"
Option "Vendor" "Sysp"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection


Section "Monitor"
Option "CalcAlgorithm" "XServerPool"
DisplaySize 345 259
HorizSync 30-71
Identifier "Monitor[0]"
ModelName "SYNCMASTER 793 MB"
Option "DPMS"
VendorName "SAMSUNG"
VertRefresh 50-160
UseModes "Modes[0]"
EndSection


Section "Modes"
Identifier "Modes[0]"
EndSection


Section "Screen"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 32
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
Device "Device[0]"
Identifier "Screen[0]"
Monitor "Monitor[0]"
EndSection


Section "Device"
BoardName "915 G"
BusID "0:2:0"
Driver "i810"
Identifier "Device[0]"
Screen 0
VendorName "Intel"
EndSection


Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Layout[all]"
InputDevice "Keyboard[0]" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse[1]" "CorePointer"
Option "Clone" "off"
Option "Xinerama" "off"
Screen "Screen[0]"
EndSection

Section "DRI"
Group "video"
Mode 0660
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
EndSection

Kindly tell me where and what do I need to add...
I'm sorry for being such a pain in the ass guys. I'm very very thankful for all the help you've offered... Thank you!

# /.../
# SaX generated X11 config file
# Created on: 2007-03-11T10:59:01+0530.
#
# Version: 7.1
# Contact: Marcus Schaefer <sax@suse.de>, 2002
#
# Automatically generated by [ISaX] (7.1)
# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE!
#

Section "Files"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/local"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/URW"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/PEX"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin7/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/baekmuk:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/japanese:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/kwintv"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/truetype"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/uni:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/CID"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/ucs/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/ucs/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/ucs/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/hellas/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/hellas/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/hellas/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/hellas/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/sgi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/xtest"
FontPath "/opt/kde3/share/fonts"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS0"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS1"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS2"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS3"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS4"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS5"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS6"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS7"
InputDevices "/dev/ttyS8"
InputDevices "/dev/psaux"
InputDevices "/dev/logibm"
InputDevices "/dev/sunmouse"
InputDevices "/dev/atibm"
InputDevices "/dev/amigamouse"
InputDevices "/dev/atarimouse"
InputDevices "/dev/inportbm"
InputDevices "/dev/gpmdata"
InputDevices "/dev/mouse"
InputDevices "/dev/usbmouse"
InputDevices "/dev/adbmouse"
InputDevices "/dev/input/mice"
InputDevices "/dev/input/event0"
InputDevices "/dev/pointer0"
InputDevices "/dev/pointer1"
InputDevices "/dev/pointer2"
InputDevices "/dev/pointer3"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
Option "AllowMouseOpenFail"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "extmod"
Load "glx"
Load "v4l"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "kbd"
Identifier "Keyboard[0]"
Option "Protocol" "Standard"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
Option "XkbModel" "pc104"
Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
EndSection


Section "InputDevice"
Driver "mouse"
Identifier "Mouse[1]"
Option "Buttons" "5"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Name" "ImPS/2 Logitech Wheel Mouse"
Option "Protocol" "explorerps/2"
Option "Vendor" "Sysp"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection


Section "Monitor"
Option "CalcAlgorithm" "XServerPool"
DisplaySize 345 259
HorizSync 30-71
Identifier "Monitor[0]"
ModelName "SYNCMASTER 793 MB"
Option "DPMS"
VendorName "SAMSUNG"
VertRefresh 50-160
UseModes "Modes[0]"
EndSection


Section "Modes"
Identifier "Modes[0]"
EndSection


Section "Screen"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 32
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
Device "Device[0]"
Identifier "Screen[0]"
Monitor "Monitor[0]"
EndSection


Section "Device"
BoardName "915 G"
BusID "0:2:0"
Driver "i810"
Identifier "Device[0]"
Screen 0
VendorName "Intel"
EndSection


Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Layout[all]"
InputDevice "Keyboard[0]" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse[1]" "CorePointer"
Option "Clone" "off"
Option "Xinerama" "off"
Screen "Screen[0]"
EndSection

Section "DRI"
Group "video"
Mode 0660
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
EndSection

1. See if you have gtf on your system. If not it should be available from your packet manager.

2. In this example I will generate a modline for 1440 X 900 @ 60

[fred@127 ~]$ gtf 1440 900 60

# 1440x900 @ 60.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 55.92 kHz; pclk: 106.47 MHz
Modeline "1440x900_60.00" 106.47 1440 1520 1672 1904 900 901 904 932 -HSync +Vsync
3. Insert the generated modline in the section similar to this:

Section "Monitor"
#HorizSync 31.5 - 100.0
#VertRefresh 56.0 - 75.0
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Unknown"
ModelName "Unknown"
ModeLine "1440x900_75" 136.8 1440 1536 1688 1936 900 901 904 940 -hsync +vsync
ModeLine "1440x900_60" 106.5 1440 1520 1672 1904 900 901 904 932 -hsync +vsync
Option "DPMS"
EndSection


4. Add your resolutions similar to this:

SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1440x900_75"
EndSubSection

5. Save xorg.conf

restart xserver

xorg.conf adjustment
 

Hi, ashesh.

In the xorg.conf you posted for us, it would seem to me that the modeline needs to go in this section:
So it would look line this:
IMHO, it's a very good practice to include the comment line that the gtf utility generates, as it contains the settings data you need to compare to your monitor specs to make certain you're not going to fry it.

You already have the "Screen" section set to include "1152x864" so make this one change and you should be able to choose your display setting of 1152x864 from the GUI after you restart the xserver [Ctl-alt-backspace] on most Linux distros.

It will probably go right into your preferred res, as we are only giving it one preferred option.

If this doesn't do it, we'll all be standing by. But let us know, OK?

All the best,
SilverBear

You probably know this already, but just in case:
you need to edit the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file as root, with a text editor, not a wordprocessor.
If you're not root, it won't let you save the file to the /etc directory, as all the files in there are owned by root.

To get to be root and into editing the file, here's what I would do, since I'm running KDE. At the command line prompt $:
kdesu kwrite /etc/X11/xorg.conf
you'll be prompted for your root password, and then kwrite will open the file as with superuser [root] privileges.

In gnome, instead of kdesu, you use gtksu and then whatever editor you have installed instead of kwrite.

Well, I tried exactly what you told me to SilverBear2006, but no, it's still not working...
Thank you all for so much help...
What do we do next?

You could try generating a new xorg.conf from the command line. Before doing so, make sure you have a proper back-up of your current one because it will get overwritten in the process.

cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak

When you're done change to runlevel 3:

su -
root password
init 3

then run this command:
/usr/bin/xorgcfg (or /usr/bin/xorgconfig - I think both will work)

Follow the instructions; I think they're clear and intuitive.

Don't worry if you don't get it right straightaway; you can always start over. If you can't get into Gnome/KDE anymore, you can simply boot into runlevel three by adding this to your boot line in Grub:

3

that's all, really.

If it doesn't work and you need to recover your old display, you place back your xorg.conf.bak:

cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak /etc/X11/xorg.conf

I'm afraid this approach is pretty much the last option so I hope it helps.

Try what Jay73 suggests.

Additional thought:
I used to use SuSE 10.0 but I don't have an install of it right now to check this out with.
I seem to remember that the installation disk had a lot of "configuration" and "repair-installation" options.

If you could use your SuSE install disk to reinstall an authentic SuSE xorg.conf [without affecting anything else], we might get somewhere with that. I have never worked with saX before, and I think that the xorg.conf file it left you with it has just muddied the picture.

Hello again,

I just read this article and while it is a bit dated is very similar to the symptons ashesh0326 is having...
Please read this and add your comments..

http://users.netwit.net.au/~pursang/intel.html

BTW ashesh, what is your motherboard chipset and your system memory? Edit I just read 915 chipset but how much system memory?
jolphil:twocents:

[ignore me]

Hi guys,
I'm sorry for my late response, I haven't been at home for the past few days.
BTW, jolphil, I have 512 MB of RAM... please let me know of any further details.
Thank you so much for the help people. I'll go through the link you've specified and let you know if it helped.
jay73: Well, thanks man. I tried what you said, but whenever I did, my system returned some 'server crash error message'. I'll be posting the details about that soon.

Thanks all.

Hi ashesh

You shouldn't be overly impressed with the whole "server crash" business, it sounds way worse than it is. Please do post more detail about the exact error message, that would be extremely useful. I wouldn't be surprised if it were simply a matter of not choosing the best available option during xorgcfg.

Note: if you followed my suggestions, you can always use your back-up if you want to avoid the server crash.

Hi guys,
I'm sincerely very sorry for the delay in my response, I couldn't help the situation as I was out of town.

And well, Jay, I did try what you suggested, and I also got the server to run by typing xorgconfig instead of xorgcfg. Then, I put in all the details as meticulously as possible, and then rebooted.

The xorg.conf file was successfully written, but this time, after any number of reboots, my system refused to go to runlevel 5 (I tried typing init 5); in fact, everytime I rebooted, my system started up in runlevel 3.

Ultimately, I had to restore the backup and reboot, and this time, the system automatically loaded the GUI (runlevel 5).

I have one doubt. I checked on the intel site to see what video accelerator my motherboard has, and found it out to be GMA 900 graphics system. I tried to check in the working xorg.conf file to see what it was using, and it says 'i810'. I also selected the same card while making a new xorg.conf file through xorgconfig. Is that the problem?

If it is, then why is my old xorg.conf working? Any ideas?

Phew, I'm glad to hear from you after all this time. I was beginning to fear my well-meaning advice had caused your computer (and you too) to blow up...;)

Why the old xorg.conf should suddenly have begun to function properly, that's something of a mystery to me. The only two things I know is that, in my experience at least, autodetection of video cards is an uncertain thing; I've seen at least as many mistakes as successes. On top of that, Suse is one of the most pig-headed distributions I've ever seen when it comes to such things. The real problem, I think, is this sax2 utility, which seems to hide away a good deal of details (it's no coincidence many say that Suse comes pretty close to Windows) and those may well prevent you from making any corrections through xorg.conf. I've seen this on my own pc and the only thing that did help was using xorgconfig. That must be like some kind of sledgehammer blow to sax2; I've rarely seen it resist any longer after that. Still, I'm a bit surprised you couldn't get into runlevel 5. My guess is some minor mistake was made - and that is usually all it takes; in the end, this didn't allow you to boot into runlevel 5 but using xorgconfig alone was enough to unsettle any hidden sax 2 settings so that your xorg.conf could finally take full effect. And let's not forget that your old xorg.conf wasn't exactly your old xorg.conf anymore: I believe you had already done some manual editing on it; it seems these modifications only got through after trying xorgfonfig. This does seem likely to me, but again, I'm not too sure either.

As a last piece of advice, do make sure you have a copy of xorg.conf stored away in a safe place.

And oh yes, enjoy your Suse. It's been a lot of work but that's OK, I nearly killed myself trying to master Debian 3.1 some time ago; I utterly failed in certain respects but, who cares, it's given me so much confidence and insight that I could now wreck half my system and repair it in a matter of minutes. Who knows, with a little learning, I may some day be able to wreck all of it ...

hello again,
I been thinking about your problem and keep coming back to the Integrated graphics system and how it relies on CPU power and system memory..
What I found might help to understand how important the entire system plays in the higher resolution/refresh rate
that is required..Sorry to keep coming back to the same line..
http://www.intel.com/design/graphics/gma900/

jolphil

Thanks Jay73 and Jolphil.
Well, I pretty much believe it now that the real problem with my display now is what my system sees my graphics card as. I've tried my best with switching monitors, but somehow, sax wouldn't let me switch to anything more than 60 Hz on a 1280x1024 screen. And 60 Hz is all it thinks my 'i810' graphics card is capable of.
I've been through the link you've specified Jolphil, I'd been to it before, and yes, it provided me with some mighty good insight as to what my video card was capable of.
Here are two things I found interesting:
> 128 MB maximum video memory
> 2048x1536 at 85 Hz maximum resolution
I think this more or less proves that sax has got it wrong in my case. It still recognises my card as i810, and come to think of it, I think an i810 is capable of only 1280x1024@60Hz. Thats whats causing all the problems.
Next, I tried xorgconfig from the commandline (runlevel 3). Sadly, it didn't provide any option for a GMA900 card. So, I put in the values on my own (128 MB max mem and so forth); but still, my system refused to boot into runlevel 5. Sheesh...
Then I downloaded drivers for GMA 900, and something prevented even them from being installed.
To make things worse, one of my friends who happens to have exactly the same system configuration, installed and ran FC 6; and in his case, things went as smoothly as anything. He can easily run his system at 1152x864@75 Hz (he has the same monitor as me).
Sincerely, I'm beginning to think that Suse is not that cool after all. It really confuses me to see the Novell people aspire so hard to make something like windows, even when they know that windows is not the best OS (putting it mildly).
Thank you so much for your time guys.
Any ideas what to do next?

Hello,
Heres another bit of information I googled and while it's not for suse it still may shed some light..
http://www.teleost.org/docs/gma-900-linux.html
PS notice the video ram entry

Jolphil:twocents:
Edit: another interesting read(download the .pdf)
downloadmirror.intel.com/df-support/8442/ENG/Graphics%20Release.pdf -

Hmm, two thoughts.

First of all, you say you didn't find your type of card when you were going through xorgconfig and that you had to specify the values yourself. Would you mind telling me which TYPE of card you selected? I always choose the first one from the list ("vesa", "vesa generic" or something like that); this installs a generic driver after which I complete the rest of the configuration; then I restart X and all I have to do is go to ATI and download and install the proper driver. My experience is: if I select any other driver from the list (= 20+ items), I get a blank screen too (kind of confusing, ATI is one of the items on the list but I do have to avoid it - it seems to cover only older/other ATI cards). I guess, if you select nvidia from that list, you're facing a similar issue.

Second thought: I see you are still using Suse 10.0; Linux is your typical works in progress and things can improve tremendously from one release to the next. I built myself a brand new system last Summer and it was an absolute nightmare to install any distribution at all; now, with a few minor exceptions, they install as well as on any older system. For what it's worth, I have indications that 10.1 does support your card:

http://en.opensuse.org/HCL/Desktops/Shuttle

Then again, I don't have the best memories of Suse 10.1 as it took about a dozen of attempts for the DVD to install without throwing some kind of exception/error. But maybe that's just because it had trouble with my brand new hardware. 10.2, however, works great. Or you could go for a different distribution (I can imagine all of this gets pretty tiring in the end). I'm using Debian, Mandriva, Sabayon, Fedora, Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS in addition to Suse and it really doesn't make all that much of difference. Suse may (and does) generally look better out of the box but any Linux can be tweaked to look/behave pretty much as you like.

Thanks again guys.
And well, when I was running xorgconfig, I tried with both options. First, I selected i810 model, and specified the amount of memory as 128 MB (converted into Kb as asked by the xorgconfig interface.). When I did this and finished, my display disappeared and the system refused to boot into runlevel 5; and there were no error messages whatsoever.
Next, I tried the same thing and filled in the values manually. And yet, the same thing happened. The system didn't budge even after n reboots and finally I had to restore the backup of xorg.conf.
And I don't know if my entire display system has been cocked up by suse, but I've also noticed one more thing: everytime I boot into GNOME, my system fails on powermanagement counts. Last night, my monitor wasn't switched off by the system for 3 hours, and I found that when I woke up. I tried hunting for options everywhere, but couldn't get much far. I could not find a power management page that could allow me to set the idle time after which a monitor should be switched off on its own. Any ideas about that?
And I did go through all of the links you had specified, and read through all of them. I still don't know whats the problem...
I'll also try running xorgconfig again and let you all know.
Also note that I checked in the xorg.conf file, and found that the monitor V/H rates are correct. And now, I'm sure that the problem is what Suse sees my graphics adapter as. It thinks that my card is not capable of anything more than 1280x1024@60, and it wouldn't even let me run 1152x864@75 (which windows has no problems with).

*shrug*

Hehehe... I shouldn't say this, but it's getting me pretty worked up now.
I finally got the xscreensaver to run in gnome (automatically when a user logs in, by making an entry in the .xinitrc file.), and now my system seems to go in cycles: Screen blanks out-screensaver-monitor off-monitor on(blank)-monitor off-screensaver, and so on...
The powersave thing works well in KDE, but I seriously don't know whats the problem with GNOME. Any ideas about that?

In short: :eek:

That's something I've never seen before. Have you tried selecting a different screensaver? I think Gnome has its own set. I'm curious whether that will make any difference.

And maybe something is wrong with your xinitrc; KDE and Gnome are different WMs so they may respond completely differently.

Here is something that used to be helpful but I'm not sure (so beware) whether this will work for you:

Xorg > /tmp/x.out 2>&1
Ctrl alt backspace
vi /tmp/x.out

This will produce a survey of all the X settings, both the ones you supplied yourself and those that were set by the system. Checking for any warning/error messages may help pinpoint the root of the problem.

In the end, it's really beginning to look as if Suse 10.0 doesn't like your hardware. People pick their Linux but Suse apparently picks its people. I understand you're determined to make it work at last after all the trouble you have gone to, I'm just like you when it come to that, but maybe it's getting time you tried a different distro. If you have the space on your system, you can install one in addition to your Suse; that way can go from one to the other and figure out just what is wrong.

I'm sincerely beginning to dislike suse... hehehe...
And well, I tried a lot last night, and it seems like a change of hardware seems to be the only option left for me. Here's the story:

Story I:

First, I tried to fix the xscreensaver problem. I've added stuff to my .xinitrc file (/etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc) and here's what it looks like:
#!/bin/bash
xscreensaver -no-splash &
#
#
# Sample .xinitrc for SuSE Linux
# This script is called from 'startx' when you start an X session
#

#
# In case everything goes wrong, we at least fall back to a plain xterm
#
failsafe="xterm -ls -T Failsafe -geometry 80x24-0-0"
trap "exec $failsafe" EXIT SIGHUP SIGINT SIGPIPE SIGTERM SIGIO

#
# Some bash (1 and 2) settings to avoid trouble on a
# failed program call.
#
test -n "$BASH" && set +o posix
no_exit_on_failed_exec=1
type shopt > /dev/null 2>&1 && shopt -s execfail
set +e > /dev/null 2>&1

#
# This should be the default
#
export TERM=xterm

#
# choose a window manager
#
if test -n "$WINDOWMANAGER" ; then
WINDOWMANAGER=`type -p $WINDOWMANAGER`
fi
if test -z "$WINDOWMANAGER" ; then
if test -x /usr/X11R6/bin/kde ; then
WINDOWMANAGER=/usr/X11R6/bin/kde
elif test -x /usr/X11R6/bin/startkde ; then
WINDOWMANAGER=/usr/X11R6/bin/startkde
elif test -x /usr/X11R6/bin/fvwm2 ; then
WINDOWMANAGER=/usr/X11R6/bin/fvwm2
elif test -x /usr/X11R6/bin/wmlist ; then
for i in `/usr/X11R6/bin/wmlist` ; do
WINDOWMANAGER=`type -p $i`
test -n "$WINDOWMANAGER" && break
done
elif test -x /usr/X11R6/bin/twm ; then
WINDOWMANAGER=/usr/X11R6/bin/twm
fi
fi

if test -z "$WINDOWMANAGER" ; then
echo "Error: Unable to find a window manager. Please make sure you installed one!"
echo "Exiting..."
xmessage -timeout 10 -default okay -center -file - <<-EOF
Error: Unable to find a window manager. Please make sure you installed one!
Exiting...
EOF
exit 1
fi

# add dbus-launch if found
dbuslaunch="`which dbus-launch 2>/dev/null`"
if [ -n "$dbuslaunch" ] && [ -x "$dbuslaunch" ]; then
WINDOWMANAGER="$dbuslaunch --sh-syntax --exit-with-session $WINDOWMANAGER"
fi

#
# Load system and users resources if not already done
# (XSESSION_IS_UP set by xdm in $XLIBDIR/xdm/Xsession)
#
if test "$XSESSION_IS_UP" != "yes" ; then
XLIBDIR=/usr/X11R6/lib/X11
test -r $XLIBDIR/Xmodmap && xmodmap $XLIBDIR/Xmodmap
test -r $HOME/.Xmodmap && xmodmap $HOME/.Xmodmap
test -r $XLIBDIR/Xresources && xrdb -load -retain $XLIBDIR/Xresources
test -r $HOME/.Xdefaults && xrdb -I$HOME -merge $HOME/.Xdefaults
test -r $HOME/.Xresources && xrdb -I$HOME -merge $HOME/.Xresources
fi

# Start the XIM server
XIMFILE=/etc/X11/xim
test -r $HOME/.xim && XIMFILE=$HOME/.xim
test -r $XIMFILE && source $XIMFILE

# Enable Numlock if set
test -r /var/run/numlock-on -a -x /usr/X11R6/bin/numlock && /usr/X11R6/bin/numlock

# Disable new Xcursor themes if none is specified resp. located in $HOME
# (use "unset XCURSOR_CORE" to enable them again later)
#if [ "x$XCURSOR_THEME" == "x" -a ! -d $HOME/.icons ]; then
# export XCURSOR_CORE=true
#else
# unset XCURSOR_CORE
#fi

# load nvidia settings
if [ -x /usr/bin/nvidia-settings -a -r $HOME/.nvidia-settings-rc ]; then
/usr/bin/nvidia-settings --load-config-only &> /dev/null &
fi

echo "$WINDOWMANAGER" | grep -q twm && xsetroot -solid darkslateblue

#
# Uncomment next line to activate asking for ssh passphrase
#
# ssh-add

#
# Add your own lines here...
#


# day planer deamon
# pland &

#
# finally start the window manager
#
exec $WINDOWMANAGER

# call failsafe
exit 0
(Note the underlined part.)
But it seems like Suse has a mind of its own. I've set the following values under the Advanced>Power Management --> Standby after: 7 minutes; Suspend after: 13 minutes, and Power off after: 13 minutes. I once left my system idle, and started measuring things with a stopwatch (think of how worked up I am), and like I said before, it seems like suse has a mind of its own.
All of a sudden, the screen blanked out after 1 minute 15 seconds. Strange. I waited. And then the monitor got turned off after 7 minutes 39 seconds. Even more strange. And before I knew it, the monitor was back up again, running a blank screen. Since I care about my monitor, I switched back to KDE, and things worked well. Sheeesh.

Story II:

I finally wanted to give FC 6 a try. So, I went to one of my friend's place, who happens to have 'exactly' the same system configuration as mine. He was about to install FC 6 on his machine, and I wanted to see how things go.
To start with, the installation was smooth and easy, and took much less time to complete (even after we'd selected all packages.) And when it did complete, it was disappointment all the way.
Firstly, there was the only sessiontype we had was Gnome. No KDE. :( And next, since I was really interested in DNS servers, I started looking for named/bind in services, and nothing. We later found out that we'd have to download and install a 22 MB package before we could use bind.
Then, we configured his DSL connection on the machine (enabling the option that made it the default connection for the machine, and also enabling it at the time of boot.)
, and much to our dismay, we found out that after every reboot, the system failed to initialize it as the default route, and we could not load sites in the beginning! The device had to be deactivated and then activated again before we would be able to work on the internet on his system. Sheesh again.
And he had the same display crap. The system would not let him select anything more than 1280x1024@60, leave apart 1152x864@75.

So, thats the story guys. I've ruled out FC 6 as a future installation on my machine. Any advice as to what should I install? What do you think is the best distro at present?

(Thanks a lot to all of you. I'm very sorry about the long and boring post.)