Screen Resolution for Fedora Core 4 - ATI Rage Mobility Video Card
 

Hi all,

I am a newbie to the Linux platform and have successfully installed the Fedora Core 4 OS, but one of my main problems is the screen resolution. Currently the screen resolution only have options for 800x600 and 640x480. I should have many more screen resolution options. I am using a Dell Inspiron 3800 with an ATI Rage Mobility graphic card. I tried to find drivers for the system but have been unsuccessful. I went to Dell site, but they do not seem to support Linux platforms for this driver. I then went to ATI site and they suggest finding drivers at the manufacturer's site...so I am at a dead end!

Please if anyone know how to overcome this obstacle or can direct me to the proper documentation and download then please point me in the right direction. As stated I am a newbie, so any hand-holding and step-by-step instructions is greatly appreciated. thx

The drivers for your card are not available from ATI, as they only "support" Radeon 8500 and later on linux. However, there are drivers available from the DRI project, and the Utah-GLX project.

Which is better you ask? (I'm assuming cause it's what I'd want to know) Basically, for you I expect you'll want to go with DRI. For a complete explanation why: read this.

Hope this helps,

Steve

Thanks.

I am such a newbie at this. I have worked in the computer/IT field for well over 7 years, but I have only needed to work with Windows systems and I consider myself an Advanced/Expert user of Windows because I can do anything with Windows, but trying to install the DRI driver is a chore. I had to re-install my Linux system 4 times because I screwed up somehow and changed my system state while trying to get the DRI driver installed. Finally, I got to a point where I realized Fedora Core 4 has the X system already installed with all the modules needed, so I went forward and tried to install the DRI driver for rage128.... I did the ./install.sh command in root from the command line and it started the install, then when it seemed to be workinig I got an Error that the kernel was not the right kernel module to install the package. So, after looking over the documentation, it said that the binaries will only install with Kernel 2.4 any other kernel will need to modified...they don't give anymore than that. I have no clue what kernel version I have installed or how to modify the current kernel to work with the install. It looks like I will have this screen resolution problem for a little longer.

Truthfully, at first look...I can't see why a person would choose Linux over Windows. I always hear of how people complain about Windows and especially IE or browser problems, but the browser problems I'm having in Linux are more of a nuisance than ever. Everytime I try to surf the web my browser flips the page, basically it automatically reloads to previous pages I have already been to (as if it is automatically clicking the back button). It's strange. Then my mouse gets stuck at certain times, mainly when entering information into a form field.

I promised myself I will learn as much as I could about Linux, because I want to be diverse, therefore I plan to keep Linux installed on my main laptop (at least until Windows Vista hit the shelves). Hopefully, by then I can have a good grasp of Linux and possibly consider myself a junior level operator of Linux.

Thanks for your help. If you (or anyone) have any other advice for me and my needs please share. Thanks.

Okay, finally I got the screen resolution down to size!

I had no idea what the DRI project was when I first started but now I have a good handle on it, thanks to (AeroSpace) 43r05p4c3. Anyway, the DRI was not the proper solution, it was much more easier than doing a driver install. But without looking for more information for the DRI project, I wouldn't have stumbled upon my resolution. All I had to do was edit the xorg.conf file. For those who have a similar setup as me...Dell Inspiron 3800 with Rage Mobility Graphic card try going to /etc/X11 and edit the xorg.conf file. You should add "1024x768" to the Modes of the "Screen" section. Then reboot your machine...then in the desktop>>preferences>>screen resolution you should have an option for 1024x768. It seems this may have fixed the page flipping problem as well, but I'm not sure...I'm still testing it. It could have been the screen frequency (MHz). Anyway, thanks for the help and I'm sure I'll be back on linuxquestions in no time!

Nope. The page flipping problem still exist! Any takers?

Basically, what happens is in Firefox, Opera, or any web browser my page flips from screen to screen automatically. It doesn't happen all the time but it happens often enough to call it a nuisance and make me unable to perform well online. It's like someone is clicking the forward or back button and taking me to pages which I have already visited. This happens for no apparent reason. I'm thinking it could be a java issue, but I'm not sure. Anyone familiar with such an issue please inform me of what to do or try to resolve this issue. Thanks.

I'd say the most likely problem is with your xorg.conf When installing the new drivers, I suspect the wrong type of mouse and/or keyboard were input. You'll want to look at the input devices section. You may or may not recognize what you're looking for. If anything looks suspicious, post that section of your xorg.conf.

The other place to look is your xmodmap. Unfortunately there'll be about 200 entries to look through. If you want, you can run: xev to see what keycodes are being returned, then looking at the xmodmap results. (It sounds like the button release code might be messed up.)

SO:
- look at xorg.conf in the input devices section for anything suspicious (i.e. some kind of keyboard/mouse you don't have being listed)
-run xev:
- move your mouse around in the area given, click the buttons, hit anything on your keyboard that is suspect.
- go through the results (they will be long, but all you're looking for is the keycode numbers)
-write down the keycode numbers if you think you'll forget them
-look at xmodmap (I believe the way to do this is: xmodmap -pke) specifically the keycodes you wrote down earlier
-look for XF86Back specifically, but there may be other commands that need to be changed.

Hopefully you'll find a solution in there somewhere.

Steve