Screen Resolution. with SiS graphics. Cant get xorg.conf to help...
 

I'm attempting to put Ubuntu 8.10 onto a HP T5720 thin client (don't ask why, its just me being geeky). but I'm having a few problems with getting a high screen resolution (eg. 1280x1024) > (which is a problem I seem to forever have with ALL Linux distros (on many different computers) and it keeps putting me off from using it instead of Windows...) - there must be a simple solution???
I've looked up some other posts/forums about getting it to work, but I'm still stuck - so hopefully someone can help me out?!

OK. my lspci | grep VGA shows:

(The HP T5720 has a SiS 741 graphics chip)

(which according to: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=450176 seems to say I have the SiS drivers installed?) and they are already ticked/installed according to Synaptic.

My xorg.conf just contains:

and thats it.

And if I go to System > Preferences > Screen Resolution I can only set it as high as 1024 x 768 (or 800 x 600 if its feeling mean, it seems to change each time I boot).
If I do sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg I just get a load of questions about my keyboard, and that's it, nothing about my screen.

I know the graphics in the T5720 can go higher, as when it was running XP Embedded it would do 1280 x 1024 and even higher! (and I know my monitor can easily display it)..
SO... is there any way to get Ubuntu to show 1280 x 1024?
Do I have the right drivers?
Do I have to edit the xorg.conf file - or can I populate it automatically? As it seems to be missing a few things?! If so, where do I get the info from?
(I don't want 3D or anything fancy... just a high resolution...)

A solution which will work in all Linux distros would be best... but any help would be really amazing!

Hi, editing your xorg.conf might work... Either you have to set the modes in the 'device' section, or, more probably, in the 'Monitor' section, by editing the modeline options (just add the resolutions you need). However, this might not be enough, but I do know that some graphic drivers have a keyword that sets the resolutions in the device section. not using an SIS adapter now, I can't verify that. (I will though, when I get my hands on the laptop that uses it). for information about how to edit your xorg.conf, just type 'man xorg.conf' in a terminal.
I do admit I lost track of how Ubuntu manages the xorg.conf file...

Thanks for your reply!

I've done a bit more reading and had a look at 'man xorg.conf'... Would it be fair to say that learning how to write/configure xorg.conf would allow me to set what resolutions/settings I would like + make them work each time I boot up the PC... and should be similar for any Linux distro?

Just I think I would be happy to learn how to write configure xorg.conf if it is the 'standard' way of doing it... I just need to find all the commands which tell me what modline options, etc I need to put into xorg.conf file - as its very blank at the moment!

OK. things are going at about 100mph here...but... I think I have got it working! :)
My xorg.conf now just looks like

and it seems to display 1280x1024 fine - at 75Hz. and it remembers it when I do a restart too - so thanks for the link to the xorg.conf manual - has been excellent!
If you have any advice about drivers, etc for the SiS adapters - or if there is a 'proper' way to set them up with a keyword, etc - it would be good to know!
Thanks again!

Sis graphics adapter are a PITA. They do have a 3D accelerated driver for Linux available, but they won't release it except to manufacturers, well technically if you e-mail one of the devs in charge he might e-mail it to you, although I've only heard of people getting the 2D accelerated driver from him. Also know that even with 3D accel, the adapter sucks huge much like any built-in graphics adapter.

At least nvidia and ATI release drivers to the public that are freely available, even tho the quality of the drivers is usually crappy.

Hi, a really nice thing is to let X generate your xorg.conf. It will need a lot of editing, so I recommend o do it only to see all the option your driver has, as they are all listed, although commented, in the device section. just run from a terminal (the real one; into which yo get through ctrl+alt+F1). It will generate a xorg.conf.new and you'll get an example of xorg.conf, in most cases, fully populated. (I don't recommend using this file though, as Ubuntu manages it in a different way). To know which option does what, I think a "man sis" shold do the trick.(Why didn't I think of this sooner?)
As for SiS adapters, here is the site of the coder who did the opensource version.

Hi! I'm having the same issue you did with the same graphics card. I tried using your custom xorg.conf. I restarted and Ubuntu was in "Low Graphics Mode." I went ahead and told it to start in Low Graphics Mode, and surprisingly enough, Ubuntu started in 1280x1024! Then I wanted to make sure this was permanent, so I restarted, but it gave me the Low Graphics error again. I checked the xorg.conf, and turns out the typo above "EndEubSection" was causing this. I fixed it to "EndSubSection", and to my dismay, restarting made it stop working and go back to 1024x768!

I've tried so many things today trying to get 1280x1024 working, to no avail except when in Low Graphics Mode. I've tried dpkg-reconfigure, which never asked my about my graphics card or monitor, I've tried editing xorg.conf myself.

When I edit xorg.conf myself and add Modes with "1280x1024", I can choose that resolution in System->Preferences->Display, but instead of stretching it to fix my external monitor, I have to move the mouse down the edge to "slide" the rest of the screen up.

Someone please help me. :)

Hi rxcjack.

(Sorry for the old typo! I'm not sure where that came from since I did copy + paste!).

I can't 100% remember what I did to get it to work, as it was a while ago. My current xorg.conf file looks like this:

As you can see it now contains loads of other junk (which you shouldn't need), but the 'Screen' section is still the same - so in theory it should work... Have you checked that the 'HorizSync' and 'VertRefresh' in the 'Monitor' section are correct for your monitor? as I had to get those numbers from my monitors instruction manual.
Also, I assume the screen you are using can happily display 1280x1024? or is it a widescreen model? Is there an auto-adjust button on the monitor itself you could press to get it to resize the screen to fit?