gentle folk;
I am a linux newbie. I'm enjoying the learning curve. I installed rhel4 on a dell c-600 laptop (very used) for learning purposes.

With help, I've worked through a couple of bugs and am learning a bit.

Here is one our linux guru hasn't seen before and I was hoping someone here has.

When my laptop is running and I close the top (display) down and re-open it, my display window shrinks. I see about an inch-and-a-half of black screen border on all four sides. Nothing seems to be cut off, the whole display screen just shrinks.

If anyone knows what causes this, how to fix it, or at least how to make the screen full size again when it happens, I'd appreciate the help.

Thanks for any tips...
YankeeFan

When you shut the lid, is the laptop going into sleep mode? Or is it just turning the screen off, but leaving the computer running in normal mode?

My first guess at solving your problem might be the addition of a Modeline entry into your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file in the section that defines the Display. Perhaps when the computer is turning the screen back on after opening the laptop, it isn't making a correct "guess" as to the size of the actual screen.

Thank you for your post.

Okay, here is an unscientific test.
I just logged onto my laptop and the display is fullscreen normal.

I read your post and closed the lid and reopened it right away. It was immediately shrunken to what I described above. Hmmmm!!

I do not of what you speak: is it going into sleep mode or just turning the screen off and running normal. I mean to say, I do not know which mode the laptop goes into.

I will attempt what you suggest. Wish me luck.

YankeeFan...

I dis the following to no avail...

In /etc/X11/xorg.conf,

In the "Section Screen", this is what I see

Identifier "Screen0"
Device "VideoCard0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24

SubSection "Display"
ViewPort 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "800x600" "640x800"
EndSubSection

EndSection

I removed the "640x800" from both blocks.
I saved and rebooted.
The problem still exists, the screen still shrinks.

Am I interpreting your tip incorrectly?
Thanks again for the help.

There are two differents uses of the word "Mode" in your xorg.conf.

One is in your "Monitor" section. This would be the "Modeline" keyword and is used as follows ...

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Dell LCD"
HorizSync 31.5 - 48.5
VertRefresh 40.0 - 70.0
Option "DPMS"
UseModes "Modes1"
EndSection

Section "Modes"
Identifier "Modes1"
Modeline "1280x1024" 75.13 1280 1336 1472 1664 1024 1025 1028 1050 -hsync +vsync
Modeline "1400x1050" 84.76 1400 1472 1616 1832 1050 1051 1054 1076 -hsync +vsync
EndSection

Modeline in this case tells the X server exactly the dimensions on your display. X does it's best to try and guess this information, but sometimes (such as in my case), you have to specify the exact numbers.

"Modes" keyword is used in the "Screen" section in the "Display" subsection. This keyword tells the X server what resolutions are supported at particular bit levels. So, in my case ...

SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1400x1050" "1280x1024"
EndSubSection

To figure out the correct modeline values, either check out a similar laptop at http://www.linux-on-laptops.com or use the generator located here http://xtiming.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/xtiming.pl

I hope that clears up some confusion.

Tino27, Thank you! Thank you!!

Sorry I haven't commented back in a day or two - I've been away. Your fix almost worked. I had to play with the section "Monitor" section a bit.

Re Yours:
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Dell LCD"
HorizSync 31.5 - 48.5
VertRefresh 40.0 - 70.0
Option "DPMS"
UseModes "Modes1"
EndSection

I ended up using:

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Dell 1024x768 Laptop Display Panel"
HorizSync 31.5 - 48.5
VertRefresh 59.0 - 75.0
Option "dpms"
EndSection

Under section "Screen" subsection "Display", I added
1024 to the Modes line:
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

I had no idea how to fix this problem. You posted and got me thinking I could. Your post lead me to search for other xorg.conf entries for c600's. A couple of errors and recoverys later, I realized I needed to add 1024x768 to the modes line and get a modelname that worked in the Monitor section.

Thanks again for taking the time to help me with this. I want to learn, but books do not give me the extra tid bits other users do.

Cheers!!