How get monitor to native resolution on Ubuntu 11.04
 

Hi Ubuntu experts,

I am new to Ubuntu (11.04, 64 bit) and have been surfing and reading, but haven't quite figured out how to get my hp w2207 monitor to display in native mode, which is 1680x1050, 60Hz. I tried System Settings/Hardware/Monitors but the highest resolution there is 1024x768. I tried the 'Detect monitors' button, but it doesn't seem to do anything. I am running on an Intel D525 Atom Mboard and i have updated Ubuntu to latest updates. From what I have read, the D525 uses Intel's GMA 3150 chip and the drivers for that chip are automatically included in the standard Ubuntu release, so that's not my problem (I think). Somehow the monitor is not being detected, apparently. On this forum I saw a recommendation to edit a file 'xorg.conf' and to insert a Monitor section etc. But I have not been able to find 'xorg.conf' in /etc/X11, nor in /usr/whatever. So my question is, should I make an 'xorg.conf' and put it in /etc/X11, or is it possible there is already one somewhere else? Is there a better place to put it? I hate to ask, but is there a text editor I can use in graphics mode, or does everything have to be in command line to get this job done? thanks for reading through all this.

Open a terminal and, as root, enter the following command:

That will save your current xorg.conf where you can find it and open your xorg.conf in the terminal as a editable document. Next, scrolling down in your xorg.conf document, find your "screen" section and add the following:

You can also add your screen resolution into the "monitor" section under "modes" but it's your screen that you really need to edit.
After adding those display edits, use <Ctrl X> to exit the document, you'll be prompted whether you want to save the document. Enter "y" for yes and then just hit <enter> to save your new xorg.conf over your existing one.

xorg.conf not in /etc/X11
 

Thanks for your help. I logged in as root, but the cp command doesn't work because there is no xorg.conf in that directory.

Could it be somewhere else?

That's true of most newer systems. Just execute the second command (the one beginning with "nano") and paste the text given below into that file. Then ctl-o to save the file and ctl-x to exit from nano and continue as instructed above.
ciao,
jdk

I edited /etc/X11/xorg.conf per the instructions above, saved the file and restarted.

Now the system comes up and the screen is black - totally blank.
I can shut down by pressing the power button and restart by pressing it again.
I see the motherboard screen, then a very deep purple background and then the screen goes totally blank.
At this point, nothing on the keyboard or mouse will get a response.
editing the xorg.conf file doesn't seem to have had the desired effect.
Any suggestions how to recover?

Can you boot into Recovery Mode and then check the /var/log/Xorg.0.log for errors? Lines beginning with (EE). That may tell you what the problem is.
ciao,
jdk

I renamed the /etc/X11/xorg.conf created per above to a .bak file and rebooted. Everything returned to normal, with 1024x768 monitor.
Then I renamed back to xorg.conf and rebooted and system went blank again.
Then in Recovery mode I used nano to look at /var/log/Xorg.0.log:

It says that 'SubSection' in xorg.conf 'is not a valid keyword in this section'

The entire contents of the file is the above text. Is there more preamble to the file that belongs in it?

So why don't you just delete the xorg.conf file or rename it "xorg.conf.bad" and then restart your system. If I understand you, the system works ok without the xorg.conf. Is that correct? If so, then that's your solution.
ciao,
jdk

because I am trying to use the native resolution of my monitor which is 1680x1050, not 1024x768. See the title of this thread.

Well it seems that lots of people are having your problem since 2008. This thread is but one of a long list of them. Maybe it will help, maybe not. good luck.
jdk

xorg.conf is depricated in newer versions of ubuntu, they are generally not required anymore. But making one isnt hard, just run this command-

sudo Xorg -configure

I *think* that it should create the file in /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d, but I dont have a ubuntu install to test that with.

By the way, I guess that your resolution problem is due to EDID (Extended display identification data). This page should help you figure out if its the EDID-

http://maxolasersquad.blogspot.com/2...formation.html

thanks for these suggestions. At this point, I have removed the xorg.conf file in /etc/X11, so I am back where I started with all the files I installed.

EXCEPT somewhere along the line (right after I tried introducing and removing xorg.conf), my system decided I have two screens - one laptop and one external. Since my system is a single monitor (HP w2207), I think Ubuntu 11.04 is even more confused than I am. Which is saying a lot. Both these screens are displayed on one monitor. The 'laptop' screen is 1024x768 and the 'external' screen can be set to several higher resolutions, one of which is 1680x1050. The smaller one is overlaid on the larger one. Both screens appear to be complete, so I have two menubars at the top of the screen!

I looked at /var/log/Xorg.0.log and studied what it's doing - It appears to correctly get EDID for my monitor, with a list of VGA display modes, etc. Unclear where two screens come from.

I can turn off the 'laptop' screen and just enable the 'external' monitor, and the Monitor screen now (suddenly) says that I have a Hewlett Packard 22" monitor. And it displays a list of display modes that goes up to 1680x1050.

EXCEPT that the screen goes crazy when I select 1680x1050.

So I have now got 1280 x 1024. I think I am looking at Xorg bugs.

One last note

At this point my Intel D525 mboard with 3150 GMA running Ubuntu 11.04 thinks it has two monitors: a 'laptop' (this one is now turned off in Monitor dialog) and an 'external', which can be set to any of the long list of available resolutions, one of which is the native resolution - 1680 x 1050.

By working my way up from 1280x1024 and by shutting down each time I incremented the resolution, I worked my way up to 1680x1024 and now it's working fine. Because I have added no files and not edited any files, I have no clue what really happened. The turning point was when the system started recognizing my monitor's EDID, I think. Somehow Natty is confused about the number of monitors I have.

Thanks to you experts, I learned a lot I didn't know with this exercise.