no more gui?
 

I just installed the OS and was configuring the video/monitor/display settings. The gui crashed and now I only have text based logon. If I type 'startx', an error says "no screens". Is there a way to reset the video resolution/settings to the way they were when I first installed?

make changes to the xf86-config file (usually /etc/X11/XF86-config)

ok, in my case it is /etc/x11/xf86config-4. When I want to access the file, however, it says I don't have the right permissions (i created a non-root user), and when I try to log on as root, it won't accept the password I originally gave on install. I'm more than a little confused at this point.

yes, that file can be accessed only by root.
you better get the root passwd back. :)

it would help to know what distro you are using. mandrake has XFdrake but you do have to be root. also standard xconfig is xf86config this script will setup your video card, mouse, and monitor settings.

<I corrected a mistake, I put drakxconf in place of XFdrake, XFdrake is the proper cli mandrake XF86 config utility>

Yes, I'm using the latest version of Mandrake. Thanks.