ubuntu screen res
 

when i am installing ubuntu witht he disk it goes fine, then when it is unpacking ext. it goes fine but when i get to the boot screen the resolution mess's up and its all squiggly lines?? can anyone help?

press something like CTRL + ALT + F2 to switch to a different console. either run xorgconfig or manually edit the /etc/X11/xorgconf file. there will be a section closer to the bottom of the file for screen resolution or somethign along that line. either the first (probably) or the last resolution listed will be the default one the Xserver tries, so edit it to match what your monitor uses. if you are not sure of some values (say, V refresh rate) do NOT just put a number. either look it up or change it.

sorry i dont understand that? i am a complete linux noob lol

When you see the squiggly lines and such, press Ctrl - Alt - F3. That should get you to a login prompt. Log in and type dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg. If that fails you may need to edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf, and look for the section that has the resolutions, and refresh rates for the model of your monitor listed. Double check the horizontal and vertical refresh rates (you may need to look them up online at the manufacturers site) and make sure they are correct. Save the file, and then press Ctrl - Alt - F7. If it still looks funky, press Ctrl -Alt- Backspace.

ok thanks i will tyr this tomorrow

how do i log in as root???

at the console type 'su' then enter and it will ask for your root password. once entered properly, you will now be logged in 'as root'. type 'exit' to logout from the root user and back to your normal user.
check out here to learn a little about the root user. read as much of that site as you can, it contains a huge amount of info.

ubuntu does not set any password for root
so when u login as a normal user
run this to set any password for root

sudo passwd root

then u can login with the root username with the password that u have set

regards

ok im at the screen resolutions bit and i dont know how to deselect 1024x768 cuz my moniter dont support that

open up /etc/X11/xorg.conf

then there you will find a section where there will be ur defautl depth and corresponding to that , u will be some resolutions in a order
make sure that the resolution u want is listed first in the order

regards

are all the distro's like this?

when u work with linux u need to be ready for these kind of things

it depends on your hardware also ,like if the distro supports ur hardware as well

there are some distros which are easy to configure then u might not find all the features in that distro

Mandrake/mandriva is a good distro for newbies

regards