LinuxQuestions.org - X doesn't start with Geforce4 MX 440

try as root running :
xf86config

and when you get to the part that says :
Now we must configure video card specific settings. At this point you can
choose to make a selection out of a database of video card definitions.
Because there can be variation in Ramdacs and clock generators even
between cards of the same model, it is not sensible to blindly copy
the settings (e.g. a Device section). For this reason, after you make a
selection, you will still be asked about the components of the card, with
the settings from the chosen database entry presented as a strong hint.

The database entries include information about the chipset, what driver to
run, the Ramdac and ClockChip, and comments that will be included in the
Device section. However, a lot of definitions only hint about what driver
to run (based on the chipset the card uses) and are untested.

If you can't find your card in the database, there's nothing to worry about.
You should only choose a database entry that is exactly the same model as
your card; choosing one that looks similar is just a bad idea (e.g. a
GemStone Snail 64 may be as different from a GemStone Snail 64+ in terms of
hardware as can be).

Do you want to look at the card database?

type :
yes

then you will see :

0 * Generic VESA compatible -
1 * Generic VGA compatible -
2 * Unsupported VGA compatible -
3 ** 3DLabs, TI (generic) [glint] -
4 ** 3Dfx (generic) [tdfx] -
5 ** ATI (generic) [ati] -
6 ** ATI Radeon (generic) [radeon] -
7 ** ATI Rage 128 based (generic) [r128] -
8 ** Alliance Pro Motion (generic) [apm] -
9 ** Ark Logic (generic) [ark] -
10 ** Chips and Technologies (generic) [chips] -
11 ** Cirrus Logic (generic) [cirrus] -
12 ** Cyrix MediaGX (generic) [cyrix] -
13 ** DEC TGA (generic) [tga] -
14 ** Intel i740 (generic) [i740] -
15 ** Intel i810 (generic) [i810] -
16 ** Linux framebuffer (generic) [fbdev] -
17 ** Matrox Graphics (generic) [mga] -

Enter a number to choose the corresponding card definition.
Press enter for the next page, q to continue configuration

so you will hit :
Enterkey

then you will see :
18 ** NVIDIA (generic) [nv] -
19 ** NeoMagic (generic) [neomagic] -
20 ** Number Nine I128 (generic) [i128] -
21 ** Rendition (generic) [rendition] -
22 ** S3 (not ViRGE or Savage) (generic) [s3] -
23 ** S3 Savage (generic) [savage] -
24 ** S3 ViRGE (generic) [s3virge] -
25 ** SiS (generic) [sis] -
26 ** Silicon Motion (generic) [siliconmotion]-
27 ** Trident (generic) [trident] -
28 ** Tseng Labs (generic) [tseng] -
29 ** VMWare guest OS (generic) [vmware] -
30 2 the Max MAXColor S3 Trio64V+ -
31 2-the-Max MAXColor 6000 ET6000
32 3DLabs Oxygen GMX PERMEDIA 2
33 928Movie S3 928
34 AGX (generic) AGX-014/15/16
35 ALG-5434(E) CL-GD5434

Enter a number to choose the corresponding card definition.
Press enter for the next page, q to continue configuration.

so you will now type :
18

and then just follow the rest of the steps to figure the configuration and save your
settings and then run X ...

the only thing you may have an issue with when running this configurator, is
the monitors horizontal and vertical freqencies which is the step before the one
shown above, so just make sure you know that information before running this ..