There doesn't seem to be too much there to help. Can you post your '/etc/X11/xorg.conf' ?

Have you tried the 'vesa' driver ? Do you get the same results with that driver ?

I'll post the xorg.conf file as soon as I get home from work. I will tell you this, it didn't matter whether I used the intel modesetting driver or the more generic i810 driver. I had the same results.

One thing that I noticed that is different between these newer distro versions and my older Ubuntu 7.04 install is that my screen goes blank for a couple seconds before loadin GDM, KDM, GNOME or KDE. That screen blanking NEVER happened before in previous versions of my test distros. Since this problem presents itself between loading x splash screen and GDM or GNOME, I was wondering what the last thing is that happens prior to GDM or GNOME. Whatever it is, it is causing this problem.

Ok, but, I just want to know what happens with when running the 'vesa' driver, which is a very basic driver that most cards should work with without any problems. If your card works well with 'vesa' then I think the intel/i810 drivers are the problem. If it still does not work, then it opens up more possibilities.

I couldn't get the vesa driver to put a decent image on my screen. I was trying to have it put my screen at 800x600 which should have been one of the supported resolutions. It just produced a scrambled image.

If something doesn't work with vesa, there are definitely some problems in Xorg.

Hmmm ... so here is the current status (just so I get things straight in my head and here in this thread ):

1) The i950 video card works well in some distros but not others -> this means it's not likely to be a hardware issue, otherwise it would happen in all distros. The issue is probably with software.

2) The 'vesa' driver produces 'a scrambled image' which it really should never produce. Just to confirm that this is true, try copying '/etc/X11/xorg.conf-vesa' over your '/etc/X11/xorg.conf', make sure to backup your old 'xorg.conf'. If this still fails to work then it most likely is not a problem with the driver.

I suppose the only other reasonable possibility if all these are true is that this particular version of xorg is at fault ... or maybe even multiple versions, since it doesn't work with multiple distros. Now, does that conclusion seem reasonable ?

You say ubuntu 7.04 works great, here are it's xorg and xserver versions:
And for ubuntu 7.10 it is:
I would check to see if a specific patch has not been released.

I would downgrade Xorg. With each release Xorg is getting buggier and buggier instead of fixing old issues.

I downloaded the deb packages for libxrandr and xrandr from Ubuntu 7.04 and did a forced downgrade. When I run xrandr I get virtually the same output that I would get from a regular 7.04 install. The only difference is that it still says 474x296 instead of 474x301 from the native install. I guess that rules out xrandr. I suppose I will downgrade xorg and see how it goes.

***EDIT***

Well, the forced downgrade of x windows broke my installation. DOH!

It doesn't work well to downgrade just xorg ... that usually breaks many many things (anything compiled with xorg libs), you usually have to downgrade your whole OS. What versions of Slackware have you tried ?

In the effort to keep things steady and have the fewest variables (by not changing distros), I've still been working with my Ubuntu 7.10 test installation.

Here's a hint as to perhaps a direction to head. Slax 6 RC5 did NOT have the problem, but Slax 6 RC7 DOES. So, what has changed from RC5 - 7? I have no idea yet.

I don't know, maybe check what versions of xorg and what patches were applied. (I can't find it on the slax site right now ... am going to sleep )

Yeah, downgrading Xorg will probably break gnome or kde or whatever other wm, but own X windows manager (twm) still should work and you'll be able to check with that.

I've tried finding changelogs for rc5, rc6 (never downloaded and tried it) and rc7. You can find a list of specs for rc7 on distrowatch.com. I would love to contact the person/people who maintain Slax to mention to them what my problem is and find out what the difference it. Unfortunately, there isn't an email address or place to contact them on their new blog site. I just posted a comment at the end of the rc7 blog. I'm certain it won't be read.

check their old site

I went to the old site and sent a message. Unfortunately, after sending the message a note displayed on the screen saying that it could take up to 3 months to receive a response. DOH!