i recently installed suse 10 on my computer, but i ca't see a thing. as soon as i start suse, my screen goes into standby and i can't do anything about it. i had a similar problem with redhat 9.3. i couldn't change my resolution to 1024*768, even though i use this resolution in windows. suse first recognized my monitor as a generic monitor (it's a prodisma, or something like that...).

i really don't know what to do. i can hear the music when it starts and i can also access the terminal if i enter in failsafe. it's frustrating! this is the first time i've used linux. how can i change my resolution and color depth from the terminal? or what can i do?i don't know if it's the screen or suse that has problems.

any suggestions are welcome! thanks

Try to edit the 'vga=' parameter in /boot/grub/menu.lst. Pick a suitable resolution from the table below. If unsure, start with a lower color depth. Also, have a look at your BIOS settings, if there is a chance to reserve more memory for the graphics card (if it uses shared memory).

Dont worry about bios or whatever, its simple!

Boot up into SuSE 10.0 Failsafe <safe mode>

Then log in with the usernmae and password you used whn you installed it

THEN type in Sax2 in the dialog

ex.

Me@Linux~>Sax2


You will then get an easy, straightforward program to edit your resolution.

The reason 1024 x 768 isnt supported by your monitor, in linux, is refresh rates, SuSE uses wierd refresh rates, you can tool around, once your in linux, to find the refresh rate that best suits your monitor, and gives you the best resolution

Have Fun!

Any more questions? E-Mail me
webmaster@newchapelhill.org

I would like to comment on this:

Sax2 configures the X server (will be started when runlevel 5 is entered, or with startx)

The vga parameter controls the framebuffer console (is responsible for the console graphics, e.g. splash).

It has nothing to do with "easier", it's simply two different things!

I apologize then, Im not a linux guru by any chance, Im only relaying what worked for me, and seemed easiest.

Nothing to apologize about. I just wanted to make clear that these are not alternative methods for the same thing. alex17's post does not clearly say where the problems occur. It may well be the X server (in which case sax2 may be used).

okay, i'll try to be a little more specific. i enter suse in 'normal mode', it starts, i can hear it's startup music, but that's when my screen goes into standby (i can never see any welcome screen or anything like that). it just shuts down, as if there's no video signal. the first time it booted, just after installing it, the screen worked, but it kept shutting down. linux finally said that the screen shut down too many times because of some error and then i lost all video signal.

i tried modifying the vga setting in menu.lst but unfortunately it didn't work. someone suggested i look in /etc/X11/xorg.conf. i did that and found that linux detected my screen not as generic, but as something else. how can i change it to generic from the terminal? what do i need to modify? or how can i change the refresh rate?

i also tried starting up SaX, but my screen did the same thing, it went into standby. i entered YaST, and looked in the monitor section (or something like that), and again, my screen died. i'm really thinking of just throwing the thing out the window, it's just too annoying. i had the same problem in redhat, when i picked a monitor from the list on install(some generic monitor that supported 1024*768, because what it detected only supported 800*600). as soon as i finished installing redhat, my screen died, so i reinstalled and just left what it picked. and it worked, even though the resolution wasn't great. i don't understand why windows can correctly detect my screen? it finds it as generic, but i can actually use it at the proper resolution.

anyway, thanks to all the people who gave me any suggestions, i really appreciate it! if you have any more ideas, don't hesitate to share them.

I had the excact same problem alex, Sounds but no video, but sax worked for me.. I hope you figure it out, I'll do some research