Hello all,
Just joined the forum here. Been a Debian user for about one year, still somewhat of a newbie though. I recently purchased a new flat-screen monitor. The highest default resolution offered on gnome is 800x600. The monitor reccommends a res of 1600x900 with a 75khz refresh rate.

When I run dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86, it allows me to set a variety of resolutions to choose from. I also renamed my graphics card. dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86 exits gracefully but gnome still won't offer or display an alternate resolution. The /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file still shows the initial settings. The graphics card is integrated but lspci shows:
when I run dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86 again, it "remembers" the previous entries. So how does anybody have any suggestions on how or why the changes made from dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86 don't persist? If the graphics card can't support these settings, is there a way to find that out?
I am running Debian v. 2.6.8-2-386. This is a little dated but I am in the process of re-installing the modem as well and would like to resolve this issue before I upgrade the kernel. Thanks!

Gee. I thought I was was the only guy on the planet still cursed with an old SIS integrated graphics chipset.
Suggest you check xorg.conf to make sure the SIS driver is loaded (in the "devices" section".
Xorg.0.log might be helpful as well. Check to see if X is getting your monitor's specs to work with and, if so, why it's rejecting the ones you need. I suspect this is where the problem is. Sounds like you're getting stuck in in VGA or VESA mode.
That kernel (as well as Xfree86) are getting pretty dated. Time to do a complete upgrade maybe?

Rick

Thanks! It turns out that I needed to run "dexconf" which actually generates the XF86Config-4 file. Then, (as of now) it just took a little tweaking and futzing around to find an adequate resolution. The monitor actually has a little screen with a recommended setting that pops up if your res is not optimal. Of course, that res is not offered by xfree86, or rather not supported by this SiS chipset. An upgrade is definitely in the works.