I just tried an installation of Lenny as a method of getting updates. Downloaded the installer then did the install on-line. Took a bunch of hours, but no problems. Very good-looking Debian--but...

My monitor is a flat-panel which requires 1440x900 resolution, and that became a problem. Xorg.conf shows a 1440x1440 resolution which does not cause a problem, but doesn't fit. So I edited it to 1440x900 as I have done for other distros and for Etch, but when I set that resolution, it will only fill about 2/3ds of the screen. It leaves a 4 inch black section on the left side and makes some very tall, skinny people on the right. That's the only res of those I tried that caused a problem.

Anyone seen such a ridiculous problem before??? Any thoughts?? Have I found a bug?

From a command line as root run the command below. When at the section asking what resolutions to use, unselect everything except 1440x900. For questions you do not understand in this configuration utility, just hit enter to accept the default.

Thanks for the suggestion--unfortunately, it didn't work. But I was wrong in a way--it won't fill the screen with any 1440 width... So, I'll go file a bug report with the Debian site, and go back to Etch...

Filling a bug report is probably a turn in the wrong direction, installing drivers for your graphics device would probably be a turn in the right direction.
Debian Lenny has no problems using 1440x900 on my laptop which also recommends this resolution, and if I remember correctly, it only achieves it after installing drivers for my video card.
If you already have the drivers installed, post your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file so I can compare to mine.

Seconded. I had the exact same problem on Lenny with a Radeon card and a Digimate 1440x900 16:10 display; replacing the default

Driver "vesa"

with

Driver "radeon"

did the trick beautifully. The vesa driver only supports a basic set of resolutions, up to 1280x1024 iirc, you need the correct driver for your card for anything exotic.

It's gone from a blurry 1280x1024 mess to a razor-sharp 1440x900 image. Looks gorgeous.