I've just installed Mandrake on an older PC to take Linux for a whirl (complete newbie here) and I was pleased to find that it was very easy to install. The only problem is getting the display to work. I know my monitor is a NEC MultiSync A500 (says that right on the side) I know it works at 1024x768 (used this monitor on a Windows PC) but I don't know what my graphics card is. I've tried tons of different ones, but the result is always the same. Either it gives me an error message, or the screen flickers and moves rapidly enough to give someone a seizure ! If I press CTRL, ALT, and + or -, I can sometimes get it to stop and work, but its huge and I have to move the mouse around to navigate the screen. I really want to test it out, but I just can't get this to work!

You are going to have to identify that card. Mandrake will probe and detect the new ones, but the older ones are trouble. Open the box, look at the card itself, you should see a sticker that says what kind of card it is somewhere. After that, you will want to start off slow. Configure it for something like 800x600 and 16bit color. If that works, try 1024 with 16bit.

-Kevin

P.S. You could also just try Generic SVGA or something like that for a driver.

I've never actually built/or dissasembled a computer (besides putting in a CD drive) so I don't know where the card is... And just so you know, its a 4 yeard old PC from one of the sotr bought packages. Windows was slow as heck so I wiped it out and installed Linux...now this...

Well... if you take the side of the case off (Power DOWN the sytem and uplug cord first).. the monitor cable with be plugged into the video port, which will either be a card plugged into one of the slots, or it will be built right on to the motherboard.

If its a card, you can undo the cable, unscrew the holding screw on the card and carefully pull it out. Make sure you touch some metal or something first to dispel any static charges.

If its on the Motherboard, it might be more difficult.. look for some thing on the board like a chip with a sticker or something.. the words, Trident... Cirrus... Nvidia... all pop to mind, and somethiing like SVGA or VGA and 8MB or stuff like that.

Also, when the system boots, it should tell you FIRST THING how much video mem it has and possibly the brand and model of card.

It could also be listed in the BIOS under "integrated peripherals" or something like that.

-Kevin

Thanks, I'll try that.

You may try another method if you can't find out what your card is (the first thing displayed on boot may be the card, I think...)

But you can unplug the card (if non-integrated on the motherboard), and plug it in a Windows XP operating computer. If this is an AGP card (normally the first slot at the top of the motherboard), just replace the existing one with the new one. If it is a PCI card (the slots under the AGP), just plug it in a free slot

Then boot Windows XP (if PCI card, you may need to plug the monitor on that card instead of the AGP one, depends of the bios).
And then right-click on "my computer" then left click on properties, Hardware, Device manager (or something like that, I don't know, mine is a french version). In the tree you'll just click on "Graphic Cards" and see the one(s) which are in the computer - so the one you want to identify.
Just note this and plug the configurations back (pull off the PC first ;o) ), and then send this identification on the forum, someone should be able to help you (I can't, I'm a newbie in Linux...)

Its integrated to the mother board...

Well, I think that I found it. There is a black rectangle sort of thinng that is raised above the rest of the Chip. It says ATI on it with a whole ton of numbers. Trouble is I already tried every ATI card in the list and none of them worked.

Now what?

P.S. If any of you have AIM, YIM, MSN, or ICQ, I'd really like it if you would chat with me. One on one is often more effective...

Er... As I said I'm a newbie too so I do not know how linux works with integrated peripherals...

I just know an old ati with 2 Mb RAM is ok under Mandrake 9, but it's a non integrated one.

Well have you gone in the Bios to see the Integrated Peripherals setup ? Graphic card may just be disabled... try this, I think you'l have the complete denomination of the card. It may be useful to find a driver ...

I went into the BIOS and I see:

• Basic System Configuration
• Advanced System Configuration
• Power Saving Configuration
• System Security
• PnP/PCI System Configuration

I can't seem to find anything you said...

Well, there must be something about display in the Advanced System Configuration I think.

If no, I don't know if you can change graphic card. Then you'll have to make the integrated one work.

Sorry but now I can not say you more about that, it depends on Linux configuration and ... I'm a newbie here

Most of the computers I have had with onboard video I was able to just pop a different video card into a slot and the system automagically switches to using the new card.

As for the X server thing, I'm no expert in that area but on one of my computers X just wouldn't work so I ran all the configure programs I could find on my Linux like "XFree86 -config" and "xf86config" and then used a text editor to piece together all the different XF86Config files they made until I got it to start. I probably couldn't tell you how to do the same thing and make it work since I was doing a lot of stabbing in the dark but I was able to muck around with it enough that it started working. I also found that one of the commands, I think XFree86 -config, was able to probe my card and knew what type it was, I know there is a Linux command to probe PCI that would probably work for you also but I can't remember what it is named. (your onboard video is probably PCI even though it doesn't plug into a slot.)