How do I replace a monitor that has died? I tried plugging in another monitor from the same manufacturer, expecting that it would not work, and I was right: The interface (Fedora login) was scrambled! If I can find an exact replacement (IBM 15" LCD, model xxxx-xxx), will that work? Obviously, I can't "see" what I'm doing, so can't mount new devices, can't login so can't shut down "safely." I'm a genuine newbie, so simple explanations work best...
Thanks

You should be able to use any monitor and pnp will detect it. monitors have nothing to do with the os.

try booting into single user mode and restarting your x windows when your new monitor is plugged in.

Thanks, wasn't sure if Linux/Fedora used pnp - this gives me hope; but the monitor I tried didn't give me anything I could use. The login screen was scrambled, and I couldn't find the cursor. I'll try again/another monitor.

Try restarting your x windows before you do in single user mode.

ssh into your machine from another computer, edit the /etc/X11/xorg.conf fixing the vertical and horizontal refresh rates in the config file, restart X and everything should be good..

You may just be able to drop to a shell using CTRL+ALT+F2 on your current machine and edit the config file..

the values for your new monitor should be in the manual or on the manufacturers website..

Excuse my ignorance (you'll get used to it, I hope), and I should further explain my predicament. My Linux box is a backup system for a group of 15 to 20 users; always on, except briefly when swapping drivesets (It's a redundant RAID array - 2 sets of 3 drives.). The network connection has gone down mysteriously, so I can't ssh in. When I went to check out the network problem, I found the dead monitor. The machine is still running. Normally, I would login at the terminal, enter init(0) and then shut down. Since I can't see the login screen, I would have to guess in the dark at where to enter the username and password. Can I safely turn it off with the power switch, without losing anything (data, config settings, etc.)? Or can you advise me how I can shut down safely without the use of the monitor?

If the monitor is out, and ssh is dead are you sure it's still actually running ?

at this point it would seem there isn't much choice but to shut the system down..

I would attempt it blind, especially if you login to a console. it shouldn't be to difficult to do blind if the system is still actually running.

I would probably have a live CD on hand as well for when you decide to bring it back up, just in case..

If you have physically replaced the dead monitor with a new one and the display is scrambled, try killing your X session by pressing Ctl-Alt-Backspace. That will get you back to the CLI, where (in theory) you could just restart X. If that doesn't work, and assuming that this box is on a network, it seems to me you could just log in from one of the remote terminals and do a clean shutdown/restart. I would not recommend just powering off, as you could risk data corruption by doing so. Worst case scenario is to work blind -- just type in the commands very carefully, cross your fingers, and hope for the best. I've done this myself, but clearly it's not the preferred way to address the problem.

Anyhow, as you probably know and as farslayer pointed out, the critical config settings for the monitor in xorg.conf have to do with the horizontal and vertical refresh rates.