Powerbook resolution problems

foodluver · 08-12-2005, 11:01 PM

I've got a titanium powerbook 800mhz with debian 3.1. the problem is i can only get one screen resolution on it (800x600). i have tried every other available resolution (1024x768, 640x480, 832x624, and 1152x768) and none of them have worked at all. the screen just messes up and i have to reboot back into 800x600. also the it wont let me choose from a screen refresh rate other than 60 hz. my goal is to get a higher resolution so i can fit more on the screen. is there any settings that i can change so that the other resolutions will work (i would prefer the 1024x768 at whatever refresh rate i can get). any suggestions or comments would be great. thanks

LinuxVB · 08-13-2005, 07:19 AM

Check in /var/log/Xorg.0.log or /var/log/XFree86.log

look for something like this to see what your video driver isn't doing:

Code:

(II) NVIDIA(0): Monitor[0]: Using hsync range of 31.00-80.00 kHz
(II) NVIDIA(0): Monitor[0]: Using vrefresh range of 56.00-76.00 Hz
(II) NVIDIA(0): Clock range:  12.00 to 350.00 MHz
(WW) (1600x1200,Monitor[0]) mode clock 162MHz exceeds DDC maximum 160MHz
(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "640x350" (vrefresh out of range)
(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "320x175" (vrefresh out of range)
(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "640x400" (vrefresh out of range)
(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "320x200" (vrefresh out of range)
(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "720x400" (vrefresh out of range)
(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "360x200" (vrefresh out of range)
(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "320x240" (vrefresh out of range)
(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "400x300" (vrefresh out of range)
(II) NVIDIA(0): Not using default mode "512x384" (vrefresh out of range)

Look for something like this to see what your system can do:

Code:

(**) NVIDIA(0): Validated modes for display device CRT-0:
(**) NVIDIA(0):      Mode "1600x1200": 162.0 MHz, 75.0 kHz, 60.3 Hz
(**) NVIDIA(0):      Mode "1280x1024": 134.7 MHz, 78.0 kHz, 73.0 Hz
(**) NVIDIA(0):      Mode "1152x864": 103.6 MHz, 66.7 kHz, 74.0 Hz
(**) NVIDIA(0):      Mode "1024x768": 80.7 MHz, 59.3 kHz, 74.0 Hz
(**) NVIDIA(0):      Mode "800x600": 48.2 MHz, 46.3 kHz, 74.0 Hz
(**) NVIDIA(0):      Mode "640x480": 30.2 MHz, 37.1 kHz, 74.0 Hz
(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "1400x1050": 122.0 MHz, 64.9 kHz, 60.0 Hz
(**) NVIDIA(0):      Mode "1280x1024": 117.5 MHz, 68.0 kHz, 64.0 Hz
(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "1280x960": 108.0 MHz, 60.0 kHz, 60.0 Hz
(**) NVIDIA(0):      Mode "1152x864": 88.2 MHz, 57.4 kHz, 64.0 Hz
(**) NVIDIA(0):      Mode "1024x768": 68.5 MHz, 51.0 kHz, 64.0 Hz
(**) NVIDIA(0):      Default mode "832x624": 57.3 MHz, 49.7 kHz, 74.6 Hz

In the first Mode line above, the 75 kHz is the Horiz and the 60.3 is the vertical refresh for that mode.

Make sure your Xorg.conf or XF86config file has similar values.
Your LCD display will probably only work at 60Hz, so you can put in a single value of 60 for the VertRefresh.

You may need to construct a mode line for the resolution you want and specify it as below:

Code:

 Section "Monitor"
  Option       "CalcAlgorithm" "CheckDesktopGeometry"
  DisplaySize  408 306
  HorizSync    31-80
  Identifier   "Monitor[0]"
  ModelName    "2001FP"
  VendorName   "DELL"
  VertRefresh  56-76
  UseModes     "Modes[0]"
EndSection

Section "Modes"
  Identifier   "Modes[0]"
  Modeline      "640x480" 25.55 640 656 720 800 480 481 484 499
  Modeline      "640x480" 30.25 640 664 728 816 480 481 484 501
  Modeline      "1600x1200" 162.00 1600 1704 1880 2160 1200 1201 1204 1244
  Modeline      "1280x1024" 117.45 1280 1368 1504 1728 1024 1025 1028 1062

foodluver · 08-13-2005, 06:15 PM

im still a little lost on what to do, heres what i got in the XFree86.0.log file:

Code:

(II) RADEON(0): Monitor1 EDID data ---------------------------
(II) RADEON(0): Manufacturer: APP  Model: 9c21  Serial#: 16843009
(II) RADEON(0): Year: 2002  Week: 5
(II) RADEON(0): EDID Version: 1.3
(II) RADEON(0): Digital Display Input
(II) RADEON(0): Max H-Image Size [cm]: horiz.: 32  vert.: 22
(II) RADEON(0): Gamma: 2.20
(II) RADEON(0): No DPMS capabilities specified; RGB/Color Display
(II) RADEON(0): First detailed timing is preferred mode
(II) RADEON(0): redX: 0.600 redY: 0.350   greenX: 0.310 greenY: 0.550
(II) RADEON(0): blueX: 0.149 blueY: 0.114   whiteX: 0.319 whiteY: 0.329
(II) RADEON(0): Manufacturer's mask: 0
(II) RADEON(0): Supported additional Video Mode:
(II) RADEON(0): clock: 79.8 MHz   Image Size:  321 x 214 mm
(II) RADEON(0): h_active: 1280  h_sync: 1296  h_sync_end 1408 h_blank_end 1536 h_border: 0
(II) RADEON(0): v_active: 854  v_sync: 855  v_sync_end 858 v_blanking: 866 v_border: 0
(II) RADEON(0):  B152EW01
(II) RADEON(0):  B152EW01
(II) RADEON(0): Monitor name: Color LCD
(II) RADEON(0): End of Monitor1 EDID data --------------------
(II) RADEON(0):
(II) RADEON(0): Primary Display == Type 2
(WW) RADEON(0): No valid info for SCLK/MCLK for display bandwidth calculation.
(==) RADEON(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
(II) RADEON(0): Validating modes on Primary head ---------
(II) RADEON(0): Panel size found from DDC: 1280x854
(II) RADEON(0): Valid Mode from Detailed timing table: 1280x854
(II) RADEON(0): Total of 1 mode(s) found.
(II) RADEON(0): Total number of valid DDC mode(s) found: 1
(II) RADEON(0): Valid mode using on-chip RMX: 800x600
(II) RADEON(0): Valid mode using on-chip RMX: 640x480
(II) RADEON(0): Total number of valid FP mode(s) found: 2
(--) RADEON(0): Virtual size is 800x600 (pitch 800)
(**) RADEON(0): *Mode "800x600": 79.8 MHz (scaled from 0.0 MHz), 52.0 kHz, 60.0 Hz
(II) RADEON(0): Modeline "800x600"   79.81  800 1296 1408 1536  600 855 858 866
(**) RADEON(0): *Mode "640x480": 79.8 MHz (scaled from 0.0 MHz), 52.0 kHz, 60.0 Hz
(II) RADEON(0): Modeline "640x480"   79.81  640 1296 1408 1536  480 855 858 866
(**) RADEON(0):  Default mode "640x350": 79.8 MHz (scaled from 0.0 MHz), 52.0 kHz, 60.0 Hz
(II) RADEON(0): Modeline "640x350"   79.81  640 1296 1408 1536  350 855 858 866
(**) RADEON(0):  Default mode "640x400": 79.8 MHz (scaled from 0.0 MHz), 52.0 kHz, 60.0 Hz
(II) RADEON(0): Modeline "640x400"   79.81  640 1296 1408 1536  400 855 858 866
(**) RADEON(0):  Default mode "720x400": 79.8 MHz (scaled from 0.0 MHz), 52.0 kHz, 60.0 Hz
(II) RADEON(0): Modeline "720x400"   79.81  720 1296 1408 1536  400 855 858 866
(**) RADEON(0):  Default mode "1024x768": 79.8 MHz (scaled from 0.0 MHz), 52.0 kHz, 60.0 Hz
(II) RADEON(0): Modeline "1024x768"   79.81  1024 1296 1408 1536  768 855 858 866
(**) RADEON(0):  Default mode "832x624": 79.8 MHz (scaled from 0.0 MHz), 52.0 kHz, 60.0 Hz
(II) RADEON(0): Modeline "832x624"   79.81  832 1296 1408 1536  624 855 858 866
(**) RADEON(0):  Default mode "1152x768": 79.8 MHz (scaled from 0.0 MHz), 52.0 kHz, 60.0 Hz
(II) RADEON(0): Modeline "1152x768"   79.81  1152 1296 1408 1536  768 855 858 866
(--) RADEON(0): Display dimensions: (320, 220) mm
(--) RADEON(0): DPI set to (63, 69)

Is there any thing i can do, becuase my thought is that my display can only handle one resolution. and i dont know how to add my own modeline let alone what to put in it. sorry for the trouble.

LinuxVB · 08-13-2005, 07:29 PM

Right here:

Code:

(II) RADEON(0): Valid Mode from Detailed timing table: 1280x854
and
(II) RADEON(0): Supported additional Video Mode:
(II) RADEON(0): clock: 79.8 MHz   Image Size:  321 x 214 mm
(II) RADEON(0): h_active: 1280  h_sync: 1296  h_sync_end 1408 h_blank_end 1536 h_border: 0
(II) RADEON(0): v_active: 854  v_sync: 855  v_sync_end 858 v_blanking: 866 v_border: 0
(II) RADEON(0):  B152EW01
(II) RADEON(0):  B152EW01
(II) RADEON(0): Monitor name: Color LCD
(II) RADEON(0): End of Monitor1 EDID data --------------------

your laptop display measures 321x214mm and is capable of 1280x854 resolution (strange resolution)

the other modelines i'd additionally try are:

Code:

(**) RADEON(0):  Default mode "1152x768": 79.8 MHz (scaled from 0.0 MHz), 52.0 kHz, 60.0 Hz
(II) RADEON(0): Modeline "1152x768"   79.81  1152 1296 1408 1536  768 855 858 866
(**) RADEON(0):  Default mode "1024x768": 79.8 MHz (scaled from 0.0 MHz), 52.0 kHz, 60.0 Hz
(II) RADEON(0): Modeline "1024x768"   79.81  1024 1296 1408 1536  768 855 858 866

in your /etc/X11/XF86Config file, in the monitor section add UseModes (as in the example above) and add a modes section:

Code:

 Section "Monitor"
  DisplaySize  321 214
  UseModes     "Modes[0]"
EndSection

Section "Modes"
  Identifier   "Modes[0]"
  Modeline "1280x854"   79.81  1280 1296 1408 1536  854 855 858 866
  Modeline "1152x768"   79.81  1152 1296 1408 1536  768 855 858 866
  Modeline "1024x768"   79.81  1024 1296 1408 1536  768 855 858 866
Endsection

Then change the default resolution to include 1280x854 1152x768 and 1024x768

Code:

Section "Screen"
  DefaultDepth 24
  SubSection "Display"
    Depth      24
    Modes      "1280x854" "1152x768" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
  EndSubSection
  Device       "Device[0]"
  Identifier   "Screen[0]"
  Monitor      "Monitor[0]"
EndSection

Alternatively you can put the modelines in the Display section instead of having a "Use Modes" and a seperate "Modes" section.

I'm not sure what your default color depth is. Don't change it initially. You may also need to add +/- hsync +/- vsync to the modelines above if you can determine the values from your existing XF86Config file. Check if there's a modeline for 800x600.
See this link - there's a couple of XFree86 config files:
http://lists.debian.org/debian-power.../msg00403.html
If for any reason all of this fails to produce the desired result, change the driver from radeon to vesa and try X again.
With the vesa driver I believe the best you'll get is the standard 1024x768 video, so you'll probably want to pare back the
Screen -> Display -> Modes subsection to start with 1024x768.

Also check this link for radeon driver options:
http://www.xfree86.org/4.4.0/radeon.4.html

Good luck.

foodluver · 08-13-2005, 11:36 PM

Ok, heres what i did. I edited the XF86Config-4 file (not before backing it up tho) with the information you provided. in short it didnt work. One problem i ran into was that i had to create the modes section altogether, and my indentifier variables were different from the ones that you had. i changed them and maybe that was what went wrong. i added the usemodes variable under the monitor section, i added the other resolutions to the modes variable in the display subsection of the the screen section. i rebooted and the screen was all messed up (like i was seeing double, if you know what i mean) and it said that it wouldn't start x server because i didnt have the right graphical settings or something. so x wouldnt let the gdm start. then i edited the XF86Config-4 file again and changed the first resolution in the Modes section to 1024x768 instead of the 1280x854 (thinking that was the problem) and rebooted again. this time the screen wasnt messed up, but the x server still wasnt happy. i finally had to put back the orginal file so that i could boot it back up into the gdm. btw, here what my XF86Config-4 (the original) looks like:

Code:

# XF86Config-4 (XFree86 X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the XF86Config-4 manual page.
# (Type "man XF86Config-4" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xfree86 package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xfree86
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following commands as root:
#
#   cp /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 /etc/X11/XF86Config-4.custom
#   md5sum /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 >/var/lib/xfree86/XF86Config-4.md5sum
#   dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86

Section "Files"
        FontPath        "unix/:7100"                    # local font server
        # if the local font server has problems, we can fall back on these
        FontPath        "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc"
        FontPath        "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic"
        FontPath        "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
        FontPath        "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
        FontPath        "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
        FontPath        "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/CID"
        FontPath        "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo"
        FontPath        "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi"
        FontPath        "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi"
EndSection

Section "Module"
        Load    "GLcore"
        Load    "bitmap"
        Load    "dbe"
        Load    "ddc"
        Load    "dri"
        Load    "extmod"
        Load    "freetype"
        Load    "glx"
        Load    "int10"
        Load    "record"
        Load    "speedo"
        Load    "type1"
        Load    "vbe"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier      "Generic Keyboard"
        Driver          "keyboard"
        Option          "CoreKeyboard"
        Option          "XkbRules"      "xfree86"
        Option          "XkbModel"      "macintosh"
        Option          "XkbLayout"     "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier      "Configured Mouse"
        Driver          "mouse"
        Option          "CorePointer"
        Option          "Device"                "/dev/psaux"
        Option          "Protocol"              "PS/2"
        Option          "Emulate3Buttons"       "true"
        Option          "ZAxisMapping"          "4 5"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        Identifier      "Generic Video Card"
        Driver          "ati"
        Option          "UseFBDev"              "true"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
        Identifier      "Generic Monitor"
        HorizSync       30-60
        VertRefresh     50-75
        Option          "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
        Identifier      "Default Screen"
        Device          "Generic Video Card"
        Monitor         "Generic Monitor"
        DefaultDepth    24
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth           1
                Modes           "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth           4
                Modes           "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth           8
                Modes           "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth           15
                Modes           "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth           16
                Modes           "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth           24
                Modes           "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
        Identifier      "Default Layout"
        Screen          "Default Screen"
        InputDevice     "Generic Keyboard"
        InputDevice     "Configured Mouse"
EndSection

Section "DRI"
        Mode    0666
EndSection

i think we're getting there... just slowly

LinuxVB · 08-14-2005, 08:02 AM

Save a copy of your original config file: cp XFree86Config-4 XFree86Config-4.save
Also, lets use runlevel 3 until X works the way you want.
Edit /etc/inittab
Change this line from 5 to 3:
# The default runlevel is defined here
id:5:initdefault:
to
# The default runlevel is defined here
id:3:initdefault:

To test the X configuration type startx

Now, look at these XF86Config-4 files: http://lists.debian.org/debian-power.../msg00403.html

You might need to open up the horizontal and vertical freqs, although I didn't see anything to indicate it in the XFree86.0.log.

Code:

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Apple PowerBook G4"
	HorizSync	30-100
	VertRefresh	50-160
	Modeline	"1152x768" 64.995 1152 1213 1349 1472	768 771 777 806 -HSync -VSync
EndSection

Or use the Frame Buffer device as here http://lists.debian.org/debian-power.../msg00406.html

Code:

Section "Device"
	Identifier	"ATI Radeon 7500 Mobility M7"
	Driver		"fbdev"
	BusID		"PCI:0:16:0"
	Option		"UseFBDev"		"true"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Powerbook G4 LCD"
	HorizSync	30-60
	VertRefresh	50-75
	Option		"DPMS"
        Mode "1280x854"
          # D: 79.815 MHz, H: 51.963 kHz, V: 60.003 Hz
    	  DotClock 79.816
    	  HTimings 1280 1296 1408 1536
    	  VTimings 854 855 858 866
    	  Flags    "-HSync" "-VSync"
	EndMode

EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Default Screen"
	Device		"ATI Radeon 7500 Mobility M7"
	Monitor		"Powerbook G4 LCD"
	DefaultDepth	24
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth		24
		Modes		"1280x854"
	EndSubSection
EndSection

You could try either or both of the X Config files at the links and see if either works better than what you have.
I noticed one of the posters was running Sid.
So, if your results with Sarge don't pan out, you might consider upgrading to the Sid X packages.
I hope this helps.

foodluver · 08-14-2005, 04:41 PM

Wow im stupid, i should have gotten it after your first post, all i needed to do was add a usemodes section in the XF86Config-4 file with the correct modes that are supporeted from my XFree86.0.log file. i was dumb and tried to change the indentifier varibles, anyways i know what i did wrong, and you were right. Thank you so much for your help.