I am completely brand new to linux...anyone that replies to this thread should take that into consideration....I just installed mandrake 10.1 and set up a dual boot for windows and linux...however, after the initial install of mandrake and the loading of the desktop, the screen resolution is really messed up and distorted to the point that I can't see what I am doing....I also downloaded secure shell on the windows side, is there any way I can log into the command line of the linux side and do any editing while still being able to do research on my problem??

I also tryed to edit the xorg.conf file with the emacs editor but I only know how to use pico and it doesn't come with this version of mandrake...
Monitor: Dell E773c
video card: Intel(R) 82865G Graphics Controller

Please help.....I am in a class in which linux is used and I became interested and that's how this whole thing started...I didn't know I would be up at all hours of the night trying to configure the damn thing to work right

mwharri

I'd suggest you need to edit XF86Config (could be XF86Config-4), located in /etc/X11

You need to be root. Don't forget to keep a backup copy!

Hum? I have no idea of what driver that video card will use.

Mine is nvidia, and only causes/caused problems with the generic nv driver - but of course I couldn't see what the hell I was doing graphically. I had to stop the X server and then in command line, edit the xorg.conf so that the graphic screen was readable enough to sort it.

My problem was still with the generic driver, but I made the screen more readable by reducing the refresh rate.

So your problem. If the install has selected the right driver but applied an incorrect refresh rate - you should be able to stop the X server with "ctrl+alt+delete" at the same time - it might take a few goes as with my system because the bloody X server tries to restart. then you should have a level 3 login screen. Log in as root to make the changes.

If you can't run pico (you'd be able to change that later), then rather than emacs, which takes a lot of learning to start with (IMO), you almost definitely had VI (or VIM) installed as default - you will have to use your windows to search for some basic instructions about making the changes, print them off if possible - but then boot back into the mandriva/mandrake, kill the x server, log in as root and then just enter vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf (or whatever your path to the file is) and hit enter and you should have the file displayed.

Basic file mods in vi can be done by hitting the insert button, then moving the cursor to the bit you want to modify with the keyboard arrows, then putting in the mod and then removing the offending bit with either delete or backspace. When you've done what you want, hit the Escape button. To quit without saving, you need to do :q (colon q) or to save and quit, it's :wq (colon wq). Then you can restart the x server and see if it's made any difference.

Or, if you can kill the x server you can just try and do a complete reconfiguration - i.e. get the specs for your video card and monitor, then in the level 3 login you can apply the command xorgconfig - it might be xorgconfigure, I'm sorry I can't recall exactly it's been a very long time since I did that - but when it starts you get a list of things that come up on the screen, choosing monitor H and V rates, driver, video device, mouse, etc etc - it takes about 10 minutes or so, and at the end writes a new xorg.conf file.

Hopefully that will point you in the right direction.

Also, you probably have the man pages installed - the format that they're produced in is rather daunting, but theres a link to "how to read man pages" in my sig and you just do "man xorg.conf" in the level 3 login and all the information is there, but it may need "decyphering" with the help of the link in my sig.

I hope thats not too vague or confusing.

regards

John

p.s. Oh and another good place for mandrake/mandriva distro specific is located here or at the LQ Distros>mandriva forum

As far as I'm aware, Mandrake/mandriva move away from XFree 86 at about either 9.2 or 10.0 - the file might be there but the default for 10.1 is Xorg

regards

John

all right...a lot has happened since my initial post.....I accidentally formatted my windows partition and had to call dell to get a new windows disk...have reinstalled windows and decided to go with redhat 9......the dual boot works well and Linux GUI isn't distorted, however, my resolution is messed up and I have the drivers for the monitor on a cd.....and there-in lies the problem...the cd is only executable in windows.....I just keep having problems....Have tried to go into the config file to change the resolution, but every time I do and reboot, I get a prompt to change the resolution because the one I have chosen did not work basically

Dell E773c monitor
mwharri

2 points mwharri,

firstly there should be no need for a driver per se, for the monitor. It's the graphics card that you'd need to know mainly. The monitor is a dell you say, well if so then it's almost definitely something thats rebadged with the dell stuff.

If you have the paperwork that came with it - or you look it up on the web, for the horizontal and vertical specs, then you should be able to run the xorg config app (cant remember if the command is xorgconf or xorgconfigure). By doing that you would have the ability to manually apply the H and V freqs, plus the keyboard, the mouse (i.e. the stuff thats handled by the x server).

Also, redhat 9 is getting rather elderly. That was the stage when "they" made redhat proper and enterprise product and forked the "other" distro, which became fedora - the current version of which is fedora core 4 (I believe).

You can of course, continue down the redhat 9 route - your choice. I, would suggest that if you think it's specifically the redhat route that you are comfortable with, then fedora core 4 - because it's up to date with lots of bugfixes and other elements that will make your introduction to linux considerably smoother (hell you could probably manage a gentoo install if you don't mind following instructions and do lots of digging - but the learning curve would be a reversed 90 metre ski jump!).

My main point being, that it's probably better if you try an up to date distro, whether it's fedora, SuSE, mandriva etc etc. Because the initial experience is so much smoother.

You've managed too sort your windows, so if you can just organise that so that your hard drive has some unallocated space - I'd suggest that you started from scratch with one of the up to date ones - it should (theoretically) work fine with the defaults. Of course if your kit has some of the more up to date abilities i.e. SATA hdd, raid of some sort, then it may indeed take a little bit more effort to install.

My attitude is often opposite to lots of the so called "enthusiasts" - It's my belief that the inital "linux experience" should be enjoyable - and not some nightmare where you have to spend forever to learn about manual config of something.

The specs for your monitor can be found here which tells me that it's pretty straight forward and you don't need to worry about the stuff thats on that "driver disc" you mentioned. you should be able to just run the configuration without any problems, just applying the relevant info where needed.

The only thing that my may have to look into a little is if your graphics card is nvidia or ATi based - both have proprietary drivers to get the best from them (I understand that that why nvidia cards are more popular - their linux support is superior to ATi). There are generic drivers that should get the system working OK though.

If you have a burner in the system then you can also download and burn the disc under windows (I used to use nero for that) - the only thing you would have to check is the "md5sum" of the download (the md5sum file is usually found with the distro download location - it's a small text file with a long number). Then install md5summer and run it to get an md5sum from the downloaded iso file, and just compare it to the one in the text file - if they match, then burn the iso to CD (check the instructions for that - or web based ideas/suggestions for the settings for the software).

The specs for you monitor can then be "tweaked" to match how you like the view/size/res etc.

Hope that helps a little

regards

John