Now we want to set the specifications of the monitor. The two critical
parameters are the vertical refresh rate, which is the rate at which the
the whole screen is refreshed, and most importantly the horizontal sync rate,
which is the rate at which scanlines are displayed.

The valid range for horizontal sync and vertical sync should be documented
in the manual of your monitor. If in doubt, check the monitor database
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc/Monitors to see if your monitor is there.

--

However I can't find the monitor database. I get to /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc/ and there's no Monitors there.

bash-2.05b$ su
Password:
bash-2.05b# cd /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc
bash-2.05b# ls
BUILD README.DRIcomp README.dps README.s3virge
BugReport README.I128 README.fonts RELNOTES
DESIGN README.SiS README.i740 ServersOnly
Install README.XKB-Config README.i810 Status
LICENSE README.XKB-Enhancing README.mouse Versions
README README.apm README.newport VideoBoard98
README.DECtga README.ati README.r128 fontconfig-2.2.1
README.DGA README.chips README.rapidaccess freetype-2.1.5
README.DRI README.cyrix README.rendition

--

How am I supposed to find out what these are for my monitor? It's a Samsung SyncMaster 700s Plus.

--

Please answer the following question with either 'y' or 'n'.
Do you want to select additional XKB options (group switcher,
group indicator, etc.)?

Is that something good? I chose "n" since I didn't know what it was

http://www.goldkist.net/17-samsung-monitor.htm

HTH

Ah thanks.
Is there a way to check which video card I have except for looking at the box? I think I have Voodo 3 3000 or something but I'm not really sure and it might be best if I was.

Run 'lspci' or 'cat /proc/pci'. Should see the name somewhere

Great, thanks for the help. I'll see if I did this right now

You could go to the Samsung site and look up your monitor specifications, but I didn't see them.

Do you have your monitor manual? It is listed in there, under "specifications", as the installer suggested.

If you don't, I found a manual for the SyncMaster 700S at http://media-server.amazon.com/media...000015699.pdf, which indicates that that monitor has a horizontal refresh ranging from approximately 31-68 and a vertical refresh rate ranging from approximately 59-85. This manual indicates that the highest resolution available with these refresh settings is 1024x768. The Plus version might have expanded capabilities, but I didn't see any data for that variation in my fast search.

I don't know about the XKB options either, but 1) they are "additional" so you clearly don't need them, and 2) I'm willing to bet that the default was no, so you really don't need them. Even if there was no default answer (the default was shown as blank rather than Y or N), that also indicates that if you don't know you need them, you don't need them. Only if the default was yes, would it be worthwhile to choose it anyway even if you didn't know what it was.

Hope this helps.

Dude, out of curiosity I checked Google, and the only thing I could find for this monitor was from a Russian site: http://www.ferra.ru/online/catalog.p...128.html&dir=2

It looks like the horiz range is 30 - 70 and the vertical is 50 - 160

-- J.W.

I'm also a bit stuck with using XFree86 Config as I'm using a Compaq CV535 monitor. The problem is that after HP took over Compaq, any support or info on Compaq products began to vanish. The HP/Compaq site acknowledges the existence of this model in certain PC setups, but offers absolutely nothing on the monitor itself. I've also checked with several large monitor databases (most don't even list Compaq monitors).
What I do know is that this monitor supports up to 1024x768 at 70Hz. Any ideas on where I can get ahold of the specs?

A second question I was wondering, I'm using one of those stripped down tiny motherboards for my Linux machine with no expansion slots.. So I'm forced to use integrated video. I won't have a problem using an Intel chipset with XFree86 will I?

Thanks much in advance!