NewbQues: Changing resolution in X?
 

Recently installed RH6.1 (2.2.10) on a Micronics Twister AT mobo, Intel P233MMX with 128MB, ATI Mach 64. No probs installing, but Gnome is absolutely UNREADABLE, it's so small! I'm guessing the resolution is set to 1280x1024, which is the max the gcard can handle.
I've tried [Ctrl][Alt]+ and [Ctrl][Alt]-, no luck. Can't run Linuxconf in Gnome because, for some stupid reason, it's not installed! Can't figure what file to mod in bash, nor do I know how.
I would appreciate any help in either a) installing Linuxconf (and from where?), or b) changing the X settings from the CLI.
Thanks,

"I would appreciate any help in either a) installing Linuxconf (and from where?), or b) changing the X settings from the CLI."

You can change the monitor resolution by hand in /etc/X11/XF86Config.

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Steve Stites

Hi n9viw!!!

Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org. Try editing the file located at /etc/X11 called XF86Config.
When you open that file with your favorite text editor, scroll it down until you find a section similar to this:

You can try changing those resolutions and re-starting X and see if it helps. Another thing you could check at that file is how well configured your video hardware is, amount of video RAM, drivers... And change those values if needed. Remember to backup XF86Config first ;).

If you can/want, you might try to download a newer version of Redhat. I've tried 6.2, god knows when it was, and I had a similar problem to yours... newer distros would make great things for ya, you know, new hardware support, better drivers, security... You may consider it too. Slackware 9.0 or 9.1, as well Debian or Libranet 2.7 would work really neat with your hardware... think about it ;)

Regards!

Hello n9viw,

In Red Hat, you can change the resolution in X using the command

redhat-config-xfree86

So in case you feel vary of editing the XF86Config file, you may use this command.

Regards,

amit

coolamit78 is correct :) I've totally forgoten that command. I miss my JAMD distribution :cry:

Thanks to both of you for your bullet-fast replies, I'll play with it when I get home... and I'll back it up before I edit it! Thanks also for the suggestions about ensuring the settings are correct, I'll have to pull the specs off the net, as I got the gcard used.

I was offered a copy of SuSE 9.x by a friend of mine, but I'm using RH6.1 for several reasons:
a) I thought since I'm just getting started banging around in Linux, no need for the newest and greatest.
b) The hardware is definitely not new- it was used when I picked it up back in '98. RH6.1 installed just fine, and identified everything correctly on its own (using the graphics install).
c) I already had a couple copies of RH6.1 since I picked up a couple books that it came with back in '99 (yes, I've been sitting on it this long!), and a copy of Debian from around the same time that I haven't tried installing yet.

Well, I attacked the file "XF86Config" from the CLI using Pico, and had no problem navigating to the appropriate section; however, when I got there, I had no idea what to do!
In the monitor section, I saw two monitors identified: a generic monitor with H.Sync of 31.5 and VRefresh of 60, followed by a mode line of 640x480, mode 25.175. The second was a Magnavox MV5011 (CM1300) with a H.Sync of 30-54.0 and V.Refresh of 50-110.0. The Magnavox is my old monitor, I've since switched to a MAG 510V2 (mod # NA-0503-01).
More questions:
Does having more than one monitor in profile "confuse" the system? Which one is it using?
Does the order of the modes dictate which mode is used first?
What part does the depth play in dictating which mode is used, if any?
Thanks for all your help- I've done "man XF86Config" and looked through my training books, but none mentioned changing video modes, so I'm quite at a loss!

Could you please copy and paste your XF86Config file here? We can take a look and see where you may have to edit ;).

Sorry, can't cut n paste since a) my Linux machine is not the machine I'm using to come here, and b) I don't have a utility to take a screenshot from bash. Too new, too new...
Searched the net for info on this monitor, seems it is part of the problem (unrelated)- my former monitor (Magnavox CM1300 15") could display up to 1800x1600 (according to its settings in XF86Config, now commented out), but the Mach 64 Rage II card maxed out at 1200x1000 (roughly). Even that proved to be too much for this Mag Innovision 510v2, which maxes out at 1024x768, leaving an edge-to-edge rollover I could not correct with horizontal sizing.
Found a couple pages with good info- one had settings for XConfigurator for RH6.2, and listed the H.Sync and V.Refresh for this Mag, and also elucidated color depths and how to handle which resolution is being used.
So, I'm off to it again, and will follow up with successful news, hopefully!
Thanks again,

Well, entered the monitor info in the Xconfig file, as well as revising the max screen size (switched to 800x600 as main) and commenting out the resolutions I knew this monitor couldn't handle, worked great. I CAN SEE!! The color depth is still a little grainy (looks like 256 instead of the 16M the RageII should be capable of), but that's for another time.
Thanks again to all who responded, hope to have some more intelligent questions once I'm done mousing thru the HOWTOs, man pages, and installed D4D (Docs for Dummies, Red Hat documentation) !