i have installed linux 8.0 and screwed up on the video resolution and cannot get into the gui. where can i change this in the text based system? thanks.

ur system config please?which distribution

i'm a newbie to linux...wher can i get the config?

Take a look in /etc/X11 there should be a file named xorg.conf or XF86Config depending on how old your distribution is, newer ones come with xorg. Open the file with an editor like vi and edit the modes at the bottom of the file. It should look something like this...

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Videocard0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "800x600" "640x480" <---edit to desired resolution
EndSubSection
EndSection