when my xorg.conf is edited to include the "nv" driver, startx works fine.
when my xorg.conf is edited to include the "nvidia" driver, startx has problems.

-the first problem is
that startx usually displays a black screen and then does nothing else. I have to turn off my computer when that happens.
-the second problem occurs
when, sometimes, startx WILL start and will show xwindows. When this occurs, the NVIDIA logo is MUCH bigger than it should be and the X-windows environment is much larger than it should be also. It is as though my "display" settings in xorg.conf are being ignored.

does anyone know the solution to this problem? Thanks for any help.

I am no longer using mandrake. I do not believe that link is relevant to me because I used gentoo's portage system to compile the nvidia drivers from source and install them for me. T

fatblueduck, it may have helped to let us know this first.

Since installing the NVidia drivers are not a taxing task by any stretch, may I suggest you un-emerge them and install them in the normal way. This way if there are any problems with the compilation you should be notified, and then we can start diagnosing problems.