[SOLVED] How do I correct faulty graphics config

Woozle · 11-12-2008, 04:24 PM

(I'm pretty much a newbie at Linux, am learning fast, but still picking up some fundamentals)

I'm running Ubuntu 8.04.1 64-bit server with KDE gui

I had to reboot the server and for some reason it came back up with the screen resolution running at 800x600, instead of the original 1680x1050 (or whatever it was).

So I went into the display gui and reconfigured the settings back to how I thought they were, but now when the server boots it seems to fail when starting the graphics and just falls back to the command line.

I have a sneaky feeling I set the refresh rate too high for what the screen is capable of, so it fails and falls back to the command line.

But whatever the reason, I need to get into a config file somewhere and amend some settings, so at least the graphics fire up and I can then work out the correct settings.

So, from the command line, what do I need to look at and amend so I stand some chance of getting a gui back up ?

Many thanks

whansard · 11-12-2008, 05:23 PM

it's probably /etc/X11/xorg.conf
there may be a backup file there /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak
you can use nano or pico if either is installed, to edit the file.
# cd /etc/X11
# ls -l
# nano xorg.conf
remember that there may be a backup there, that may be overwritten when you save a new copy.
you can
# cp xorg.conf xorg.conf.newextracopy
# cp xorg.conf.bak xorg.conf.bak.bak
for extra copies for safety

linuxcanuck · 11-12-2008, 06:18 PM

Try: sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

This will reconfigure the xserver.

Woozle · 11-14-2008, 09:19 AM

I tried sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg as the quick fix to get my graphics back. But will play with xorg.cong in due course to see what it can do for me.

Many thanks, Guys

amani · 11-14-2008, 10:00 AM

Why are you running a server at 1680x1050?

It is not a good idea to run GUIs on servers...or do you really want to use the desktop edition.