Screen Resoloution
 

I have an inspiron 1100 notebook and want to increase the screen resoloution from 640 something to 1024 something. I have tried the screen resoloution changing tool and it has no option for 1024 something.

alter this in /etc/X11/xorg.conf - but make sure both the video-card and the monitor support the new resolution.

... or something similar.

I opened a window with admin abilities selected the file you said changed it restarted and nothing happened.

Are U using nVidia GPU on this laptop? Or ATi?
If nVidia (with installed nvidia graphical driver) then your /etc/X11/xorg.conf must be (or may be something similar):
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
...
Section "Module"
#Load "GLcore"
Load "i2c"
Load "bitmap"
Load "ddc"
#Load "dri"
Load "extmod"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx"
Load "int10"
Load "type1"
Load "vbe"
EndSection
...
Section "Device"
Identifier "NVIDIA Corporation NV36 [GeForce FX 5700]"
Driver "nvidia"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection
...
Section "Screen"
SubSection "Display"
Depth "24"
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

And also make sure U have correct VertRefresh and HorizSync in Section "Monitor".
P.S. Identifier and BusID in Section "Device" above is just for example -- U should use yours.

I don't know what it is I think it's ATI though

sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

lspci and look for the card - this may help show you what it is.
ATI Radeon often need proprietary drivers, much like nVidia.
Well done mips13, I didn't think of reconfigure :) Aside: Have you had a look over at the "My LQ" menue on the right of this page? There is a handy "Edit Profile" thing that you can use to set your distro and location to be displayed under your name on the left.

I'm using intel integrated graphics.

That dosn't look like lspci output...
sudo /sbin/lspci -v gives me:... see what I mean? Basically, we need to know which "intel integrated graphics" you have. Is this it?If so, then this is an Intel(R) i830 Extreme Graphics chip model 82845G with hardware 3D support, 1024x768 is the maximum resolution supported. You need the intel drivers for 3D support. Have a look here: http://support.intel.com/support/gra.../CS-010512.htm

... of course, that's a guess.

I tried sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg and I configured it wrong and everything crashed. how can I revert to old settings?

This is why so much advise is about the command line :)

boot into text only (runlevel 3) and sudo dpkg etc all over again. Unless you also messed up your keyboard too!

You could boot into a live session, look for the xorg.conf file in you harddrive, then edit it directly for sensible values.

The cause of this problem is almost always the fact that the x.org file has the wrong horizontal and vertical sync/refresh rates for your display. If these lines are there, comment them out. If they're not there or that doesn't work, use google to track down the proper values.

If that doesn't work, gradually try increasing the top number of the range that is already there. If none of that works, post here again