edit xorg.conf?

[Tozen]

Im a total beginner to Xubuntu and I need to ask a basic question.
I have installed Xubuntu 6.10 om a Dell Inspiron 8000, eveything went fine untill I booted the machine, the display looks like three displays in th same time. I read a thread about this and the solution was to edit the "/etc/x11/xorg.conf file"...

Where is it?
How do I do it?
Can I do it when I'm booting since I cant see the desktop?

I would really appreciate answers to this and especially "basic" answer since Im a TOTAL beginner to linux end xubuntu.

/confused beginner

[taurus]

Boot into recovery mode from GRUB menu and edit it...

nano -Bw /etc/X11/xorg.conf

[Tozen]

Thanks for your help!
I can get to a promt that says "grub>" but when Im using "nano -Bw /etc/x11/xorg.conf" its a "error 27 unrecognized command"... what am I doing wrong?

[taurus]

That, "grub>", is a GRUB prompt!!! So you see the options in the menu and the second option is about recovery mode? When your first boot your machine, press Esc to display the GRUB menu...

[linux4me]

I'm also a total beginner, but I've been where you've been just recently so I will give you the step-by-step.

When you reboot (Ctrl-Alt-Del) if you're at a scrambled screen was my approach, but I'm not sure that's best, get ready to push the Escape key to see the Grub menu mentioned in the previous post.

Choose the option for recovery mode of your version of Ubuntu using the up/down arrow keys and hit Enter.

Wait for everything to load, and you'll be taken to a command prompt.

You may want to back up your copy of xorg.conf before you start editing it. You do that with the copy command, "cp". Type:

sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf_backup

and then hit Enter.

Then it's safe to edit your xorg.conf file using the text editor Nano, which works both at the command line and in Terminal. Type:

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

and hit Enter.

When you're done making changes to the file, use Ctrl+O (that's the letter, not a zero) to save the file. Nano will default to the existing file name. Press enter to save the changes.

Press Ctrl+X to exit Nano back to the command prompt.

Type "exit" at the command prompt to restart and give your changes a try.

[taurus]

Originally Posted by linux4me I'm also a total beginner, but I've been where you've been just recently so I will give you the step-by-step. When you reboot (Ctrl-Alt-Del) if you're at a scrambled screen was my approach, but I'm not sure that's best, get ready to push the Escape key to see the Grub menu mentioned in the previous post. Choose the option for recovery mode of your version of Ubuntu using the up/down arrow keys and hit Enter. Wait for everything to load, and you'll be taken to a command prompt. You may want to back up your copy of xorg.conf before you start editing it. You do that with the copy command, "cp". Type: sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf_backup and then hit Enter. Then it's safe to edit your xorg.conf file using the text editor Nano, which works both at the command line and in Terminal. Type: sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf and hit Enter. When you're done making changes to the file, use Ctrl+O (that's the letter, not a zero) to save the file. Nano will default to the existing file name. Press enter to save the changes. Press Ctrl+X to exit Nano back to the command prompt. Type "exit" at the command prompt to restart and give your changes a try.

When you boot into recovery mode, you don't need to use "sudo" anymore because you are root now... Besides, this one command can do both, copying and opening a editor for you...

nano -Bw /etc/X11/xorg.conf

[Tozen]

Yes, I have pressed the "esc" button during start-up and got in to the menu where "recovery-mode" is an option, but I pressed "c" to get the command-line instead of acutally booting in that mode and get the second promt... sorry...

Know Im in the xorg.conf edit-promt I might get back here since it seems a bit tricky...
thanks!

[Tozen]

Now I have made the changes and hit "ctrl + O" but it says that "error writing /etc/x11/xorg.conf no such file or directory"?

uh? what?

Im not sure if Im changing it the right way... Im supposed to go to the section "monitor" and write:
HoriSync 31-82
VertRefresh 40-110
Can i just write it in the promt? or do I have to find the section? How do I do it?
I appreciate your help!

[taurus]

It's X11 as in capital X and number 11. Linux/Unix is case sensitive...

[linux4me]

Taurus- Thanks for the comment about the command you used and the unnecessary "sudo".