changing low screen resolution

[dynacrylic]

I just upgraded to 8.10, how do I change my resolution to something other than 800x600?

I tried adding the restricted drivers, but it seems the nvidia software and drivers are not working properly.

Can someone please direct me to a solution for this.

thanks in advance

[acm321]

Did you go to System>Preferences>Screen Resolution or something else?

[mingle]

Hi,

I have a similar issue, as do a few others it seems!

Previously (7.10) it was possible to get around missing/not installed GFX drivers using the quick and handy displayconfig-gtk utility, however the developers (in their wisdom!) appear to have left this out of 8.10 and not provided (as far as I can see) an alternative...

The gnome-display-properties util is of no help, since it is just for changing display resolutions that are currently available. Our issue is that the correct GFX drivers are not available/have not been installed by the installer...

Hopefully someone can help us out or it's going to be back to XP (again!) for me, as I'm stuck at 800x600 too!

Cheers,

Mike.

[bscbrit]

When you try to change the screen resolution, does it offer any other setting than 800x600? If so, try selecting a different one and see if that helps. If your problem, however, is that the maximum resolution offered is only 800x600 then you are experiencing the same problem as others, myself included. The software behind xserver has changed fundamentally and, where it was once a case of changing the odd line in xorg.conf or, better still, running displayconfig-gtk, neither of these options is now possible.

I had to take a very long route to solve my problem. Firstly, I had to go back to 8.04. When I had that working I copied /etc/X11/xorg.conf to a thumb drive. Next, I reinstalled 8.10 and then, as sudo, copied the xorg.conf onto the new installation. You might want to wait a little while longer to see if anyone comes up with a more efficient/effective solution.

The new changes seem to please people once they are working correctly, but are causing difficulties for many others who are experiencing problems with no easy or obvious way to resolve them.

[bscbrit]

I've just made a little experiment. I downloaded guidance-backends and displayconfig-gtk from the Hardy repos and installed them under Intrepid. This returns the missing displayconfig-gtk which allows me to configure my display again!

HOWEVER - use this at your own risk. It might cause other problems behind the scenes but, if you haven't got a working computer, that might not be too much of a problem for you.

I stress, USE THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. If you don't know how to download the debs from the Hardy repos, please come back and ask.

[mingle]

Hi bscbrit,

Could you please let a relative newbie know how to access and install displayconfig-gtk? I'm willing to take the risk!

Cheers,

Mike

[SunnyRabbiera]

yeh this is why removing the display config tool was a stupid idea.
I dont care if it broke xorg, hey a hapless newbie who has no idea how to work the xorg.conf file can break it just as easy.

[bscbrit]

THIS IS NOT SUPPORTED BY Intrepid - but it worked for me. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

EDIT - This has only been successful with a small number of people. I do not recommend it as a first option, but rather as something to try when all else fails. - END EDIT

First of all, you need to download the packages. Go to the following 2 links. At the bottom of each page is a link to allow the package to be downloaded. Make sure that, for guidance-backends you select the correct architecture for your computer. For displayconfig-gtk there is only one possible download for all architectures. You will have to select a mirror near to you before each download will begin.

http://packages.ubuntu.com/hardy/adm...playconfig-gtk

http://packages.ubuntu.com/hardy/guidance-backends

Once downloaded, click on the guidance-backends first, and you should be presented with the option 'Open with GDebi' or something similar. This program installs the package on your system. It will ask for your password.

Do the same for the displayconfig-gtk package.

Once they are both successfully installed (< 30 seconds ) open a terminal and type:

gksudo displayconfig-gtk

That's it. It will let you install your screen from manufacturers' data, or you can simply select a Generic display that has the correct resolution for your screen.

I STRESS, THIS WORKED FOR ME BUT USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

[mingle]

Hi,

It sort o worked for me - I could call up the correct GFX card and monitor for my setup, but after a reboot I got a warning about graphics configuration and gnome would prompt me to go into a safe GFX mode, which then resulted in a black screen...

No big deal, since I'm currently just mucking around with 8.10 and since I've hit quite a number of glitches related to GFX I might have to stick with 8.04 (which was fine!).

My system uses an Intel 82845G GFX chipset, which is known to be a bit buggy and the cause of most of my initial problems seemed to be compiz, so I removed that. It's still not 100% though - I've now come acros some graphical bugs in Google earth which weren't there on 8.04...

I get the impression that 8.10 was either rushed or not tested very well - I know it's damn hard to cover all possible hardware configs, but it seesm that a lot of people are hitting the same issues as me...

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions and help!

Cheers,

Mike,

[bscbrit]

mingle

Sorry to hear that it didn't solve all of your problems.

I think the devs have, on the whole, done a very good job with Intrepid but I think that they have been concentrating so much on the latest technology and wanting 'bling', that they have forgotten that the vast majority of people just want an OS that works with the average run-of-the-mill hardware and remains stable. I agree, they cannot check every combination of hardware, but hardware that was working perfectly well under 8.04 is now not working at all. Linux used to boast that 'older' systems would always work with linux, and often better than it would with a certain other OS. I suspect that problems are a lot to do with xorg7.4 which is, in software terms, a big departure from what went before. I think it should have been released rather more slowly than it has i.e. with considerably more testing during the beta phases. A solid Intrepid using the previous xorg, issued at the same time as an xorg7.4 beta would have fitted the bill. I know that this is a massive task, but it is important if you put your existing user base before having the latest compiz cubes doing fancy acrobatics. Networking problems and CD drives that won't stay open also feature quite prominently.

Couple this with the fact that, at the same time as xorg7.4, they removed any configuration options from the user has left many people struggling to keep their systems usable.

Still, it would appear that you and I are certainly in the minority - there are many on this thread and elsewhere proclaiming how good Intrepid is for everyone. Either they are in denial or we are just a handful and statistically insignificant.