Headless server / VNC

[xTkAx]

My resolution is 800x600 when connected via VNC on the headless server, and i wanted to have a larger screen to view. The server is Karmic 9.10 and xorg.conf was empty, but i added all the lines you marked in red, and rebooted.

After it came online, the VNC connection wouldn't let me connect at all, so i ssh'd back to the server, and rm'd /etc/X11/xorg.conf, rebooted, and now it works again. So just adding those lines to that file didn't work for me. I'll be sticking with 800x600 for a bit until i find some other workaround or dedicate more time to it. For now though, ssh -x user@server works good enough.

[knowram]

My resolution is 800x600 when connected via VNC on the headless server, and i wanted to have a larger screen to view. The server is Karmic 9.10 and xorg.conf was empty, but i added all the lines you marked in red, and rebooted.

After it came online, the VNC connection wouldn't let me connect at all, so i ssh'd back to the server, and rm'd /etc/X11/xorg.conf, rebooted, and now it works again. So just adding those lines to that file didn't work for me. I'll be sticking with 800x600 for a bit until i find some other workaround or dedicate more time to it. For now though, ssh -x user@server works good enough.

I am having the same problem. Tried adding the xorg.conf file to /etc/X11 and now VNC will not connect at all.

[gggie]

The solution in the OP was working perfectly for me in 9.10 - but I upgraded to 10.04 and it's not working anymore.

Is there a solution to this problem that works with 10.04?

(I can't believe there isn't just a simple option a user can toggle to tell the OS you want to be in headless/VNC mode and don't want the monitor check to happen... )

[Enthrall]

The solution in the OP was working perfectly for me in 9.10 - but I upgraded to 10.04 and it's not working anymore.

Is there a solution to this problem that works with 10.04?

(I can't believe there isn't just a simple option a user can toggle to tell the OS you want to be in headless/VNC mode and don't want the monitor check to happen... )

Im frantically looking for a solution myself.

[HermanAB]

Well, actually there is a very simple solution - don't use VNC.

You guys have basically rediscovered most of the reasons why greybeard sysadmins that manage remote servers do not use VNC, but rather use SSH. The remaining reason that you haven't discovered yet, is that VNC is insecure and will sooner or later cause your machine to get hacked.

Rather install openssh-server and connect to it like this:
$ ssh -X -C -c blowfish user@server "gedit /etc/fstab"

or even
$ ssh -X -C -c blowfish user@server "gnome-panel"

and go click happy.

That works from Windows too, if you install Cygwin.

In a nutshell, VNC is a POS and is almost always the wrong solution. The exception is training. VNC is sometimes good for training.

[Malac]

^^
I don't want to ssh into it that adds a whole layer of complication and isn't required in a simple home setup.

A quickish solution for anyone tearing their hair out:
You can build a dummy vga load for about £5-00 max with parts from maplins or other electronic suppliers. Google "dummy vga load" and there are loads of sites with diagrams and howtos. It's a bit fiddly but a kid could do it.
Here's the directions I used:
http://soerennielsen.dk/mod/VGAdummy/index_en.php
and another good one:
http://www.geeks3d.com/20091230/vga-...ga-dummy-plug/

Also please see my earlier post with a link to brainstorm.ubuntu.com where I have an idea for a simple option to ignore missing monitor as suggested, that needs promoting.

Hope this helps.

[CharlesA]

I've been forwarding X over ssh for a while now and it totally rocks compared to VNC. It's secure and you don't need to have an extra service running on your machine.

If you are just using a server locally and don't need any access from the internet, I guess you could use VNC, but it wouldn't be that secure. To use the builtin vino server, you would need to set the machine to autologin and then set the server to use a password or whatnot.

If it doesn't have access to the internet, you should be "ok" but I'd not use VNC on a server I could just SSH into.

@HermanAB: I use XMing on Windows machines along with Putty to forward X over SSH. Works fine so far.

[mtbsoft]

Rather install openssh-server and connect to it like this:
$ ssh -X -C -c blowfish user@server "gedit /etc/fstab"

or even
$ ssh -X -C -c blowfish user@server "gnome-panel"

and go click happy.

Thanks for this, helped me out no end. In case anyone needs to know, adding the -t argument to the ssh ***mand create a pseudo-terminal which enables you to run sudo ***mands if necessary.