unity desktop stuck at 1024x768 should be 1280x1024

[IlikeMoose]

hi,

I recently installed 12.04 on a desktop after i got an internal hard drive for it and I'm only getting 1024x768. When i had it previously installed on an external hard drive via a usb docking station i was getting 1280x1024.

I know the monitor does 1280x1024 because i looked it up on the manufacturers website
it's an acer flat panel model # AL1711. I have checked all available settings in nvidia-settings and checked display under system settings which has my monitor incorrectly identified as a laptop screen for some weird reason which on the previous install had it properly listed. I've tried all available drivers, the latest 295.49 being the only driver that lets me have 1024x768 the rest give me 640x480. I have all of the most updated packages including kernels.

nvidia-settings only allows me to select up to 1360x768 and i don't have a widescreen monitor. i have a feeling that my problem may be due to the fact that my display is being identified incorrectly as "laptop" instead of the proper model, but i may be wrong. when i run xrandr it doesn't display the highest resolution here's the output:

mike@jarvis:~$ xrandr
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 240, current 1024 x 768, maximum 1024 x 768
default connected 1024x768+0+0 0mm x 0mm
   1024x768       50.0* 
   800x600        51.0     52.0     53.0  
   680x384        54.0     55.0  
   640x480        56.0  
   576x432        57.0  
   512x384        58.0  
   400x300        59.0     60.0     61.0  
   320x240        62.0

I'm running 12.04 64bit
Nvidia driver version 295.49
Nvidia chipset 6150SE nForce 430

i know this monitor for a fact does what i'm trying to get it to do, any help would be most greatly appreciated.

thanks

[silbar]

I've got the same problem. From the System Settings > Display panel, it insists that this machine is a laptop, which it isn't, and 1028x768 is the finest it can be. However, I know that, at the Lab, our systems guy was able to reset my widescreen monitor (there) to something like 1928x1200. I just don't know how he did it.

Rico Silbar

Note added, one (or two?) days later: for some reason, as I posted elsewhere, on a restart Saturday morning, 12.04 recognized my Hannspree monitor and set the resolution to 1600x900, as high as it can go. So, for me at least (but not knowing how) my screen resolution problem is solved.

[Epodx64]

In the nvidia-settings go to where the resolution is and see if you can manually set your resolution click advanced settings. I haven't used a nvidia card for awhile but that's how I had to do it.

[IlikeMoose]

i've tried that already, it only lets me pick 1360x768 max

[zombifier25]

You can try running this command:

xrandr -s 1280x1024

[IlikeMoose]

this is what i get

mike@jarvis:~$ xrandr -s 1280x1024
Size 1280x1024 not found in available modes
mike@jarvis:~$

[IlikeMoose]

my issue is still not fixed, does anyone have any ideas?

[houseworkshy]

Only diagnostic ideas and bump. See what screen resolution choices you get running a live session from the cd, that uses the open source drivers rather than nvidia. If that gives you the correct resolution then it would give clues to what is wrong, and suggest a fallback tempory fix if it's another nvidia/ubuntu problem. 'Another' because on a fresh release it is almost standard for nvidia not to have caught up yet, bit odd to have it at the .1 release stage though.
You could also try running a live session with a Knoppix dvd/cd, Knoppix is one of the few distributions which ships with many of the popular drivers on the disk because it is primarally designed to be run live http://www.knoppix.org It's one of those distributions which is worth having on the rack anyway, having noticed that the 7.04 came out in August I'm going to get a recent iso for myself. A very useful disk which has saved my work several times, the other end of the 'designed for live use' spectrum to puppy, packed full of things.
That rave aside the reason I suggest Knoppix is to check on nvidia drivers on your system without Ubuntu in the picture. That it would narrow down the problem further. If it does work then it's an ubuntu/nvidia problem, if you're lucky something like settings, if not compatability. If none of them work then it may be some hardware or bios problem.
Sorry I can't offer a fix but if you try the above you'll have some idea of which brick in the wall to bang your head against. Might save a bit of futile hassle.
And bump.

[jrog]

A bit of a shot in the dark here, but maybe something like this will work (I've used it to successfully add available resolutions before).

Get the proper ModeLine for the resolution you wish to work with, e.g.:

cvt 1280 1024

That'll output something like this: 'Modeline "1280x1024_60.00" 109.00 1280 1368 1496 1712 1024 1027 1034 1063 -hsync +vsync'.

Now, copy everything after "Modeline" in the output, and make it into a new mode for xrandr, like so:

xrandr --newmode "1280x1024_60.00"  109.00  1280 1368 1496 1712  1024 1027 1034 1063 -hsync +vsync

Now type just "xrandr" (without the quotes) at the command line and use the output to get the identifier for the connected monitor. The output will look something like this (connected monitor identifier bolded):

Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1366 x 768, maximum 8192 x 8192
LVDS1 connected 1366x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 344mm x 193mm
   1366x768       60.0*+
   1360x768       59.8     60.0  
   1024x768       60.0  
   800x600        60.3     56.2  
   640x480        59.9  
VGA1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

So, the identifier in my case is LVDS1. Now that we have that information, try to use it together with xrandr to add the newly-created mode (that you just made above) for the monitor. Remember to use the correct identifier for your monitor:

xrandr --addmode LVDS1 1280x1024_60.00

If that all seems to have been okay, try to change to the new mode:

xrandr --output LVDS1 --mode 1280x1024_60.00

If that works, let us know! It'll only be temporary, but we can make it permanent.

[IlikeMoose]

i didn't get an identifier after i used the --addmode command this is the output i got

mike@jarvis:~$ xrandr
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 240, current 1024 x 768, maximum 1024 x 768
default connected 1024x768+0+0 0mm x 0mm
1024x768 50.0*
800x600 51.0 52.0 53.0
680x384 54.0 55.0
640x480 56.0
576x432 57.0
512x384 58.0
400x300 59.0 60.0 61.0
320x240 62.0
1280x1024_60.00 (0x1dd) 109.0MHz
h: width 1280 start 1368 end 1496 total 1712 skew 0 clock 63.7KHz
v: height 1024 start 1027 end 1034 total 1063 clock 59.9Hz
mike@jarvis:~$