Feisty Fawn screen resolution issues
Important: Before you begin, back up your xorg.conf file – a misconfiguration may leave you without a GUI.
Apparently Ubuntu 7.04 does not know either my graphics card (Intel 810) and/or monitor (Dell FP1701). The monitor – one of Dell’s first flat panels – only supports 1280×1024 @ 60Hz, or for some reason 1024×768 @ 75Hz. Ubuntu plays it safe and sets the default resolution to the latter – and choosing 1280×1024 in the GUI is not an option.
To remedy I tried adding 1280×1024 to my /etc/X11/xorg.conf like so:
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "720x400" "640x480"
EndSubSection
But booting X makes my monitor sorry – as it probably tries to display “1280×1024 @ 75Hz” which is not supported. I eventually fixed this with this modeline tool. Set resolution to 1280×1024 and the vertical frequency to 60Hz which returned:
Modeline "1280x1024" 109.62 1280 1336 1472 1720 1024 1024 1026 1062
Which i pasted into my xorg.conf like this:
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "DELL 1701FP"
Option "DPMS"
Modeline "1280x1024" 109.62 1280 1336 1472 1720 1024 1024 1026 1062
EndSection
“Boom goes the dynamite” – and I had the optimum resolution at 60Hz.
UPDATE: A few necessary additions
1) You must use the specifications of your own monitor and display adapter to ensure that everything works
2) Back up your xorg.conf file before you begin
Help!
I can’t edit xorg.conf as I keep running into permission problems which I seem unable to resolve. How do I log on as Root when I don’t know the password??
In a regular Ubuntu setup you should be able to sudo to edit the file:
$ sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Just supply your own password when requested
I tried using the steps you provided but when I rebooted Ubuntu. I got a x11 crash. Now I have no GUI what so ever. The read out said that the command “Modeline” was unknown. Is there something I’m missing in your instructions? Because as of right now I am missing my GUI for Ubuntu entirely. Any help from anyone would be great.
@Reuben: A few steps to remedy:
1) Install the nano editor if it is not already installed:
#sudo apt-get install nano
2) edit the xorg.conf file and verify or remove/comment out the modeline again
3) reboot or restart X
It is vital that your modeline follows the specifications of your monitor and your display adapter.