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