Display settings

[jwilson3]

I am new to linux and have downloaded the Mandriva spring 2007, The installation went fine and I can do pretty much anything I was or Know how to do. The only thing is my screen is so big I have to drag the windows to view the entire window. Can someone send me information on how to change my display setting without making it so I can't get into the box at all after making changes?

[mrrangerman43]

jwilson3

Welcome to Justlinux forum, do a search for configuring xorg.conf on this site or on www.google.com/linux I'm not sure what gui mandriva uses for configuring the xserver. If you want to configure it yourself the file is located at /etc/X11/xorg.conf you will need to know what your Horz & Vertz for your monitor is, I don't have time at this moment to walk ya through it, but if you do a search you'll find a ton of info to help.

Being new to linux, if you didn't know, linux is case sensitive, so when you type in a terminal you have to type the path in proper case the X is a capital in X11. Just incase you didn't know.

Post back if you get lost and I or someone will be happy to help.

[jwilson3]

Ok I went to the directory etc/X11/xorg.conf and it's telling me that the directory doesn't exist, but if I go to the X11 directory I can see the xorg.conf in tthere when I do an ls. Most of the items in the directory are in bold and the xorg.conf is not. I don't know if that means anything. Anyway thanks for replying to my needs and if there is anything else you would like to try I would appreaciate it..

[mrrangerman43]

Give us some hardware specs if you can ie. monitor, video card.


Ok I went to the directory etc/X11/xorg.conf and it's telling me that the directory doesn't exist, but if I go to the X11 directory I can see the xorg.conf in tthere when I do an ls. Most of the items in the directory are in bold and the xorg.conf is not. I don't know if that means anything.



Ok I guess I didn't say it just right, xorg.conf is a file that you edit, it is in the directory X11. Mandriva and many linux will have a directory the color dark blue when viewing from a terminal window, and a plain file will look plain text. (black) A file that looks light blue is a symbolic link, and I think red is for a tar file.
Ok I 'm in mandriva 2007 right now if you want to use a GUI app. to edit your xorg.conf file, go to the task bar and press the star on the bottom left, then up to system then Configuration then Configure your computer when you click on Configure your computer you will be prompted for a root passwd. After you enter the root passwd the control center will come up, WARNING: watch what you do here as you are root. On the left side click on Hardware and then on the right side you will have different options as to what to configure. Look in Change screen resolution and see what resolution it has listed, and if it's at a lower setting bump it up a little and see if that will help.

If you end up needing to edit xorg.conf by hand post back, and we'll see what we can do.

[jwilson3]

Ok I went in to the configuration area and changed my resolution settings by on setting size, now when I rebooted the PC it comes up just like normal but I can see anything, I have no desktop icons or anything just the desktop.. I'm getting really tire of formatting the hard drive to get the screen to come back so I really need to fix this because if I have to format I may not go back to linux again, it's to much of a pain and I want a linux box but it's not worth the trouble

[jwilson3]

the monitor i'm using is a EMC multisystems model number 988M
the video card is a Intel 845 G/GL integrated video

[trilarian]

Ok I went in to the configuration area and changed my resolution settings by on setting size, now when I rebooted the PC it comes up just like normal but I can see anything, I have no desktop icons or anything just the desktop.. I'm getting really tire of formatting the hard drive to get the screen to come back so I really need to fix this because if I have to format I may not go back to linux again, it's to much of a pain and I want a linux box but it's not worth the trouble

You don't need to reformat and start over. I know that sometimes seems like the only option when you are not aware of all the tools at your disposal. First, a few things to note in general that will help you as you learn.

CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE will kill the current X-Server and depending on how your system is setup, either return you to a terminal or the login gui used on your system(gdm, xdm, etc.). This is a good tool for restarting the X-Server without rebooting your computer.

CTRL+ALT+F* - On most machines with an X-Server, F1 through F6 are terminals with F7 on are X-Server windows. This is good to get into a terminal either because of a dysfunctional X-Server or just a quick shortcut to a full screen terminal.

So, lets use these two tools in your case. After you boot and get the desktop without icons or menus(most likely from a bad resolution setting), press CTRL+ALT+F1 to go to a terminal. Login as root, and look at /etc/X11/xorg.conf Note: It is good practice to backup a file before modifying it.

cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/bk_xorg.conf

This simple step will save you a lot of headaches! Perfect example is your post here, you had a working but unsatisfactory xorg.conf to begin with. So at worse cast, you could of copied the backup file over your modified file to get back to a working state. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say, so lets focus on fixing your config file and just remember that as a note for future edits.

Considering you only changed the resolution and not the driver, the part of the config file we are interested in is:

Section "Screen"
...
...
DefaultDepth 24

And the corresponding section to the specified Depth.

...
...
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768"
EndSubSection
...

If you can post those sections of the config file that would be great. You can view it with a command such as:

pico /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Basically, you are setting two things here. Think in windows when you right click and goto display settings. You see two values there, "Screen Resolution" and "Color Quality". Those same two values translate into "Modes" and "Depth" above, with the difference being you can set multiple screen resolutions if you wish and cycle through them with hotkeys. For your first run, it may be best to set Modes to only one resolution so you don't accidently hit the hotkey and not know how to switch back.

Good rule of thumb if you don't know your screen resolution is start at Depth = 16 and Modes = 640x480. If that works fine, move the resolution up slowly. Once you find the resolution you want, you can try at 24 depth and see if you have problems. So, go ahead and make your xorg.conf read:

DefaultDepth 16
...
...
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "640x480"
EndSubSection

Save the file, then press CTRL+ALT+F7 to go back to your visual interface, and press CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE to kill your X-Server. It should auto-restart and bring you back to the graphical login. If it drops you to a terminal, type startx to restart your X-Server. Most likely this will be similar to your first screen resolution when you made the post, so you will want to bump up the value of "Modes". Rinse and repeat until you find the resolution that works for you remembering if you ever set to high, you can change views to edit your config file and restart the X-Server without rebooting and especially without reformatting!

Let me know if I lost you anywhere...

[jwilson3]

Ok so I went to the desktop and there was no icons, I did the ctrl+alt+1 and got to a terminal window. logged in as root and when I went to the directory /etc/x11/xorg.conf I got a permission denied error. When I went to the X11 directory and tried to go to xorg.conf it stated that there was no file there. so I'm stuck again , I appriciate your helping me so I'm just going to do what every you say and learn as I go.. Thanks for the help..

[trilarian]

I just want to make sure we are on the same page as your wording can be taking both ways :P You are trying to reach a file called xorg.conf inside the directory /etc/X11 - just wanted to make sure you are not trying to enter a directory called /etc/X11/xorg.conf. So you would do either(as root):

cd /etc/X11
pico xorg.conf

or

pico /etc/X11/xorg.conf

I have not used your distro, so there may be small differences to work out. I am almost certain any new distro would install Xorg though... Just to make sure, if the above commands fail, type in this command and tell me what you see.

ls -l /etc/X11/

You should see something close to the below. I'm posting the full output off of my machine so you know what to expect. However, the main file you are looking for is xorg.conf. I guess there is the possibility you have an old X-Server install like XFree86 but I thought just about every distro moved to Xorg. Anyway, the ls command will let you know for sure either way.

trilarian@Debian-Desktop:~$ ls -l /etc/X11/
total 88
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2007-08-27 14:46 app-defaults
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2006-12-15 04:16 de
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 13 2006-12-15 06:11 default-display-manager
drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 2006-12-15 04:26 fonts
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2006-12-15 04:16 fr
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2006-12-15 04:16 ja
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 17394 2007-06-11 21:50 rgb.txt
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2006-12-15 04:16 ro
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2007-09-19 13:24 twm
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 2006-12-15 04:34 X -> /usr/bin/Xorg
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2007-04-23 11:25 xinit
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3082 2006-12-15 04:35 xorg.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2007-09-19 12:56 Xresources
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2007-08-27 14:45 xserver
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 3944 2007-03-04 14:33 Xsession
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2007-09-19 12:56 Xsession.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 265 2006-08-02 17:47 Xsession.options
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 13 2006-09-08 18:30 XvMCConfig
-rw------- 1 root root 614 2006-12-15 04:16 Xwrapper.config

A final word of advice, be patient. The first steps will be frustrating, but you will thank yourself many times over if stick with it!

[jwilson3]

Ok here is what I did. I logged in to the desktop and was able to get to a terminal by doing ctrl+alt+F1. Once there I logged in *** root. Then I typed "cd /etc/X11" to get into the X11 directory then I ran "pico xorg.conf" and nothing happen.

I then ran "pico /etc/X11/xorg.conf" and nothing happen

I then ran"ls -l /etc/X11" and it looked like what you posted..

[JohnT]

Ok here is what I did. I logged in to the desktop and was able to get to a terminal by doing ctrl+alt+F1. Once there I logged in *** root. Then I typed "cd /etc/X11" to get into the X11 directory then I ran "pico xorg.conf" and nothing happen.

I then ran "pico /etc/X11/xorg.conf" and nothing happen

I then ran"ls -l /etc/X11" and it looked like what you posted..

When you say "I then ran "pico /etc/X11/xorg.conf" and nothing happen"
do you mean to say that there was no output at all from your command entry?

When you ran "ls -l /etc/X11" was xorg.conf listed?

Did you run the these commands as "root"?
If not.... you should.... to gain access to files denied.

To run as root open a terminal and type "su" (without quotes). Hit enter. Then it will ask you for your administrator (root) password (you configured it during installation), and hit enter. Nothing will be printed on the screen while you are typing. This is normal. If you enter the password correctly .
Then proceed with the aforementioned commands.
There might be an "xorg.conf.bak" (or similar) file in that directory also. It will be your original xorg.conf before you edited it. Change the name of the file (.bak)to xorg.conf and the xorg.conf to xorg.conf.1(or anything but .bak). This will put you back where you started.

[jwilson3]

when I ran this "pico /etc/X11/xorg.conf" I had no output
when I ran this "ls -l /etc/X11" there was output just like the one you posted earlier, Yes xorg.conf was there also there was xorg.conf.old.

I am in root when I run all these commands, The thing that I don't understand is that some of the files are colored or bold and the xorg.conf files are not colored and I can't access either of them.

[trilarian]

when I ran this "pico /etc/X11/xorg.conf" I had no output
when I ran this "ls -l /etc/X11" there was output just like the one you posted earlier, Yes xorg.conf was there also there was xorg.conf.old.

I am in root when I run all these commands, The thing that I don't understand is that some of the files are colored or bold and the xorg.conf files are not colored and I can't access either of them.

Something odd is going on... If you have pico installed, it should return some error - file not found, file access denied, etc. or open up the file. If pico was not installed, you would get an error bash: pico: command not found.

Temp fix you can(as root):

cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf.old /etc/X11/xorg.conf

That will at least get you to where you started with this post. As for the coloring, if you are using BASH which I think you are, the blue names are directories, the grey are files that are not self-executable, and green are files that are self-executable(think windows .exe). Xorg.conf should be a grey color then, because it is a configuration file, not a program or directory. Root is the top level access that has rights to everything on your machine. Another way to verify you are indeed root is the last symbol on the command line before you start to type - $ is for normal user and # is for root.

Here I am as a user:
trilarian@Debian-Desktop:/etc/X11$

And once I login as root:
Debian-Desktop:/etc/X11#

One other trick that may help, is hitting tab auto-completes commands and paths. So try typing pic then hit tab twice. My output looks like:

Debian-Desktop:/etc/X11# pic
pic pico piconv

You are just verifying pico is installed. If it is, then typing(where tab = hitting the tab key once) pico /et tab X tab xo tab should give you the command of:

pico /etc/X11/xorg.conf

[mrrangerman43]

trilarian

I'm about 99% sure pico is not installed on mandriva, I know Kate is one editor used, but I'm not sure if it is gui only.


jwilson3

Try this, Ctrl + Alt + F1 login as root, give root passwd.

Your prompt should be a # sign.

Now type vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf

You should be in the vi editor now whithin xorg.conf, use your down arrow key to navigate the curser to the section you need to edit.

When you get to the spot you need to edit press the i key to insert text. Now make the needed changes, after you've made them, press the Esc key this will bring you back to standard mode.

Now press Shift + : Thats Shift plus the colon key. This will give you a prompt that you can enter commands.

Now type wq then press the Enter key to exit. The w stands for write, and the q for quit.

Now follow trilarian's instructions here

press CTRL+ALT+F7 to go back to your visual interface, and press CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE to kill your X-Server. It should auto-restart and bring you back to the graphical login. If it drops you to a terminal, type startx to restart your X-Server. Most likely this will be similar to your first screen resolution when you made the post, so you will want to bump up the value of "Modes". Rinse and repeat until you find the resolution that works for you remembering if you ever set to high, you can change views to edit your config file and restart the X-Server without rebooting and especially without reformatting!

[jwilson3]

Trilarian-
I checked to see if Pico was installed and this is the output

[root@localhost X11]# pic
.lf 1 -

Here is where I'm at now, I don't know what I did but I was trying all sorts of differant commands that I got from you and when Ilogged in I was able to get to my desktop now,

I can move around and I have some restictions as where I can go because of the screen being so big but I'm back to the desktop now, yahooooo! finally. SO i'm not going to do anything until I get more request from you cause I don't want to loose the desktop. I can post stuff straight from this box to you so you can see exactly what I'm seeing. I'm goin to wait for your responce.. because you are the man/woman someone out there with more smarts then me when it comes to this stuff, and I thank you..

[trilarian]

You're almost there~ All of what you need to do has been mentioned in the above posts. So to recap:

1) Backup the current xorg.conf so if you make a mistake you can restore to where you are now.

2) Follow mrrangerman43 most recent post on VI as most likely Mandriva does not come with pico installed(is default on Debian~). It will be less frustrating to use an editor already installed instead of having you install a new one.

3) Give us any feedback on problems or where you need clarification, or if you are lucky post back your success so we know you have a satisfactory system.

EDIT => Oh, and to answer your question, I'm a guy^^;

[jwilson3]

There are a couple of things that I may still need help with. I'm now able to get to the desktop but there are no icons, I can access the internet and get aournd but the pages are still really big. I can't move between windows though wit alt+tab, it only wants to work with one window open at a time.

[mrrangerman43]

Have you tried what I posted?

I just went through it on my own system line for line in Mandriva 2007, and had no problems at all.

[mrrangerman43]

This is part of my xorg.conf from Mandriva, the parts in bold are the areas to edit on your system.
Note: What ever Mode is listed on the left is the default at boot, so if you want 1280x1024 to be what you use have it on the left or the first to be read. The xserver reads from left to right.


Section "Monitor"
Identifier "monitor1"
VendorName "Generic"
ModelName "Flat Panel 1024x768"
HorizSync 31.5-55
VertRefresh 40-70

Section "Screen"
Identifier "screen1"
Device "device1"
Monitor "monitor1"
DefaultColorDepth 24
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"

Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "640x480" "480x360" "320x240"
EndSubsection

[jwilson3]

It seems as though my desktop is back but there are things that aren't right, I can't move any of the windows around and there is a little grey box with multiple boxes in it so you can open other windows in these differant squares and it's gone also, is there a way that I can get back my original settings?

[jwilson3]

Ok sorry for the stupid questions but i'm getting ready to run the steps that mrrnagerman asked me to do but I don't know how to "copy" remember I'm new to linux,, sorry but i'm going to have to wait for someone to tell me how to copy the xorg.conf before I start to make any other changes,

[jwilson3]

Ok I went back and found how to copy, I thought that I saw it earlier in this forum. I went through the vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf and made my changes, Nothing changed on the screen so I cycled the pc to see if it would change. when the pc came back up all I can get to is a terminal. I tried startx and it flashed the screen and went right back to the terminal window.

[jwilson3]

Ok after rebooting the pc I can see the desktop icons and it looks like i'm back to the original configuration as when I lost my display, but the only time I ca see the icons is if i'm logged in as root, when I login to gnome with my username I don't get the icons and moving windows and doing any kind of work is impossible. any suggestions?

[mrrangerman43]

Ok if you are back at the terminal, you can do one of two things. First if you are logged in as user, (your prompt will be the $ sign) su into root like so su then give your root passwd.
Now cd (change directory) into the X11 directory, cd /etc/X11/ now copy the old.xorg.conf to the new like you did before. cp xorg.conf.old xorg.conf after you do that you can startx again.

This should put you back to where you were. Or you can re-edit your xorg.conf file and change it by hand. Just follow the instructions with using the vi editor.

Can you post your xorg.conf file?

Hey I want you to know, you are not the first or only one that has had problems like this. Don't let it get you down at all, it took me awhile to get my system up and running. This is how you will learn and let me tell ya you will be thrilled you stuck it out if you do.

Now I can tell you for my own experiance Mandrake (Now Mandriva ) was the first distro I ever started with, and I had a hard time.

[mrrangerman43]

Sorry you posted back before I was done with my post. Are you using Gnome or KDE ?

Edit: Also do you have two pc's or are you dual booting from one?

Edit2: The little square boxes are different desktops, in linux you can have upto 16 different desktops running at the same time with a different app. in each. The default is 4 the so when you clicked on the other boxes you were just looking at a different desktop.

[jwilson3]

Ok I copied the xorg.conf.old to xorg.conf and now i'm at the terminal window again and I can't get to the main gui window. I went back through the vi and everything was already set the way I needed it to be, I ran startx and it won't start.

And the multiple windows thing I was talking about I don't remember what they call it, I know it's for changing windows but can't remember how to get it to come back up so I can move around my windows until I can get this display corrected,

And I'm having a great time doing this and I am learning.. I just hope you guys don't get sick of me and stop replying or i'll be stuck for ever hahhaha..once I can get to my main view again i'll past my xorg.conf file

[mrrangerman43]

Make sure your not trying to startx as root, some distro's will not let xserver start from a terminal window if you are logged in as root. So if you were root just type exit and that will log you out of root and back into user mode. Then do startx.

[jwilson3]

Here is my xorg.conf file:

# File generated by XFdrake (rev 142098)

Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite"
EndSection
# File generated by XFdrake (rev 142098)

# File generated by xorgconfig.

#
# Copyright 2004 The X.Org Foundation
#
# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
#
# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
#
# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
# The X.Org Foundation BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY,
# WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF
# OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
# SOFTWARE.
#
# Except as contained in this notice, the name of The X.Org Foundation shall
# not be used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale, use or other
# dealings in this Software without prior written authorization from
# The X.Org Foundation.
#

# ************************************************** ********************
# Refer to the xorg.conf(5) man page for details about the format of
# this file.
# ************************************************** ********************

# ************************************************** ********************
# Module section -- this section is used to specify
# which dynamically loadable modules to load.
# ************************************************** ********************
#

Section "Module"
# This loads the DBE extension module.

Load "dbe" # Double buffer extension

# This loads the font modules
# Load "type1"
Load "freetype"

# Load "xtt"

# This loads the GLX module
# Load "glx"
# This loads the DRI module
# Load "dri"
Load "glx" # 3D layer
Load "dri" # direct rendering

# This loads the miscellaneous extensions module, and disables
# initialisation of the XFree86-DGA extension within that module.

Subsection "extmod"
Option "omit xfree86-dga" # don't initialise the DGA extension
EndSubsection
EndSection
# ************************************************** ********************
# Files section. This allows default font and rgb paths to be set
# ************************************************** ********************

Section "Files"
# The location of the RGB database. Note, this is the name of the
# file minus the extension (like ".txt" or ".db"). There is normally
# no need to change the default.

# RgbPath "/usr/share/X11/rgb"

# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (which are concatenated together),
# as well as specifying multiple comma-separated entries in one FontPath
# command (or a combination of both methods)
#
#

FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/misc:unscaled"
# FontPath "unix/:-1"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/local/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/TrueType/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/freefont/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"

# The module search path. The default path is shown here.

# ModulePath "/usr/lib/modules"
EndSection
# ************************************************** ********************
# Server flags section.
# ************************************************** ********************

Section "ServerFlags"
# Uncomment this to cause a core dump at the spot where a signal is
# received. This may leave the console in an unusable state, but may
# provide a better stack trace in the core dump to aid in debugging

# Option "NoTrapSignals"

# Uncomment this to disable the <Ctrl><Alt><Fn> VT switch sequence
# (where n is 1 through 12). This allows clients to receive these key
# events.

# Option "DontVTSwitch"

# Uncomment this to disable the <Ctrl><Alt><BS> server abort sequence
# This allows clients to receive this key event.

# Option "DontZap"

# Uncomment this to disable the <Ctrl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> mode switching
# sequences. This allows clients to receive these key events.

# Option "Dont Zoom"

# Uncomment this to disable tuning with the xvidtune client. With
# it the client can still run and fetch card and monitor attributes,
# but it will not be allowed to change them. If it tries it will
# receive a protocol error.

# Option "DisableVidModeExtension"

# Uncomment this to enable the use of a non-local xvidtune client.

# Option "AllowNonLocalXvidtune"

# Uncomment this to disable dynamically modifying the input device
# (mouse and keyboard) settings.

# Option "DisableModInDev"

# Uncomment this to enable the use of a non-local client to
# change the keyboard or mouse settings (currently only xset).

# Option "AllowNonLocalModInDev"
EndSection
# ************************************************** ********************
# Input devices
# ************************************************** ********************

# ************************************************** ********************
# Core keyboard's InputDevice section
# ************************************************** ********************

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbModel" "pc101"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"

# For most OSs the protocol can be omitted (it defaults to "Standard").
# When using XQUEUE (only for SVR3 and SVR4, but not Solaris),
# uncomment the following line.

# Option "Protocol" "Xqueue"

Option "AutoRepeat" "500 30"

# Specify which keyboard LEDs can be user-controlled (eg, with xset(1))
# Option "Xleds" "1 2 3"

# Option "LeftAlt" "Meta"
# Option "RightAlt" "ModeShift"

# To customise the XKB settings to suit your keyboard, modify the
# lines below (which are the defaults). For example, for a non-U.S.
# keyboard, you will probably want to use:
# Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
# If you have a US Microsoft Natural keyboard, you can use:
# Option "XkbModel" "microsoft"
#
# Then to change the language, change the Layout setting.
# For example, a german layout can be obtained with:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# or:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# Option "XkbVariant" "nodeadkeys"
#
# If you'd like to switch the positions of your capslock and
# control keys, use:
# Option "XkbOptions" "ctrl:swapcaps"

# These are the default XKB settings for Xorg
# Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
# Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
# Option "XkbLayout" "us"
# Option "XkbVariant" ""
# Option "XkbOptions" ""

# Option "XkbDisable"

Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
EndSection
# ************************************************** ********************
# Core Pointer's InputDevice section
# ************************************************** ********************

Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier and driver

Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Auto" # Auto detect
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"

# Emulate3Buttons is an option for 2-button mice
# Emulate3Timeout is the timeout in milliseconds (default is 50ms)

Option "Emulate3Buttons"

# Option "Emulate3Timeout" "50"

# ChordMiddle is an option for some 3-button Logitech mice

# Option "ChordMiddle"

# When using XQUEUE, comment out the above two lines, and uncomment
# the following line.

# Option "Protocol" "Xqueue"

# Mouse-speed setting for PS/2 mouse.

# Option "Resolution" "256"

# Baudrate and SampleRate are only for some Logitech mice. In
# almost every case these lines should be omitted.

# Option "BaudRate" "9600"
# Option "SampleRate" "150"

# Mouse wheel mapping. Default is to map vertical wheel to buttons 4 & 5,
# horizontal wheel to buttons 6 & 7. Change if your mouse has more than
# 3 buttons and you need to map the wheel to different button ids to avoid
# conflicts.

Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "monitor1"
VendorName "EMC"
ModelName "EMC EF-836"
HorizSync 31.5-55
VertRefresh 40-70

# TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output.
# 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 50.00 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630

# 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 63.07 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "device1"
BoardName "Intel 810 / 815"
Driver "i810"
VideoRam 16384
Option "DPMS"
Option "May_Need_ForceBIOS" "1"
Option "XaaNoOffscreenPixmaps" "1"
Option "XaaNoPixmapCache"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "screen1"
Device "device1"
Monitor "monitor1"
DefaultColorDepth 16

Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "832x624" "800x600" "640x480" "480x360" "320x240"
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "832x624" "800x600" "640x480" "480x360" "320x240"
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "832x624" "800x600" "640x480" "480x360" "320x240"
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "832x624" "800x600" "640x480" "480x360" "320x240"
EndSubsection
EndSection
# ************************************************** ********************
# ServerLayout sections.
# ************************************************** ********************

# Any number of ServerLayout sections may be present. Each describes
# the way multiple screens are organised. A specific ServerLayout
# section may be specified from the X server command line with the
# "-layout" option. In the absence of this, the first section is used.
# When now ServerLayout section is present, the first Screen section
# is used alone.

Section "ServerLayout"
# The Identifier line must be present
Identifier "Simple Layout"

# Each InputDevice line specifies an InputDevice section name and
# optionally some options to specify the way the device is to be
# used. Those options include "CorePointer", "CoreKeyboard" and
# "SendCoreEvents".

InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
Screen "screen1"
EndSection

[jwilson3]

Another thing, I was able to get back into the gui desktop to send the xorg.conf file to you but I still don't see any of my icons on my desktop and the display is still huge, I'm going to have to stop for the day cause my brain is about to explode which is a good thing. I will try and contact you as soon as I get home from work. this linux may be pushing me towards devorce but at least i'll have a linux box hahaha.., thanks for you help and hope to complete these display issue tomorrow,, thanks again for the help,.

[mrrangerman43]

Ok your DefaultColorDepth is 16 which is fine, now change the mode for that DefaultColorDepth from this

Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "832x624" "800x600" "640x480" "480x360" "320x240"
EndSubsection

to this

Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "640x480" "480x360" "320x240"
EndSubsection

And see if that will work.

[trilarian]

this linux may be pushing me towards devorce but at least i'll have a linux box hahaha..

o.O

Take care of Real Life bud ;-) We'll be here when you have the time. Make the change mrrangerman43 specified. Your config file appeared to have an illegal resolution.

Also, just a tip on posting config files or any long output, if you highlight the whole entry then click on the "Code Tag" above(looks like # sign) where you select Bold, etc. it will rap code tags around your text preserving the spacing. It looks like:

some code
some tabbed code

[jwilson3]

Hello again!!!
I made the corrections in my setting that you requested and I can still access my gui interface but I can't move any of the windows and my icons are still not there,,

[mrrangerman43]

Ok do you have any documentation on your monitor? Is it a LCD or a CTR? And what size is it 15" 19" ext.? I tried to find the HorizSync and VertRefresh settings but was unable with the info you have posted. If you can find those setting edit this part of your xorg.conf and replace with the settings your monitor should have. The part in red.


Section "Monitor"
Identifier "monitor1"
VendorName "EMC"
ModelName "EMC EF-836"
HorizSync 31.5-55
VertRefresh 40-70


I have a 19" LCD flat panel and mine is Hz 30-83 Vr 56-75

My wifes is a 17" LCD Gateway and it is Hz 30-80 Vr 56-85

Also now that I think of it, if you have a LCD does it have a button that's use to fit everything to the screen? If so try that also.

[jwilson3]

I have a 19" monitor and I will search for that information when I get home from work, But just so you know my desktop is not over sized it's only the windows that I open, The desktop could be a little smaller but I can see the entire thing so I don't think the monitor is stretched out and the Icons are off the monitor in either direction, I will check for the HorizSync and the VertRefresh and get back to you once I make the changes. thanks again mrrangermant43..

[trilarian]

Just a random thought, do you have a standard screen or a wide screen? Assuming you have a 4:3 monitor - meaning it looks like a square not a elongated rectangle - what happens at higher resolutions?

Modes "1600x1200"

or

Modes "1280x1024"

If you do have a wide screen(16:9), then we will need to adjust your resolution to be the proper ratio.

[jwilson3]

I have just a regular monitor square 19". I'm going to see if I can find it online and try to adjust the H & V so that i'm as close to the correct setting as I can get. I have tried higher setting and they don't work.

I don't know if you guys use mandriva but on the top the title bar has a systems button and if I go to properties and select the screen resolution it says i'm at 640x480 and that can't be correct because my screen is a tad bit smaller since I have been changing the settings
.

[mrrangerman43]

I don't know if you guys use mandriva but on the top the title bar has a systems button and if I go to properties and select the screen resolution it says i'm at 640x480 and that can't be correct because my screen is a tad bit smaller since I have been changing the settings

So when you were there did you open up that app. and see if you could pick a higher resolution?

[jwilson3]

I can't find my monitor online anywhere, I don't know if I should set the monitor up as a default and keep changing settings until I get what I want out of my display, what do you think ?

[mrrangerman43]

I don't know if I should set the monitor up as a default and keep changing settings until I get what I want out of my display, what do you think ?

You want to be careful not to put the monitor way out of range.


I couldn't find anything either, but I did look at a few different 19" lcd's and the setting thats kind of middle of the road is,

Horz 30-81
VertR 56-75
with a recomended modes of "1280x1024"

My 19" LG monitor is
H 30-83
V 56-75
max resolution of "1280x1024"


So give the first one a try and see if it helps.

[JohnT]

I can't find my monitor online anywhere, I don't know if I should set the monitor up as a default and keep changing settings until I get what I want out of my display, what do you think ?

Post your monitor specs that you have available and lets see what we can find.

[jwilson3]

mrrangerman,
when I was in that application for display settings I wasn't able to change the settings at all. I have been kind of busy so I'm going to try and catch up on all the helpfullness that was provided this week, I will post some updates later today to let you know whats going on with the display.. thanks guys

[jwilson3]

Display setting:
Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "640x480" "480x360" "320x240"
EndSubsection
I don't know what else I can do, the only way I can get startx to start is if i'm in the 16 depth, I can't get the display setting to go any higher then 1024x768 and that is fine but I can't get windows to move on my desktop and i'm not able to see the icons on the desktop either. If I open a window it's not that I can't see the bar acroos the top to grab it to move but it won't move period, It seems as if I have lost my profile or something because everything is gone and I can't move. If I login as root I can see icons and can move windows. any suggestions.

[JohnT]

Found this bit of info on your card.....
On some of the Intel chipsets you can change the amount of memory they report to Linux in the bios. I know there was a bug in the Intel 865G chipset that reported there was only one mb of vidmemory. Intel made a patch that could be incorporated into a bios upgrade which allowed you to change the vid memory settings to 8mb .
If your bios was up todate you could just go into your bios find the video card memory settings and change it. Then when you did the install it would let you use what ever resolution your monitor could handle.

[trilarian]

Display setting:
Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "640x480" "480x360" "320x240"
EndSubsection
I don't know what else I can do, the only way I can get startx to start is if i'm in the 16 depth, I can't get the display setting to go any higher then 1024x768 and that is fine but I can't get windows to move on my desktop and i'm not able to see the icons on the desktop either. If I open a window it's not that I can't see the bar acroos the top to grab it to move but it won't move period, It seems as if I have lost my profile or something because everything is gone and I can't move. If I login as root I can see icons and can move windows. any suggestions.

Hmm... this post got me thinking... maybe we've been looking in the wrong place(after the point of getting you a working display). It's seems very odd that a setting would lock you out of being able to move windows or change settings, but let's try backing up all your config files, then removing them so all programs go back to their default settings. What we are going to do is create a directory to house the config files, copy them there, then remove them from the original location. Then restart your X-Server and the all your programs should create new config files with default settings. To do this, do the below as root(# sign) in your /home/username directory(I'll use jwilson for the example).

cd /home/jwilson
mkdir config_backup
cp -Rf .* config_backup/
rm -Rf .*

Then restart the X-Server by hitting CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE from a graphical window(F7).

To any Mandriva users: I haven't used the Mandrake distro in many years, so curious of something. Do they have a trusted group that new users would need to be put in to have semi-admin rights(not install a new program, but can modify settings)? Something similar to in Debian how I need to add a user to group audio to allow music playback and group cdrom to have write access to a CD/DVD drive.

[jwilson3]

Trilarian,
I created the config_backup folder in my /home/Jeff directory and I can see the file but when I ran the "cp -Rf .* config_backup/"
it told me that I wasn't able to can not copy a directory into its self.
so I tried it again and I got this
-bash: cd: -R: invalid option
cd: usage: cd [Ll-P] [dir]

[jwilson3]

Ok now check this out, I was in a terminal window after trying to run those cammands you asked me to run Trilarian and then I logged in as me Jeff and put in my password and I get a prompt like this -bash-3.1$ I don't know what that is unless it means that i'm in a bash file system, Anyway I ran startx and all my icons are back and my desktop setting are set to 1280x1024 and the windows will move and everything.

the only thin is that when I reboot my pc it goes through to a terminal window and I have to type startx to get to the gui. I wish I could save these setting but have it log me right into my username and the gui.

[trilarian]

Ok now check this out, I was in a terminal window after trying to run those cammands you asked me to run Trilarian and then I logged in as me Jeff and put in my password and I get a prompt like this -bash-3.1$ I don't know what that is unless it means that i'm in a bash file system, Anyway I ran startx and all my icons are back and my desktop setting are set to 1280x1024 and the windows will move and everything.

the only thin is that when I reboot my pc it goes through to a terminal window and I have to type startx to get to the gui. I wish I could save these setting but have it log me right into my username and the gui.

This is good!!! This is exactly the behaviour I was hoping to see you post back with. Basically, we can narrow the root cause of your problem to be a bad config file that resides in your /home/username directory. Furthermore, we can narrow it down some more by considering you are having the problem as soon as you enter your X-Server and not at the start of another program.

So, we will copy the backup files back into your /home/username directory, then remove a few key ones instead of them all. I think I read earlier in the post that you are running Gnome as your Desktop Manager which I *think* for Mandriva starts up Metacity for a Window Manager. So we will remove anything associated with those two and see where you end up(assuming /home/Jeff as you mentioned Jeff as your login). If you get a permission error, login as root.

cd /home/Jeff
cp config_backup/.* .
rm -Rf .gnome*
rm -Rf .metacity*

Quick note on the above commands as they may be hard to read, the first copy command reads:

cp <space> config_backup/.* <space> .

Then restart your X-Server with the hotkeys and see if you still have the ability to control your windows. Once we get your system stable, I can show you how to setup an auto-login if that is your wish.

[jwilson3]

Ok things are looking good, I can login and still move windows around and such, I did have to go through the startx though to get to the gui but that isn't a problem. everything seemed to same ok when I ran the commads,,

there is one thing though. even though the windows that I open are smaller there still to big for the screen and I have to grab them and move them around to see the entire window, do you know how I can get that fixed, the desktop and icons are smaller which is perfect but once I open a window I have to drag everything around.

[trilarian]

Ok, think we are down to fine tuning your setup. For now, let's put the startx issue aside and get your windows working properly, then I'll show you how to have an auto-login so that when you reboot it will bring you to your desktop.

A couple of quick things going over the posts. I noticed you set your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file to Modes 1024x768, but then you mention a couple of post up about you setting the resolution to 1280x1024 and that being the ideal resolution. So, lets make sure everything is the same. Check your /etc/X11/xorg.conf for depth 16 and make the first entry 1280x1024. Restart your X-Server, login, and open a program.

If it still has an issue, then see what Gnome is telling you it's using for a resolution. I'm borrowing mrrangerman43 description on this as he has every click spelled out nicely:

go to the task bar and press the star on the bottom left, then up to system then Configuration then Configure your computer when you click on Configure your computer you will be prompted for a root passwd. After you enter the root passwd the control center will come up, WARNING: watch what you do here as you are root. On the left side click on Hardware and then on the right side you will have different options as to what to configure. Look in Change screen resolution and see what resolution it has listed, and if it's at a lower setting bump it up a little and see if that will help.

You will want to verify this resolution matches, and if it doesn't change it to 1280x1024. Hopefully this will solve it. If not, let me know what is still happening wrong.

[jwilson3]

Ok I checked the xorg.conf file and it is showing depth 16 and 1280x1024
and the resolution is the same when I check the "configure your computer" area. I have a question though about the xorg.conf, shouldn't I be able to open that xorg.conf folder with out going through the hole vi /etc/x11/xorg.conf

Other then that all settings are matching up my resolution is matching everywhere, so I just need to get the windows I open to be smaller and the setup the login to take me to the gui..

[trilarian]

OK, your resolution should be set for good then. The VI method is really used for one of two reasons, either you prefer the console or your X-Server is broken(like your's was earlier) and thats your only way of modifying the settings. I just wanted to make sure that the config file and your graphical settings were in sync since I don't have a Mandriva box to test things on. I'll put some more thought into what is causing your windows to be so large. When you copied and then removed the config files a few post back, where the windows still too large at that point?

As for the auto login, what we will do is write a small script, compile it, then set your system to run it each time the X-Server starts. This will require you have a version of GCC installed on your computer - most distros have this by default that I've played with. Also, note that with a working X-Server you can open a terminal on your graphical screen so you can read what to do and type in a terminal at the same time(Usually Start>Applications>Shells>bash).

Assuming your login is Jeff:

cd /home/Jeff
vi autologin.c

Then inside VI, type(copy and paste if you can):

int main() {
execlp( "login", "login", "-f", "Jeff", 0);
}

Save the file, then compile and copy the file using(Here on out, need to be root):

gcc -o autologin autologin.c
cp autologin /sbin
cp autologin /usr/local/sbin

Now we need to set your system to run this program every time by:

vi /etc/inittab

And inside VI near the bottom, you will see a section that looks similar to this:

1:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty1
2:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty2
3:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty3
4:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty4
5:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty5
6:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty6

Once you find that section, you will want to change the first line to read:

1:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty -n -l /usr/local/sbin/autologin 38400 tty1

Save the file, then reboot your system to test it out. You should see it boot like normal, but then auto login using username Jeff. Let me know if I lost you anywhere or it gives you a problem.

[jwilson3]

Ok let me get this right; when I type this

cd /home/Jeff
vi autologin.c

am i in root?

also when you say to save it I don't know if I know how to save. I haven't done alot of command stuff yet because i'm just wanting to get everything installed, and to your question above: yes all my windows have been big since the beginning, it's weird cause my desktop is shrunk down to the size I like but when I open a window it's really big ..

[jwilson3]

Trilarin:
Everytime I type the vi autologin.c it takes the prompt to the bottom of the screen and then it shows recording and it's just waiting there and I can't get out of it until I just exit the terminal..

[trilarian]

Sorry, got sidetracked with work and haven't had the time to respond.

Ok let me get this right; when I type this

cd /home/Jeff
vi autologin.c

am i in root?

also when you say to save it I don't know if I know how to save. I haven't done alot of command stuff yet because i'm just wanting to get everything installed, and to your question above: yes all my windows have been big since the beginning, it's weird cause my desktop is shrunk down to the size I like but when I open a window it's really big ..

You can be root, but you don't have to be until you are at the point of copying your compiled program to sbin as it is the location of privelaged commands(usually ran as root).

I have to admit, VI is not my prefered editor, but it was suggested further up the post chain as a program installed on Mandriva so I stuck with that. Since you seem to be more comfortable in the desktop GUI, and the desktop is working now, you don't have to use the CTRL-ALT-F1 for a terminal. You can spawn one by going through Gnome(or whatever your Start button reads) => Applications => Shells => Bash. Also, you don't have to use VI, you can look for a simple graphical program under Gnome => Applications => Editors and see whats there. Gedit, for example, is very similar to the windows Wordpad. Then from a graphical editor you can do the usual File => Open or File => New in the case of making the login script.

Trilarin:
Everytime I type the vi autologin.c it takes the prompt to the bottom of the screen and then it shows recording and it's just waiting there and I can't get out of it until I just exit the terminal..

My suggestion would be to do the above and see what graphical editors you have installed. I'm not used to the behaviour of VI and think though some people would swear their lives on it, its not the most user-friendly editor for someone just starting.

[mrrangerman43]

jwilson3

Take a look at the upper task bar, (If your using Gnome) there should be a listing for gui editers, I think Kate is what Mandriva uses. If you can at least get around now you can always install nano or pico they are not to hard to use.
Vi may be a pain sometimes but it's installed by default on just about every Linux/Unix system, and in a case when xserver is not working it's good to have something to fall back on insted of a gui app. Although now days a live-cd will work just fine.

[jwilson3]

Ok well i'm unable to do any of the task requessted, everytime I go to my directory /home/Jeff/ and type the vi autologin.c it wants to record,

I tried to see if I had a text editor and all I can find is a text editor no pico or nano.

so I'm lost, I have no idea what to do sorry...

[jwilson3]

I was finally able to figure it out in "vi" I have been busy at work and forgot that in vi you have to type wq to save an quit.

anyway I did get all the above posted into the vi and rebooted my computer and when it came up sit says
"Id "1" respwaning too fast: disabled for 5 minutes"
it did't boot into my gui

[jwilson3]

Well it looks like the issue of the display settings is complete, my hard drive crashed so I'm going to need to get a new hard drive and start over. Thanks for all the help and i'm sure I'll be asking for help again some day soon.