Mark Wagnon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi,
Thanks for the response!
I am able to create an XF86Config-4 file using debconf. It's tailored
to my system's specs, and X is functional. The problem is that it's
driving my monitor at a resolution that 1) renders everything too
small to read, and 2) that AFAIK, is outstide my monitor's
capabilities. I would expect that my monitor would display some kind
of "out of range" message, but it doesn't. My manual specifies that it
is capable of 1280x1024, however X is driving it at a much higher
resolution.
Also, I beleive that I have only verion 4 files on board because I
installed X after upgrading from potato. I could be wrong about that
though.
I'm not sure where else to look. I've hunted down and renamed all my
XF86Config* files with the exception of /etc/X11/XF86Config-4. I just
don't understand where it's pulling the resolution setting it's using from.
If anyone thinks of anything else...please share ;-)
TIA!
--
Mark Wagnon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Mark,
I have been on the same "learning curve" as you jsut a short while ago.
I recall somewhere that the "preferred" method of creating the
/etc/Xll/XF86Config-4 file IN DEBIAN is to use one of the Debian config
tools. The only one I have been able to make work here is the
"dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86" command, which brings up the debconf
utility you see when you install Debian. It seems that Debian is
constantly improving the debconf utility, and the last time I used it
for configuring X (about a week ago) it had a few extra questions I had
not seen before about creating special "debconf-only" sections in the
resulting XF86Config-4 file. Anyhoo, here are some recollections from
my faulty short-term memory that might relate to your resolution "problem".
1. Early in the debconf screens you are queried about how you want to
handle the Monitor questions. IIRC, the options are "simple", "medium"
and "advanced". This last time I chose "advanded" and got a series of
query screens that asked detailed questions about my Monitor's ratings.
I could explicitly define both the horizontal and vertical refresh
rate ranges. I don't recall having the opportunity to do this with the
"simple" or "medium" options where you were just given a menu of
pre-defined choices. IF you define the EXACT ranges that your monitor
can handle, there is no way X can "over-drive" the capabilities of your
Monitor and damage it. You might want to give the "advanced" (or
"expert"...don't recall the exact wording) mode a try.
2. Later in the debconf section is a query about the screen resolution
modes you want to run. IIRC, there is a "[ ]" selection box at the
start of the line of a given screen resolution... i.e "[ ] 800x600". On
this screen you should only mark the resolutions you want to have
available for use. Also, I recall some of the lower resolution options
were not visable at the bottom until you scrolled down to them, and were
easily overlooked. I would suggest you check this screen carefully to
make sure that ONLY the screen-resolutions your want are marked for
use... i.e. "[*] 800x600". If you do this correctly, these are the
ONLY screen resolutions that will be considered when XF86Config-4 is run.
3. As far as I know, X will only activate screen resolution modes that
are compatable with your hardware as defined in XF86Config-4. It is
pretty smart and will calculate the modes that will work and remove any
that fall out of range or are not selected for use. This means that the
better the data you supply during the creation of XF86Config-4, the
better the results will be for you. If you define the monitor ranges
correctly, tell it the correct video device + correct amount of memory,
and tell it the modes you want enabled, then you will get exactly what
you asked for in a "safe" manner. One of the features of XFree86-v.4.X
is the ability to auto-probe your devices and determine a LOT of this
info from the device itself.
HTH.
Cheers,
-Don Spoon-
