Ubuntu
xserver-xorg-video-ati package

How specify monitor resolution in 10.04

Asked by ClairGarman

I have installed 10.04 and find that I have the following screen resolution choices (xrandr output):

Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1024 x 768, maximum 4096 x 4096
VGA-0 connected 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
   1360x768 59.8
   1024x768 60.0*
   800x600 60.3 56.2
   848x480 60.0
   640x480 59.9 59.9
DVI-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

I desire a screen resolution of 1280x1024 or 1152x864.

I understand that 10.04 auto-detects monitor parameters, that /etc/X11/xorg.conf does not exist in 10.04 and that if /etc/X11/xorg.conf exists it will be used, but that if error in syntax occur, then the auto-detect values from the kernel will be used.

The syntax of creating /etc/X11/xorg.conf is not straightforward and I have been unable to create an xorg.conf that is not ignored.

I am connected through a 2 port KVM switch, but have connected directly and see the same result.

Surely there must be another way to configure a screen resolution.

Clair

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Ubuntu xserver-xorg-video-ati Edit question
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Solved by:
Federico Tello Gentile
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Revision history for this message
ClairGarman (cgar) said : 		#1

I have received a response to this question from marcobra (Marco Braida) which states:

    Project: Ubuntu => xorg in ubuntu

I do not understand this response. Marco, please explain.

Clair

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GREG T. (ubuntuer) said : 		#2

what kind of video card is in your system ? nvidia or ati ?

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Best Federico Tello Gentile (federicotg) said : 		#3

Here's a basic xorg.conf file

http://ubuntuone.com/p/6xD/

It is for an ATI card, so, use the drivers you have to use (ati, intel, nv)
Change the horizontal and vertical refresh rates for a CRT monitor (I think LCD's don't need then)
Set the resolution you want and 2 or 3 alternatives. Use only valid resolutions for your monitor.

Keep your original file (if any) just in case you brake your configuration.

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ClairGarman (cgar) said : 		#4

My video card is:

01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 [Radeon Xpress 200G Series]

Federico,

I will try your suggestion when that system is back on-line.

Clair

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ClairGarman (cgar) said : 		#5
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GREG T. (ubuntuer) said : 		#6

i have a pc with ati xpress 200 and i hate to have to tell you ; but ati does not have linux support for xpress 200 series . so you need to remove xorg ,then restart the pc go to system preference monitor and set your resolutions there .. sorry to bear the bad news . but have not found a work around ether .

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ClairGarman (cgar) said : 		#7

Greg,

Please provide a bit more detail concerning:

go to system preference monitor and set your resolutions there .

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GREG T. (ubuntuer) said : 		#8

go to system- click it - then preference - now monitor .

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Federico Tello Gentile (federicotg) said : 		#9

That video chip is fully supported in the default ati driver that comes with Ubuntu.
It is based on the R300 chip family
Here you can see the features implemented (see the R300 column) in it:
http://www.x.org/wiki/RadeonFeature

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GREG T. (ubuntuer) said : 		#10

 federico ! so you found a web site that is unusable for a linux newbie . so how do you install and use this information .

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Federico Tello Gentile (federicotg) said : 		#11

There's nothing to use there, just shows how well supported that video chip is. I wanted to make that clear after you suggested it was not supported under Linux. You probably didn't mean it, but it may have been understood from your words.
To set the resolutions, if the are not listed in the monitors application, you can add them to the Monitor section of the xorg.conf file.

For example, with the new trend that everything is an LCD, default resolutions tend to be the maximum resolutions. I have a CRT and the "best resolution" is not the maximum, so I have an xorg.conf file (linked above) that only lists the ones I want to be available.

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GREG T. (ubuntuer) said : 		#12

 and thiat is what you set with the monitor setting listed under system - preference . i have had a member that has karma of 100,000 + help me and together the best we could is the system monitor settings .

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ClairGarman (cgar) said : 		#13

Greg, the problem was that the choices available under system - preference - monitors included only:
   1360x768 59.8
   1024x768 60.0*
   800x600 60.3 56.2
   848x480 60.0
   640x480 59.9 59.9
and I desired settings of 1152x864. I wanted the same aspect ratio as 1024x768 with a finer resolution.

Federico, you da man. Your example xorg.conf at http://ubuntuone.com/p/6xD/ worked splendidly. I now have a resolution of 1152x864 with a mechanism for configuring other resolutions by modifying xorg.conf.

Thanks to all for help in this matter.

Perhaps future development in Ubuntu could provide a more user-friendly mechanism.

Revision history for this message
ClairGarman (cgar) said : 		#14

Thanks Federico Tello Gentile, that solved my question.