Graphics card problem on Mint 7 (Linux newbie)

manicmike500 · 06-15-2009, 03:04 AM

Hi,

I have made the switch from the awful Windows to Linux Mint 7 and loving it. My problem is this: I have an ATI Radeon 2400HD video card running on the propriety driver recommended by the Mint hardware driver program. Everything installs fine and it can run all the nice desktop effects too. My problems starts when I reboot after the first initial reboot following installation of the driver, the screen resolution expands itself beyond the boundaries of the monitor, which is an Acer X223W 22inch. Thus meaning I cannot see the task bar at the bottom of the screen or anything that sits in the lower third of the screen layout. I can overcome this by selecting a safe vga mode at boot time but this is not an ideal situation.
Can anyone offer a solution to this problem please?
Many thanks.

GrapefruiTgirl · 06-15-2009, 08:01 PM

I can't get into specifics of either Mint or your laptop model, as I have used neither, but these sorts of problems generally require a look at your xorg.conf file, which is the file that configures your screen display.
It's usually located in /etc/X11/ on the system. If you could copy/paste that into a post here, it may provide us some clues.. Also, what is the native resolution & vertical refresh rate of your monitor? For example, 1680x1050 @ 59.95 ? You can usually find this data in the manual for the monitor, or online.

Thanks!

Sasha

manicmike500 · 06-16-2009, 01:26 PM

This is the contents of the xorg.conf file on my system:

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Monitor "Configured Monitor"
Device "Configured Video Device"
DefaultDepth 24
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dri"
Load "GLcore"
Load "glx"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Driver "fglrx"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
Option "DontZap" "False"
EndSection

Monitor specs are as follows:

* *Max Resolution* 1680 x 1050 / 60 Hz
* *Color Support* 24-bit (16.7 million colors)
* *Max Sync Rate (V x H)* 75 Hz x 80 KH

Just to add this is a desktop machine, not a laptop.

Many thanks,

GrapefruiTgirl · 06-16-2009, 03:23 PM

Code:

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen1"
    Device         "VideocardB(lowerVGA)"
    Monitor        "KDS0"
    DefaultDepth    16
    Option         "NoLogo" "False"
    Option         "RenderAccel" "On"
    Option         "HWcursor" "On"
    Option         "DamageEvents" "True"
    Option         "TwinView" "0"
    Option         "metamodes" "DFP-0: 1680x1050 +0+0"
      SubSection   "Display"
      Depth         16
      EndSubSection
EndSection

First, it would be good if you would add the 'metamodes' line as I have in the above 'Screen' section. In your case, with only one monitor, changing 'metamodes' to 'modes' will probably do.

Disregard the other stuff in there, I just copied & pasted

PS - Dunno what made me think that was a laptop

but thanks for the clarification.

Note too, checking your xorg.0.log file can lead to clues as to what's wrong, but for now, try it with a MODES line as I indicated, and see if it changes anything.

For reference, always remember the driver docs that come with your driver, and the man page for the driver too, for exact syntax of stuff.

Good luck! I'll check later and see what's up with your situation.

Sasha

baileybaird · 10-03-2009, 05:54 PM

i am as well a newbie to linux as a "bill hater". i have both ubuntu and mint and have the same problems on both shells... the resolution. i have tried to alter the screen comand on both but they are "read only" files and i cannot save any alteration... can anyone help with this issue?