How To Fix Problem With Tiny Screen After Installation

I have installed OpenSUSE 10.3 a few times, but have run into a problem with an installation I performed today. The installation ran as usual, but when it completed the display area was very small and placed in the upper left hand corner. I found a posting with a similar issue titled "Display Not Right After 1.0 Install", to which jbb@vcn.com replied "From a console prompt or window, as root, run xorgconfig and force the screen resolution to what you wish". I would like to try this, but if I can't get OpenSUSE to boot into a form in which I can use it, how can I bring up a console window?

I suspect the problem is the monitor I use, a Philips Brilliance 230W, is now recognized as that model during the installation. In other installations it always used "VESA 1280x1024 @60HZ", and I couldn't figure out how to make it work better than that option.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thank you.

You might try adjusting screen size using the monitor's control buttons.

If it works, screen gets large enough to see, then use xorgconfig to set the X configuration.

After, you can reset the monitor buttons.

The final resolution for this problem was to deselect the "hardware configuration" step, which is the last step in the installation. I tried to resize the screen, but it would only resize vertically, not horizontally. I tried changing the monitor during the installation to a VESA 1280x1024, 17" generic monitor, which is what OpenSUSE detected when I installed it on other computers, but that didn't work either. It took several installation attempts over a period of several days to find something that worked. I even tried KUbuntu in the middle of this process, but I REALLY didn't like it's interface (I don't care at all for icon-driven interfaces, I prefer things to be more hierarchical), but I didn't give it much time either because I want all of the computers I deal with to look and feel the same.

This process brings up two items that I would like to learn about. First, why does OpenSUSE correctly detect my monitor (Philips Brilliance 230W) on this one computer, but it's not even an option for my other computers? I can't even change it on the other computers because that monitor does not show up in the list of Philips monitors. The only thing I can think of is the one computer uses the older style analog interface, the other two use the newer style digital interface. The second item is isn't there some type of GUI boot-up utility that permits a change, like changing the monitor, when the normal boot-up isn't working?

I've been using OpenSUSE as my normal platform for about 6 months now, having switched from Windows XP, although I still use XP for development because I'm a programmer in a Windows shop. Besides the normal frustration that comes from any type of significant change, I've been a bit leery of making any significant type of change to my configuration because I can't afford to have my computer down because some simple change, like changing the monitor type, makes the computer inoperable. Linux has improved a LOT in this area over the course of the last couple of years that I've been playing with it, but I think it could still use some more user/idiot proofing. If it wasn't for these the help a person can find on these forums, I don't think Linux would be easy enough to use for the masses.

Thank you.