I am fairly new to openSuSE 11.4, but already have a live machine with virtualisation running, no problems and very impressed. Have second small test machine Dell 1550 which is not displaying the login screen correctly. During installation it selected 1024x768 correctly and I have managed to correct the post login screen by changing the refresh rate to 60. How do I do this for the login screen which at the moment displays an unmovable blue error box (from the console) over the login prompt, making it almost impossible to login.
The driver is an ATI Mach64 GR, X11 is version 4. The machine is connected via an Avocent KVM 3100 switch to a Dell 15FP rack console. The avocent generates the blue error box when it does not like the refresh rate. You can’t move it or close it.
I looked for the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file but it does not exist.
Thanks
Max
Here is a small listing of numbers you can use:
# FRAMEBUFFER RESOLUTION SETTINGS
# +-------------------------------------------------+
# | 640x480 800x600 1024x768 1280x1024
# ----+--------------------------------------------
# 256 | 0x301=769 0x303=771 **0x305**=773 0x307=775
# 32K | 0x310=784 0x313=787 0x316=790 0x319=793
# 64K | 0x311=785 0x314=788 0x317=791 0x31A=794
# 16M | 0x312=786 0x315=789 0x318=792 0x31B=795
# +-------------------------------------------------+
# for more details and different resolutions see
# http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GRUB#Framebuffer_Resolution
You must edit your /boot/grub/menu.lst menu file to change this setting. When using KDE, I can do this edit with the Alt-F2 command:
kdesu kwrite /boot/grub/menu.lst
The actual item you change says vga=xxx, some hex number as listed above in the chart. Each Linux OS selection in the menu has its own separate VGA=xxx command. For instance, here is the default line from my menu.lst file:
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-3.1.0-rc1-0.5-desktop root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Corsair_Performance3_SSD_1117810101000341020B-part4 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Corsair_Performance3_SSD_1117810101000341020B-part2 splash=silent quiet nomodeset showopts** vga=0x346**
vga=0x346 stands for a 1600x1200 resolution. You can actually change the vga= to ask as in vga=ask and Grub will then list all supported screen resolutions for your video card monitor combination. Write down the number you want and re-edit the menu.lst file to use the correct selected resolution then.
Thank You,
Hello James, thanks for reply and sorry it has taken me so long to get back. Little old test machine does not get much attention!
The resolution is set correctly in the grub menu file (0x317 - 1024x768 64K). The problem is the refresh rate of 60KHz.
I have tried it in failsafe mode and that works perfectly. Does this give you any other ideas?
Thanks for help
Max
Hello James, thanks for reply and sorry it has taken me so long to get back. Little old test machine does not get much attention!
The resolution is set correctly in the grub menu file (0x317 - 1024x768 64K). The problem is the refresh rate of 60KHz.
I have tried it in failsafe mode and that works perfectly. Does this give you any other ideas?
Thanks for help
Max
Well, for any other graphic issue, I might try and add the kernel load option nomodeset. This option is included in Failsafe, along with a lot of other stuff. When the Grub OS Selection Menu starts, you can actually enter the command nomodeset and then press the enter key on the standard openSUSE startup. If this works, the grub /boot/grub/menu.lst file can be edited as root and add this command, just like it appears in the Failsafe entry, but without the other added commands.
Thank You,
If you’re using the proprietary drivers of Nvidia and ATI graphics cards, you can set the refresh rate respectively in nvidia-settings (X display server configuration) and Catalyst Control Center (Display Manager -> Display Properties).
Otherwise, you can enforce a refresh rate under X by appending it to the resolution. Example (Please do NOT copy/paste!)
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "LGW2242TQ"
ModelName "LG ELECTRONICS W2242"
VendorName "GSM"
HorizSync 30-83
VertRefresh 43-75
DisplaySize 474 296
UseModes "Modes[mode1]"
Option "DPMS"
Option "PreferredMode" "1680x1050"
EndSection
Section "Modes"
Identifier "Modes[mode1]"
Modeline "1680x1050_60.00" 146.25 1680 1784 1960 2240 1050 1053 1059 1089 -hsync +vsync
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "GF8400GS"
BoardName "GeForce 8400GS"
VendorName "nVidia Corporation"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
Driver "nv"
Option "dpms"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "GF8400GS"
Monitor "LGW2242TQ"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1680x1050_60.00"
EndSubsection
EndSection
This example is taken from Unix and the nv driver. I normally don’t need to explicitely set the refresh rate under Linux. I don’t know if you need a modeline. I would first try without. You can create /etc/X11/xorg.conf with a Monitor, Device and Screen sections. This file will be used if it exists.
Sorry, I didn’t pay attention that you were using an ATI Mach64. It’s pretty old. In that case, you need to use the ati driver in /etc/X11/xorg.conf … probably with an appropriate modeline.
Section "Device"
....
Driver "ati"
....
EndSection