I needed to install my nvidia drivers so I used the “1 click” deal for my nvidia 7150m graphics setup. afterwards, I checked my graphics settings and for the card it still said “vesa” but for the resolution, unlike upon fresh install, I had many options, one of which is my laptop native 1280x800. so I used the following command at root because I saw it in the nvidia how to section:
“sax2 -r”
after this, the card said “nvidia 7150m” and the resolution was picked for me properly.
why did I have to type “sax2 -r” and what exactly did that do? EXACTLY?
thanks. I’m a major thinker so I’m really trying to understand why things happen in linux so I can learn how to fix them in the future.
You’re to be commended for seeking to understand; there’s certainly nothing wrong with that!
A true Sax expert can speak more fully to this (and I hope one chimes in), but from the man page for sax2 (run “man sax2” in a terminal, or look in Help under “Administration -> Linux Documentation -> Manpages -> Section 2 -> sax2”):
-r Remove detection database and re-init the hardware database
This essentially forces Sax to “start from scratch.” In this case, it sees the updated driver and info that you installed with the one-click. The problem, and the reason why this isn’t enabled with a default install, is that NVidia is proprietary software. Basically (and in a non-technical nutshell), you have to install the NVidia stuff yourself, at which point Sax can say, “ah, there it is” and take over.
By the way, the “nvidia-settings” program is usually installed as well. If you ever have trouble getting Sax to do what you want, run nvidia’s own setup tool to fine-tune the resolution and other settings.
