Possible to pass Sax2 an INF file?

English Hardware
1

here is my situation:
i’m in between computer builds, so at the moment, i’m using the kde four live cd 1.1. (since 1.1.85 doesn’t work with my PC due to xserver not working). it uses opensuse 11.0 x86/kde 4.1.0 (release 16.2).

my widescreen monitor:
sceptre x20wg-naga
20.1" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) HD (HDCP) LCD
16:10 Aspect Ratio
Connected via D-Sub/VGA

unfortunately, this monitor was/is not detected by opensuse 11.0/sax2. it is read as VESA. (luckily though, it is properly detected & configured upon install in opensuse 11.1).

the problem is that i want to run the monitor at a resolution/refresh rate of: 1680x1050 @ 60hz. unfortunately, VESA does not support the WSXGA+ resolution. 1600x1200 @ 60hz works though, but it isn’t a widescreen resolution.

i can not use the ‘utility disc’ that came with the monitor so that sax2 can read the inf file and properly configure the monitor because i am using a live cd (in a PC with only one working disc drive) and thus can not eject the live cd to insert the utility disc.

i tried to manually configure the xorg.conf file but it never sticks upon login even though i know i properly configured it.

i copied the inf file from the utility disc to a flash drive and tried to get sax2 to recognize it, but apparently sax2 is only capable of reading from a cd???

so my question is, is it somehow possible to pass sax2 the inf file other than with the utility cd?

2

It is an lcd monitor then use lcd instead of vesa. If memory serves you can load the utility desk before booting to suse. Have a look for option after loading the live cd before booting to opensuse. I did it before on a samsung lcd monitor that goes to a black screen with the previous version of suse live cd some years back.

3

i totally forgot about the “LCD” option. thanks!

4

i used the “LCD” option with the resolution/refresh rate my monitor supports. i also configured the other options to my monitors specs, and it still refused to work.
after clicking “Test”, sax2 wanted to run the monitor at 1152x768 @ 55hz not at 1680x1050 @ 60hz like i told it to!
either sax2, xserver, or the intel driver doesn’t know what the heck it is doing or they aren’t communicating properly…

5

Try opening yast2 again and input the correct x & y dimensions of your monitor

6

i think you’ve misunderstood me. i click ok & then the “test window” pops up, so i click ‘Test’.
then the screen blanks out and the expected stuff comes up except instead of being the resolution/rr i told it to be at it is at completely different resolution/rr.
so i have to click cancel.

i have tried clicking ok, saving, & exiting sax2 & then logging out & logging back in. but this screws up the xserver cuz my monitor does not support 1152x768 @ any rr. the monitor/xserver works at 1152x768 in sax2’s “preview mode” i mentioned above, but not if i log out & log back in.

i’m wondering if this is an intel driver problem. i don’t know which version this kde four live (v1.1) disc uses. it is based on opensuse 11.0. how do i check the driver version? i have to check the kernel module don’t i? but i can’t remember how to do that.

the reason i mention that i wonder if it is a driver issue is because, iirc, in a recent driver version (i forget exactly which) intel implemented video bios resolution/rr auto patching thus obsoleting programs like 915resolution.

maybe the intel driver version i’m using is prior to the aforementioned version and thus can not run at the widescreen resolution(s) i want it to.

7

Maybe. I am using intel in this computer I am in. And works fine using 1680 X 1050 on a 22" viewsonic monitor.

Here is some info of the card
7.6 Framebuffer - /usr/sbin/hwinfo --framebuffer

02: None 00.0: 11001 VESA Framebuffer
[Created at bios.463]
Unique ID: rdCR.5dHCGM_Ucd6
Hardware Class: framebuffer
Model: “Intel(r)Q33/Q35/G33 Graphics Controller”
Vendor: “Intel Corporation”
Device: “Intel(r)Q33/Q35/G33 Graphics Controller”
SubVendor: “Intel(r)Q33/Q35/G33 Graphics Chip Accelerated VGA BIOS”

Have you tried what I said in the last post in manually putting the right dimension of monitors lenght and width (xand y)

8

remember, i said i am using the kde four live cd 1.1 and you are not. so this disc probably has an older version of the intel driver, so the fact that you are able to run it at that resolution/rr may mean nothing.

yes, that is what i meant when i said:
“i also configured the other options to my monitors specs”…

here is the relevant part from hwinfo of my onboard video:

22: PCI 02.0: 0300 VGA compatible controller (VGA)
[Created at pci.310]
UDI: /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_8086_2562
Unique ID: _Znp.eoHGUZ6fD+2
SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0
SysFS BusID: 0000:00:02.0
Hardware Class: graphics card
Model: “Intel i845”
Vendor: pci 0x8086 “Intel Corporation”
Device: pci 0x2562 “i845”
SubVendor: pci 0x107b “Gateway 2000”
SubDevice: pci 0x2000
Revision: 0x01
Driver: “i810_smbus”
Driver Modules: “i2c_i810”
Memory Range: 0xf0000000-0xf7ffffff (rw,prefetchable)
Memory Range: 0xffa80000-0xffafffff (rw,non-prefetchable)
IRQ: 16 (no events)
I/O Ports: 0x3c0-0x3df (rw)
Module Alias: “pci:v00008086d00002562sv0000107Bsd00002000bc03sc00i00”
Driver Info #0:
XFree86 v4 Server Module: intel
Driver Info #1:
XFree86 v4 Server Module: intel
3D Support: yes
Extensions: dri
Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown

9

UPDATE:
ok, strangely, the monitor was not properly detected upon installing 64bit opensuse 11.1.
using the utility disk feature of sax works, until i log in. the xserver apparently can’t use 1680x1050 so it switches automatically upon login to 1400x1050, which my monitor does not natively support, afaict.

my new build features intel onboard video g43/g45.

i wonder whether this is a problem with the intel driver.

here is my xorg.conf:

/…/

SaX generated X11 config file

Created on: 2009-01-17T09:24:29-0800.

Version: 8.1

Contact: Marcus Schaefer <sax@suse.de>, 2005

Contact: SaX-User list <https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/sax-users>

Automatically generated by [ISaX] (8.1)

PLEASE DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE!

Section “Files”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/misc:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/local”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/75dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/100dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/Type1”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/URW”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/Speedo”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/PEX”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/cyrillic”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/latin2/misc:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/latin2/75dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/latin2/100dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/latin2/Type1”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/latin7/75dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/baekmuk:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/japanese:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/kwintv”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/truetype”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/uni:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/CID”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/ucs/misc:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/ucs/75dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/ucs/100dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/hellas/misc:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/hellas/75dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/hellas/100dpi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/hellas/Type1”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/misc/sgi:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/xtest”
FontPath “/opt/kde3/share/fonts”
InputDevices “/dev/gpmdata”
InputDevices “/dev/input/mice”
EndSection

Section “ServerFlags”
Option “AIGLX” “on”
Option “AllowMouseOpenFail” “on”
Option “ZapWarning” “on”
EndSection

Section “Module”
Load “glx”
Load “extmod”
Load “freetype”
Load “dbe”
Load “dri”
Load “GLCore”
EndSection

Section “InputDevice”
Driver “kbd”
Identifier “Keyboard[0]”
Option “Protocol” “Standard”
Option “XkbLayout” “us”
Option “XkbModel” “logicd”
Option “XkbRules” “xfree86”
EndSection

Section “InputDevice”
Driver “mouse”
Identifier “Mouse[1]”
Option “Buttons” “14”
Option “Device” “/dev/input/mice”
Option “Name” “Logitech USB Receiver”
Option “Protocol” “explorerps/2”
Option “Vendor” “Sysp”
Option “ZAxisMapping” “4 5”
EndSection

Section “Monitor”
DisplaySize 433 271
HorizSync 30-82
Identifier “Monitor[0]”
ModelName “X20WG-NAGAII (ANALOG)”
Option “PreferredMode” “1680x1050”
VendorName “SCEPTRE”
VertRefresh 50-75
UseModes “Modes[0]”
EndSection

Section “Modes”
Identifier “Modes[0]”
EndSection

Section “Screen”
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection “Display”
Depth 15
Modes “1680x1050” “1600x1200” “1280x1024” “1440x900” “1280x720” “1024x768” “800x600” “640x480”
Virtual 1680 1050
EndSubSection
SubSection “Display”
Depth 16
Modes “1680x1050” “1600x1200” “1280x1024” “1440x900” “1280x720” “1024x768” “800x600” “640x480”
Virtual 1680 1050
EndSubSection
SubSection “Display”
Depth 24
Modes “1680x1050” “1600x1200” “1280x1024” “1440x900” “1280x720” “1024x768” “800x600” “640x480”
Virtual 1680 1050
EndSubSection
SubSection “Display”
Depth 32
Modes “1680x1050” “1600x1200” “1280x1024” “1440x900” “1280x720” “1024x768” “800x600” “640x480”
Virtual 1680 1050
EndSubSection
SubSection “Display”
Depth 8
Modes “1680x1050” “1600x1200” “1280x1024” “1440x900” “1280x720” “1024x768” “800x600” “640x480”
Virtual 1680 1050
EndSubSection
Device “Device[0]”
Identifier “Screen[0]”
Monitor “Monitor[0]”
EndSection

Section “Device”
BoardName “G45/G43”
Driver “intel”
Identifier “Device[0]”
Option “monitor-VGA” “Monitor[0]”
Screen 0
VendorName “Intel”
EndSection

Section “ServerLayout”
Identifier “Layout[all]”
InputDevice “Keyboard[0]” “CoreKeyboard”
InputDevice “Mouse[1]” “CorePointer”
Option “Clone” “off”
Option “Xinerama” “off”
Screen “Screen[0]”
EndSection

Section “DRI”
Group “video”
Mode 0660
EndSection

Section “Extensions”
Option “Composite” “on”
EndSection

here is my xorg.0.log:
pastebin - collaborative debugging tool

there is a section where a pci device isn’t properly detected. i wonder if it is related to this issue.

there is also a line that says randr was disabled. also related?

10

UPDATE:
SOLVED!
i did some research and determined that the DDC option/feature in conjunction with the intel driver does not work properly (at least in my case) because my monitor is connected via a d-sub/vga cable. apparently, d-sub/vga cables lack a pin that dvi cables do not. that pin allows the monitor to be probed and, if i understand correctly, modelines can be automatically determined and piped to the xorg.conf file for automatic configuration.

solution:

  1. use the “NoDDC” option in the xorg.conf ‘monitor’ section.
    when one disables DDC that means xorg.conf must have a (proper) modeline entered manually to function correctly.

  2. use the cvt tool that comes with xorg to get a proper modeline for your res/rr.

here is my working config file:

Version: 8.1

Section “Files”
…
InputDevices “/dev/gpmdata”
InputDevices “/dev/input/mice”
EndSection

Section “ServerFlags”
Option “AIGLX” “on”
Option “AllowMouseOpenFail” “on”
Option “ZapWarning” “on”
EndSection

Section “Module”
Load “glx”
Load “extmod”
Load “freetype”
Load “dbe”
Load “dri”
EndSection

Section “InputDevice”
Driver “kbd”
Identifier “Keyboard[0]”
Option “Protocol” “Standard”
Option “XkbLayout” “us”
Option “XkbModel” “logicd”
Option “XkbRules” “xfree86”
EndSection

Section “InputDevice”
Driver “mouse”
Identifier “Mouse[1]”
Option “Buttons” “14”
Option “Device” “/dev/input/mice”
Option “Name” “Logitech USB Receiver”
Option “Protocol” “explorerps/2”
Option “Vendor” “Sysp”
Option “ZAxisMapping” “4 5”
EndSection

Section “Monitor”
DisplaySize 433 271
HorizSync 30-82
Identifier “Monitor[0]”
ModelName “X20WG-NAGAII (ANALOG)”
Option “PreferredMode” “1680x1050_60.00”
Modeline “1680x1050_60.00” 146.25 1680 1784 1960 2240 1050 1053 1059 1089 -hsync +vsync
VendorName “SCEPTRE”
VertRefresh 50-75
UseModes “Modes[0]”
EndSection

Section “Modes”
Identifier “Modes[0]”
EndSection

Section “Screen”
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection “Display”
Depth 15
Modes “1680x1050” “1600x1200” “1280x1024” “1440x900” “1280x720” “1024x768” “800x600” “640x480”
Virtual 1680 1050
EndSubSection
SubSection “Display”
Depth 16
Modes “1680x1050” “1600x1200” “1280x1024” “1440x900” “1280x720” “1024x768” “800x600” “640x480”
Virtual 1680 1050
EndSubSection
SubSection “Display”
Depth 24
Modes “1680x1050” “1600x1200” “1280x1024” “1440x900” “1280x720” “1024x768” “800x600” “640x480”
Virtual 1680 1050
EndSubSection
SubSection “Display”
Depth 32
Modes “1680x1050” “1600x1200” “1280x1024” “1440x900” “1280x720” “1024x768” “800x600” “640x480”
Virtual 1680 1050
EndSubSection
SubSection “Display”
Depth 8
Modes “1680x1050” “1600x1200” “1280x1024” “1440x900” “1280x720” “1024x768” “800x600” “640x480”
Virtual 1680 1050
EndSubSection
Device “Device[0]”
Identifier “Screen[0]”
Monitor “Monitor[0]”
EndSection

Section “Device”
BoardName “G45/G43”
Driver “intel”
Identifier “Device[0]”
Option “monitor-VGA” “Monitor[0]”
Option “NoDDC”
Screen 0
VendorName “Intel”
EndSection

Section “ServerLayout”
Identifier “Layout[all]”
InputDevice “Keyboard[0]” “CoreKeyboard”
InputDevice “Mouse[1]” “CorePointer”
Option “Clone” “off”
Option “Xinerama” “off”
Screen “Screen[0]”
EndSection

Section “DRI”
Group “video”
Mode 0660
EndSection

Section “Extensions”
Option “Composite” “on”
EndSection

if i was able to, i could rename this thread “how i achieved 1680x1050 with my monitor/intel g43 in opensuse 11.1”.

11

UPDATE:
SOLVED!
i did some research and determined that the DDC option/feature in conjunction with the intel driver does not work properly (at least in my case) because my monitor is connected via a d-sub/vga cable. apparently, d-sub/vga cables lack a pin that dvi cables do not. that pin allows the monitor to be probed and, if i understand correctly, modelines can be automatically determined and piped to the xorg.conf file for automatic configuration.

solution:

  1. use the “NoDDC” option in the xorg.conf ‘monitor’ section.
    when one disables DDC that means xorg.conf must have a (proper) modeline entered manually to function correctly.

Well done. Many users have experienced issues with intel drivers and EDID/DDC problems. You would think that when the probing fails, it would fall back to manual modeline entries automaically, without having to disable probing explicitly. Anyway, good work. :slight_smile:

12

i would think that too but does anyone know for sure if it supposed to? if it is supposed to then of course the fact that it doesn’t would likely mean it is a bug.