As an absolute newbie I ran 11.1 and had a good 1024768 resolution on my (old) ATI mobility M3 AGP 2 graphic card.
Now I did a new installation 11.3 from dvd and the resolution is not higher than 800*600 while on the installation splash screen I could click on the higher resolution.
I see there is a lot of documentation on this issue, but that is so difficult.
How do I get the resolution higher?
Hi annevance
This may tell us which graphics driver is in use. (Just post the output relevant to the graphics chipset)
/sbin/lspci -nnk
and the output of the following command may tell us what display modes your system thinks are available:
xrandr
Depending on the results you get, it may be that you just need to set a preferred mode, as outlined here
However, it may be that a basic framebuffer graphics driver is in use, rather than the radeon driver for example. Depending on the model of your ATI card, you may also be able to install and use the proprietary fglrx driver.
These guides may also be useful to you:
openSUSE Graphic Card Practical Theory Guide for Users
SDB:Configuring graphics cards - openSUSE
Look forward to hearing from you soon. :)*
Sorry for my late response, but here was something called “thanksgiving” that forced me away from the computer.
This is what I got and it looks ugly.
hans@linux-tk73:~> /sbin/lspci -nnk
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: ATI Technologies Inc Rage Mobility M3 AGP 2x [1002:4c46] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Dell Latitude C600 [1028:00b1]
hans@linux-tk73:~> xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 640 x 480, current 800 x 600, maximum 800 x 600
default connected 800x600+0+0 0mm x 0mm
800x600 60.0* 56.0
640x480 60.0
Ok, it might be helpful to provide the output of /var/log/Xorg.0.log as well. Upload it to SUSE Paste and post the link to it here.
I’m doing something wrong?
hans@linux-tk73:~> /var/log/Xorg.0.log
bash: /var/log/Xorg.0.log: Permission denied
hans@linux-tk73:~> su
Password:
linux-tk73:/home/hans # /var/log/Xorg.0.log
bash: /var/log/Xorg.0.log: Permission denied
linux-tk73:/home/hans #
This is my first paste…
Ok, to get the contents of your file you could do something like this
cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log
Then copy and paste to SUSE.paste. This file (located in /var/log/ directory )contains the messages from Xorg as it starts, and may tell us better which driver is in use, and why the display resolution is not what you were expecting.
Here is the file copied from the root file manager:
Thats better 
This may be a problem
#
50.256] (II) R128(0): Default Monitor: Using default hsync range of 31.50-37.90 kHz
#
50.256] (II) R128(0): Default Monitor: Using default vrefresh range of 50.00-70.00 Hz
#
50.256] (WW) R128(0): Unable to estimate virtual size
and
#
50.260] (II) R128(0): Modifying mode according to VBIOS: 800x600 [pclk 40.0 MHz] for FP to: 800x600 [pclk 65.0 MHz]
#
50.260] (II) R128(0): Modifying mode according to VBIOS: 800x600 [pclk 36.0 MHz] for FP to: 800x600 [pclk 65.0 MHz]
#
50.260] (II) R128(0): Modifying mode according to VBIOS: 640x480 [pclk 25.2 MHz] for FP to: 640x480 [pclk 65.0 MHz]
#
50.261] (--) R128(0): Virtual size is 800x600 (pitch 800)
So, it looks like there is a problem determining your monitor’s display modes correctly.
Edit: It looks like you’ve installed the proprietary fglrx driver driver, however I’m not sure that your old ATI chipset is compatible with the fglrx driver. So, I’ve just adjusted my advice here.
#
50.270] (II) UnloadModule: "fglrx"
#
50.270] (II) Unloading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/fglrx_drv.so
#
50.270] (II) UnloadModule: "fglrxdrm"
#
50.270] (II) Unloading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/linux/libfglrxdrm.so
#
50.270] (II) UnloadModule: "radeonhd"
#
50.270] (II) Unloading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/radeonhd_drv.so
#
50.270] (II) UnloadModule: "fbdev"
#
50.270] (II) Unloading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/fbdev_drv.so
#
50.270] (II) UnloadModule: "fbdevhw"
#
50.270] (II) Unloading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/linux/libfbdevhw.so
#
50.270] (II) UnloadModule: "vesa"
#
50.270] (II) Unloading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/vesa_drv.so
Question: Did you upgrade from 11.1, or was it a clean install? This may the crux of your problem.
Without completely understanding what is going on here, I think you could try editing /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/50-monitor.conf, uncommenting the entry
#HorizSync 28-85
by removing the ‘#’ character. (This is helpful for monitors that don’t communicate their display modes correctly, which is what may be going on here). You’ll need to edit this system file with root privileges.
If using KDE4, then
kdesu kate /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/50-monitor.conf
If using Gnome, then you can do this instead
gnomesu gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/50-monitor.conf
These commands allow you to edit the file. Be careful with any editing you do here though, as you don’t want to make the file invalid.
See how that goes.
Sorry, but I don’t understand what to read and where to find my aticonfig utility
Sorry, ignore that, read my edited posts again. Try the advice in my previous post.
It was a clean install, but I already tried to download and install new drivers.
Apperantly without succes.
I don’t mind doing a new clean install and then do a hand configuration.
Is that a good idea?
I don’t mind doing a new clean install and then do a hand configuration.
Is that a good idea?
Up to you, but not necessary.
It was a clean install, but I already tried to download and install new drivers.
Did you install the ATI driver via the package manager, or manually? There is a section in this radeon guide dealing with removal of the proprietary driver.
Try the hand-edit of 50-monitor.conf and see if it helps.
I did the new install and tried to hand configure. Same result. I now installed 11.1 again with a beautiful screen and resolution. I now understand where the problem is. I might try to update from 11.1 to 11.3 and see if it will keep the present driver.
Anyway, thanks for your help. I’ll be back.
I might try to update from 11.1 to 11.3 and see if it will keep the present driver.
Just be aware that you can’t use the proprietary fglrx driver with openSUSE 11.3. You have a choice of radeon (and radeonhd) open source drivers.
I had 11.1 nicely running and updated Firefox to 3.6
All worked well and onhigh resolution.
Today I tried to install 11.3 again from DVD. Instead of a new install I upgraded the installation.
Result: Beautiful with high resolution !!
Thanks for your help.
Thanks for the update. By upgrading, you’ve probably kept the working /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. Make sure you keep this file backed up on a memory stick, just in case you need it in the future.