Yet another question on how to increase the screen resolution!

English Hardware
#1

I realize this question has been asked various times before. A lot of the solutions posted didn’t work for me and a handful of others were beyond my comprehension. I am an inexperienced Opensuse user. I’m running OpenSUSE 12.1. My monitor is Acer AL1715 and my graphic card is Nvidia Geforce GT 430. I installed the nvidia driver and configured it accordingly. However, the issue is that on windows 7, the screen resolution is 1248x1024 but on suse the maximum resolution available is 1024x768. I find that a bit uncomfortable. Also, the nvidia driver doesn’t seem to be detecting the screen. It’s labeled as CRT-1. Moreover, the xorg.config file was empty. I tried to follow one of the solutions by adding a certain code in it but that didn’t help. Typing xrandr in the terminal would give off the following results:

“default connected 1024x768+0+0 0mm x 0mm
1024x768 50.0*
800x600 51.0 52.0 53.0
640x480 54.0
512x384 55.0
400x300 56.0
320x240 57.0”

I’d like to add that I’m using KDE 4.8 if that is relevant. I’d appreciate any help on the topic. I’m still learning how to properly handle OpenSUSE and I’m still a novice (a noob to put it bluntly) so if you can spoon-feed me the solution I’d be grateful.

#2

What kind of monitor connection do you use? Do you have an option to use HDMI or a DVI connection between your PC and monitor?

Thank You,

#3

To add to jdmcdaniel3. What is the nvidia driver currently installed. Is this the rpm package from the nvidia repositories or
is it the nvidia driver downloaded from the nvidia site.

#4

I note you mention that you’re an inexperienced openSUSE user, so please don’t let the following suggestion put you off: You may want to create a minimal xorg.conf as suggested and used successfully in this old thread:

http://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-technical-help-here/hardware/460441-11-4-higher-display-resolution.html

Read the first two pages carefully and I think you’ll cope ok.

BTW, a quick check of the specs for your Acer AL1715 monitor shows its native resolution should be capable of 1280x1024@75Hz

Acer Support: AL1715 LCD Monitors Specifications

You can use the cvt utility to generate a suitable modeline. For example 1280x1024@75Hz

cvt 1280 1024 75

yields

# 1280x1024 74.90 Hz (CVT 1.31M4) hsync: 80.30 kHz; pclk: 138.75 MHz
Modeline "1280x1024_75.00"  138.75  1280 1368 1504 1728  1024 1027 1034 1072 -hsync +vsync
#5

Thank you guys for replying!
The cable I’m using is HDMI and the Nvidia driver is an RMP which I downloaded from the nvidia repositories.
Deano, I followed the solution presented on the first two pages of the thread you linked and the only difference it made is adding an nvidia splash screen before the suse login screen. I still can’t increase the resolution. Did I miss something perhaps?

#6

Deano, I followed the solution presented on the first two pages of the thread you linked and the only difference it made is adding an nvidia splash screen before the suse login screen. I still can’t increase the resolution. Did I miss something perhaps?

  1. You should post your current /etc/X11/xorg.conf so we can take a look for any mistakes or make further suggestions.

  2. Have a look at /var/log/Xorg.0.log, and upload the contents to SUSE Paste
    then post the link to it here. This might yield further info about what is failing.

#7

Apparently the xorg.conf is different from /etc/X11/xorg.conf (well at least I didn’t know that). Anyhow, after viewing /etc/X11/xorg.conf I found out that it’s empty too so I pasted the same data that I had in xorg.conf and restarted Suse. I couldn’t log in anymore (actually the only thing I could do is log in and then I’d view a terminal-like page) so I launched suse in failsafe mode. The resolution is 1280x1024 however the graphics are horrible. I also still can’t launch opensuse normally. Failsafe mode is the only one working properly. Here’s the data present in etc/X11/xorg.conf SUSE Paste
Also, /var/log/xorg.0.log is completely empty.
I’m sorry if I sound like a nuisance and thank you again for your help!

#8

Apparently the xorg.conf is different from /etc/X11/xorg.conf (well at least I didn’t know that). Anyhow, after viewing /etc/X11/xorg.conf I found out that it’s empty too so I pasted the same data that I had in xorg.conf and restarted Suse

The X-server checks for the presence of xorg.conf (located in the /etc/X11 directory among others).

I couldn’t log in anymore (actually the only thing I could do is log in and then I’d view a terminal-like page) so I launched suse in failsafe mode. The resolution is 1280x1024 however the graphics are horrible.

That is a risk when editing this config file. It could be due to any number of problems with the entries contained within. The only way to know is to examine /var/log/Xorg.0.log for errors. Using failsafe mode causes one of the basic framebuffer graphics drivers to load, hence no acceleration, and limited resolution.

Also, /var/log/xorg.0.log is completely empty.

Be careful with the case sensitivity.

cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log
#9

I notice your modeline has the reference label “1280x1024_75.00” while your mode entry further down does not match - it uses “1280x1024”. That may contribute to the problem, although I can’t guarantee it is the only issue here. Anyway, try editing /etc/X11/xorg.conf so that it looks like this

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
HorizSync 45.0 - 100.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 80.0
Modeline "Modeline "1280x1024"  138.75  1280 1368 1504 1728  1024 1027 1034 1072 -hsync +vsync
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Device0"
Driver "nvidia"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Device0"
DefaultDepth 24
Monitor "Monitor0"
Option  "metamodes" "1280x1024"
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Viewport    0 0
EndSubSection
EndSection

It may be a process of trial and error with the exact modeline timing. There was a recent thread on this. I’ll see if I can dig it up.

#10

This is not an original approach by any means, but using xrandr can be a very convenient method for trying new modelines without needin to restart the X-server

http://forums.opensuse.org/forums/english/get-technical-help-here/hardware/474119-solved-screen-flickers-wrong-resolution.html

The user has created a script to simplify the process.

When a working display mode is found, it can then be added to the newer Xorg config files (or the legacy /etc/X11/xorg.conf file).

#11

Here’s the result of /var/log/Xorg.0.log: SUSE Paste
I edited the /etc/X11/xorg.conf again and corrected the error but that didn’t do much.
Recently, whenever I try launching the Nvidia X server settings I get this error “You do not appear to be using the NVIDIA X driver. Please edit your X configuration file (just run nvidia-xconfig as root), and restart the X server”.
As for the topic you just linked about the screen flickering issue, I read that topic before I even made this thread and I was able to add two modes via the xrandr addmode command but I was never able to select and apply them. The resolution would always switch back to 1024x786 immediately.

#12

If you’re examining the Xorg.0.log file when booted from failsafe mode, then you’re actually looking at the X-server log pertaining to the current X session which loaded the fbdev driver. You actually need to examine the Xorg.0.log.old file (from previous X session) in this case.

Recently, whenever I try launching the Nvidia X server settings I get this error “You do not appear to be using the NVIDIA X driver. Please edit your X configuration file (just run nvidia-xconfig as root), and restart the X server”.

The crux of it is that the nvidia driver may not be loading properly (or at all) in normal boot mode. Which method did you use to install the nvidia driver? Your Geforce GT 430 is an old card. Did you install the correct driver?

SDB:NVIDIA drivers - openSUSE

You could start over by removing (or renaming) your current /etc/X11/xorg.conf and examine/upload the resulting /var/log/Xorg.0.log contents again.

#13

I installed the driver from the repositories. I renamed and relocated the xorg.conf file and still wasn’t able to launch the GUI desktop except in failsafe mode. Also the resolution in failsafe mode was still 1280x1024. I uninstalled the nvidia driver and apparently that made SUSE use the Nouvea driver. I was able to log in but the resolution was back to 1024x768. I reinstalled the Nvidia driver following the instructions on the page you linked then I restarted the system and I had the same problem again: The GUI wouldn’t load and I’d be stuck on a terminal-like screen. I booted SUSE in failsafe mode and the resolution was 1280x1024 again. I uninstalled and reinstalled the nvidia driver but this time I downloaded it from the Nvidia website (I made sure to enter the correct specs) and the same problem happened again. I honestly find that strange since I started having problems with my Nvidia driver after I modified the xorg.conf. I wasn’t having problems before. Now that I renamed the xorg.conf it shouldn’t have any problems yet the issue persists.
Anyhow, I uninstalled the nvidia driver again and was able to launch in normal mode. This is the data of the xorg.0.log: SUSE Paste

#14

Your Xorg.0.log confirms that the nouveau driver is loading, not the nvidia driver.

The following section mentions that the detected connection is VGA-1 with EDID reporting the following

    25.168] (II) NOUVEAU(0): EDID for output VGA-1
    25.168] (II) NOUVEAU(0): Printing probed modes for output VGA-1
    25.168] (II) NOUVEAU(0): Modeline "1024x768"x60.0   65.00  1024 1048 1184 1344  768 771 777 806 -hsync -vsync (48.4 kHz)
    25.168] (II) NOUVEAU(0): Modeline "800x600"x60.3   40.00  800 840 968 1056  600 601 605 628 +hsync +vsync (37.9 kHz)
    25.168] (II) NOUVEAU(0): Modeline "800x600"x56.2   36.00  800 824 896 1024  600 601 603 625 +hsync +vsync (35.2 kHz)
    25.168] (II) NOUVEAU(0): Modeline "848x480"x60.0   33.75  848 864 976 1088  480 486 494 517 +hsync +vsync (31.0 kHz)
    25.169] (II) NOUVEAU(0): Modeline "640x480"x59.9   25.18  640 656 752 800  480 489 492 525 -hsync -vsync (31.5 kHz)