Right now ubuntu sets the res size to 1600 by 1200. It is far too big for the screen, half of the screen is off of the display. I need to get the size down to something like 1280 by 800. When I go to the display panel and try to change the size from there the screen screws up. There is multiple desktops that overlap each other, making it impossible to see anything.
So I try to change it xrandr, which others have pointed me towards. It tells me can’t open display. So I don’t know what to do from here. If I change the display settings in the prefrences bar I end up screwing up the screen forcing me to reinstall, and every thing I’ve done to change the display manually tells me can’t open display.
Personally, I would not stay with Ubuntu. To carry on the Debian theme, have you tried Sidux, or perhaps go with the father of both (Debian, that is)? I wonder if the same issue will happen there. The problem, I think, is that you have to rely on Mesa to manage your display (configure your X server) if you had an ATI or nVidia card, I would say to definitely install the Linux drivers. In the case of Intel’s chips I am not sure what there is to do.
You could also try to edit your xorg.conf (/etc/X11/xorg.conf) file yourself and remove the higher resolutions and stick with the ones that you know your screen can handle.
You should look for something like:
Don’t forget to back up your xorg.conf file first (cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup). Then remove the modes you do not wish to have (in bold) and keep the ones you know will work well.
Which application are you trying to run? Gedit? If so, Root may not have rights to lauch an application which needs to connect to the xserver. A Linux administrator will probably cut both my hands for this but hey… as user:
yourdomain$ xhost +
Then try again. The command above (I think) temporarily allows all users to connect to the xserver. Peronally, If I were you, I would get familliar with Vim. It is not as hard as it first seems and it means that you do not have to worry about fancy editors and their requirements.
As for your initial problem -
I checked my xorg.conf file and it is bare like the Saharah desert. XFCE must be taking the configuration from a file elsewhere… god only knows…
But you could still try and add a subsection manually - something like this:
Got a debian CD and put it on there. It still sets it at 1600x1200 and when I go to screen resolution there isn’t a single option in the res, or refresh spots. I just click the little drop down button and nothing appears, it just changes the color as if I selected it.
So I go to look at my xorg.conf and it’s blank now. So it looks like debian is screwed up too.
It’s not a Debian or Ubuntu thing, but an X.org thing. Plus, Via’s Unichrome drivers suck ass.
What you need to do is hand-define the display modes in your xorg.conf, like saba suggested. You can also try eLive, which is a Debian-based live CD that has some neat scripts for detecting and setting your resolutions for you.
Yes, newer versions of X.org aren’t populated by default. Usually XRandR can adjust your resolution, DPI and multiple screens by itself without a config file. However, with certain scenarios (like crummy S3 drivers) you will need to populate it yourself.
I took into account your WXGA resolution (1280x800 in your case, from what you’ve told us), and the chipset you have which is the VN800 UniChrome Pro. If that doesn’t work, try running the following:
sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg… and choose “openchrome” when prompted.
As I mentioned before, the Unichrome chipset has horrible Linux support, so 3D may be troublesome. However, it does work for some people. If you feel adventurous, look over here for some tips on how to get that going.
