xfree86 setup help

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YellowPeril

Gawd
Joined
Nov 20, 2003
Messages
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hello all, i just installed redhat linux, and i am a real noob, so i have some questions. the system that it is installed on is my 9100 in my sig.

first, i would like to know how i should setup xfree86 with my video card, and monitor. i cant figure out what values i should use for horizontal refresh, and how do i add support for a 1280x800 resolution?

i found this calculator, but are these the values that i am looking for?
http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/bandwidthcalculator.html
vertical refresh rate is 60hz btw

thanks for your help guys :)
 
you should be able to find the horizontal refresh rates from your monitor manufacturer, it's not a setting that's unique to your video card.

i've never used nonstandard geometries before, so i can't comment on that.
 
the thing is, i dont know who my panel manufaturer is since its in the laptop. i have looked in the owners manual, and of course, dell doesnt tell you horizontal refresh rates. :rolleyes:
 
You could always try to leave that information out, and let it autodetect.

Just as a reference, here's my XF86Config:

Code: 
Section "ServerLayout"
        Identifier     "Layout0"
        Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0    #This might be unneccesarily messy
        InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
        InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Module"
        Load  "extmod"
        Load  "glx"
        Load  "dbe"
        Load  "record"
        Load  "xtrap"
        Load  "type1"
        Load  "speedo"
EndSection

# You'll definitely need to change this section
Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier  "Mouse0"
        Driver      "mouse"
        Option      "Protocol" "Auto"
        Option      "Emulate3Buttons" #Unneccesary, I think.
        Option      "Device" "/dev/sysmouse" #This _has_ to be changed.
        Option      "ZAxisMapping" "4 5" #For me, this makes the wheel just work. YMMV.
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier  "Keyboard0"
        Driver      "keyboard"
        Option      "XkbModel" "pc104" #Change this, perhaps to "pc102"
        Option      "XkbLayout" "no"  #And this, perhaps to "us"
        #Or you can try removing the two lines above and it might default to an US keyboard
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
        Identifier   "Monitor0"
        HorizSync    31.5 - 82.0 #Remove these two lines
        VertRefresh  40.0 - 75.0 #And it should autodetect
EndSection

Section "Device"
        Identifier  "Card0"
        Driver      "radeon"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
        Identifier "Screen0"
        Device     "Card0"
        Monitor    "Monitor0"
        DefaultDepth     16  #Try 24 or 32 if you want to
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth     16 #But change this to match
                Modes    "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" #Add whatever your screen does natively first
        EndSubSection
EndSection

This is a radeon 7000, but the generic radeon driver should handle your card as well.
 
because I'm lazy, I boot up with knoppix, mount / and copy the XF86Config file to the correct place on my real o/s
 
BriguyNJ said:
here's another person's 9100 install, with fedora core 2

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~baron/delli.html
Click to expand...
i have seen this, and i think what i need is something like this. my question is what does all of the code in his "modes" section mean? for instance:
Code: 
        # 1280x800 @ 75.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 62.62 kHz; pclk: 107.21 MHz
        Modeline "1280x800"  107.21  1280 1360 1496 1712  800 801 804 835
i dont understand fully the syntax

Modeline "resolution" <pclk where do i find this?> <horizontal> <?!?> <?!?> <?!?> <vertical> <?!?> <?!?> <?!?>

i just dont know what numbers i need to use to get 1280x800 @ 60hz
 
oliver said:
because I'm lazy, I boot up with knoppix, mount / and copy the XF86Config file to the correct place on my real o/s
Click to expand...
Due to my lack of desire to fiddle with ddc probing and various hardware configuration utilities (including xorgconfig), this is by far the simplest and easiest method I've ever come across. Definitely give it a try if you're having problems with an X~ config file.
 
MEfreak said:
Due to my lack of desire to fiddle with ddc probing and various hardware configuration utilities (including xorgconfig), this is by far the simplest and easiest method I've ever come across. Definitely give it a try if you're having problems with an X~ config file.
Click to expand...
i have knoppix, but i am looking for better support for wireless etc than knoppix provides. also, it seemed to me when i used knoppix that there was not a lot there. i am looking for something a little more permanent. i really dont mind these problems too much, as i am installing linux as a learning experience to begin with. :)
 
To clarify, my suggestion (and oliver's) to boot with Knoppix is for the sole purpose of snagging the Xfree config file it generates. I've tried a couple of different liveCD distros, and Knoppix provides the best Xfree config IME (and possibly the best hardward detection in general).

I am not suggesting that you switch to Knoppix permanently. After you've snagged the Xfree config file, remove the CD and reboot back into your distro of choice. Try copying the monitor, video card, and screen entries from the Knoppix generated config into your existing config. If your problems are solved, then you start the line by line comparison, identify discrepencies, try to understand the discrepencies, and adjust from there.

I personally learn the best with direct comparisons between correct and erroneous config files, and this method works great for me.
 
MEfreak said:
To clarify, my suggestion (and oliver's) to boot with Knoppix is for the sole purpose of snagging the Xfree config file it generates. I've tried a couple of different liveCD distros, and Knoppix provides the best Xfree config IME (and possibly the best hardward detection in general).

I am not suggesting that you switch to Knoppix permanently. After you've snagged the Xfree config file, remove the CD and reboot back into your distro of choice. Try copying the monitor, video card, and screen entries from the Knoppix generated config into your existing config. If your problems are solved, then you start the line by line comparison, identify discrepencies, try to understand the discrepencies, and adjust from there.

I personally learn the best with direct comparisons between correct and erroneous config files, and this method works great for me.
Click to expand...
oh i didnt understand that. thank you for clarifying. i will try that
 
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