[SOLVED] Nvidia 7150M Graphic Card Resolution Issue in ZenMini

[Rusty.Sullivan]

Hello all,

I did a search of the forum and couldn't find anything that addressed this issue specifically:

I have an HP dv9910us laptop that has been upgraded slightly. My specs are as follows:

Turion X2 64-bit processor @ 2.0gHz
4 gig RAM
500 GB Hard Drive
Nvidia 7150M Graphics Card (1440x900 native screen resolution)

I have tried every variation of PCLinuxOS and everything runs fine on them, with one exception. I am interested in building a custom setup with ZenMini, but, for some reason, ZenMini won't give me the option to change my screen resolution to anything higher than 1024x768 in the control center. Any ideas as to what I can do to fix this?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[djohnston]

How much shared memory are you giving to the onboard graphics? It is supposed to be able to use up to 256 MB of shared RAM.

[Rusty.Sullivan]

How much shared memory are you giving to the onboard graphics? It is supposed to be able to use up to 256 MB of shared RAM.

I am at 256 MB shared memory.

It's kind of odd, too, considering that MiniMe works fine, as well as the standard GNOME and KDE desktops (I went through and tried all of them when I initially came to PCLinuxOS in order to determine my own choice and to see if I felt comfortable building a "toolbox" of discs to help others switch to Linux from M$)

[djohnston]

OK. In the PCLOS Control Center, when you go to Hardware > Set up the graphical server, then click the Resolution button, clicking the top (resolution) button doesn't give you more size options? If not, when you click the Graphic Card button in the (previous) Set up the graphical server window, what driver does it show loaded?

[Rusty.Sullivan]

The resolution button actually shows that it is at 1440 x 900 under the driver "Cards not working with nv". When I go to "Monitor" in the control center, however, it shows 1024x768, and the actual display as shown is at that 1024x768 resolution.

[djohnston]

The monitor selection is the problem, then. Click the Monitor button, then select Plug'n Play. Save your settings. Can't remember if you're told to reboot or log out. Follow whichever instruction is shown. That should detect the LCD screen correctly. If you still don't get the right options, in the Monitor section, select Generic > Flat Panel 1440 X 900. Follow instructions given again.

[Rusty.Sullivan]

The monitor selection is the problem, then. Click the Monitor button, then select Plug'n Play. Save your settings. Can't remember if you're told to reboot or log out. Follow whichever instruction is shown. That should detect the LCD screen correctly. If you still don't get the right options, in the Monitor section, select Generic > Flat Panel 1440 X 900. Follow instructions given again.

Ok, I tried this and the resolution doesn't change, even though the Monitor in the settings states that it is the Flat Panel 1440x900. When I go back to the Control Panel and select "Monitors", it still only gives me the option for 1024x768 or lower.

I'm guessing (but just guessing, mind you) that you don't have the nvidia driver loaded.

I have Zen Mini installed on a similar (though not identical) laptop, and it correctly detects/sets the screen's native resolution.

As an alternative, you mentioned that X works fine on this same machine under some other DE.  You could just copy over your xorg.conf file from one of those working installs.  (Inelegant, but effective.)

I tried copying over the xorg.conf file from another working install. Upon reboot, I received an error message informing me that the proprietary drivers could not be found and that free drivers would be used. Where would I find the proprietary nvidia drivers to install?

Thanks.

[djohnston]

Same spot in the Control center you've been going to. Click the Graphic Card button, change your selection to GeForce 6100 and later. Follow the prompts. The proprietary nVidia driver should install from your selected repository.

[Rusty.Sullivan]

I just got back from that fiasco . I selected the GeForce 6100 and later Graphic card, followed the prompts, and rebooted. Notably, nothing downloaded or installed. Upon reboot, X was borked. I had to log in through the console and reselect the "Cards not working with nv" card before I could get GNOME back.

Is there somewhere to manually download and install the Nvidia drivers?

(Sorry to be such a pain in the arse)

[djohnston]

Not a problem, Rusty. Start Synaptic. Do a search for nvidia, or just go directly to x11-driver-video-nvidia-current package. Select it for installation. dkms-nvidia-current package should be automatically selected as a dependency. Mark all dependencies for installation, then apply. After packages are installed, close Synaptic and reboot. The first reboot will take a while, as the nVidia kernel modules build. To see the progress, press the Escape key at the bootsplash screen, (the screen after the GRUB boot menu screen). You'll see text on the screen as each step of the boot process completes.

I hope this works for you. What I don't understand is why the proprietary nVidia drivers weren't installed automatically when you first installed the OS. I've only installed ZenMini in a VM, so I can't really judge the behavior on real hardware.

[Rusty.Sullivan]

Not a problem, Rusty. Start Synaptic. Do a search for nvidia, or just go directly to x11-driver-video-nvidia-current package. Select it for installation. dkms-nvidia-current package should be automatically selected as a dependency. Mark all dependencies for installation, then apply. After packages are installed, close Synaptic and reboot. The first reboot will take a while, as the nVidia kernel modules build. To see the progress, press the Escape key at the bootsplash screen, (the screen after the GRUB boot menu screen). You'll see text on the screen as each step of the boot process completes.

I hope this works for you. What I don't understand is why the proprietary nVidia drivers weren't installed automatically when you first installed the OS. I've only installed ZenMini in a VM, so I can't really judge the behavior on real hardware.

...and suddenly, I have a damned fine looking desktop.

Thanks a ton for your help!

[djohnston]

OldBustard was right. "Cards not working with nv" should have been the tipoff. In any case, I'm glad you got it working.

[Rusty.Sullivan]

OldBustard was right. "Cards not working with nv" should have been the tipoff. In any case, I'm glad you got it working.

Agreed. Thanks a lot, OldBustard!

[djohnston]

Where'd his post go? I don't even see it now. Was he a ghost?