KDE vs LXDE screen resolution recognition

[ffejveg]

Love the speed of this release on my older Acer Aspire 3004WLCi with an AMD Sempron 3100+ processor! The live KDE CDs apparently require too many resources now for this machine and won't load to a functional desktop, so LXDE fits the bill well. On the last KDE install I did last summer, I had to use the VESA driver and had to use a screen resolution close to but not the same as my 1280x800 screen. On my install about a week ago, LXDE recognized it and set it up automatically - to my delight. My question: since the underlying PCLOS system is the same on all versions, why would KDE have trouble and not LXDE? Does LXDE have a different set of drivers?

[Neal ManBear]

..... last summer ....

   

A year can make a very big difference.   

[T6]

my cpu is a amd semprom 2600 running very well kde4 in livecd and installed

the problem could be ram or video card

kde prefers to follow what pcc does and when you set resolution in pcc kde follows it blindly

[ffejveg]

Yes indeed Neal. Just to be clear, my 1280x800 resolution had been supported from 2006 up to the 2010 releases, so I'd assumed that for some reason a decision had been made to drop support at that time (perhaps 1280x800 was falling into disfavor by manufacturers?). My take from your response is that support has been added back in the underlying system in 2011 and this is not an LXDE thing. I won't be able to check this out as KDE won't run (including minime), but no matter as I'm happy with LXDE.

T6: Glad you have KDE4 up and running on your system. You don't say how much memory you have, but my 512 MB don't seem to be enough as both the full and minime live CD versions take forever to load the desktop, and then promptly go to a useless black screen. Now that I think of it, I haven't tried a "safe" boot... maybe that will do the trick.
As to resolution, 1280x800 was not offered as a choice in 2010 (and I sought help here in the forum too), so I had to select the nearest resolution, which worked but of course wasn't ideal. My video card is an integrated SiS M760GX.

Edit: "1200x800" in my initial post should read 1280x800. I'll try to modify it...

[T6]

when i mentioned that your problem could be ram i was thinking on the suggested amount to run it properly, 1gb

if you are using the onboard video card it is less than 512 mbs, probably 448 or less(using a via or a amd card)

you are probably using ddr 400 ram, easy to get a 1gb module and make capable to run kde4 and a big web browser

[Neal ManBear]

Yes indeed Neal. Just to be clear, my 1280x800 resolution had been supported from 2006 up to the 2010 releases, so I'd assumed that for some reason a decision had been made to drop support at that time (perhaps 1280x800 was falling into disfavor by manufacturers?). My take from your response is that support has been added back in the underlying system in 2011 and this is not an LXDE thing. I won't be able to check this out as KDE won't run (including minime), but no matter as I'm happy with LXDE.

What I intended for you to understand is that whatever was going wrong with your 1280x800 setting in 2010 had changed through updates during the year since so that it is now working. I neither said nor intended to say anything about dropping support.

Both LXDE and KDE are desktop environments. Either is loaded in X on top of the underlying system - the Linux kernel plus system tools, libraries and etc. An X session may have any of several desktop environments. Each of these may vary in "system requirements;" i.e. each needs different amounts of system resources to run at their optimum performance level. System settings and desktop environment settings are 2 separate things, though with everything working together as it does, it may be difficult to see the difference.   

[utu]

@ ffejveg

I see your video is SiS M760GX.

I'd be interested to know if an approach that worked for me,
with Intel Mobile 4 graphics might also work for you.

Hint: first use xrandr alone as a command to see what your
options are, and the name of your display. These may be
different for you.

See my post #1 in regard to display resolution at
http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,95077.0.html

[megalodonnl]

whatever was going wrong with your 1280x800 setting in 2010 had changed through updates during the year since so that it is now working.   

It's not working. Whether I try other recent distro's (non-pclinuxos) or PClinuxOS mini 2011, none of them work for 1280x800. PClinuxOS control center DOES list my monitor, Acer AL1916W and I can select my resolution there, but I cannot do the same for LXdesktop settings so ultimately, I'm still stuck with a stretched out 4:3 aspect ratio. Also: my tft gets recognized as crt in all those different distros out there, except OLDER versions of (so annoying I can even mention another distro...weakest point of this forum I.M.O.) that distro using a African name.

Even the xorg.conf displays my 1280x800 just fine, incl. correct brandname; it's all there. But it won't work, despite the system update I just did today. I did, strangely enough, get it to work on the full version of PClinuxOS LXDE 2011. I'm still asking myself how on earth I pulled that off...

[Neal ManBear]

You may find this interesting:     
http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,97188.0.html     

[megalodonnl]

You may find this interesting:     
http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,97188.0.html     

Yeah, but my monitor doesn't even get recognized...it's just 'screen 0' and nvidia x settings says it's a crt instead of tft...

It still doesn't explain why I have this problem and need to get geeky if I can actually select my Acer AL1916W from the list in the CC. I just don't understand what the problem is? Do all users have to use Xrandr even though they have selected their exact monitor model in the list?

[T6]

nvidia?

if it has a sis video card why you mention nvidia?

please tell us your exact hardware to know what is going on

[megalodonnl]

nvidia?

if it has a sis video card why you mention nvidia?

please tell us your exact hardware to know what is going on

sis? I never mentioned that?

I have a geforce 7600 GS, which is recognized. And monitor is Acer AL1916W which I'd like to run @ 1280x900 at H: 63Khz and V: 75hz (but even 60hz would be better then this 1024x768)

So here's the screenie from terminal when I try to do what user 'utu' did in this topic:




As you can see, I first get a 'failed' msg and then my screen is simply called 'Screen 0' and my output is on 'default' monitor (I guess).

Here you can see the same in nvidia x server settings dialog:


And here you see that everything is selected properly in the Control Center:



I'm now gonna try max_power's advice in this thread:

[megalodonnl]

[root@localhost megalodon]# xrandr | grep maximum
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 240, current 1024 x 768, maximum 1440 x 900
[root@localhost megalodon]# gtf 1440 900 59.9

  # 1440x900 @ 59.90 Hz (GTF) hsync: 55.83 kHz; pclk: 106.29 MHz
  Modeline "1440x900_59.90"  106.29  1440 1520 1672 1904  900 901 904 932  -HSync +Vsync

[root@localhost megalodon]# xrandr --newmode "1440x900_59.90"  106.29  1440 1520 1672 1904  900 901 904 932  -HSync +Vsync
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
X Error of failed request:  BadName (named color or font does not exist)
  Major opcode of failed request:  155 (RANDR)
  Minor opcode of failed request:  16 (RRCreateMode)
  Serial number of failed request:  19
  Current serial number in output stream:  19
[root@localhost megalodon]# xrandr --addmode VGA 1440x900_59.90
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
xrandr: cannot find output "VGA"
[root@localhost megalodon]# xrandr --addmode default 1440x900_59.90
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
[root@localhost megalodon]# xrandr --output VGA --mode 1440x900_59.90
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
warning: output VGA not found; ignoring
[root@localhost megalodon]# xrandr --output default --mode 1440x900_59.90
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
xrandr: Configure crtc 0 failed



In other words...still no worky...

[T6]

sorry, i was confused with the mention of that sis760

the monitor you have, not sure if it is a 4:3 or it is a old 16:9 aspect ratio monitor

looking at this specs

http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/monitor/0000/Acer/AL1916/AL1916sp3.shtml

it is a widescreen with a maximum resolution of 1440x900, is that right?

the resolution you mention, 1280x900 is wrong, it would give a very distorted image, the refresh rate of this monitor is 60Hz at all resolutions, this is a lcd, it won't offer anything different than 60Hz, any other value is a error or is fake, lcd on most monitors will only do 60Hz, recent monitors suposedly will give 120Hz but i haven't used them

the proper resolution for this monitor is 1440x900, lower than that, not distorted and terribly blurred(fugly), maybe, 1280x800 or 1280x720, not 1280x900 if the monitor accepts it, remember that the aspect ratio is 16 times the size horizontal per 9 times vertical, if you have 1280, you have to divide it per 16 and this gives 80, if i multiply it per 9 it gives 720, per ten is 800, based on the fact that the maximum resolution of this monitor is 1440x900 then it is a 16:10 monitor so you should try 1280x800 as the resolution but it is better to use it at the native resolution

about the system not recognizing the monitor, what version of nvidia driver are you using?

in pcc, you can tell the system the type of monitor and them maximum resolution or plug and play

[megalodonnl]

sorry, i was confused with the mention of that sis760

the monitor you have, not sure if it is a 4:3 or it is a old 16:9 aspect ratio monitor

No, it's 16:10

looking at this specs

http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/monitor/0000/Acer/AL1916/AL1916sp3.shtml

it is a widescreen with a maximum resolution of 1440x900, is that right?

No I have the AL1916W and as you saw in my previous post, above yours, I've tried 1440x900 already, it's the native resolution of the monitor.

the resolution you mention, 1280x900 is wrong, it would give a very distorted image, the refresh rate of this monitor is 60Hz at all resolutions, this is a lcd, it won't offer anything different than 60Hz, any other value is a error or is fake, lcd on most monitors will only do 60Hz, recent monitors suposedly will give 120Hz but i haven't used them

I've never tried 1280x900 and I don't understand why you bring that up. I've been using this monitor for years on both 1440x900 and 1280x800 and it CAN do 75hz on BOTH resolutions, especially the 1280x800.

the proper resolution for this monitor is 1440x900, lower than that, not distorted and terribly blurred(fugly), maybe, 1280x800 or 1280x720, not 1280x900 if the monitor accepts it, remember that the aspect ratio is 16 times the size horizontal per 9 times vertical, if you have 1280, you have to divide it per 16 and this gives 80, if i multiply it per 9 it gives 720, per ten is 800, based on the fact that the maximum resolution of this monitor is 1440x900 then it is a 16:10 monitor so you should try 1280x800 as the resolution but it is better to use it at the native resolution

about the system not recognizing the monitor, what version of nvidia driver are you using?

in pcc, you can tell the system the type of monitor and them maximum resolution or plug and play

Again, in my previous posts, I've included screenshots of the Control Center and you can see that everything is selected/recognized. But it doesn't matter which settings I choose there. And there isn't a 'max' resolution setting I see, only 'automatic'. Doesn't work either.

I've also tried 'nouveau', but now the nvidia driver is used, but I can't see whether it's using the v.xxxx or current or... whatever. This is what lspci -v prints:

VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation G73 [GeForce 7600 GS] (rev a2) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
   Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 8235
   Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 248, IRQ 16
   Memory at fb000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
   Memory at e0000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
   Memory at fa000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
   [virtual] Expansion ROM at f9f00000 [disabled] [size=128K]
   Capabilities: <access denied>
   Kernel driver in use: nvidia
   Kernel modules: nouveau, nvidia-current, nvidia173, nvidiafb