Red Hat 9 - Video Problems/Questions - Help! 2

[Drakhan]

Gurus:

First of all, I'm a newbie when it comes to Linux. I've read and been on the sidelines for a while and finally took the plunge - only problem is, I fear I'm drowning in documentation overload and cannot find an answer...which leads me here...

I have a couple of questions that I hope can help fix my current problem:

Problem: Installed Red Hat 9 flawlessly in text mode. At the end of the installation, it asked me to confirm my video card and monitor, which it had automatically discovered. I confirmed these choices (because they were correct). I choose 640x480 as the resolution, because when I tried to use anaconda in graphical mode, it wouldn't display. When I rebooted and got in to Linux, everything was fine at 640x480 - no problems. Because I use a 17" monitor (a NEC VF17+), I figured I could bump up the resolution to 800x600 or 1024x768. I tried 1024x768 - no love there...when I rebooted and Linux came (prior to logon), the logon screen was unreadable (a whole bunch of vertical lines and multiple shadowy images) - realized it is a video card issue as I've read there are still problems with S3 Virge adapters. I was forced to reinstall and set the video to 800x600, same problem! So I'm set currently at 800x600 with vertical lines all over the place and cannot read the X display...

Is there any way to configure video resolution from the root? Xconfiguration is not included in RH 9 and redhat-config-xfree86 is GUI-based and I cannot read it. I've read about 'display', but do not know how to make it work. I've also read about the boot switch 'resolution', but do not know how to implement it.

Questions:

(1) Is there any way to configure video resolution from the root?

(2) What video adapters (AGP-based) are Linux-friendly and cheap? Don't need much as I'm not playing games or anything, just want to learn Linux

(3) Is there any way to edit/copy/restore a backup of a configuration file that may contain the 640x480 setting?

Thanks for all your help in advance!

 

[wmg]

Hello Drakhan,

I won't confess to being a real linux guru or anything but I'd suggest having a look in you /etc/X11/XF86Config file (just text - you can login as root and use vi to edit it).

You can set various flags and settings in there for resolution and video card bits and pieces.

In terms of 'linux-friendly' video cards, I use an oldish nvidia GeForce2 MX200 (32Mb RAM - AGP4x) and it works just fine. Nvidia have recently updated their linux drivers too(they actually supply linux drivers - so there's a good start eh!?).

There's a lot more 'higher spec' cards out there at the moment so you may be able to pickup something like that for not much hopefully.

HTH
wmg

We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true. [Robert Wilensky, 1997]

 

[AP81]

Nvidia cards are by far the best with the best drivers.

WMG is right on the money. Your /etc/X11/XF86Config is what you need to edit. Look at what default resolution you have and specify it so the first one is the one you are using e.g

e.g

"1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

Will default 1024x768 as the default resolution.

"800x600" "640x480" will default to 800x600.

All you need to do is change the order, and the first one will be the one you are using.

 

[Drakhan]

Thanks for your reply, but how do I go about the process? I don't need anything detailed. When I start my PC, I get GRUB. I see Red Hat and DOS (I dual booted it with Windows XP).

From GRUB, how to do I get to a root prompt? I hate being a noob, but we all have to learn and I hope my ignorance will help some other person searching these forums for answers.

 

[vincentL]

Drakhan,
The easy way is to reinstall RedHat and choose 64x480 during setup. You need a better (known to Linux) video card to display the typical video resolution used in Linux 800x600 or higher. Your monitor is fine. Look at this web site for info on "certified" video cards.

http://www.redhat.com/software/linux/technical/hcl/

Yes, you can edit the /etc/X11/XF86Config file but you need to be comfortable with editing unix files with the VI editor (which is a whole course in itself). It is not like a regular editor like DOS "EDIT".
I have struggled with Linux (6 distros) over 5 years and like Red Hat 8 best. I have used a old PentiumII350, with 256 RAM, NEC-VX15 monitor and it works well. I decided early to not create a dual boot on the main family PC as I like to try lots of different distros and don't want to crash the family PC.
Good Luck,
Vince

Vince LaPorte
vincentL@acmc.com
Marshall, MN 56258

 

[wmg]

Hi Drakhan,

To get to a root prompt, just start Linux as normal and, once your X session appears (funny lines and all) just press CTRL+ALT+F1 to switch to a text login screen - now you can login as root in text mode and edit those files.

If you need to actually boot up into text mode, you can modify the /etc/inittab file and change the init value from 5 (start X) to 3 and it will go straight to a text mode login - then you can change it back to 5 later to get it booting to X again when you're ready. If you need to test the graphics settings while using a default init value of 3, you can modify the XF86Config file appropriately and then issue an 'init 5' command to switch to init level 5 and make X start - switching back to 'init 3' should make X stop again.

HTH
wmg

We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true. [Robert Wilensky, 1997]

 

[Drakhan]

Thanks again everybody. Here is what I did to fix the initial issue:

From GRUB, I edited 'kernel' line and added the word 'single' to the end of the line. This allowed me to get a "#" prompt at which time I logged in as root. Then, I went to /etc/X11 directory, used the command 'cp XFree86Config.backup XFree86Config', then I used the command 'reboot'. After rebooting, I was back in 640x480. Yippie!!!

As vincentL pointed out, it is likely a video card issue - I have always believed that to be the case as well - I'm new to Linux, not computers - ;-) I have already purchased a new video card, an ATI RagePro 128 - which is on the list of certified hardware...now I just have to wait for it in the mail...

Because I am new to Linux and learning everyday, I thought I'd search the 'net for a bit. I discovered that there is a new Linux driver for the video card I have which is causing me problems. This will lead to another new post, which I hope you all will look at and share your insight. How does one add a new driver to Linux - is the only way a kernel recompile?? But this question is not best answered here...thanks again people!