Michael Iwaki

Thank you for your reply.  I was finally able to invoke xvidtune and
adjust the display to cover the whole screen.   I was not able to
cut/paste the numbers that I got into XF86Config.  I am not sure exactly
where to do so. The resolution that came with my system is 1152 x 864.   I
want to change this to the standard 1024 x 768.  The frequencies that go
with that resolution from the monitor's spec are: 68.68 kHZ -horizontal,
85 Hz -vertical.  Can I set it up that way?

Did that.  There is a warning msg. that pops up.  In what way can I damage
my system using xvidtune?

I basically used Up, Down, Taller buttons, to cover the whole screen.
After clicking on "show", I get one line printed on the shell dialog box:

"1152 x 864"  65.00  1152 1156 1372 1456  864 881 891 933 interlace

The horizontal freq is 44.64 kHz,  vertical freq.  95.69 Hz

I am not clear on this step.  I logged off from kde and reenter linux as
root, I wrote down the line with the numbers that was generated after
hitting "show".   From the root prompt (#), I typed vi /etc/X11/XF86Config
and viewed the  file.  At the last section there is a list of modeline
numbers for different resolutions ( like 4 or 5 modeline numbers for each
resolution).  I was stuck here.  The number setting I got was for the 1152
x 864 resolution; if possible, I would like to change it to 1024 x 768.

Excuse me for asking for more details.  I am new to linux.

Michael Iwaki

Yes.  You can switch resolutions on the fly with CNTL-ALT-+, that's
the control, alt, and plus key all at the same time.  You can also
change which resolution comes up first by default.

There is a section of the /etc/X11/XF86Config file that looks like
this:

# The accelerated servers (S3, Mach32, Mach8, 8514, P9000, AGX, W32, Mach64
# I128, and S3V)
Section "Screen"
    Driver      "accel"
    Device      "My Video Card"
    Monitor     "Sony CPD-17SF2"
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       16
        Modes       "1280x1024" "1600x1200" "640x480" "1024x768"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       8
        Modes        "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "640x480"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes       "640x480" "1024x768" "1280x1024" "1600x1200"
        ViewPort    0 0
    EndSubsection
EndSection

For each Display subsection, go to the Modes line and list the
resolution you like first.

Most of the time, people select this through a graphical configuration
tool.  See if you can run the command "XF86Setup", as root, without X
and KDE running, and set the configuration you like.  Then use the
xvidtune for the fine-tuning.

Once you have X (by this I mean KDE, your entire desktop) starting up
in the right resolution, go through the steps of running xvidtune and
getting a Modeline and putting it in the /etc/X11/XF86Config file.

Michael>
Michael> Did that.  There is a warning msg. that pops up.  In what way
Michael> can I damage my system using xvidtune?

It used to be the case that some monitors could be permanently damaged
by being run at the wrong hsync and vsync frequencies, or something.
I believe that most modern monitors have some sort of chip controller
in them and they will protect themselves.  It is probably not
something you have to worry about.

Michael>
Michael> I basically used Up, Down, Taller buttons, to cover the whole
Michael> screen.  After clicking on "show", I get one line printed on
Michael> the shell dialog box:
Michael>
Michael> "1152 x 864"  65.00  1152 1156 1372 1456  864 881 891 933 interlace
Michael>
Michael> The horizontal freq is 44.64 kHz,  vertical freq.  95.69 Hz
Michael>
Michael>
Michael> I am not clear on this step.  I logged off from kde and
Michael> reenter linux as root, I wrote down the line with the numbers
Michael> that was generated after hitting "show".

You can just open a text terminal right there in KDE, and use su to be
root in that terminal, and that way you can cut-and-paste the modeline
numbers without having to write them down.

Michael> From the root prompt (#), I typed vi /etc/X11/XF86Config and
Michael> viewed the file.  At the last section there is a list of
Michael> modeline numbers for different resolutions ( like 4 or 5
Michael> modeline numbers for each resolution).  I was stuck here.
Michael> The number setting I got was for the 1152 x 864 resolution;
Michael> if possible, I would like to change it to 1024 x 768.

As I explained above, you need to switch X into the 1024x768
resolution and then generate a new modeline.

As a side note, is there a reason you prefer the lower resolution ?
I've had monitors that were kind of flickery at the highest
resolution, but if you are doing it because you don't like X to have a
virtual desktop so that you use the mouse to pan around and see
everything, then there is some way to turn that off and keep the same
resolution.

Michael>
Michael> Excuse me for asking for more details.  I am new to linux.

No problem, that's what this group is for.  Restart X the same way you
always get to a KDE environment; usually it is the command "startx".

--Rob