Fixed screen display resolution default setting 1024x800

[mactece]

This is how I fixed my screen resolution (default display) problem in Mint 14

Background: When I installed Mint 14 (Nadia) it could not detect my monitor and defaulted to 1024x800 (4:3). It would not detect my 1600x900 dell monitor with vga connector (the only wire provided).

Solution: I followed the instructions in this post on Ubuntu Geek: http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-change-display-resolution-settings-using-xrandr.html with the modifications in the notes, below. Please do read the post carefully and try out the instructions in the way they describe before making permanent changes.

Notes: Mint 14 uses MDM (Mint Display Manager), not gdm or kdm, so to make the changes persist the file to edit is /etc/mdm/Init/Default. An easy way to do this is to navigate to the file using Nemo (the MInt file manager), then right-click on the file and select open as root. Now when you double-click on the file it will open for editing in gedit. Add the lines as described in the Ubuntu Geek post, save and reboot.

When the computer restarts you should notice the splash screen is at the correct resolution but when you login you will have the old setting. To fix this, go to prefences, displays and you should now be able to select your prefered resolution. This should now persist whenever you login. Other users will need to change their resoltion, when they next login. (If anyone can improve on this, please post below.)

If you use these instructions successfully it would be nice if you posted to let me know that they work. Thanks.

Enjoy

[AbnerC]

I followed all this to the letter and now both panels have reset to a lower white panel. I tried going into Cinnamon Settings but it is on Classic panel layout, even if I change it the changes can't be seen. I tried inputting ALT+F2 to restart cinnamon and now I get the Run Application instead of the screen going black. Any help on this? Is there any way to rollback what I had?

[cwsnyder]

I followed all this to the letter and now both panels have reset to a lower white panel. I tried going into Cinnamon Settings but it is on Classic panel layout, even if I change it the changes can't be seen. I tried inputting ALT+F2 to restart cinnamon and now I get the Run Application instead of the screen going black. Any help on this? Is there any way to rollback what I had?

Which Cinnamon are you using? LM13, LM14, LMDE Cinnamon? 32-bit or 64-bit? nVidia, ATI, Intel graphics, or other? Proprietary or Open-source driver?

Yes, you can roll back to what you had before, but it would involve knowing what you had before, and I doubt you made notes. The alternative is to backup your /home folder and re-install Mint. This is why you don't make the changes to MDM until after you have tested the changes to make sure that you get your desktop set in the manner you wish.

You say that "now both panels have reset to a lower white panel". Are you talking about a single monitor? Dual-monitors? Default Cinnamon has a single lower screen panel with menu, not two panels.

Have you tried one of your alternate DE settings from your MDM login screen, or is it the MDM login screen which has changed?

[mactece]

It would be good if you could post some information about your system and what happened when you followed the test commands as described in the ubuntugeek article, so that we can help you. e.g. What os, what session you are using, what did the login screen look like, etc. Also post the contents of your mdm file.

[AbnerC]

No worries guys, I switched to XFCE and had to re-install everything (way more suitable for my computer than Cinnamon). From now on I'm being extra careful with terminal and taking notes.

[igor83]

This is how I fixed my screen resolution (default display) problem in Mint 14

Background: When I installed Mint 14 (Nadia) it could not detect my monitor and defaulted to 1024x800 (4:3). It would not detect my 1600x900 dell monitor with vga connector (the only wire provided).

Solution: I followed the instructions in this post on Ubuntu Geek: http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-change-display-resolution-settings-using-xrandr.html with the modifications in the notes, below.

Notes: Mint 14 uses MDM (Mint Display Manager), not gdm or kdm, so to make the changes persist the file to edit is /etc/mdm/Init/Default. An easy way to do this is to navigate to the file using Nemo (the MInt file manager), then right-click on the file and select open as root. Now when you double-click on the file it will open for editing in gedit. Add the lines as described in the Ubuntu Geek post, save and reboot.

When the computer restarts you should notice the splash screen is at the correct resolution but when you login you will have the old setting. To fix this, go to prefences, displays and you should now be able to select your prefered resolution. This should now persist whenever you login. Other users will need to change their resoltion, when they next login. (If anyone can improve on this, please post below.)

Enjoy

So, that implies that in Nadia, changing xorg.conf will not fix the display resolution by itself, but you have to modify that mdm file as well, or instead of xorg.conf? Is that what I'm reading? I was wondering because I noticed the other day that my htpc booted into 800x600, which is correct and in accord with xorg.conf, but the refresh rate was off--65hz, when it should be 85hz. I think the higher hertz allows more vibrant colors, does it not? I know the latest plasmas boast about their 120hz or in some cases 250hz, as if this means something. Brightness?

[cwsnyder]

@igor83: When X was overhauled to deprecate the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file (I don't remember precisely, but it seemed to be about 2010-2011), the resolution settings in my xorg.conf file which had worked since Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy crashed and burned, and haven't been re-instated. Multiple monitor settings, input settings and others have come back, but resolution settings have simply not worked, and I don't know why. I have tested this in many Ubuntu and Debian derived systems, including Ubuntu and Debian. Maybe some of the RPM based distros still can use xorg.conf to set resolutions, but the few I have tested also seem to rely on xrandr to set resolutions and refresh rates.

In the few computer/video systems which can't be set by xrandr (usually because of an error about not reading the gamma of the display correctly), I haven't found any resolution other than changing the display driver to one which does read the display gamma correctly. /etc/X11/xorg.conf doesn't work in them either to set the resolution, gamma, or refresh rate. And I have been watching posts on the Ubuntu forums and here since the problem occurred on my system. Ubuntu 9.10 was about the last Ubuntu standard desktop which would work on my (then present) desktop. I had had problems with the upgrades from 7.10 to 8.04 when Pulse Audio was introduced getting my sound back, the upgrade to 8.10 was relatively painless, but 9.04 had an X upgrade and it took me a while to fix the video system using the xorg.conf file to work properly (change in syntax), similar problems with 9.10, then 10.04 stopped recognizing my PS/2 keyboard and other problems kept me from using that release at all on my desktop and none of the intervening releases up to 12.04 would even boot the Live CD to a desktop on my desktop computer.

In January 2012, I changed desktop computers to a DIY with a BioStar N68S3B motherboard, 8G RAM, AMD Athlon II x3 processor, nVidia Geforce 7025 on-board graphics. Xubuntu 11.10 would boot, but I had already switched over to LMDE as my main system, Debian Squeeze as a secondary system. Debian 5.0 Lenny would work with /etc/X11/xorg.conf, Debian 6.0 Squeeze would not. Debian Wheezy does not.

[mactece]

The method I posted at the top is all about screen resolution. It does not use nor need an xorg.conf file. The mdm reference makes sense when you read the Ubuntu Geek post, which definitely needs to be read and understood before making permanent changes. You will see it describes a way to try out the changes before making them permanent.

BTW, my understanding is that the X system should detect all the necessary settings automatically, so there is no xorg.conf file anymore. However you can generate one and if it exists then your system will use it. If you search for xorg you will get plenty of useful links. It is beyond my understanding how you would use this to solve a resolution problem so if you find a way, I'd be interested to know what it is.

atb

[cwsnyder]

Prior to 2011, X used to read /etc/X11/xorg.conf to get your monitor settings if they were not correctly read from the EDID. After 2011, xrandr was introduced and is referred to by https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Config/Resolution as well as your reference to http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-change-di ... randr.html , which is where I originally got my information.

I have run into a case where the xrandr did not work as shown in the two tutorials: Running xrandr on a line by itself, the output shows:

Code: Select all

Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 800 x 600, current 1024 x 768, maximum 1024 x 768
default connected 1024x768+0+0 0mm x 0mm
1024x768 61.0*
800x600 61.0

Note the error on reading the size of the gamma and the default connected lines. You could not use xrandr --output default --mode 1280x1024, even if you had properly defined the 1280x1024@60Hz mode. Reading man xrandr, I noted a 'new' option to set the --gamma for the display. What worked in two VirtualBox machines and a Live DVD which had this problem (after defining the mode 1280x1024) was to change the line to:

Code: Select all

xrandr --output default --gamma 1:1:1 --mode 1280x1024

[derekdickerson]

Followed the same steps:

Ubuntu Geek: http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-change-di ... randr.html with the modifications in the notes, below.
Notes: Mint 14 uses MDM (Mint Display Manager), not gdm or kdm, so to make the changes persist the file to edit is /etc/mdm/Init/Default.

but the UI (Cinnamon) doesn't follow Refer to the (Screenshot)
This is a zbox with Intel 3000 graphics card and a samsung syncMaster 730B
Screenshot:
http://imgur.com/q5uvY

[derekdickerson]

Where is the xinitrc.common so that the UI updates?

[cwsnyder]

The file you want to change is /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc not xinitrc.common in LMDE and may be true for LM main edition as well.

There is also a file called ~/.xinitrc(indicating it is in your /home/<username>/ folder), or ~/.xprofile which is also a script file to which my default script was changed during an upgrade process.

[derekdickerson]

thank you for the fast response and I am sorry if I am misunderstanding but I placed the information in the xinitrc file and no change
No .xprofile but there is a .profile file when adding that file seems to not allow the UI to load.

Second Screenshot Http://imgur.com/wOiQ0



I have restarted cinnamon no change

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Atom Processor D4xx/D5xx/N4xx/N5xx Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 02)

xrandr -display :0.0 -q
VGA1 connected 1280x1024+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 338mm x 270mm
1280x1024 60.0*+ 75.0
1280x960 60.0
1280x800 74.9 59.8
1152x864 75.0
1280x768 74.9 59.9
1024x768 75.1 70.1 60.0
1024x576 60.0
832x624 74.6
800x600 72.2 75.0 60.3 56.2
848x480 60.0
640x480 72.8 75.0 66.7 60.0
720x400 70.1

[cwsnyder]

~/.xprofile was created for me during one of my updates, which copied information which I had put in lightdm during an update to mdm to this file in my personal directory.

You should be able to create and use either ~/.xprofile or ~/.xinitrc to see if either would work. Just remember the system expects that they are shell scripts using shell (bash) commands, and that you will probably have to use chmod +x ~/.xprofile or chmod +x ~/.xinitrc after creating the files to make sure that they will execute properly.

[AngeloGomes]

Hi everybody.

First of all: I am a newbie to Linux and yesterday I installed Mint 14 (MATE)

I have a problem here that is related to the 1920x1080 @ 60Hz. I followed the steps outlined in this post and now I can set that resolution to the full hd resolution. My monitor is a Samsung syncmaster 2233SW+, so its native resolution is 1920x1080 @ 60 Hz.

However I noticed that it is cropping the right side of the screen on MInt, maybe about 100-200 pixels. I did check the monitor on a Windows Xp and everything is correct on this resolution. The problem is on Mint.


Does anyone know how to fix this ?