LMDE2 Betsy installer window size problem

[Mimoelgato]

Good morning,
I have just seen a small cosmetic bug while installing LMDE2 Betsy on a 1024 × 600 netbook:
The installation software windows are too high in size and cannot be reduced, that means the buttons which are down the windows could not be accessed during install.
Please when writing software, think there are still 1024x600netbooks working!

Best regards fm Peru
Mimo el Gato

[voss749]

Same problem I have a Dell Mini 9 with this issue, I worked around it by just hitting enter a bit, but 1024x600 is not so uncommon that the installer windows should be too big.

[py-thon]

I downloaded LMDE 2 to install on my netbook which fulfills the official system requirements. But installation is simply not possible as the language window is too big and it is made impossible to resize the window or move the upper part out of the screen. This problem should never have happened and Mint programmers should be embarrassed of its existence and the failure to fix it within reasonable time (first post is almost two weeks old now).

Edit: Resize and move (using Alt+F7) don't work as they should. If your touchpad (like most in my experience) can't be trusted to work correctly in complicated combinations (Alt+click+move) connect a mouse and move the window using Alt+left button. This way you get the upper window to leave the screen.

[voss749]

I have now replicated this issue on both a Dell Mini 9 and an eee pc 900.

The installer menu does not work correctly when the y resolution is less than 768(a scroll down bar or a scaling window on the menu when the y resolution is less than 768 would fix this).

This is NOT a debian bug, this is a Linux Mint installer bug.

Computers effected netbooks such as dell mini 9, eee pc 701 and higher that have native resolution of 800x480 and 1024x600.

The installer screen realistically should support resolutions down to 640x480 which is 480p in 3:2 thats also conveniently enough vga standard resolution.

[voss749]

If you can get past the installer normal operation works fine at 1024x600. So far just an installer issue.However I would also test the welcome screen at vga and svga resolution.

[Reorx]

I just did an installation of LMDE2 (Mate 32 bit) to an Eee PC netbook. Screen resolution is 1024 x 600 - and I encountered the problem discussed here - i.e. the installer window is just a few pixels too large and couldn't see the buttons on the bottom to continue to the next page of the installer. While this is just a simple problem of the installer window being too large, it makes it impossible to install LMDE2 under "normal" circumstances.

For the crazies (like me) who are looking for a quick & dirty solution - this is what I did >>> I started the installer and then went to the control center and clicked on the display (monitor) configuration tool. Using this tool, I flipped the display 90 degrees so that the top was to the left, the bottom was to the right, the right was up, and the left was down. This effectively creates a screen resolution of 600 x 1024 (instead of 1024 x 600) which is lying on its side!... you can now complete a page and move the window side to side to see the "continue" button in the right lower corner! The view is a bit disorienting but fortunately, there are only a few pages in the installer. Once you have completed the last page of the installer and the installation actually begins running, you can do back to the display configuration tool and flip the display back to its normal orientation.

I admit that this solution is not pretty and shouldn't be necessary - but it works and you only have to suffer through it once and only for as long as it takes you to fill out / complete a few pages in the installer. Once the installation is complete, everything works OK although you might run into an occasional system window that is too tall (>600 pix) - file manager > edit > preferences in one such window... fortunately, you don't need to be able to see / click at the bottom of that window...

...hasta...

- R -

[kx32]

I get this error when trying to install LMDE 2 using an NVIDIA card. The NOUVEAU drivers don't seam to work with the live disc. I can only get round it by installing LMDE using the Intel on board graphics and then installing the NVIDIA card later and then the NVIDIA drivers which need to be installed from the command prompt.

[freewilly]

I have the same problem doing an install from a VM. I thought it was vmWare, but I went into the display settings and changed to resolution higher and it made the screen bigger and I can see the buttons now.

The same problem happens in Ubuntu and Debian installs too.

I realize it's not directly really related, but changing the display settings before installing worked in a VM.

[sdibaja]

I had the same problem.
This really needs to be fixed.

If there were grips on the dialog box corners it would be just fine...

My workaround was to pull the drive out, put it in another computer, make the install, then put it back in the target computer
Not elegant but it worked fine.

in my case it was a Eee 1000HE with Mate. It works Great!
(wifi is still an issue but that is off topic)

[daniber]

Solved on my Acer One 255 using Alt+Left-Click keys to move the window up.

[Guy]

I had the same problem.
This really needs to be fixed.

[sdibaja]

Bug reported

https://bugs.launchpad.net/linuxmint/+bug/1562519

[xenopeek]

When you use a computer with a very low display resolution, you'll at times encounter windows that won't fit on your display. The common solution is to press Alt+F7 after which you can move the window around with your mouse (left click to stop moving), or as daniber already shared hold down Alt and hold down the left mouse button and you can move the window around as well. This way you can move the window up beyond the edge of your display, to make the bottom part of the window visible.

[sdibaja]

When you use a computer with a very low display resolution, you'll at times encounter windows that won't fit on your display. The common solution is to press Alt+F7 after which you can move the window around with your mouse (left click to stop moving), or as daniber already shared hold down Alt and hold down the left mouse button and you can move the window around as well. This way you can move the window up beyond the edge of your display, to make the bottom part of the window visible.

Thanks, both are handy tricks. I wish I had known that a few months ago.
far from the "elegant" that Mint is known for...

BTW: I tried installing Point Linux and it did not have this issue... different installer, it looks like the pure Debian installer.

[xenopeek]

What I mean was you'll not only have this issue in the installer. There are other programs will have windows too high for monitors with very low display resolutions. You might not have stumbled across them yet but I recall I have in the past (which is why I know this trick).

[sdibaja]

What I mean was you'll not only have this issue in the installer. There are other programs will have windows too high for monitors with very low display resolutions. You might not have stumbled across them yet but I recall I have in the past (which is why I know this trick).

fully understood, thanks.

I did the normal setups and panel tweaks without knowing that trick, then my wife adopted it. I did not run into another occasion (yet). I just stop over and run the updater on occasion.

However I am shopping eBay for another small format machine... budget $100 to $130 USD.