Thread: UBUNTU: Screen resolution problem...

I have my laptop hooked up pretty much like a desktop. Monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc.

Well I dont have the battery in it to keep the heat down, and the charger popped out earlier. I plugged it back in and turned it on, and my resolution is all screwed up. Even on the highest resolution I can choose, its still not as high as it was before the plug popped out. I dont even remember what the resolution was, but I cant get it back now.

Yea everyone tells me that, and I have no idea what to do once Im there. I am led to beleive that it should show the resolutions available, and I can just add the one I want, but I dont even know which one I had, and all I see once I open it is something that looks the same as the terminal.

Does ctrl+alt+bksp still kill X in Ubuntu? Xorg disabled the feature (citing security or something) a while back but it can be re-enabled by the user or packager.

Anyway, this looks promising. I'd nuke that file in ~/.config/blah and restart X (logging out usually does this, X is killed before GDM is restarted).

Ok I tried this in the terminal and my computer won't do shit now.

Code:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart

It's been stuck on the same screen for like 5 minutes now and doesn't seem to be doing anything at all.

Visual reference.




So wtf do I do now? Just turn it off?

Assuming GDM actually started again you'll need to switch to the proper virtual console, probably Alt+F7 (if F7 doesn't work, start at F1 and go up. Use the left Alt key, not the right one).

Ok. I got to where I can log in. But it's still on a black screen with text only. And I guess im in the terminal now. So what now?

If you don't have anything important unsaved I'd just do a `sudo reboot` and hope Ubuntu sorts it out / gets you to a functional GDM and desktop on reboot.

I did that already, and it just goes back to how it was.

Originally Posted by mutton

try letting X reconfigure itself, which should involve steps like the following:

stop X (Ctrl-Alt-Backspace)
# X -configure
# X -config xorg.conf.new
leave the test screen (Ctrl-Alt-F1)
# mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup
# mv xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf
# xinit
# startx
open your resolution settings and see if new ones appear

I tried doing this and when I do X -configure I get this error.

user not authorized to run the X server, aborting.

I am the only user on this computer, and I am set up as an admin. Maybe Ctrl-Alt-Backspace doesnt stop X?

Originally Posted by Anonymous D

I tried doing this and when I do X -configure I get this error.

user not authorized to run the X server, aborting.

I am the only user on this computer, and I am set up as an admin. Maybe Ctrl-Alt-Backspace doesnt stop X?

All of those commands have to be run as root, try running `sudo X -configure`.

Well startx is normally run by regular users but Ubuntu is so fucking weird I have no idea how they set it all up.

Originally Posted by DaiTengu

I do hate the fact that Ubuntu scrambles the root password and makes you sudo for everything.


Just do this:

sudo su


then type in your password

Then you'll be root and you can break anything you want.

I dont like how you used the word break.

Do I have to be in root for that?

Ok I did the gdm restart, and it went to the black screen I posted earlier. I had to press Alt+F1 to get to where I could manually log in, and then had to make the comp reboot. Then I was able to lock back in normally. When/where exactly am I supposed to type in the Xorg log info? I put it in the terminal after it rebooted but it said no such command.

I'm posting from my iPhone. Plus I have no idea what ftp ssh and sftp mean.

Well I would if my computer wasnt so old. I put XP on it a while back, and had to put Ubuntu right back on it because it was so slow.

I just need to get a new computer eventually.

Originally Posted by DaiTengu

also, post your /var/log/Xorg.0.log

are you really this retarded someone who uses GNOME exclusively (as all that's necessary for normal ubuntu operation) isn't going to know how to dump a log file to output (much less push it to some sort of internet filestore or ssh in given that ubuntu probably doesn't even have a sshd installed/running if they aren't total security morons)

anyway anony d just to get me up to speed:
when you boot up, what do you see? the normal graphical login or text login or other? (if other, post photo of screen)
if you're booting and just seeing the text login (which I'm guessing is the case), login and run `startx`. This probably won't work, post of photo of the screen output if it doesn't.
Also if it doesn't work, run `tail /var/log/Xorg.0.log` and post a photo of that output.

When I start the computer normally I get the normal login.

I can get to the text login by doing a gdm restart and then sudo reboot though.

Originally Posted by Anonymous D

When I start the computer normally I get the normal login.

I can get to the text login by doing a gdm restart and then sudo reboot though.

What happens when you login with gdm? Nothing?

You mean from the text screen? It basically logs in the same way regardless of how I log in. I always end up on my desktop with everything right except for the resolution.

Oh, I thought you were saying that you could log in but then you were getting dumped back to a console.

In that case, try this. Delete that file, log out, and log back in.

Originally Posted by DaiTengu

Ugh. back when I first learned how to use linux we didn't have fancy GUIs.


Edit: also, this is exactly what they'd tell him to do on http://ubuntuforums.org/

I mean I only go to ubuntuforums when I have google searched a problem and am willing to click the inevitable link as a last result

it's usually a big festering pile of duuuuuuuuuuuuuur though