[Cialug] xorg.conf issues

[Matthew Nuzum]

Tony Bibbs wrote:
> I have a Compaq n620c laptop.  The LCD can only do 1024x768 while when
> hooked up to the Gateway VX1100 monitor it can do better than 1280x1024.
>   This works as one might expect under Windows XP.
> 
> I'm now trying to dual boot Kubuntu and for the life of me I can't get
> the thing to run under 1280x1024.  The X log gives me something about
> mode 1280x1024 out of range using both the ATI and Radeon drivers for my
> ATI Mobility LW 7500.  I'm suspecting that this issue is probably a
> problem with generally poor support for that particular chipset but I'm
> hoping one of you can prove me wrong.
> 
> Where should I start troubleshooting?  Do I need to use the mergedFB
> option somehow?
> 

I noticed in my xorg.conf file yesterday that even though everything
worked, the config was still somewhat generic.

One good way to get a better config is to drop to a command prompt and
kill (in my case) gdm (not sure what kubuntu uses) via Ctl + Alt + F1,
then login and sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop

Then run sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

That will prompt you through the good ol' fashioned x config dialogs
where you can enter specific information for the monitor. However, you
may not have to, because I simply chose the option to let it probe my
monitor and it came up with better settings than when I did the install.

Make sure to backup /etc/X11/xorg.conf so you can compare before and
after. You may even want to print out some of the settings from your
xorg.conf so that you refer to them during the x config prompts.

I was doing this in order to get better control of my synaptic touch pad
on the laptop. The Ubuntu installation chooses settings that, while
safe, make using the touch pad a pain. Now I have my scroll region back
and have control over tap to click (which I hate). Since its fresh in my
mind, and in case others may have this problem, here's what I used:

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier      "Synaptics Touchpad"
        Driver          "synaptics"
        Option          "SendCoreEvents"        "true"
        Option          "Device"                "/dev/psaux"
        Option          "Protocol"              "auto-dev"
        Option          "HorizScrollDelta"      "0"
        Option          "SHMConfig"             "true"
EndSection

The SHMConfig option lets gsynatpics configure the settings for me.

-- 
Matthew Nuzum
newz2000 on freenode