[Discuss] Wide screen monitor

[Gustavo González]

2008/5/7 stanfish <stanfish at shaw.ca>:
>  Is there any way I can get into Mepis again and recover from this or is
> this a re-install. I could try a live version of Mepis, but I wouldn't know what to change to
> get rid of the incorrect driver. Re-install is not too much of a problem because I have no files yet in the
> Linux (just a beginner y'know)
>  Stan Fisher

   "Hey! Relax. Take a deep breath. when life gets you down, know what
you got to do?
    Just keep swimming... Just keep swimming..."

     Dory, From "Finding Nemo"
   ===========================================================================

   Ok... this is part of the process of leaving the beginner label...
so, do not worry, growing up normally hurts...

   But it was my fault too, i forgot to tell you: "Before anything,
make a backup of your config file /etc/X11/xorg.conf"
   Something simple like:
   % cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup

  Forgive me, sometimes is hard to explain all the technical details
in just one mail. Anyway, you know something new
  very important: before test anything, make a copy of the files you
are going to modify. If something goes wrong, then you
  can undo your actions and none gets hurt.

  I guess this is the right moment to start learning about the
graphical environment (Xorg) in your linux system. As you noted some
  lines above, the "/etc/X11/xorg.conf" is the file where you define
all the details about your graphical configuration.
  Features like: video driver, mouse options, keyboard language,
monitor options, etc.

  This file is text-plain, so you can edit it with any program like
"vi", "emacs", "gedit", etc, etc. So, my first invitation to you is:
  study the xorg.conf syntax, look for manuals like this:
http://www.x.org/archive/X11R6.8.0/doc/xorg.conf.5.html

  About how to resolve your specific problem right now, we have two options:

  1. Edit the xorg.conf file and change the line where the video
driver is defined. Look for something like:

    Section "Device"
                 Identifier  "Something_like_Card0"
                 BoardName   "Your_Board_Reference"
                 VendorName  "Video_Card_Company"	
                 Driver      "YOUR_CARD_DRIVER"
    EndSection

    Sometimes xorg.conf files have more options or less... so, do not
worry if your file is a little different.
    On this case, the option we care is in the Driver line. Where i
put "YOUR_CARD_DRIVER" you should
    put something like "vesa" (which is a generic driver very useful
for situations like this).
    If you do "startx" from console and you get your normal graphical
environment, then you can keep trying
    new configurations to get your ATI card working well. Someday,
after a lot of readings and mess, you will
    have your video perfectly configured, then you become an expert on
this specific topic.

   2. When your system boot, and you get the black console... log in
as root, and run this command:
       X -configure

    This command try to create an xorg.conf file, guessing what kind
of hardware you have. The file is created in
    your current directory with a name like xorg.conf.new and you can
test it from console, doing:
    X  -config xorg.conf.new
    If the graphical display shows you a mouse cursor on a gray
screen, it works, so you can replace your real
    xorg file, doing: cp xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf

    Note: To kill your test environment running, do: Ctrl + Alt + Backspace

    One of this procedures should help you to restore your "X" without
reinstalling your system.

    Let me know if you can make it or if you have new problems. Good luck!

-- 
============================
 Gustavo Gonzalez
 xtingray at gmail.com
============================