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oregonshoegazer
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 09 May 2002
Posts: 84
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 Posted: Thu May 09, 2002 4:53 am Post subject: X configuration with Dell Inspiron 8100 |
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hi.
i am experiencing difficulty with resolutions higher than 1024x768 on my Dell 8100 (15" UXGA). i followed the instructions in the install doc for NVidia drivers for a GeForce2Go card. i've viewed other users' XF86Config files for the same model, and they all seem to be able to use either 1280x1024 or 1400x1050 resolutions.
when i try these higher resolutions, it seems like i lose colors. the larger images are blocky, and have noticeable gradients between shades. at 1024x768, everything comes out crystal-clear.
has anyone else experienced this problem?
thanks!
p.s. just as a pat on the back for all concerned, this is my first taste of linux, and i have been thrilled with the experience thus far. i have learned more about my computer and its functionality in the past three days than in the past three years running windows. the documentation for the Gentoo install was/is terrific! keep up the good work! |
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WinRefugee
Guest
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| Posted: Thu May 09, 2002 3:28 pm Post subject: one option |
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I installed Gentoo on my latitude C600 and had minor probs with the video. If you go to http://support.dell.com/ and type your laptop's service code and fish around, you may find that Dell has an XF86Config-4 file already written just for you. You'll need to tweak it, maybe, but I found that using their file got the mouse and video going.
of course, Dell's file is distributed only as rpm, so you'll have to hack that out. I didn't solve that problem, really. I have a RH machine, so I just backed up XF86Config-4, did rpm -ivh, copied the file to a floppy, and replaced the original XF86Config-4. If there's another way to get files out of an rpm (and I'm sure there is), that would probably be better.
hth, -- WR. |
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oregonshoegazer
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 09 May 2002
Posts: 84
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| Posted: Thu May 09, 2002 7:46 pm Post subject: no samples solve the problem |
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thanks for the suggestion. unfortunately, none of the sample XF86Config files i've been trying help the situation. i've tried all of the samples from http://www.linux-laptop.net, but to no avail. here is the juicy bits from my XF86Config in case that helps...
---
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "My Monitor"
HorizSync 31.5 - 64.3
VertRefresh 50-70
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "NVidia GeForce2"
Driver "nvidia"
VideoRam 32768
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen 1"
Device "NVidia GeForce2"
Monitor "My Monitor"
DefaultColorDepth 24
Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
EndSection
any advice or suggestions are most welcome! thanks for the help. |
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mb
Guru
Joined: 25 Apr 2002
Posts: 355
Location: Hessen | .de
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| Posted: Thu May 09, 2002 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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hi...
i have a inspiron 8k and can send u my config if u want...
[edit]
btw: i use 1600x1200 only
#mb |
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oregonshoegazer
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 09 May 2002
Posts: 84
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| Posted: Fri May 10, 2002 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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hi. unfortunately, the XF86Config file mb sent me still does not fix the problem with number of colors at resolutions higher than 1024x768. i think i may have another question though:
during the desktop configuration guide given on the www.gentoo.org page, it says for NVIDIA owners to follow these steps to install the drivers:
# emerge media-video/nvidia-kernel media-video/nvidia-glx
# nano -w /etc/X11/XF86Config
# echo NVdriver >> /etc/modules.autoload
and then set the modules path to accommodate the new nvidia modules
(inside XF86Config)
ModulePath "/opt/nvidia/modules"
but when i went to /opt, there was nothing there!!! when i start kdm, i see the nvidia splash screen, so i know that the drivers are working properly.
have i got my modules muddled? 
any ideas for what to do? thanks. |
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mb
Guru
Joined: 25 Apr 2002
Posts: 355
Location: Hessen | .de
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| Posted: Fri May 10, 2002 7:02 pm Post subject: |
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????????
strange.... have you checked the XFree86 log ?? it's in /var/log....
> ModulePath "/opt/nvidia/modules"
no idea....
#mb |
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chadh
Moderator
Joined: 21 Apr 2002
Posts: 137
Location: Atlanta, GA
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| Posted: Fri May 10, 2002 7:56 pm Post subject: |
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| oregonshoegazer wrote: |
and then set the modules path to accommodate the new nvidia modules
(inside XF86Config)
ModulePath "/opt/nvidia/modules"
but when i went to /opt, there was nothing there!!! when i start kdm, i see the nvidia splash screen, so i know that the drivers are working properly.
have i got my modules muddled?. |
I think those instructions are old. I don't know the current status of the nvidia drivers, but it probably is just ignoring the path you put in there and getting the modules from where they really are.
As to your color problem, do colors look alright in Windows? Are you using 1600x1200. Any other resolution is interpolated and will look awful.
_________________
Chad |
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oregonshoegazer
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 09 May 2002
Posts: 84
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| Posted: Sat May 11, 2002 12:18 am Post subject: |
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ok. i have checked the logfile from /var/log and here are the warnings from this...
(WW) Open APM failed (/dev/apm_bios) (No such file or directory)
(WW) NVIDIA(0): The user specified VertRefresh "50.000-70.000" has been
(WW) NVIDIA(0): adjusted to "55.000-65.000" (the intersection with
(WW) NVIDIA(0): EDID-specified VertRefresh "55.000-65.000"
these are followed by about 20 other warning messages that are in this format (with different resolutions and clock speeds):
(WW) (1600x1024,My Monitor) mode clock 106.91MHz exceeds DDC maximum 0MHz
(WW) (800x512,My Monitor) mode clock 53.455MHz exceeds DDC maximum 0MHz
(there were no instances of "EE - error, NI - not implemented, or ?? - unknown".)
as for chadh's questions, i have successfully run 1600x1200 on windows and the colors work out fine. i have switched to using 1600x1200 on KDE at this point, but still have the color problems.
thanks for the help! |
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oregonshoegazer
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 09 May 2002
Posts: 84
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| Posted: Wed May 15, 2002 5:39 am Post subject: success |
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well, i have stumbled into a XF86Config file that seems to work for 1600x1200. i had to change the HorizSync and VertRefresh to 30-75 and 50-85 respectively.
hopefully this can alleviate some pains for future dell owners/gentoo users. thanks again for the help folks! |
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wiseguy
n00b
Joined: 17 Aug 2002
Posts: 1
Location: Northeast US
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| Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2002 12:26 am Post subject: |
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| Hi i was wondering if you could send me a copy of the Xfree86 config for the 1600x1200 i'm having problems getting it running on a insiprion 8000 with the Nvidia gefoce 2 go with 15" UXGA 1600x1200 display |
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kybber
Apprentice
Joined: 25 Jun 2002
Posts: 228
Location: Trondheim, Norway
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| Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2002 8:44 am Post subject: Re: X configuration with Dell Inspiron 8100 |
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| oregonshoegazer wrote: | i am experiencing difficulty with resolutions higher than 1024x768 on my Dell 8100 (15" UXGA). i followed the instructions in the install doc for NVidia drivers for a GeForce2Go card. i've viewed other users' XF86Config files for the same model, and they all seem to be able to use either 1280x1024 or 1400x1050 resolutions.
when i try these higher resolutions, it seems like i lose colors. the larger images are blocky, and have noticeable gradients between shades. at 1024x768, everything comes out crystal-clear.
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Is your LCD screen optimized for 1600x1200? If so, then this is totally unrelated to Linux, but is rather due to the fact that you are using an LCD display. If you try to connect a CRT, then you'll notice the problem goes away. Here's a snippet from the DELL help forum:
| Quote: | Your system is optimized for a resolutions of 1600x1200. As a result, using display resolutions other than this resolution will result in less than perfect appearance.
All industry standard LCD panels are optimized for a specific (maximum) resolution. Using a resolution other than the optimal will result in screen stretching, distortion, or screen shrink. In addition the image and fonts may look slightly "blurry" due to the method of interpolation (a form of antialiasing) being used.
This is not considered a problem and occurs with all TFT LCDs industry wide. Each display is optimized to a specific resolution and was designed to operate at that resolution.
For an even better explanation read this post by James P. Wallen:
"First: Any LCD will look best when running at its native resolution because its pixels are of a fixed size. When you set the desktop at a lower resolution, the display subsystem has to interpolate (use some multiple greater than 1 of actual physical pixels) in order to present the desktop image at that resolution. Best case would be, if your native resolution is 1600 x 1200, then a resolution of 800 x 600 will use four physical LCD pixels (2x2) as a single pixel in the desktop display. Using another resolution requires the display subsystem to use non-integer multiples.
Second: The 1400 x 1200 and 1280 x 1024 or other such resolutions are not using the standard aspect ratio. You'll note that 640 x 480, 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, 1400 x 1050, and 1600 x 1200 all have desktop width to desktop height ratios of 4:3. When you use a non-standard aspect ratio, your system either has to not use the whole screen (leaving you with a "black bar" effect at the display edges) OR it has to stretch the image (leaving you with a distorted desktop geometry). In the latter case you also have made the job of interpolation that much harder for the display subsystem to accomplish." |
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