Mint Linux - First Steps
I decided to install a different version of Linux on Machine 2 and settled on Mint Linux as it appeared to be geared up for the multimedia experience. Machine 2 is an old Dell P400 2.8 Ghz machine with 1Gb of RAM and a reasonably sized 82Gb hard drive.The install from CD went well but my first problem was I was stuck with a resolution of either 640x480 or 800x600. No really much to work on and since the old LCD monitor would support up to 1024x768 I really wanted to change this. Graphics card is an onboard Intel 865GL with 8Mb of system memory allocated to it in the BIOS. The monitor is an old Relsys TL565 15" flat screen LCD model.
A first look around the various forums suggested that I need to edit xorg.conf in /etc/X11 - only problem is I didn't have this file. After a bit more looking around I desided to create this file and have a play around with it.
First steps were:
cd /.
cd etc/X11
sudo gedit xconf
and paste in a generic xorg.conf
I then entered a depth of 32 and a resolution of 1024x568
This achieved nothing so I thought I would change the monitor settings. My first few attempts resulted in a black screen so I used a "Live" CD to change the settings further. As I changed the figures I eventually got a display and even though it was corrupted I knew that I was going in the right direction.
Eventually I go a slightly corrupted display but the Display Manager in the Control Panel allowed me to select my desired resolution of 1024x568. Result!
Relevant portion of xorg.comf is shown below:
/etc/X11/xorg.conf
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Monitor Model"
HorizSync 40.0 - 60.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 60.00
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "intel"
VendorName "Intel Corporation"
BoardName "82865G Integrated Graphics Controller"
BusID "PCI:0:2:0"
EndSection