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Hello, |
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I have tried Knoppix previously but the cd wouldn't boot. So, I have |
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used Ubuntu and xorg.conf off this, startx works fine. |
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|
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|
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Duncan wrote: |
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|
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>DR GM SEDDON posted <437F2ED9.80303@×××××××××××××.uk>, excerpted below, |
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>on Sat, 19 Nov 2005 13:55:37 +0000: |
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> |
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> |
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> |
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>>Many thanks for this detailed reply, my monitor is a 20" sgi crt. i |
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>>prefer sgi we use them at work in drug design they give good 3d. I have |
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>>the hr and vs rates, where do I put these.Also, is the monitor name |
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>>needed verbatim. Finally, is there a tool for setting up my initial |
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>>monitor type and card? Since I'm apprehensive of my setup. |
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>> |
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>> |
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> |
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>Cool! Now we're gettin' somewhere! <g> 20"+ CRTs I know a bit about as |
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>I'm running two (a Viewsonic and a Dell Trinitron) in dual head mode right |
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>now. |
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> |
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>If you already have the timings, no, you don't need specific model numbers |
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>or whatever. |
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> |
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>As I mentioned, xorg has several tools for initial setup. However, after |
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>trying Linux and then leaving it for a couple years, when I finally got |
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>serious about it (due to the fact that MS was asking me to cross a line |
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>with eXPrivacy I could not and would not cross -- because I believed it |
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>would ultimately legitimize spyware and the like -- exactly as it did -- |
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>see where we are today with Sony's rootkit they apparently saw nothing |
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>wrong with, anyway, since I couldn't upgrade to eXPrivacy, I switched to |
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>Linux...) |
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> |
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>... When I finally got serious about Linux, I asked for book |
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>recommendations and after getting repeated recommendations for two books, |
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>bought them both, O'Reilly's Linux in a Nutshell (aka The Arabian, for the |
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>horse on the front), and Running Linux (aka the Rearing Horse... horses |
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>must be their Linux mascot theme). Running Linux is textbook tutorial |
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>style, while Linux in a Nutshell is a reference work. After reading the |
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>600-ish pages of Running Linux nearly cover to cover, I dove right in and |
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>learned how to custom configure and compile my own kernel, did a rather |
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>complicated multiboot LILO setup, and learned how to configure xfree86 for |
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>triple monitors on two video cards, because the automated stuff |
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>couldn't handle that!... All that within the first three months of getting |
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>serious, while I was still dual booting back to MSWormOS to run OE for |
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>mail and news, because I hadn't had time to look into the desktop software |
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>angle yet, so didn't know what I wanted. When I get serious about learning |
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>something, I LEARN it, and there's NO going back. (But note that was after |
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>two years of still being on MSWormOS but figuring I'd eventually end up |
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>switching to Linux, so verifying all my hardware purchases would do Linux |
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>before I spent the money... So by the time I did it, I knew everything I |
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>had would work, and it did!) |
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> |
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>Anyway... back to the topic... As a result of that I haven't had to mess |
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>with xorg's automated detection stuff in years, and then it was only very |
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>briefly, and I don't know much about it, save for what I've read in the |
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>various manpages and the like. |
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> |
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>I'd say take a look at "man X" to start, skim it, get to the bottom, and |
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>go thru the what's related manpages as well. I KNOW there are at least |
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>TWO different methods shipped with xorg that can be used to auto-scan and |
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>generate a basic starting point with at least /some/ of the settings |
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>correct, hopefully. If I'm not mistaken, there's actually four such |
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>utilities, and one of the manpages actually gives you a list of the |
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>recommended order to try them in, the easiest first, the most likely to |
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>work but harder to manage because you end up plugging more into it |
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>manually, last. However, as I've said, I didn't need that info and was |
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>just scanning it looking for other stuff, so it's possible there were two |
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>methods that I counted twice. |
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> |
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>Or... probably the easiest method, if it works, would be to grab and burn |
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>an ISO of Gnoppix/Knoppix and/or of Kubuntu/Ubuntu. A couple years ago, |
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>Knoppix was considered the best at hardware detection (overall, but |
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>certainly including video hardware for X) around, but most distributions |
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>have availed themselves of the open source since then and have in general |
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>caught up. Ubuntu is of course the one everybody's talking about now. |
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>Grab the 64-bit version if you can, it's handy to have around as a liveCD |
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>and emergency boot and repair platform, but the 32-bit version should |
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>detect stuff equally well so will do just fine for our immediate purposes. |
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> |
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>Anyway, if you can get one of those things to work, doesn't matter which |
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>one, you can copy it's xorg.conf from its ramdisk to your drive or a |
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>floppy or something, and you may not have to worry about messing with it |
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>at all if you don't want to. DEFINITELY, NOT ALL DISTRIBUTION INSTALLS |
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>ARE CREATED EQUAL, but if you can find just one that can scan and |
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>recognize your hardware (or just part of it if not all), that should work, |
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>and give you some info on what you have, if nothing else. |
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> |
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>As for where you plug the stuff in if it comes to that... and you may have |
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>to change at least a /few/ settings... |
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> |
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>As I mentioned, man xorg.conf does a fair job, and you should have a |
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>sample to compare with, altho I'd hate to have to start from that without |
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>at least something /partially/ matched to my system. Anyway, I'll give |
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>you a brief overview here, but that's where to look for more, or ask... |
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> |
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>The file is /etc/X11/xorg.conf (note the cap X in X11). It's very |
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>modular, and once you get the hang of the layout, the modularity is a help |
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>because it keeps the complexity down and allows you to worry about just |
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>one thing at a time. |
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> |
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>The different sections or modules can be in any order, but are logically |
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>related to each other this way: |
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> |
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>Section Monitor contains the settings for your monitor. along with an |
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>Identifier "what-you-call-your-monitor" entry. That Identifier entry is |
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>how that section is referred to everywhere else. It's convenient to |
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>identify by brand and model, as in 'Identifier "Dell-2125s"', if you have |
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>it, making it easy if you have more than one to use the same section over |
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>elsewhere, but you can call it 'Identifier "Xyzzy"' for all xorg cares, as |
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>long as you then refer to it as "Xyzzy" everywhere else you need it. If |
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>you have only one, just call it "Monitor1" or whatever, if you like. |
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> |
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>You may have more than one Monitor section, each with it's own identifier, |
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>if you have multiple monitors you are or may be plugging in. |
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> |
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>Likewise, your graphics card has its settings in a Section Device, |
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>likewise with an Identifier entry. Here, as I play with multiple cards |
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>sometimes, I use identifiers like "DevAGP0", "DevPCI1, etc. However, |
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>again, you can call it what you want. You can call it by brand and model |
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>if you like, or just "GraphicsCard1" or whatever. Of course, fancy setups |
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>may have more than one graphics card or a card with multiple outputs. |
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>Depending on the driver and configuration, a card with multiple outputs |
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>may be configured as separate cards (therefore separate Device |
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>sections) for each output, or have additional settings for the second |
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>output in the same Device section. |
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> |
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>A Section Screen combines the Device Section and the Monitor Section(s) |
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>for what's plugged into it. Again, it'll have it's own Identifier, I call |
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>mine "ScrAGP0" and the like, after the Section Device it matches up with, |
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>but you may call yours "Plough" for all xorg cares, as long as you always |
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>refer to it with the right identifier. |
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> |
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>Within the screen section, there's a Monitor "<identifier>" entry and a |
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>Device "<identifier>" entry that match up with the appropriate sections |
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>described above. Again, as long as the identifiers match correctly, it |
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>doesn't matter what they actually are. |
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> |
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>The screen section also has one or more Subsection Display subsections. |
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>These will normally be one for each color bitness level (8-bit color, |
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>15/16-bit color, 24- and 32-bit color), tho I run Xinerama, which wants |
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>you to stick with the same bitness level, so I pick one and stick with it, |
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>and don't bother with the others. The main purpose of these subsections |
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>is to contain the list of desired resolutions, like the long one I posted |
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>earlier, one list for each bitness level. There are of course some less |
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>significant optional entries as well, but the two big ones are the list of |
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>accepted resolutions for that bitness, and the line specifying the color |
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>bitness the list applies to. These are subsections of the screen |
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>sections, so they don't get their own identifiers. |
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> |
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>There are also Section InputDevice sections, one for each input device |
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>(keyboard, mouse, graphics pad, touch-sensitive-screen, whatever) you |
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>have, naturally each with its own identifier entry. |
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> |
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>Combining all these we have Section ServerLayout. You should be able to |
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>predict several of the entries it will have, its own identifier, |
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>naturally, plus one or more Screen and InputDevice entries, referring to |
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>the appropriate sections by their identifier. Again, the identifier is |
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>entirely arbitrary. Call it "SvrLyout1" or "Y2" (get the running joke |
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>yet? <g>), it doesn't matter, as long as it matches the identifier it's |
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>referring to. |
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> |
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>There will be one default Section ServerLayout, the first one listed IIRC |
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>if one isn't specified when the server is invoked, but as with the other |
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>Sections, you may have others as well, if desired. |
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> |
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>There are some other, more global, sections as well. Section Files lists |
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>what else? paths to other related config files (and fonts or the config |
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>to use the font-server if you run one) on your system. Xorg has sane (and |
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>Gentoo normal) defaults built-in, if this section is missing. Similarly, |
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>the ServerFlags section is optional. However, that's where you put |
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>settings such as PM (Power Management) timeouts, and set Xinerama |
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>(multi-screen) mode, if desired. |
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> |
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>Likewise with the Modules and Extensions Sections. You can run xorg in |
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>bare 2D unaccelerated mode without them, in general, or xorg has some |
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>configured to run by default if it finds them and they aren't specifically |
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>turned off, but there are appropriate sections for them if you want to |
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>tweak the settings. |
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> |
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>Back with xfree86 3.x, one had to specify a bunch of quite scary |
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>individual timing mode lines, the setting up of which involved some deep |
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>black arts! <g> Fortunately, starting with xfree86 4.x and now with xorg, |
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>the by far most common of these, the 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x920, |
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>1280x1024, 1600x1200, and even down as low as 400x300 (or lower) and as |
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>high as 2048x1736 entries, often several individual timings for each |
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>resolution, are built-into the binary and tried automatically, so these |
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>are no longer needed. There's a site out there, Colas xmodeline generator |
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>(google it if needed or I have it bookmarked), that has a script that |
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>you just plug in the monitor and card numbers into, and it'll output an |
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>a table of appropriate timing entries in 4-pixel x increments covering the |
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>entire range allowed by your hardware, if you want a mode that's not |
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>builtin. I mentioned that 640x400 special mode for a game I have in the |
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>previous reply. I got the modeline for that by simply plugging the |
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>appropriate numbers into the boxes at Cola's. (Those extra modelines can |
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>either go under individual monitor sections, or, if you have several |
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>monitors sharing a set of modelines, they can go in their own section, |
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>naturally complete with its own identifier entry, by which you refer to it |
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>elsewhere.) |
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> |
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>That's the structural outline of the major sections and how they depend on |
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>each other in words. Here's a brief "pseudoexample", with only a few |
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>"pseudosettings" by way of example. (They are basically real settings, |
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>but I'm deleting some of the complicated meat of the config, since I have |
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>multiple monitors/cards/screens and am not checking that what's left |
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>matches up, so I wouldn't expect this to work anywhere as is, tho it |
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>might. Do note how some are hash-commented out, tho.) Again, section |
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>order normally doesn't matter. |
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> |
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> |
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>Section "Files" |
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> FontPath "unix/:-1" |
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>EndSection |
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> |
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>Section "Module" |
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> Load "type1" |
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>EndSection |
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> |
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>Section "Extensions" |
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># Option "Composite" |
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>EndSection |
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> |
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>Section "ServerFlags" |
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> # General options |
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> Option "AllowMouseOpenFail" |
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> Option "NoPM" |
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>EndSection |
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> |
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>Section "ServerLayout" |
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> Identifier "MainLayout" |
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> InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer" |
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> InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard" |
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> Screen 0 "ScrAgp.0" |
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>EndSection |
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> |
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>Section "InputDevice" |
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> Identifier "Keyboard0" |
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> Driver "kbd" |
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> Option "XkbModel" "microsoftmult" |
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>EndSection |
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> |
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>Section "InputDevice" |
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> Identifier "Mouse0" |
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> Driver "mouse" |
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> Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2" |
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> Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice" |
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>EndSection |
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> |
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>Section "Monitor" |
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> Identifier "Dell-M991" |
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> HorizSync 30-96 |
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> VertRefresh 50-160 |
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> DisplaySize 355 265 |
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> Option "DPMS" |
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>EndSection |
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> |
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>Section "Monitor" |
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> Identifier "Dell-2125s" |
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> HorizSync 30-121 |
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> VertRefresh 48-160 |
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> DisplaySize 400 300 |
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> ModeLine "640x400" 63.07 640 672 832 896 400 402 414 440 #160Hz for Orion |
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>EndSection |
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> |
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>Section "Monitor" |
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> Identifier "ViewSonic-P220f" |
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> HorizSync 30-110 |
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>EndSection |
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> |
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>Section "Device" |
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> Identifier "DevAgp.0" |
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> Driver "radeon" |
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> BusID "PCI:5:0:0" |
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>EndSection |
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> |
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>Section "Screen" |
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> Identifier "ScrAgp.0" |
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> Device "DevAgp.0" |
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> Monitor "Dell-2125s" |
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> DefaultColorDepth 16 |
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> |
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> Subsection "Display" |
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> Depth 16 |
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> Modes "2048x1536" "1792x1344" "1600x1200" "1280x960" |
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> EndSubsection |
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>EndSection |
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> |
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> |
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> |
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> |
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|
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-- |
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