[EdLUG] Graphics issues

[Edinburgh Linux Users Group]

On 2016.11.10 23:03, Edinburgh Linux Users Group wrote:

Andrew,

I'm a Gentoo guy, not Mint but since help seems thin on the ground,
some of this may be useful.

> Hi,
> 
> I'm running Linux Mint 18 Cinnamon on a Dell laptop, and have trouble
> with
> my (intel) graphics card. I want my screen resolution to be different
> to
> the default, but any changes I make (with xrandr for example) get
> reset
> after a restart or even a screen lock.

This indicates that its probably not an xorg.conf issue. xorg.conf 
is read once when Xorg starts.  These days most users have
xorg.conf file fragments in xorg.conf.d if they do anything at all
to the defaults.

What desktop are you using?
Both GNOME and KDE provide screen resolution settings controls.
I'm an Xfce4 user, so all I can suggest is that its buried in a 
settings menu somewhere.  

> 
> So I made a script to set the resolution I want using xrandr and run
> it on
> startup, but have to run it again after a screen lock.
> 
> Also, sometimes the screen is split into 4 after I unlock (like a
> partially
> zoomed out view of 4 desktops) and everything is unresponsive and I
> have to
> reboot with the power button, which has caused me to lose work.
> Fiddling about with the screen resolution or plugging into external
> outputs
> can also cause the thing to freeze.
> 
> I filed a bug for Linux Mint, and also asked on the Mint forums, but
> didn't
> get very far.
> 
> Then I tried creating an xorg.conf file using X -configure in recovery
> mode, but get an error:

I thought X -configure hand been abandoned years ago.

> 
> "Number of created screens does not match number of detected devices."
> 
Intel chip sets support multiple screens and  X -configure is very basic.
It can detect that two screens are supported by your hardware so it 
wants you two define two.

From memory X -configure, never delivered a correct working xorg.conf,
it always needed some edits to make it do what you really wanted.

> And can't seem to find my way past that, really not finding much on
> google,
> as it all seems to be people setting up second monitors, or who
> already
> have an xorg.conf file.

No xorg.conf is needed for a single display with automagic settings.
As soon as you want something out of the ordinary, you begin to
need a stub xorg.conf, just with the sections of interest.

> 
> I also tried to set GRUB_GFXMODE in the grub, but this seems to have
> no
> effect (should it even?)

The pixel buffers used by Grub, the kernel framebuffer and the Intel 
Xorg drivers can all be in different regions of RAM. Its unlikely this
would have any effect.

> 
> So, what I'm wondering is.. Should I be creating an xorg.conf in the
> first
> place? If so, how can I do that given that I can't run X -configure?
> If
> not, what should I do? I can't have a system that forces me to reboot
> every
> 5 times I unlock the screen (gross guesstimate)

You will have a file called /var/log/Xorg.0.log sight of that will tell
what Xorg is doing when it starts.  Put that file on a pastebin site
and tell us the link.  There are lots of sites that offer this service.
http://pastebin.com/ is probably the oldest.
Don't paste it in an email to the list as its a fairly big file.

Knowing your hardware may help too. Make another pastebin 
with the output of lspci.  

What desktop do you use?

What screen resolution do you want to use?

> 
> I'm new to Linux btw. Any pointers or suggestions most welcome!
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> Andrew
> 

Being old fashioned, my Xorg still has a complete xorg.conf. Its
at https://paste.pound-python.org/show/9E1LD75UAz4NhFy49LsS/

You may just need a suitable 
Section "Screen"
Mine is not it. Its full of clutter that has accumulated for a long time.


------quoted attachment------
> _______________________________________________
> EdLUG mailing list
> EdLUG at lists.edlug.org.uk
> https://lists.edlug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/edlug
> 

Regards,

Roy Bamford