Member Avatar for marcus1060

I'm using Mandrake 10.1, and I put in the wrong resolution. So I tried to use pico to edit the /etc/X11/XF86Config but, I guess mandrake doesn't use pico. So what do I do?

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Dani AI

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Short, practical recovery steps for (building on 's editor/control‑center pointers).

If X comes up with an unusable resolution, work from a text console so you can edit safely. Switch to a console with Ctrl+Alt+F1, log in as root and back up whatever X config file you have (names vary: XF86Config, XF86Config-4 or xorg.conf).

su -
cp /etc/X11/XF86Config /etc/X11/XF86Config.backup
ls -l /etc/X11/   # check for XF86Config-4 or xorg.conf if that file isn't present

Edit the config with any editor installed (vi, emacs -nw, or nano). If nano is missing you can install it as root with urpmi nano. Make small, safe changes first: force a generic fallback driver and a few common modes. Changing the Device driver to vesa and adding a simple Modes list will usually get you a working desktop so you can reconfigure properly later.

Section "Device"
    Identifier "Card0"
    Driver "vesa"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "Screen0"
    Device "Card0"
    Monitor "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth 24
    SubSection "Display"
        Depth 24
        Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

After saving, reboot or restart X. If X refuses to start, restore the backup and try again:

mv /etc/X11/XF86Config.backup /etc/X11/XF86Config
reboot

Check logs for details (/var/log/XFree86.0.log or /var/log/Xorg.0.log) and grep for errors. Once you have a usable screen, use Mandrake’s X configuration module (the Control Center) or proper vendor drivers to set exact modes. Caution: only add Modelines when you have the monitor’s correct HorizSync/VertRefresh—wrong values can leave you with no display.

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Member Avatar for marcus1060

Ok its "emacs"
but what do you change in the file?

Member Avatar for Member #2466

Ok its "emacs"
but what do you change in the file?

Try nano instead of pico. It is an exact replica of pico...it is available in "contributions" Install that and you're all set.


I usually put an alias in my startup files that subs in pico for nano. That way if I'm having a late night and forget that pico isn't installed it automatically opens nano for me instead :P


As far as screen resolution...if you can't change it under the mandrake control center (that is, there is only one option under your pull down menu) then you need to install the right monitor so that more options are available. Get all the specs for your monitor and use the control center to install it. Then restart your Xsession and everything should be good to go.

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