Dell Inspiron 1100 and Sarge

[kylek]

My monitor is always set at a very low resolution. The highest I can get is 800x600, but it is capable of 1024x800. However, I can't set it to that. Instead, the rest of the monitor is surrounded by black.

I have the latest Dell-issued BIOS update, and the following specs:
- Debian 3.1 "Sarge"
- CD/DVD Optical Drive
- 512MB RAM
- 30GB Hard Disk
- Intel i845 graphics
- 15" monitor

If you need any more info - please let me know.

[farslayer]

open a command shell
su - to change to root
enter password when promtped
cd /etc/X11
cp xorg.conf xorg.conf.orig NOTE: this may also be called XFree86-4.conf in which case substitute that for xorg.conf the rest of the instructions remain unchaged only the file name is different
nano xorg.conf

add the resolutions you want to the Screen section on the modes line.. I have mine set to use 3 resolutions.. do NOT enter a resolution your monitor or video card cannot handle, why break things on purpose ?

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Device "NVIDIA Corporation NV20 [GeForce3]"
Monitor "Generic Monitor"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 1
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 4
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

save your changes

CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE to restart X which should apply the changes..

if for some reason X no longer works you can copy the original config file back and try again.
cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf.orig /etc/X11/xorg.conf


P.S. I think you want 1024x768 not 1024x800.......