[Dr. Strangelove]

i'm running backtrack 2.0, and having some trouble with my resolution. i think that i get the basic idea of how to get it to boot in the resolution i want, but so far i haven't been successful in using xorgconfig, and it looks like it's because i'm screwing things up with my monitor. other than that i like it. it's just a pain in the ass to run it in 640x480

i've got an Acer X193w, and an my video card is an Nvidia nforce 220 btw

[Manchunian]

Can you post the "screen" section of /etc/X11/xorg.conf?

[Dr. Strangelove]

the screen section of the edited file or the screen section of whatever i get when i get it to configure itself?

like i said im sort of a linux noob. also i don't have a lot of information on my computer's hardware. my hp was bought 6 years ago, i don't have a manual for it, and the manual for my monitor doesn't have much in the way of information

[Dapper Dan]

If you can post the exact model of your monitor, we can see if we can find the refresh rates with Google. Also, go to Nvidia and see if there are 3D drivers available for your card.

With "hands on" distros like Slackware, you have to sometimes make it use the resolution you want. You'll want to look at your xorg,conf file. I presume you installed KDE? You can open it as su like this:

kdesu kate /etc/X11/xorg.conf

(Be careful. As "su" the changes you make and save will be written!) At the bottom of xorg.conf, you'll see a section similar (but not exactly like) this:

Section "Device"

    Identifier     "Nvidia 7300"
    Driver         "nvidia"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen 1"
    Device         "CRT Monitor"
    Monitor        "Dell"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Viewport    0 0
        Depth       8
        Modes      "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection     "Display"
        Viewport    0 0
        Depth       16
        Modes      "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection     "Display"
        Viewport    0 0
        Depth       24
        Modes      "1024x768"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

This is mine from CRUX. See how the default depth is "24?" See how it corresponds with the bottom sub section that has to do with depth 24? Notice there is only one mode: 1024x768.

Before making changes that could possibly lock you out of a desktop display, I'd get familiar with the "joe" command line editor which is included in Slackware. Joe is easy to use and a life saver when you cannot get into "X." To see usage, do from the command line:

joe -help

Maybe this will give you some ideas about what to do for yours. Hope it helps.

[Dr. Strangelove]

tis an hp pavillion 742n

i'm looking forward to replacing it

[Manchunian]

Here's a tip that might help you out with this. Download and burn a live CD of a Linux distro with excellent out-of-the-box hardware recognition. I'd suggest something like Ubunutu, Knoppix or Mint. Fire it up on your machine. If the video settings are good, copy the "Device" section of /etc/X11/xorg.conf file and paste it here. Then, boot up slackware and replace what's currently in your xorg.conf file with what you copied from the live cd. Easy!
For my two cents, if you're having problems with understanding what we're talking about, I think you're using the wrong distro. Slackware is one of the very finest there is, but it comes at a price: it isn't newbie friendly. However, if you like it, keep it and ask for help when you need it. It's true that you'll learn a lot more about Linux using Slackware than you would if you had Mint or Ubuntu, for example.