Can't increase screen resolution in Ubuntu 8.04

[vinito]

I have Hardy Heron running and tried to hook up a widescreen monitor to it. For me, the ideal resolution for this screen is 1280 x 768 IIRC. Of course my only options in the "screen resolution" dialog go up to 800 x 600 max.

Tried searching and haven't found a solution. I'm not well-versed in Linux much and basically need a step-by-step recipe to get me through things, but if they are correct I can follow directions.

I read the thread regarding suse and the "sudo" command prefix thing, but I don't really grok it. This is applicable because I am not logged in as "root" so I don't have permissions to edit configuration files without further instruction.

My xorg.conf file reads:
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Monitor "Configured Monitor"
Device "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "Default Screen"
EndSection

Any help opening up higher screen resolutions for me in Hardy Heron will be appreciated.
Thanks.

[kostasan]

What is your graphics card?
Go to System->Administration->Hardware Drivers. If it shows that there are available drivers, check the checkbox and it will download and install the driver.

If you have nvidia or ati there is a tool called envyng. It downloads the latest drivers and installs them. To install envyng open a terminal and type:
sudo apt-get install envyng-gtk

Than run envy from the menu Applications->System Tools, i think.

[vinito]

Sorry for my late reply. I've been too busy to do much else today.
The "hardware drivers" window is empty when I bring it up. I'll take a gander at my graphics card when I can turn the PC off (I can't remember what's in there). If it's nvidia or ati I'll try that tool you suggested and report back.

Thanks for the reply kostasan.

[rayparrish]

Your xorg.conf file doesn't really specify your monitor resolutions and video card driver. Use Synaptic to search for displayconfig-gtk and install it.

This will result in a new menu item under Applications, Other called Screens and Graphics. this new menu entry allows you to select your monitor and video card from brand name and model lists and updates your xorg.conf file to reflect the settings for them.

Later, Ray Parrish