Re: X: set resolution in Squeeze on a Macbook
On 2011-01-19, Richard Lawrence <richard.lawrence@berkeley.edu> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I've just installed Squeeze on a Macbook (2,1) and I'm wondering how I
> can get X to display at the native 1280x800 resolution. I've searched
> the Web and Debian list archives, but nothing seems to turn up
> quite the information I need.
>
> I am using stumpwm, and not a desktop environment that would provide me
> with a GUI for setting the resolution. Thus, my question *may* boil
> down to:
>
> 1) how can I set the resolution from the command line?
>
> But there are a few things I don't understand.
>
> The background: this Macbook has an Intel graphics card. lspci says it
> is a "Mobile 945GM/GMS, 943/940GM Express Integrated Graphics
> Controller."
Is the package xserver-xorg-video-intel installed? If it is, it should
configure the resolution automatically.
>
> In the past, running X on this machine at the native resolution has
> required the 915resolution package. But sources on the Web tell me that
> is no longer necessary in Squeeze, because there is better support in
> the kernel for this graphics chipset, and indeed the 915resolution
> package no longer even seems to exist.
Correct. The 915resolution is obsolete.
>
> Curious to me also is the fact that xorg.conf no longer exists. Again,
> sources on the Web tell me that this is because X now auto-configures
> itself, so a static configuration file is not necessary (though it will
> be used if provided).
Correct again. The file is no longer necessary in most cases ans is not
created by default.
>
> So this brings me to my puzzle. Normally, I would look to set the
> available resolutions in xorg.conf. But since there is no xorg.conf,
> I'm not sure where to go. I can see at least one option:
>
> 2) provide an xorg.conf that will set the native resolution.
>
> I'm not sure exactly how to do this. I read that Xorg -config can dump
> X's auto-detected configuration, which I could then tweak, but I am not
> sure exactly what command I would use to do this ("Xorg -config" alone
> yields "Required argument to -config not specified").
Not sure about that issue, but hopefully it won't matter :-)
>
> However, I suspect that there is deeper trouble afoot than simply a
> missing resolution in my X configuration. When I start X, there is a
> brief moment of onscreen garbage (randomly colored bars, etc.) before
> the screen goes blank and stumpwm starts (in a lower resolution). This
> leads me to believe that something in the auto-detection is failing and
> X is falling back to some default settings. Unfortunately, I don't see
> anything in /var/log/Xorg.0.log that would indicate this (is there
> another log I should check?).
Check the log for occurences of "intel". That will tell you whether the
correct driver is used.
>
> Any advice as to how to proceed here would be greatly appreciated! If
> anyone has a working configuration of X, with native resolution, on a
> Macbook with an Intel card, in Squeeze, I'd be happy to hear about it.
I have used Intel cards on various machines, although not a Macbook. In
all cases X found the native resolution without a hitch.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Richard
Good luck.
Liam
--
Liam O'Toole
Cork, Ireland
Reply to: