topic title: new user first time install fonts too small
Posts: 11
LL028
Joined: 22 May 2011
#1
anitX-M11 was mentioned in Ubuntu forums other distro list as a possibility for really low end older computers. I had never even heard of it before Friday. Mine is 256 megs RAM 20G Hard drive, 600mHz CPU inside Compaq 5BW127 desktop motherboard supposedly OEM Mitac 6513WU chipset Intel Whitney 82810E rev 3. I'm used to Ubuntu and cannot find how to make permanent changes to 1024x768@75Hz for the desktop and the console has become microscopic as I tried to follow some other directions dpkg-reconfigure console-setup. There is nothing inside the xconfig file. To put in time while waiting for registration approval I tried to use Synaptic Package manager to load some games I like and became embroiled in a lengthy 43 error. Is there a way to have the computer automatically send error messages to a buglist ? I already updated the best I know how using cli and there were 253 packages added/removed.
Thanks in advance for advice and comments.

I tried Slitaz3.0, Lubuntu 11 mini-install, Lubuntu 11.04 full CD and Puppy Linux 5.25 but either they wouldn't install or were too sluggish. Crunchbang I didn't know how to operate BitTorrent. I'm hoping to have this computer running by the end of the Victoria Day weekend. So far I'm really liking the response and speed.
Lorraine
Posts: 516
oldhoghead
Site Admin
Joined: 01 Oct 2007
#2
Lorraine,

Could you post the output as a user in terminal of

inxi -F

then we can see your specs.

The easiest method of taking care of your resolution is to use smxi

but we'll get to that after you post back.

cheers,
ohh
Posts: 11
LL028
Joined: 22 May 2011
#3
kay@antiX1:~$ inxi -F
System: Host antiX1 Kernel 2.6.36-1-mepis i686 (32 bit) Desktop IceWM 1.3.7 Distro antiX-M11-486 Jayaben Desai 01 May 2011
CPU: Single core Celeron (Coppermine) (-UP-) cache 128 KB flags (sse) bmips 1196.02 clocked at 598.012 MHz
Graphics: Card-1: Intel 82810E DC-133 (CGC) Chipset Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:01.0 Card-2: ATI Radeon RV100 QY [Radeon 7000/VE] bus-ID: 01:0b.0 X.Org 1.10.1 Res: 1024x768@75.1hz
GLX Renderer Mesa DRI R100 (RV100 5159) 20090101 x86/MMX/SSE NO-TCL DRI2 GLX Version 1.3 Mesa 7.10.2 Direct Rendering Yes
Audio: Card ESS ES1988 Allegro-1 driver Maestro3 port 1000 bus-ID: 01:05.0
Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Version 1.0.23
Network: Card D-Link System DGE-530T Gigabit Ethernet Adapter driver skge v: 1.13 port 1400 bus-ID: 01:09.0
Disks: HDD Total Size: 20.0GB (19.0% used) 1: /dev/sda QUANTUM_FIREBALL 20.0GB
Partition: ID:/ size: 16G used: 3.6G (24%) fs: ext4 ID:swap-1 size: 1.07GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap
Info: Processes 82 Uptime 2 min Memory 79.1/247.3MB Runlevel 5 Client Shell inxi 1.5.0


I have the Magnavox CRT monitor plugged into the ATI Radeon 7000 series card not the motherboard so I can use its 128 megs RAM. sgfxi -zc from console tty1 says it needs an update and finds no drivers as that video card is unsupported. Sorry I don't know how to cut and paste from console. Kay the intended end user will not be getting my monitor she already has her own. I used Control Centre > Session to change the monitor resolution so I can see the desktop and inside the default browser Iceape I'm using keyboard Ctrl with numerical keypad plus sign to bring up the website so I can read it. This will be too complicated for Kay to manage so I'm sticking with the font size problem till I can get the machine to autostart in a visible state with ANY monitor. Thanks for your assistance.
Lorraine
Posts: 516
oldhoghead
Site Admin
Joined: 01 Oct 2007
#4
Lorraine,

Well from your response I realize your adept at using the cli, etc. There are a few things we can try to get this resolved.
Reboot your machine and add these cheat codes to the boot line (when your grub boot menu comes up)

first try:

Code: Select all

nomodeset
if that does not help

try

Code: Select all

radeon.modeset=0
If neither of these renders acceptable displays check and see if you have an xorg.conf and post it in a code box for us to see. If you have no xorg.conf

then ctrl-alt-f1

login as root

Code: Select all

/etc/init.d/slim stop

Code: Select all

Xorg -configure
this will create a basic xorg.conf
then:

Code: Select all

/etc/init.d/slim start
sometimes I have to
do a

Code: Select all

startx
when you get back to the desktop then you can tweak the xorg.conf to accommodate the desired resolutions
as an example shown here, I use"1440x900" you can add any other resolution you might need so it would look like"1440x900""1024x768""800x600" the first one is the default one btw.

[codeection"Screen"
Identifier"Screen0"
Device"Card0"
Monitor"Monitor0"
DefaultColorDepth 16

SubSection"Display"
Depth 8
Modes"1440x900"
EndSubSection
SubSection"Display"
Depth 15
Modes"1440x900"
EndSubSection
SubSection"Display"
Depth 16
Modes"1440x900"
EndSubSection
SubSection"Display"
Depth 24
Modes"1440x900"
EndSubSection
SubSection"Display"
Depth 32
Modes"1440x900"
EndSubSection

# Only the official NVIDIA driver supports twinview
# these setting are an example
Option"TwinView""false"
Option"SecondMonitorVendorName""unknown"
Option"SecondMonitorModelName""unknown"
Option"SecondMonitorHorizSync""30-75"
Option"SecondMonitorVertRefresh""55-70"
#Option"MetaModes""1024x768, 1024x768"
Option"TwinViewOrientation""RightOf"
Option"ConnectedMonitor""dfp,dfp"
EndSection
][/code]

cheers
ohh
Posts: 11
LL028
Joined: 22 May 2011
#5
oldhoghead wrote:Lorraine,

Well from your response I realize your adept at using the cli, etc. There are a few things we can try to get this resolved.
Reboot your machine and add these cheat codes to the boot line (when your grub boot menu comes up)

first try:

Code: Select all

nomodeset
for some reason that might be evident from my menu.lst my grub page won't let me edit. usually I can just hit e (in other linux I've tried and I can edit the boot parameters on the fly. I'm afraid to edit grub permanently as I might end up with a black screen. Here is how it looks in control center > edit config files:
timeout 9
color cyan/blue white/blue
foreground ffffff
background 0639a1

gfxmenu /boot/grub/message

title antiX at sda1, kernel 2.6.36-1-mepis
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.36-1-mepis root=/dev/sda1 nomce quiet nosplash nouveau.modeset=0 vga=771
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.36-1-mepis
boot

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=1d800254-424d-416b-a193-efee60375ad8 ro
# kopt_2_6=root=UUID=1d800254-424d-416b-a193-efee60375ad8 ro nosplash quiet nouveau.modeset=0

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd0,0)

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
## alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
## lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
## lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
## altoptions=(single-user) single
# altoptions=(init-3) 3

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
## howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
## memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title antiX-M11, kernel 2.6.36-1-mepis
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.36-1-mepis root=UUID=1d800254-424d-416b-a193-efee60375ad8 ro nosplash quiet nouveau.modeset=0 vga=771
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.36-1-mepis

title antiX-M11, kernel 2.6.36-1-mepis (init-3)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.36-1-mepis root=UUID=1d800254-424d-416b-a193-efee60375ad8 ro nosplash quiet nouveau.modeset=0 3
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.36-1-mepis

title antiX-M11, kernel memtest86+
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

if that does not help

try

Code: Select all

radeon.modeset=0
If neither of these renders acceptable displays check and see if you have an xorg.conf and post it in a code box for us to see.

Code: Select all

Section"ServerLayout"
    Identifier    "X.org Configured"
    Screen      0 "Screen0" 0 0
    Screen      1 "Screen1" RightOf"Screen0"
    Screen      2 "Screen2" RightOf"Screen1"
    Screen      3 "Screen3" RightOf"Screen2"
    Screen      4 "Screen4" RightOf"Screen3"
    Screen      5 "Screen5" RightOf"Screen4"
    InputDevice   "Mouse0""CorePointer"
    InputDevice   "Keyboard0""CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section"Files"
    ModulePath  "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
    FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc"
    FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic"
    FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled"
   #FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1"
    FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi"
   #FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi"
    FontPath    "/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType"
    FontPath    "built-ins"
EndSection

Section"Module"
    Load "glx"
    Load "dri2"
    Load "record"
    Load "dri"
    Load "dbe"
    Load "extmod"
EndSection

Section"InputDevice"
    Identifier "Keyboard0"
    Driver     "kbd"
EndSection

Section"InputDevice"
    Identifier "Mouse0"
    Driver     "mouse"
    Option       "Protocol""auto"
    Option       "Device""/dev/input/mice"
    Option       "ZAxisMapping""4 5 6 7"
EndSection

Section"Monitor"
    Identifier  "Monitor0"
    VendorName  "Monitor Vendor"
    ModelName   "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section"Monitor"
    Identifier  "Monitor1"
    VendorName  "Monitor Vendor"
    ModelName   "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section"Monitor"
    Identifier  "Monitor2"
    VendorName  "Monitor Vendor"
    ModelName   "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section"Monitor"
    Identifier  "Monitor3"
    VendorName  "Monitor Vendor"
    ModelName   "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section"Monitor"
    Identifier  "Monitor4"
    VendorName  "Monitor Vendor"
    ModelName   "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section"Monitor"
    Identifier  "Monitor5"
    VendorName  "Monitor Vendor"
    ModelName   "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section"Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>:"True"/"False",
        ### <string>:"String", <freq>:"<f> Hz/kHz/MHz",
        ### <percent>:"<f>%"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option    "NoAccel"                # [<bool>]
        #Option    "SWcursor"               # [<bool>]
        #Option    "Dac6Bit"                # [<bool>]
        #Option    "Dac8Bit"                # [<bool>]
        #Option    "BusType"                # [<str>]
        #Option    "CPPIOMode"              # [<bool>]
        #Option    "CPusecTimeout"          # <i>
        #Option    "AGPMode"                # <i>
        #Option    "AGPFastWrite"           # [<bool>]
        #Option    "AGPSize"                # <i>
        #Option    "GARTSize"               # <i>
        #Option    "RingSize"               # <i>
        #Option    "BufferSize"             # <i>
        #Option    "EnableDepthMoves"       # [<bool>]
        #Option    "EnablePageFlip"         # [<bool>]
        #Option    "NoBackBuffer"           # [<bool>]
        #Option    "DMAForXv"               # [<bool>]
        #Option    "FBTexPercent"           # <i>
        #Option    "DepthBits"              # <i>
        #Option    "PCIAPERSize"            # <i>
        #Option    "AccelDFS"               # [<bool>]
        #Option    "IgnoreEDID"             # [<bool>]
        #Option    "CustomEDID"             # [<str>]
        #Option    "DisplayPriority"        # [<str>]
        #Option    "PanelSize"              # [<str>]
        #Option    "ForceMinDotClock"       # <freq>
        #Option    "ColorTiling"            # [<bool>]
        #Option    "VideoKey"               # <i>
        #Option    "RageTheatreCrystal"     # <i>
        #Option    "RageTheatreTunerPort"     # <i>
        #Option    "RageTheatreCompositePort"     # <i>
        #Option    "RageTheatreSVideoPort"     # <i>
        #Option    "TunerType"              # <i>
        #Option    "RageTheatreMicrocPath"     # <str>
        #Option    "RageTheatreMicrocType"     # <str>
        #Option    "ScalerWidth"            # <i>
        #Option    "RenderAccel"            # [<bool>]
        #Option    "SubPixelOrder"          # [<str>]
        #Option    "ClockGating"            # [<bool>]
        #Option    "VGAAccess"              # [<bool>]
        #Option    "ReverseDDC"             # [<bool>]
        #Option    "LVDSProbePLL"           # [<bool>]
        #Option    "AccelMethod"            # <str>
        #Option    "DRI"                    # [<bool>]
        #Option    "ConnectorTable"         # <str>
        #Option    "DefaultConnectorTable"     # [<bool>]
        #Option    "DefaultTMDSPLL"         # [<bool>]
        #Option    "TVDACLoadDetect"        # [<bool>]
        #Option    "ForceTVOut"             # [<bool>]
        #Option    "TVStandard"             # <str>
        #Option    "IgnoreLidStatus"        # [<bool>]
        #Option    "DefaultTVDACAdj"        # [<bool>]
        #Option    "Int10"                  # [<bool>]
        #Option    "EXAVSync"               # [<bool>]
        #Option    "ATOMTVOut"              # [<bool>]
        #Option    "R4xxATOM"               # [<bool>]
        #Option    "ForceLowPowerMode"      # [<bool>]
        #Option    "DynamicPM"              # [<bool>]
        #Option    "NewPLL"                 # [<bool>]
        #Option    "ZaphodHeads"            # <str>
    Identifier "Card0"
    Driver     "radeon"
    BusID   "PCI:1:11:0"
EndSection

Section"Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>:"True"/"False",
        ### <string>:"String", <freq>:"<f> Hz/kHz/MHz",
        ### <percent>:"<f>%"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option    "AccelMethod"            # [<str>]
        #Option    "DRI"                    # [<bool>]
        #Option    "ColorKey"               # <i>
        #Option    "VideoKey"               # <i>
        #Option    "FallbackDebug"          # [<bool>]
        #Option    "Tiling"                 # [<bool>]
        #Option    "LinearFramebuffer"      # [<bool>]
        #Option    "Shadow"                 # [<bool>]
        #Option    "SwapbuffersWait"        # [<bool>]
        #Option    "XvPreferOverlay"        # [<bool>]
        #Option    "DebugFlushBatches"      # [<bool>]
        #Option    "DebugFlushCaches"       # [<bool>]
        #Option    "DebugWait"              # [<bool>]
        #Option    "HotPlug"                # [<bool>]
        #Option    "RelaxedFencing"         # [<bool>]
    Identifier "Card1"
    Driver     "intel"
    BusID   "PCI:1:11:0"
EndSection

Section"Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>:"True"/"False",
        ### <string>:"String", <freq>:"<f> Hz/kHz/MHz",
        ### <percent>:"<f>%"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option    "ShadowFB"               # [<bool>]
        #Option    "Rotate"                 # <str>
        #Option    "fbdev"                  # <str>
        #Option    "debug"                  # [<bool>]
    Identifier "Card2"
    Driver     "fbdev"
    BusID   "PCI:1:11:0"
EndSection

Section"Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>:"True"/"False",
        ### <string>:"String", <freq>:"<f> Hz/kHz/MHz",
        ### <percent>:"<f>%"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option    "ShadowFB"               # [<bool>]
        #Option    "Rotate"                 # <str>
        #Option    "fbdev"                  # <str>
        #Option    "debug"                  # [<bool>]
    Identifier "Card3"
    Driver     "fbdev"
    BusID   "PCI:1:11:0"
EndSection

Section"Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>:"True"/"False",
        ### <string>:"String", <freq>:"<f> Hz/kHz/MHz",
        ### <percent>:"<f>%"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option    "ShadowFB"               # [<bool>]
        #Option    "DefaultRefresh"         # [<bool>]
        #Option    "ModeSetClearScreen"     # [<bool>]
    Identifier "Card4"
    Driver     "vesa"
    BusID   "PCI:1:11:0"
EndSection

Section"Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>:"True"/"False",
        ### <string>:"String", <freq>:"<f> Hz/kHz/MHz",
        ### <percent>:"<f>%"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option    "ShadowFB"               # [<bool>]
        #Option    "DefaultRefresh"         # [<bool>]
        #Option    "ModeSetClearScreen"     # [<bool>]
    Identifier "Card5"
    Driver     "vesa"
    BusID   "PCI:1:11:0"
EndSection

Section"Screen"
    Identifier"Screen0"
    Device    "Card0"
    Monitor   "Monitor0"
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     1
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     4
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     8
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     15
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     16
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section"Screen"
    Identifier"Screen1"
    Device    "Card1"
    Monitor   "Monitor1"
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     1
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     4
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     8
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     15
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     16
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section"Screen"
    Identifier"Screen2"
    Device    "Card2"
    Monitor   "Monitor2"
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     1
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     4
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     8
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     15
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     16
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section"Screen"
    Identifier"Screen3"
    Device    "Card3"
    Monitor   "Monitor3"
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     1
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     4
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     8
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     15
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     16
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section"Screen"
    Identifier"Screen4"
    Device    "Card4"
    Monitor   "Monitor4"
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     1
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     4
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     8
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     15
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     16
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section"Screen"
    Identifier"Screen5"
    Device    "Card5"
    Monitor   "Monitor5"
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     1
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     4
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     8
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     15
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     16
    EndSubSection
    SubSection"Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
    EndSubSection
EndSection
You might notice I inserted the number sign symbol in a couple spots in an attempt to make those small fonts disappear (size 75) but kept 100. It was just a wild shot in the dark which hasn't seemed to help. BTW I'm sending this message using the computer in question and I've never done a code box before so I hope you can read it.
I will try to edit as grub is opening if I can learn how depending on your reply.
Lorraine
Posts: 516
oldhoghead
Site Admin
Joined: 01 Oct 2007
#6
Lorraine,
title antiX at sda1, kernel 2.6.36-1-mepis
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.36-1-mepis root=/dev/sda1 nomce quiet nosplash nouveau.modeset=0 vga=771
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.36-1-mepis
boot
I would change that to vga=792 or 795

cheers,
ohh
Posts: 11
LL028
Joined: 22 May 2011
#7
795 must have been the default when I installed. I found 771 somewhere on a chart and changed it.. I'll try 792 and report back.
Posts: 1,308
BitJam
Joined: 31 Aug 2009
#8
LL028 wrote:for some reason that might be evident from my menu.lst my grub page won't let me edit. usually I can just hit e (in other linux I've tried and I can edit the boot parameters on the fly. I'm afraid to edit grub permanently as I might end up with a black screen.
This seems to be the heart of the problem. Editing Grub entries in antiX should be *easier* than in many other distros because you don't have to type the"e" first. You should be able to immediately type in changes. The grub entry should show up around the bottom 1/4 of the screen. It should be labeled"Boot options" (or something like that).

But if you can't edit entries directly from the Grub menu then you will have to edit your menu.lst or you won't be able to solve your problem. Your fear of making your system unbootable is understandable. There are two things you can do about this. First, make sure you can still boot with the live media (LiveCD or LiveUSB I presume) that you used to install anitX. Write down the device name of the partition that holds your menu.list file. It will be something like /dev/sda1. If your system does become unbootable, you can use the LiveCD to boot anyway and fix menu.lst. Second, when you edit your menu.lst, just make an additional entry without erasing the existing, working entry.

IMO you need to add the"nomodeset" boot parameter before the vga= parameter will have an effect. To increase the font size in the desktop you should use the dpi= boot parameter. I believe the default is around dpi=96. Setting dpi=120 should make the fonts much bigger. This may only work when you are running the LiveCD or LiveUSB in which case you will want to copy /etc/X11/xorg.conf from the LiveCD to your installed system.

IMO one (or more) of the kernel developers lost their minds and decided the default behavior should be to have an illegible screen. I can't imagine why anyone would think this was a good idea. The ton of bug reports about this horrible regression, dating back to 2008 have been ignored.
Posts: 516
oldhoghead
Site Admin
Joined: 01 Oct 2007
#9
Lorraine,
LL028 wrote
Graphics: Card-1: Intel 82810E DC-133 (CGC) Chipset Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:01.0 Card-2: ATI Radeon RV100 QY [Radeon 7000/VE] bus-ID: 01:0b.0 X.Org 1.10.1 Res: 1024x768@75.1hz
I'm not sure how many tweaks you've made on your current install, so this may not be feasible, but evidently you have done a du as the xorg version is 1.10, antiX 11.0 came with 1.9-5, I had a really difficult time getting my nvidia card to work and finally realized that the nvidia drivers were not compatible with version 1.10 so I did a reinstall and pinned xorg to the 1.9-5 version and was then able to install my 96xx drivers and get the correct screen resolution. It is possible that xorg may be the culprit in your case also, so a couple of suggestions, running the live-cd was the resolution acceptable? If so then Bitjam's advice in the previous post may be the solution.
Bitjam wrote
IMO you need to add the"nomodeset" boot parameter before the vga= parameter will have an effect. To increase the font size in the desktop you should use the dpi= boot parameter. I believe the default is around dpi=96. Setting dpi=120 should make the fonts much bigger. This may only work when you are running the LiveCD or LiveUSB in which case you will want to copy /etc/X11/xorg.conf from the LiveCD to your installed system.
Another option is to rename xorg.conf to xorg.bkup and remove any entries from the boot code that pertain to resolution, et, al, (vga=792, nomodeset etc.) and boot and see if you get an acceptable resolution, of course this is only temporary until you actually edit /etc/boot/menu.lst If this renders your system unusable, then reboot and on the boot line add a 3 to the end. You will then boot to a cli, login as root and type:

Code: Select all

mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.old


then

Code: Select all

mv /etc/X11/xorg.confbkup /etc/X11/xorg.conf
then

Code: Select all

reboot

and you will be back where you started, the mv command just renames
Hopefully we will get this resolved for you.

cheers,
ohh
Posts: 11
LL028
Joined: 22 May 2011
#10
root (hd0,0)
Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83
kernel /boot/vm/linuz-2.6.36-1mepis root=/dev/sda1 nomce quiet nosplash nouveau.modeset=0 vga=795
[Linix-bzImage, setup=0x3a00, size=02e5c80]
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.36-1-mepis


I typed this letter by letter from a -quickly flashing by- message I found during boot. Used PAUSE/BREAK key to catch it. Sorry for any typing errors. How can I change setup=0x3a00, size=0x2e5c80

I'm trying to follow to the letter everything suggested and am not making progress. The LIVE CD opening screen is not readable for my eyes on my equipment either. I even updated sgmfi (sp??) as per the suggestion under the topic Resolution Problem although I chose to keep my grub menu. That took at least one hour but I don't notice anything different.
Posts: 516
oldhoghead
Site Admin
Joined: 01 Oct 2007
#11
Lorraine,

Ok, let''s try another tack, do this first:

rename your xorg.conf to xorg.confbkup
then reboot

when you get to the grub menu delete the
nouveau.modeset=o
and replace it with
radeon.modeset=1

you can try it with the vga=795 and if that does not work then try it without

If that fails, well then I hope someone will step up and offer some other option. I have reached the limits of my knowledge about this.

in order to get your xorg.conf back

If this renders your system unusable, then reboot and on the boot line add a 3 to the end. You will then boot to a cli, login as root and type:

Code: Select all

 mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.old

then

Code: Select all

mv /etc/X11/xorg.confbkup /etc/X11/xorg.conf



then

Code: Select all

reboot
cheers,
ohh
Posts: 11
LL028
Joined: 22 May 2011
#12
The screen resolution is NOT changing however I still have a computer working with grub using radeon.modeset=1 and no vga= at all in menu.lst. I've saved that so it shows on boot permanently in the bottom boot option bar. Even with xorg.conf empty in control center the computer will still boot. However if I try to remove NOSPLASH so I can see the console roll by I get dumped into the grub > with the big typeface and have to power down, change boot order in BIOS, power up, insert LiveCD, change Session screen resolution to 1024x768 apply, mount hard drive, Ctrl-Alt-F1, log in as root, nano /mnt/sda1/boot/grub/menu.lst, edit to put back NOSPLASH, save, etc. etc. etc.

Am I the only one who cannot get their screen to run 1024x768 ??

Is there a LiveCD download for the older machines with lower screen resolution built in or somewhere I could ask that feature might be considered ?

I'm still curious about the Bz image setup= line and I really like antiX-M11 for older computers but I think for this little girl I'm going to have to dig deep into my closet and see if there is other hardware I have that I may be able to make her something with maybe Lubuntu or some other lightweight OS. She wears glasses as it is and the way AntiX-M11 is displaying is a deal breaker. I really appreciate all your help and hope freeforums has a PRINT option especially if you tell me everyone else you've helped has been successful changing their screen resolution not just for one session but permanently. That will mean I goofed.
Thanks again.
Lorraine
Posts: 516
oldhoghead
Site Admin
Joined: 01 Oct 2007
#13
Well, let's try this:

append to the boot line xres=1024x768

cheers,
ohh
Posts: 11
LL028
Joined: 22 May 2011
#14
ohh, I'd packed it away before receiving your last msg. Found another machine made some upgrades and downloaded and installed Crunchbang. Same problem so I changed to SLIM which has a feature once you have your desktop set up you can save the session on shutdown and it will re-appear at next boot. At least the little girl will have a machine now. As time passes I'll probably revisit this subject and hopefully figure out how to set the resolution to something NOT the native to the monitor. I suspect since Crunchbang acted the same at first as AntiX-M11 they were both somehow picking up the highest capabilities of the monitor and using that which I couldn't even read. Oh I had to increase the dpi in Crunchbang to around 107 but there was a graphical option available. Thanks again for your patience.
Lorraine
Posts: 516
oldhoghead
Site Admin
Joined: 01 Oct 2007
#15
Well the main thing is that you got a rig for the little girl, that's something I have been thinking about for a while, am going to build my first computer later in June and I have one laptop that's circa 1998, but it runs antix, puppy and aptosid with no trouble, youtube, wpa encryption, just not for gaming. I will probably give it to one of the kids I tutor at our Church library.

Hope to see you back here.

cheers,
ohh