This evening I'm making an appeal to all the Linux users in the audience. I configured my Intel box to dual boot XP and Fedora — no big deal really the Penguin did it for me.
About two weeks ago I purchased a new monitor, plugged it in and whamo I get a nice pixelated pink pattern on the screen when booting into Linux. I assume this is happening because the new monitor is DVI and the open source OS doesn't know how to talk to it.
What can I do to recover short of deleting the entire install and starting over from scratch?
Join the fray by reading through and commenting at the end.
You may need to divulge your graphics card model number. It sounds like you are correct and the Linux driver for your video card isn't driving the monitor correctly.
And this happens only in Linux (it must be, as you didn't mention it happens in XP)?
Yes it only happens in Linux - XP is working fine. The video card is a Nvidia GeForce FX 5200, but keep in mind I've had that all along.
Have you tried booting to the console (if you're using lilo, run "linux 3" at the lilo prompt) and running Fedora's X configuration tool? (I think this is system-config-display, though I'm not running Fedora so I'm not entirely sure.) That's probably the first thing to try, and it might do the trick. If not, I would bet that someone has put together an XF86Config file that will have the right combination of settings for your video card and monitor.
I had some problems with older monitors when the horizontal/vertical sync is too high. Maybe this is what happened to you?
First step is booting linux in non-graphical mode. Most of the newer distributions are booting even the console with a frame buffer screen at a higher resolution. You have to start the system at runlevel 3, take a look at http://www.webservertalk.com/message244296.html
I agree. Boot to the console and reconfigure xwindows.
Does the ATI card also have a standard VGA port? If so, you could use that to load Fedora and then modify it to work with the DVI port.
From the information you've given us it's hard to say if you're having troubles with the new monitor or if it's a driver problem with the DVI port.
Using the standard vga port instead of the DVI port as a temporarily is a good suggestion. The last time I used Linux was about a year ago with RedHat 9 I believe there was graphical tool that made changes to you X config file. That might be all you need to try.
I'm hesitant to suggest that you use any of the command line tools for configuring your X-Server. All me experiences using those are pretty bad. Here are some questions:
-Did you use the included driver for your video card or did you download it from NVidia?
- Are you using the same resolution with your new monitor you were with the old one? You may be trying to run it in at a refresh rate that it won't display properly.
-Can you use a standard VGA cable with your new monitor. That would help eliminate whether or not the trouble is with the DVI port or the new monitor. Hopefully, it's not a combination of the two.
Congratulations on the new monitor. I help a friend at work set one up and was really impressed with the picture.
While I agree with everything said so far, I do have one question. Are you running dual head? I don't know about everyone else, but could never get dual to ever work right in X at all.
Also if you so happen to have a spare montior hanging around I would suggested hooking them both up, as this will make that task infinitely quicker and you run less of a chance of bending pins (which i have done more than a couple of times :) ) when switching ports.
Also how old is your DVI monitor? Most newer monitors will tell you if the h-sync and v-sync are off. Usually saying something to the effect of "out of range V-freq: XXXX H-freq:XXXX"
My best guess like the ones above is the drivers. Sounds like Linux started the card but didn't complete the all the codes to tell it to start the DVI part. Also like it got half way there. (Glorously Vague isn't it :) )
I don't run that distro, but in Red Hat, what I would do is boot into single user mode and run redhat-config-x86 or whatever the similar program would be on your system.
I realize this isn't very specific, but that's what I'd do.
I'd say it's definitely not the DVI or the gfx card specifically, sounds more like a configuration issue. At home, I'm currently running dual 19" dell monitors (1901FPs) on two Geforce FX5200's (one AGP, one PCI), both running on the DVI port. Now, occassionally I get some "sparkly pixels" on the PCI-driven screen, but a quick off->on cycle on that monitor fixes it. That, by my best guess, is more of an actual board-level component issue (cheap card, probably crappy components). Eventually I'm going to replace them both with a Dual-DVI-out AGP card, hopefully that'll help.
i think you should put your computer under your pillow when you go to sleep tonight. then when you wake up you'll have learned the problem through the powers of osmosis. it works for my ps2 when i come up against a boss fight i can't beat in any final fantasy game.
Just FYI, here's a copy of my current XF86Config file, if it helps in any way. It should be noted that for the dual-screen, I'm using Xinerama, and not Twinview.
http://www.goldendance.com/dualXF86Config.txt
Thanks for the help guys. I just spent the weekend working/finishing three projects. I will go through your suggestions and report back in a few days. Although I don't think I'll sleep with the PC, that would hurt like hell.
Just sell it all and buy a machine that runs OS X.