How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

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McLovin

How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by McLovin »

I have noticed alot of ppl having issues getting the Nvidia resolution set properly, and get them to stick after you reboot. I have not seen anyone post this solution, so I will.
This is the easiest way of getting everything working right, and it is all done through a GUI, no need to mess with xorg.conf file manually, so it is ideal for Linux noobs.
Ok, ready? Let's get started.

Firstly, if this is a new Mint install, run all updates before installing the vidio drivers to avoid having to reinstall them due to a kernel update

First, to install the drivers, i recommend using EnvyNG, if you are using Mint6, you will not have a gui for it, so do this, open a terminal and enter

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sudo envyng -t
, this will open EnvyNG in text mode
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if you are on Mint5, then you have a gui for EnvyNG, just select it from the menu,
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and then install the drivers for your card, most like just use the recommended ones. after the install, reboot your computer.

If you decide you want to install the drivers manually, (I DO NOT recommend this for new users) you can download the drivers at the Nvidia web site, or if you want the beta drivers, you can go to the Nvidia Advanced Driver Search and get the betas. Download the drivers you want/need, and place them in your home folder, I recommend renaming them to something easy to remember, as the name is long, (NVIDIA-Linux-x86-177.82-pkg1.run) and you have to type it in a console to use it, (I rename mine to n.run for example). then, once all that is done, open a terminal and enter this

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sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop
this will drop you out to a command line interface. you will want to change to another "virtual console" so that you can enter commands, to do this hit "alt+F1", you will be asked for a login, just enter your login info, and you will then be able to enter the commands you need to.
Now once logged in, you want to install the drivers, cd to where you saved the the driver install, eg: if you saved it to you Desktop, you enter

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cd /home/<your user name>/Desktop
replace <your user name> with, well, your user name. then install the driver, this is where making sure you renamed the file comes in handy, if you renamed it like I did, it is easy to do.
To install the driver enter this into the command line

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sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-177.82-pkg1.run
or if you renamed it to n.run, like I did you would enter

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sudo sh n.run
this will install the Nvidia drivers for you, just follow the instructions on the screen. once the install completes, enter

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sudo reboot
and the computer will reboot.

Once your system reboots, login as usual. You will notice that your resolution is set at 800x600, this is an easy fix.
Hit alt+F2, and enter this

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gksu nvidia-settings
this will open the nvidia settings dialogue in root mode, (you need to do this in root mode to save the settings you are about to make).
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In the menu on the left, select "X Server Display Configuration",
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then in the main pain, you will see an option for resolution,
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set that to whatever your screen resolution should be through the drop-down menu, and hit apply.
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Then a box will come up asking if you would like to keep the current settings, if they are correct, just select ok. once all this is done, click on "Save to X Configuration File"
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a dialogue box will come up, just select ok to everything in there. Now your settings have been saved to your xorg.conf, and you didn't have to do any dirty config inside the file, it is all done for you through a gui, and now when you reboot, your settings will be the same as you just set them to. I hope this helps.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
Husse

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by Husse »

Nice - but I thought you were more into ATI cards...
Anyway - does this look familiar?
http://www.linuxmint.com/forum/viewtopi ... =42&t=3908
And you don't have to worry about long names - you can autocomplete - just type a letter or two and hit tab
McLovin

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by McLovin »

I was using ATI for a long time, and still do in my laptop, but my desktop card is now an Nvidia.
bobsmith

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by bobsmith »

Thank you McLovin! I had no idea that I had to open the nvidia settings dialogue in root mode. That's why my settings weren't sticking. Plus I didn't know how to install Nvidia drivers manually. I use Envy, but one never knows when I might need to do it manually, so I saved your instructions. This is EXACTLY the type of help those of us who are switching over from XP need - with very specific step-by-step, exact commands, and even screen-shots. It is greatly appreciated.
McLovin

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by McLovin »

are you sure you are running nvidia-settings as root?
Original Post wrote: Once your system reboots, login as usual. You will notice that your resolution is set at 800x600, this is an easy fix.
Hit alt+F2, and enter this

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gksu nvidia-settings
McLovin

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by McLovin »

this is the reason,

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Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce4 Ti 4600"
EndSection
That card is a legacy card, Im not positive, but I think the config works a bit differently for legacy.
Instead of using the nvidia-settings, try using screen resolution in the system menu.
MikeA36

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by MikeA36 »

Thanks! I have been looking for an answer to this annoying problem for months with no luck.. come to this forum, and bam.. find it with ease. You guys rock, and Mint 7 is sweet! :)
denyu

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by denyu »

this will open the nvidia settings dialogue in root mode, (you need to do this in root mode to save the settings you are about to make).
I Know it might be sound silly but how to open Nvdia setting dialogue in root mode ? I cannot save my xconf file... just hit ALT-F2 type gksu nvdia-setting ?
McLovin

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by McLovin »

Hit alt+F2, and enter this

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gksu nvidia-settings
denyu

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by denyu »

I don't know seems notworking but the problem solved I re-write xconf file thanks anyway
arboon

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by arboon »

I recently installed Mint 7 on my desktop and simply cannot get my resolution above 800x600. When I install the recommended Nvidia driver (for Geforce MX 400) is gets even worse, the highest is 640x400. I have been browsing through the forum for so may day snow and I can't get it to work on a higher res. A pain in the neck, since I really like Mint, but this annoys me so much I think of getting back to OpenSuse. I followed the instructions above, tried other drivers, but I don't get a higher res to choose from than 640x400. I don't have a KVM switch or anything. Is there any solution? Many thanks.
arboon

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by arboon »

Hi Mark
I saw your post. Your xorg.conf is exactly as mine. It sux indeed, but I have found out that this problem is not uncommon for Nvidia cards. I have read a lot last weeks about these res probs with Mint and Ubuntu and Nvidia cards. I have no clue why this seems to be a nvidia-specific problem. I tried so many things, rewriting xorg.conf, installing different drivers, changing bootloader...nothings works under this distro. A loss for Mint, because otherwise I really like it. I will buy a new laptop shortly, with another graphic card likely, and see if Mint will install with a better res than 800x600. If not, I will go back to opensuse-gnome which worked fine with my old nvidia-card. Anyway, XP still is a good option (oops don't say this out loud at Linux fundies), but start up time and closing is so time consuming. Good luck with your quest, and if you find a solution, please post it here.
Best
Arjen
arboon

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by arboon »

Hi Reda
I have not found any solution to this problem. In my case, the res was stuck at 800x600 max. When I started the Live CD in my laptop instead of desktop (where I installed Mint), it did gave a max res of 1024x720. When I installed the proper driver for this card, it got even worse, 640x400 max....This considering, I think it has something to do with the proper detection of the monitor (which in my case did not work, I have really no clue why). However, strangely enough, I can not force Mint to a higher resolution (in startup options or xconfig.org e.g.), which everyone ususally states is THE solution. In the other forums which I have read, comparable problems persist wityh older NVidia cards and ATI cards.
For me, my solution was to change to another distro (Open Suse, which I had installed earlier, but this is a personal choice which may not apply to you). Although I also really like Mint, probably this is something "they" have not yet solved and I think will not solve. Our graphic cards are simply not compatible, but again, why, I have no idea. My advice would be to change to another distro instead of wasting much time on (not) finding a solution.

In Windows, my minimum res is 800x600!!! I can go much higher than 1024x720. So it is not the monitor (of course it is not), it is the driver in combination with the program. Maybe someone did find a solution, but I did not find it. Changing software for the X-screen never worked in my case anyway.

Best luck.
Arjen
gcampton

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by gcampton »

you may want to add that after install, deleting you config file and rebooting the OS can fix resolution problems that persist past driver upgrade.

may want to suggest simply moving the config from /etc/X11/ to home folder to check if it works. and or renaming the file.
kurmanah

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by kurmanah »

None of this options worked for me :( I did everything exactly the same. This is my xorg:

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Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Files"
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load           "dbe"
    Load           "extmod"
    Load           "type1"
    Load           "freetype"
    Load           "glx"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Mouse0"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "Protocol" "auto"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Keyboard0"
    Driver         "kbd"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Unknown"
    HorizSync       28.0 - 33.0
    VertRefresh     43.0 - 72.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection
System change screen resolution hasn't worked and also when I put gksu nvidia-settings under root, I get information: "You do not appear to be using the NVIDIA X driver. Please edit your X configuration file (just run `nvidia-xconfig` as root), and restart the X server." So what should I change?
Husse

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by Husse »

You do not appear to be using the NVIDIA X driver.
Maybe you are using the open source driver nv
This is valid only after you have installed the restricted nvidia drivers
kurmanah

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by kurmanah »

I get information: You do not appear to be using the NVIDIA X driver. Please edit your X configuration file (just run `nvidia-xconfig` as root), and restart the X server.
I have nvidia-glx-180 installed. Is that right driver?
Husse

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by Husse »

Is that right driver?
Please check with nvidia - list of cards here
The first section is for the 18x driver
I need to know which card you have to be able to answer
kurmanah

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by kurmanah »

Husse wrote: Please check with nvidia - list of cards here
The first section is for the 18x driver
I need to know which card you have to be able to answer
Presario V6500 Notebook PC
NVIDIA GeForce 7150M / nForce 630M
kurmanah

Re: How to get Nvidia Cards Reolution set

Post by kurmanah »

I have no problems with resolution under Ubuntu. Now I try Mint on usb pendrive maybe that's why I have the problem....?
Locked

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