I can't set up Red Hat Linux's Gui. What am I dooing wrong?

UglyCasanova

Lifer
Mar 25, 2001
19,275
1,361
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I have been trying to install Red Hat Linux 7.3 and I can get the login and command stuff going text wise, but when I run Xconfigurator it goes through it, goes and probes my video card, ask me the resolution and color depth I want, and then goes to a screen like it was trying to show it and crashes. All I get is a screen with alot of lines, colors, and noise. I have reinstalled it 3 times trying to get it to work, using both 7.2 and 7.3, but I always get this screen full of noise and I can't do anything else so I am forced to turn it off. I think it may be my video card driver. I have a PCI Radeon 32mb sdram in it. It chose Radeon generic for the driver. Could this be my problem?
 

n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
42,936
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Are you sure you are putting the right refresh and whatnot in there? Try using XF86Config or XF86Setup, whichever one you arent using now.
 

TheOmegaCode

Platinum Member
Aug 7, 2001
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The part where you said noise scares me. Is it a noise coming from your monitor?
If Xconfigurator doesn't work, try XFree86 -configure. Then copy ~/XF86Config.bak to wherever your current XF86Config file is.
 

UglyCasanova

Lifer
Mar 25, 2001
19,275
1,361
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Originally posted by: TheOmegaCode
The part where you said noise scares me. Is it a noise coming from your monitor?
If Xconfigurator doesn't work, try XFree86 -configure. Then copy ~/XF86Config.bak to wherever your current XF86Config file is.

No, not noise as in sound, but just random crap on the screen. I will try that, and hope it works :)
 

drag

Elite Member
Jul 4, 2002
8,708
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if you are having random stuff on your screen there are 2 things I think they may be.

The video card isn't the video card you think it is and you are using the wrong drivers.. Which is unlikely..

Or your virtical and horizontal rates are wrong for your monitor...

I think that you should eliminate as many possiblities for trouble. I would use XF86Config program and select "generic vga" for your card and when it asks you for you monitor type select custom refresh rates. Select the least rates amounts and eliminate all the video resolutions except 680x480 and 16bit color...

THAT should get it to work even thought it would not be good looking. If that doesn't work I don't know what to do.

once you get that work than go in baby steps. Run X86Config program again and select the proper vid driver and repeat above.

Then if that works find out what the proper refresh rates are for your monitor and try those then the resolutions. If you take it a step at a time then you can whittle your way down to the proper problem, trial and error like. (don't worry about the keyboard and mouse stuff and it also asks a couple strange questions about things that I have no idea about, just pick usa 105 keyboard, the proper mouse, and defualts for every thing you don't know and you'll be fine)

X can be a bit frustrating when it doesn't work right off the bat, however it is fairly simple to get running once you understand how the drivers are set up and the /etc/X11/XF86config file is arranged.

TIP: windows drivers for monitors are simply text files that have the refresh rates in them for each type of monitor from that specific manufacturer, you can sometimes go into the driver file (if you can find it) and open it using notepad (<--- best microsoft proggy) and view it. Otherwise the best way is to lookup the refresh rates in you monitor's owner's manual (you got that don't you???) or find them out on the manufacture's website or elsewhere on the internet.
 

matheusber

Senior member
Jun 12, 2001
380
5
81
as you've said RH 7.3, this is XFree4.x and then you can use xf86cfg / xf86config, on of these is console based the other has a gui ... ( for me this gui just works when the console is NOT in Framebuffer mode ). so you can use one of these ...

1 31.5; Standard VGA, 640x480 @ 60 Hz
2 31.5 - 35.1; Super VGA, 800x600 @ 56 Hz
3 31.5, 35.5; 8514 Compatible, 1024x768 @ 87 Hz interlaced (no 800x600)
4 31.5, 35.15, 35.5; Super VGA, 1024x768 @ 87 Hz interlaced, 800x600 @ 56 Hz
5 31.5 - 37.9; Extended Super VGA, 800x600 @ 60 Hz, 640x480 @ 72 Hz
6 31.5 - 48.5; Non-Interlaced SVGA, 1024x768 @ 60 Hz, 800x600 @ 72 Hz
7 31.5 - 57.0; High Frequency SVGA, 1024x768 @ 70 Hz
8 31.5 - 64.3; Monitor that can do 1280x1024 @ 60 Hz
9 31.5 - 79.0; Monitor that can do 1280x1024 @ 74 Hz
10 31.5 - 82.0; Monitor that can do 1280x1024 @ 76 Hz
mine is 7, but 6 allways worked for me ... then try it ... after you have

1 50-70
2 50-90
3 50-100
4 40-150


and you pick 1 ...

just this ... ( i'm using xf86config in text mode )

anything ...

matheus