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View Full Version : how to get modlines from windows98?


Piotr5
11-18-02, 05:16 AM
I already posted this to comp.os.linux.x without any response.
maybe I'll have better luck here, even though it'S less fitting:

I've compiled
my new XFree4.2.1 (didn't work with my Geforce4) and
installed the NVIDIA-driver. works great, except for one
little thing: the maximum resolution which displays is
640x480, but in windows my old monitor is able to get
800x600. now I would like to get it working at a higher
resolution before I buy a new monitor (dual-head?), or
else I will just give up -- as far as I know myself...

as mentioned, the resolution used by XFree86 is outside
of the range of my monitor, making me doubt that I did
set it up correctly. I see a picture, but it is out of
sync as if it would have used something outside of the
monitor's capabilities. I have a PRO 6CM3209 from PHILIPS
as written on the front, but I don'T have the specs.
with my ati mach64 I had the possibility to experiment
with the frame-buffer-console and noticed that while
it did work perfectly with a HorizSync of 30-33 at 640x480,
it just refused to work in the same range when I used
the "-hsync high" option of fbset together with the
"-vsync high" option (each for itself did work), instead
it then did work within a range of 36.5-39.5, and that's
how my ati-card managed to display 800x600 on the fb-server
of the old XF-3.3.6: I just put both ranges into the config.
this configuration doesn't work with XFree4, and without
any mod-lines in the logs I really don't know why. especially
I really don'T know why my monitor would display in one
range with the one configuration and at another one with
a different mod-line, and why XF86Config doesn't offer the
possibility to give information to that effect.

but the time for experiments is over, and I would like to
get a display of the same type as in windows. is there a
program which does create mod-lines from within windows?
I've heard about such a thing, but don't know where.
anyone having an url?

also, once I have the mod-line, will it be sufficient to
put it into my monitor-section, or is there something more
I have to do in order to prevent XFree-4.2.1 from using
all the other possibilities for this resolution?

I already tried limiting the HorizSync to the hsync-values
given in the old XF86Config example-file (as generated by
xf86config of the old xfree-3.3.6) in the mod-line-comments,
but none did work...

Jeremy Bear
11-18-02, 09:24 AM
I attach some information on how to convert standard VESA timings (in the format used by Windows) to XF86 modelines. Thanks to Shane Chen for this: his website appears to be down just now, but I have captured the relevant bits on a GIF image.

Cheers,

Jeremy

Piotr5
12-09-02, 07:27 AM
many many thanks for this great info! Now I'll try to get
dual-display working. so far only the monitor attached on
the dvi-port did display and upon exit it did stay that way.
(i.e. after booting both did display the same and after X
was started only one did work), but that isn'T unusual since
I didn'T change the configuration-files yet...

Jeremy Bear
12-09-02, 08:04 AM
You may also find this link useful:

http://www.monitorworld.com/monitors_home.html

(A monitor database where you can find out the correct values to use for Vertical and Horizontal Refresh rates).

Good luck!