[vox-tech] Robin Snyder's problems configuring X4 on workstation

[Peter Jay Salzman]

begin Robin Snyder <resnyder@ucdavis.edu> 
> Sorry Pete.  I'm getting help from multiple sources, which makes the story
> hard to follow.  Here's the story as it stands right now.
> 
> I've tried two different methods to configure X4.  Each results in a
> different set of problems.
> 
> 1.  XFree86 -configure.  This results in screen flicker and fonts that are
> too small, not just in terminal windows but throughout the desktop.
> Netscape also sometimes displays webpages as a mess of colored lines.  (I
> may be able to see the site normally at first.  The mess sometimes occurs
> when I try to enlarge the window, to better read the microscopic fonts.)
 

try to cycle through video modes:

control alt +  (the number pad +)
control alt -  (the number pad -)

see if that helps.

and get rid of netscape.  you can do MUCH better than netscape.

> First, fonts.  I think X can't find some fonts, which means that I'm
> forced to use microscopic fonts.  I believe this because startx gives me
> the error message
> 
> Could not init font path element /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo/,
> removing from list!
> 
> (I think it complains about another font as well--I forget which.)  I have
> checked and Speedo is where it is supposed to be.

addressed this.

> Second, flicker.  XFree86 -configure correctly records my horizontal and
> vertical scan ranges, which are 30-97 and 50-160, respectively.

ok, now that's more like what i was expecting.

> However,
> the configuration file it produces doesn't have the usual 1600x1200 @ 77Hz
> type entries that I'm accustomed to, so I can't fiddle with those.
> Indeed, it only seems to produce a single mode.  I've tried cycling
> through modes with ctrl-alt-minus, but I only get the one mode.  I will
> append the config file from XFree86 -configure at the end of this.
 
ah.  ok.

> 2. dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86.  This is the other way I've tried to
> configure X4.  This method has no flicker, now that I've gone through the
> advanced setup, and the desktop font size seems reasonable, but
> gnome-terminal crashes with a floating point exception.

just out of curiosity, did you google for the problem?  the first
avenue of attack is always google groups.

if you can't google it, you might want to file a bug report against
gnome-terminal.  i just checked bugs.debian.org and couldn't find
anything that sounded like your problem.

> For some reason,
> netscape also opens in a window that is bigger than my screensize--so
> large I can't get to the corner that would allow my to resize the window.
> I'm not sure what's up with that.

the best thing to do here is to uninstall netscape and forget it ever
existed.  there's really no reason to use that piece of garbage.

but if you REALLY want to use it, do this:

$ mv $HOME/.netscape $HOME/dot-netscape
$ netscape

i highly recommend opera and mozilla.

> I'm not getting flicker because this configuration method lets me specify
> horizontal and vertical refresh rates explicitly and lets me choose valid
> modes.  I've checked on the web to see what modes I'm capable of
> (1600x1200@77, 1280x1024@90, 1024x768@118, 800x600@148), so I know those
> are correct.
 
see below.

> I have no idea what's up with netscape, although my instinct tells me that
> this problem may have more to do with netscape than with my configuration.
 
wash that browser right out of your hair!
ya gotta wash that browser right out of your hair!




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

into this:

  Section "Screen"

  	 Identifier   "Screen0"
  	 Device       "Card0"
  	 Monitor      "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth 16

  	 SubSection "Display"
  	 	Depth     8
      Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
  	 EndSubSection

  	 SubSection "Display"
  	 	Depth     16
      Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
  	 EndSubSection

  	 SubSection "Display"
  	 	Depth     24
      Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
  	 EndSubSection

  EndSection


what i've done:

1. format it better.  most people underestimate the importance of good
formatting.

2. got rid of completely useless color modes.

3. gave you a default color depth of 16.

4. added a bunch of modes to each color depth.  the first mode listed
"1600x1200" is the default resolution.  when you press ctl-alt-+, you go
down the list.  conversely, ctl-alt-- goes up the list.



as per rick's murphy statement, be prepared to hit ctl-alt-backspace in
case the website you got these modes from lied and the speed of the
electron gun hits a resonance frequency that makes the monitor explode.
(that was humor).

lastly, back up your existing file, just in case i screwed up here.

pete

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