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45 Comments
- trogdoor, on 10/11/2007, -0/+24The skill of editing your xorg.conf is fast becoming obsolete with new versions of Xorg. Even in Xorg 7.2 for the majority of configurations it isn't even needed. I was trying to make an installation on an external drive that I could take and boot with from any computer so I tried making a quick and dirty script to reconfigure X at every boot. With one minor modification I noticed that it suddenly started working much better than it had before even though the change really shouldn't have mattered much, it turned out that my script wasn't better, I had simply added a bug which deleted the xorg.conf at which point when X tried to start it realized there was none and detected what hardware there was available and just worked. So I deleted my script and I just kept it without an xorg.conf. In Ubuntu Gutsy with the inclusion of xorg 7.3 they are already phasing out use of the xorg.conf:
"If the system looks okay for Xorg autoconfiguration, during installation write an xorg.conf file that omits the monitor, graphic device, and screen sections.... Current xorg in debian-unstable has removed the need for Modules and Fonts, rest is on the horizon"
from: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Xorg7%2e3Integration
It may still be useful for settings which aren't required configuration but rather personal preference but I don't think that will last long either as changes to your xorg.conf are only applied when you restart X whereas dynamic preferences could be applied in the current session. - pxa270, on 10/11/2007, -1/+18"Users who think nothing of editing /etc/fstab or /etc/hosts.allow will shy away from xorg.conf for fear of breaking their systems,"
What kind of nonsense is that?
cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak
If anything breaks: Ctrl-Alt-Backspace (usually not even required as the X-server won't start), cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak /etc/X11/xorg.conf
OTOH, if you hose your /etc/fstab you'll have to digg out a boot CD to restore the machine. - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -1/+13Xorg 7.3 supports hotplugging. This is no longer needed.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8you're a primate too, as a member of the ***** sapiens sapiens subspecies.
- schestowitz, on 10/11/2007, -2/+8This is actually useful in case you have a bizarre setup of display arrays (which a GUI/front end was not built to support), but also if you have an ATI card... I'll admit that Ubuntu's detection of monitors is still awfully poor compared to other distros (and no... I post this from a Ubuntu PC at the moment).
- MBHoy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Stop the abuse, people. Just yesterday a friend of mine needed help with his Xorg.conf file, this is a valuable resource to have bookmarked until 7.3 becomes mainstream and we never have to edit it again. ;)
- trogdoor, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FixVideoResolutionHowto#head-b26796d178114bd3fdea5600480d8ab3137274d1
- gutistg, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Yes, but he called us ***** primates. The difference then must be that he isn't getting any.
- bmartin, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Not only is that annoying tidbit there, but you often can't "force" Ubuntu to set the resolution you want in your xorg.conf file (it didn't work in Edgy, either). If you put in 24-bit 1280x1024 as the ONLY available resolution, that's no guarantee that X will display in that resolution. Ubuntu has a mind of its own. dpkg-reconfigure, however, will set the desired resolution... why bother with hand-editing if it doesn't work?
This isn't the same as other distros. In Gentoo, if I set my screen to a certain resolution in X.org, it shows me that resolution. - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Maybe if your like me, in ubuntu you become familer with editing the x org very often, because of this " nvidia version doesn't match your kernel version" you have to purge the whole system of nvidia and then reinstall.
- antdude, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3That won't work if you can't get into X. :P
- cdmarcus, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3hint: sudo aptitude install linux-generic
It'll automatically keep the nvidia and the kernel version matched. However, this is only if you use the generic kernel (which is the default in everything above 6.10.) To check, use "uname -r" and see if it says generic or something else. - trogdoor, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Install the correct drivers ( Note: if you have an ATI card there aren't necessarily "correct", because all of the drivers are sub-optimal, but "fglrx" or "ati" should give reasonable performance )
- mightyzug, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2i was about to post the same thing... this is absolute ***** rubbish. i am far from being linux savvy. i don't know ***** / wouldn't even attempt to edit /etc/fstab without proper geek supervision. xorg.conf is child's play, even for a dumbass like me :)
buried as lame. - trogdoor, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Install 915resoultion or the new -intel driver
- deadowl, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2You forget that Ubuntu adds in Wacom devices when you don't have them, and it pops up an error when trying to connect them because they're not there. That's annoying, so I removed it. I also have to modify it when I do fresh installs because it doesn't properly detect my video settings quite yet.
- xrenjrvt, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I need Intel widescreen support on Ubuntu.
- trogdoor, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2That is not an Xorg.conf issue, that is an issue you get from using Nvidia's installer instead of the packages Ubuntu provides, Ubuntu's packages are updated whenever a new kernel is updated, Nvidia's installer does not do that.
- deadowl, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1So I don't have to use the 915resolution hack if I have this new intel driver that was released when? Please tell more.
- trogdoor, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Really? When you upgrade your kernel do the nvidia drivers magically get recompiled? No, you recompile them. I understand that you want to do things your way but it is obvious that digitallysick does not understand how these things work so he doesn't know he just needs to recompile the drivers every time there is a kernel upgrade. Because of that I am guessing that he would rather that things worked automatically. Like I said, Nvidia's installer does not do that, and it cannot because it is separate from the package management system with which his kernel is upraded. And as for having headers installed, just install build-essential and stop complaining, if you even know what headers are then you are more than competent enough to install 1 package with apt.
- msgyrd, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1usually if X is crashing because of video drivers, just: "sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf" scroll down to the screen section and change the driver from "nvidia" to "nv". That usually lets you get back into X, sans 3D acceleration.
- trogdoor, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Xorg is Xorg, no matter what distribution you are running, the same xorg.conf on the same machine should work across distros. My guess is that you did not have the correct *driver* set in your Xorg.conf, in which case X cannot magically give you a resolution higher than that driver supports, alternatively the refresh rates could have been set wrong, but that is no longer required in Xorg 7.3 so that shouldn't be a problem in the future.
( By the way, dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg Only modifies your xorg.conf, nothing more. ) - msgyrd, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1That depends on how bad you "hose" your fstab. If you just add new stuff to it incorrectly, usually it will throw an error at startup but continue (I messed up a fstab entry to automount a samba share at boot once, it was recoverable). If you mess up your primary partitions though, you're going to need a livecd.
- georgtsipot, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1not this way mate
- msgyrd, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I think it has to do with Ubuntu's restricted driver management. I've ran into that problem before where changed I made to the file are disregarded (but still intact).
- Megatog615, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Is there an entry in xorg.conf that allows me to force vsync on for everything?
Tired of my videos ripping on the screen. - tech42er, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Did you happen to notice that many of these comments are from Ubuntu users?
- dtwwtd, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1This was really helpful to someone somewhat new to linux.
- dschep, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Agreed. I wrote my xorg.conf file to have 5 server layouts I could choose from ( I have an lcd & a crt ):
nVidia twinview
xinerama
2 xservers
just the lcd
just the crt
it doesn't handle that sort of thing automatically ( I really only have the 2 xservers & xinerama options cause I wrote those before I got twinview to work) - kahrn, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1If you don't like the xorg.conf file, then dpkg --reconfigure xserver-xorg will rerun the configuration routine and write it for you. Personally I'm more afraid of messing up my drives or my grub config than my xorg config.
- mitrovarr, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1This article is unhelpful. The problem with editing xorg.conf isn't finding your way around, it's getting documentation for the syntax so you can actually make meaningful statements. For example, the author lists "compose:rwin, grp:lwin" as using the right and left windows keys for compose and altgraph. Well, that's great if I'm trying to do specifically that, but it doesn't help tell me how to bind any other key to any other purpose - I'd have to have a list of valid keys and a list of valid functions to do that. Where does one find that?
Basically, it needs to have instructions on how to construct functional syntax in each of these sections. Just listing them really doesn't help.
A list of x modules (like the article said, the documentation is terrible) and drivers would be nice as well. - poofyhairguy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1This is great advice. Personally I have made a single highly modified (to support dual screen and Compiz goodness on two monitors) Xorg file that I save off the computer and reload every time I set up my machine (or a friends with Nvidia hardware). That is probably the only thing this lacks, is NVIDIA info.
- ender42081, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0TLDR, but maybe I can finally get my 3 monitors on 2 differant video cards (2 seperate ATI families) going properly under linux. for those that scoff, ubuntu's config system, and debians, plus the xorg.conf editing skills of a gentoo-head failed badly a few months ago. I SO tried.
- Zarafyan, on 02/11/2008, -0/+0It's very useful if you have a bizarre setup of display arrays
http://www.emergencysoft.com - atmodiws, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Why is it that every weekend guides for different stuff in *nix makes it to the frontpage? Is everyone who usually diggs up "Cute kitten pets a frog", "Sarah Michelle Gellar gets a titty tan" and similar subjects doing something else?
- georgtsipot, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0If X cant be started, dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg and you choose the nv driver. But the whole point is that if you parse the xorg.conf from the nvidia-settings menu, you CAN'T make a mistake, since it's automatically configured. Wake up.
- cliffordp, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0i totally agree : dpkg --reconfigure xserver-xorg is the safe way to do it !
- Thehound666, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0I would not try that with proprietary drivers just yet. It WILL fail with newer ATI cards. It's not xorg's fault, it's the fact proprietary drivers are still a bit behind and rely heavily on this file. I'm thinking of making a full guide for tweaking this file for ATI, since so many say fglrx does not work properly and I have a very new card running nicely :) I guess it'd be worth doing if it helps the community. NVidia seems to fail too without the file though its drivers are a bit more evolved and rely on fewer parameters. xorg.conf is definitely worth playing with though. just do a cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /home/user/xorg.conf and have a ball. If your X server fails, reboot into recovery mode and do a cp /home/user/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf Have fun!
- graigsmith, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0HMM. i wonder how well this will work with my wacom tablet. i know i have to enter some text and stuff for my wacom tablet.
- georgtsipot, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0Or using the autoconfiguring command from recovery. (debian)
Nvidia-settings has an automatic configuring feature. You use the GUI, and you watch how the configuring options are parsed to the xorg.conf You the press save, and you restart your X. Piece of cake - Irimi, on 10/11/2007, -5/+2sounds complicated.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1What? I can shut my computer off lately ; ) I even learned how to set up my email account from my Internet people....What was all that about?
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1any idea how to increase FPS in 3d?
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -7/+1What? I can shut my computer off these days, and I know how to set up email...what's all that about?
- bytecolor, on 10/11/2007, -11/+1nothing to it, READ, you ***** primates.
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