Need to force monitor size to 1920x1080 60Hz under Slackware 14.2
by GreyBeard from LinuxQuestions.org on (#4XPVW)
Hi,
I've been using an LG 1920x1080 60 Hz, flat screen monitor with VGA from an Intel Atom SBC running Slackware 14.2 for some time now. When I start the Atom up it takes a while to correctly size the screen output to the monitor, and that happens sometime during setting up KDE, but it does eventually get the size right.
Recently I acquired another computer and expect to get more. The new machine has only an HDMI monitor output whereas the old machine has only a VGA output. The LG monitor has both a VGA and an HDMI input.
I want to be able to switch back and forth using a KVM, but the KVM I bought has only HDMI inputs, not VGA, so I bought a VGA-to-HDMI converter to link my old machine's output to the KVM. I did check to make sure the VGA-to-HDMI converter could handle 1920x1080 60 Hz and the documentation says it can. The new machine linked to the monitor via the KVM works fine. The old machine linked to the monitor via the VGA-to-HDMI converter and the KVM gets the screen size wrong. Since I know the old machine can handle the screen when connected directly via the VGA port, I figure that the problem must be that the VGA-to-HDMI converter is somehow blocking the configuration information which the software needs to get the size right.
I've tried KDE's System Settings --> Display And Monitor but it only shows (I guess) default sizes, 1024x768 and smaller.
Then I looked in /var/log/Xorg.0.log and it says:
[115.870] (==) Using system config directory "/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d"
[115.900] (==) No Layout section. Using the first Screen section.
[115.900] (==) No screen section available. Using defaults.
[115.900] (**) |-->Screen "Default Screen Section" (0)
[115.900] (**) | |-->Monitor "<default monitor>"
[115.900] (==) No monitor specified for screen "Default Screen Section".
Using a default monitor configuration.
Which leads me to believe that the converter is blocking configuration info. HOWEVER, xrander says this:
atomik $?=1> xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1024 x 768, maximum 32767 x 32767
VGA1 connected primary 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
1024x768 60.00*
800x600 60.32 56.25
848x480 60.00
640x480 59.94
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
"1920x1080_60.00" (0x13c) 173.000MHz -HSync +VSync
h: width 1920 start 2048 end 2248 total 2576 skew 0 clock 67.16KHz
v: height 1080 start 1083 end 1088 total 1120 clock 59.96Hz
which suggests to me that the monitor's size IS known but is not used.
I also tried to make the configuration known using the following script using "cvt" and "xrandr" which I found in multiple places on the Internet:
atomik $?=0> RES="1920 1080 60"
atomik $?=0> echo RES="'$RES'"
RES='1920 1080 60'
atomik $?=0> DISP=$(xrandr | grep -e " connected [^(]" | sed -e "s/\([A-Z0-9]\+\) connected.*/\1/")
atomik $?=0> echo DISP="'$DISP'"
DISP='VGA1'
atomik $?=0> MODELINE=$(cvt $(echo $RES) | grep -e "Modeline [^(]" | sed -r 's/.*Modeline (.*)/\1/')
atomik $?=0> echo MODELINE="'$MODELINE'"
MODELINE='"1920x1080_60.00" 173.00 1920 2048 2248 2576 1080 1083 1088 1120 -hsync +vsync'
atomik $?=0> MODERES=$(echo $MODELINE | grep -o -P '(?<=").*(?=")')
atomik $?=0> echo MODERES="'$MODERES'"
MODERES='1920x1080_60.00'
atomik $?=0> xrandr --newmode $MODELINE
X Error of failed request: BadName (named color or font does not exist)
Major opcode of failed request: 139 (RANDR)
Minor opcode of failed request: 16 (RRCreateMode)
Serial number of failed request: 28
Current serial number in output stream: 28
atomik $?=1>
which I have NO IDEA how to fix. Since the xrandr --newmode fails then the xrandr --addmode $DISP $MODERES won't work, and it doesn't.
So at this point I don't know what to do. Honestly this whole thing with screen sizes on Slackware has been a nightmare over the years. This is, I think, the 4th time I've had to fight with it.
I think I am going to go to the grocery store and buy some ice cream.
I've been using an LG 1920x1080 60 Hz, flat screen monitor with VGA from an Intel Atom SBC running Slackware 14.2 for some time now. When I start the Atom up it takes a while to correctly size the screen output to the monitor, and that happens sometime during setting up KDE, but it does eventually get the size right.
Recently I acquired another computer and expect to get more. The new machine has only an HDMI monitor output whereas the old machine has only a VGA output. The LG monitor has both a VGA and an HDMI input.
I want to be able to switch back and forth using a KVM, but the KVM I bought has only HDMI inputs, not VGA, so I bought a VGA-to-HDMI converter to link my old machine's output to the KVM. I did check to make sure the VGA-to-HDMI converter could handle 1920x1080 60 Hz and the documentation says it can. The new machine linked to the monitor via the KVM works fine. The old machine linked to the monitor via the VGA-to-HDMI converter and the KVM gets the screen size wrong. Since I know the old machine can handle the screen when connected directly via the VGA port, I figure that the problem must be that the VGA-to-HDMI converter is somehow blocking the configuration information which the software needs to get the size right.
I've tried KDE's System Settings --> Display And Monitor but it only shows (I guess) default sizes, 1024x768 and smaller.
Then I looked in /var/log/Xorg.0.log and it says:
[115.870] (==) Using system config directory "/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d"
[115.900] (==) No Layout section. Using the first Screen section.
[115.900] (==) No screen section available. Using defaults.
[115.900] (**) |-->Screen "Default Screen Section" (0)
[115.900] (**) | |-->Monitor "<default monitor>"
[115.900] (==) No monitor specified for screen "Default Screen Section".
Using a default monitor configuration.
Which leads me to believe that the converter is blocking configuration info. HOWEVER, xrander says this:
atomik $?=1> xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1024 x 768, maximum 32767 x 32767
VGA1 connected primary 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
1024x768 60.00*
800x600 60.32 56.25
848x480 60.00
640x480 59.94
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
"1920x1080_60.00" (0x13c) 173.000MHz -HSync +VSync
h: width 1920 start 2048 end 2248 total 2576 skew 0 clock 67.16KHz
v: height 1080 start 1083 end 1088 total 1120 clock 59.96Hz
which suggests to me that the monitor's size IS known but is not used.
I also tried to make the configuration known using the following script using "cvt" and "xrandr" which I found in multiple places on the Internet:
atomik $?=0> RES="1920 1080 60"
atomik $?=0> echo RES="'$RES'"
RES='1920 1080 60'
atomik $?=0> DISP=$(xrandr | grep -e " connected [^(]" | sed -e "s/\([A-Z0-9]\+\) connected.*/\1/")
atomik $?=0> echo DISP="'$DISP'"
DISP='VGA1'
atomik $?=0> MODELINE=$(cvt $(echo $RES) | grep -e "Modeline [^(]" | sed -r 's/.*Modeline (.*)/\1/')
atomik $?=0> echo MODELINE="'$MODELINE'"
MODELINE='"1920x1080_60.00" 173.00 1920 2048 2248 2576 1080 1083 1088 1120 -hsync +vsync'
atomik $?=0> MODERES=$(echo $MODELINE | grep -o -P '(?<=").*(?=")')
atomik $?=0> echo MODERES="'$MODERES'"
MODERES='1920x1080_60.00'
atomik $?=0> xrandr --newmode $MODELINE
X Error of failed request: BadName (named color or font does not exist)
Major opcode of failed request: 139 (RANDR)
Minor opcode of failed request: 16 (RRCreateMode)
Serial number of failed request: 28
Current serial number in output stream: 28
atomik $?=1>
which I have NO IDEA how to fix. Since the xrandr --newmode fails then the xrandr --addmode $DISP $MODERES won't work, and it doesn't.
So at this point I don't know what to do. Honestly this whole thing with screen sizes on Slackware has been a nightmare over the years. This is, I think, the 4th time I've had to fight with it.
I think I am going to go to the grocery store and buy some ice cream.