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Thread ID: 62470 2005-10-08 18:40:00 Configuring xorg.conf in my new Gentoo installation jcr1 (893) Press F1
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394579 2005-10-08 18:40:00 I have a nasty flicker on the screen and, to be ideal it should stretch by about 1.5 cm wide and 1 cm vertical to get the best advantage of the screen size of the monitor.
I have used Google to make sure the settings used were correct (the monitor is a COMPAQ MV740 with a 17" screen).
Video card is a nvidia vanta.
I have done some minor tweaks, but have to revert to the original as they usually kill X.
Following is my /etc/X11/xorg.conf .
Help would be appreciated.

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "X.org Configured"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
RgbPath "/usr/lib/X11/rgb"
ModulePath "/usr/lib/modules"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/misc/"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/TTF/"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/Type1/"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/CID/"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi/"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi/"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "record"
Load "extmod"
Load "dbe"
Load "dri"
Load "glx"
Load "xtrap"
Load "freetype"
Load "type1"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "kbd"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mouse0"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
#DisplaySize 340 250 # mm
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "CPQ"
ModelName "COMPAQ MV740"
HorizSync 31.5 - 70.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 120.0
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
### Available Driver options are:-
### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz"
### [arg]: arg optional
#Option "SWcursor" # [<bool>]
#Option "HWcursor" # [<bool>]
#Option "NoAccel" # [<bool>]
#Option "ShadowFB" # [<bool>]
#Option "UseFBDev" # [<bool>]
#Option "Rotate" # [<str>]
#Option "VideoKey" # <i>
#Option "FlatPanel" # [<bool>]
#Option "FPDither" # [<bool>]
#Option "CrtcNumber" # <i>
#Option "FPScale" # [<bool>]
#Option "FPTweak" # <i>
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "nv"
VendorName "nVidia Corporation"
BoardName "NV6 [Vanta/Vanta LT]"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 1
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 4
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 8
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 15
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 16
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768 1250x1024"
EndSubSection
EndSection 		jcr1 (893)
394580 2005-10-08 20:08:00 Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24

SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768 1250x1024"
EndSubSection
EndSectionYou have a couple of typos in that line. You are missing a closing and starting speechmark for both those resolutions. They should also go from highest to lowest. You also have a typo with the 1250 which should be 1280.

That section should look like this:

SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768"
EndSubSection
See how you get on with those settings. 		Jen (38)
394581 2005-10-09 18:49:00 Thanks Jen,
I corrected it and there is an improvement; mainly, that the image now fits the screen better than before. I also feel that there is less flicker, but I'd still like to see it a bit better still. Maybe I'm being just a bit too fussy. 		jcr1 (893)
394582 2005-10-09 20:22:00 You might also want to have a look at this site.. Howto: Gentoo nVidia Guide (www.gentoo.org)

Follow the guide, if you get stuck on the xorg section, heres mine to give you an example...
Section "Module"
Load "glx"
Load "extmod"
Load "dbe"
Load "record"
Load "xtrap"
Load "freetype"
Load "type1"
EndSection IN the above section, I have deleted the 'dri' module entry, and made sure 'glx' is in there

Section "Device"
... (theres a heap of stuff that really doesnt affect the settings in here) ...

Driver "nvidia"
Option "NoLogo" "1"
VendorName "nVidia Corporation"
BoardName "NV17 [GeForce4 MX 440]"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection
In the above section, I have replaced driver name 'nv' to 'nvidia', I have also added the NoLogo option (kills the nvidia splash screen, you can keep this if you want, just delete the line)

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24

Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
EndSection This is the newly configured display section (thanks to those who helped me with this); note the default depth is set at 24 (the guide tells you it must be 16 or 24).

This is how mine is set up, it should give you a guide for yours

Incidentally, the flicker may be that your refresh rate is set too low. 		Myth (110)
394583 2005-10-10 04:02:00 The flicker will indeed be from running your monitor with a low refresh rate. Not sure whether you are using KDE or Gnome, but have a look under the monitor section on the Menu for an option to increase the refresh rate. It will be there somewhere. :) Jen (38)
394584 2005-10-10 08:05:00 Thanks Jen & Tazz :thumbs:
It was indeed the refresh rate. I found it in KDE, Control Center, Peripherals, Display.
It was stuck on 1280x960 at 60 Hz (It really was), so I changed it to 1024x768 and 85Hz , which has made all the difference.
But, prior to this, I leapt in and followed the Gentoo nVidia Guide through - to the letter... :eek: horrors. I lost Xwindows completely for a while (good thing I kept a record of my old settings).
Anyway, got it sorted now. 		jcr1 (893)
394585 2005-10-10 08:06:00 looks technical :illogical Prescott (11)
394586 2005-10-10 08:25:00 Prescott, for someone like me. It really is and I appreciate having Jen and Tazz and of course Chill, around, to guide me through some of these issues. jcr1 (893)
394587 2005-10-10 08:28:00 it looks very technica to me, especially the commands the linux users use.
i might see you in the linux world one day, ive been thinking about making the step.
keep up the good work :thumbs: 		Prescott (11)
394588 2005-10-10 08:44:00 Thanks Prescott. I suppose some would say I was daft, but then again why do we attempt anything? The reward of completing a challenge we set for ourselves, I guess.
Gentoo is certainly more of a challenge than some other versions of Linux I've played around with; but, I've really learnt something about Linux as I've gone along and this would be, to a major extent, because the Gentoo Documentation is so good. Of course, I couldn't have got this far without the help of the aforementioned people on this forum as well.
If you do give it a go, my advice would be; compile your own kernel. It's not that difficult and if you don't get it quite right you can always revisit it. The alternative, they call it Genkernel, just creates too many hassles with the bootloader. 		jcr1 (893)
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