Q4OS Forum

kev392

Member

Registered: 2018-04-13

Posts: 5

Screen Resolution too low on live USB

Hi,

I'm trying to install Q4OS on an old Dell machine, but I'm having trouble with the screen resolution. It gets set to 640x480 and I can't see the bottom of the install window where the Quit, Back and Forward buttons are, because everything is too large. I've tried changing the screen resolution with the options in the Control Panel, but 640x480 is the only option available.

bin

Member

From: U.K.

Registered: 2016-01-28

Posts: 1,333

Re: Screen Resolution too low on live USB

Hello and welcome to Q4OS
Please could you tell us which model Dell this is and which version of Q4OS you have installed?
Dell machines are normally very well behaved with Q4OS and many folks here have experience with them.

kev392

Member

Registered: 2018-04-13

Posts: 5

Re: Screen Resolution too low on live USB

It's a Dell Dimension L566CX. Manufacture year 2000, with 566 Mhz processor and 512 GB Ram. Other than Ram and HDD upgrades, everything else is factory spec. I'm trying to install q4os-2.4-i686pae.r8.iso from USB.

bin

Member

From: U.K.

Registered: 2016-01-28

Posts: 1,333

Re: Screen Resolution too low on live USB

OK - so Intel 810/815

If this was me I'd be using the slightly older - but still current - Orion release

 https://sourceforge.net/projects/q4os/files/oldstable/q4os-live-1.8.8-i686pae.iso

as a starting point.

Next area of interest will be the monitor and also the monitor cable - Dells were a bit funny with their VGA cables and sometimes supplied their own with an extra pin.

What monitor are you using? If you know what output it supports then it's easy enough to produce a config file using xvidtune. The chip itself is supported by Q4OS in the stock Intel driver - nothing needs to be done there.

kev392

Member

Registered: 2018-04-13

Posts: 5

Re: Screen Resolution too low on live USB

I've actually tried 2 different monitors (neither of which came with the Dell).

I started with my current LCD ViewSonic made around 2008. I normally have the display set to 1680x1050 on my normal desktop but I can use it with a lower resolution if need be. That cable has 15 pins.

I also tried an old (from 1996) 15" CRT monitor, but the same problem persisted. That cable has 12 pins.

I've never tried making a config file for xvidtune. I wouldn't mind trying that since Scorpion has a much longer support life than Orion. Can that be done while using the live USB? I did try installing Cinnamon DE hoping to correct the resolution problem, but it failed with error 70. Same with LXDE.

bin

Member

From: U.K.

Registered: 2016-01-28

Posts: 1,333

Re: Screen Resolution too low on live USB

OK - It just flashed in the back of my mind that if you're unable to get to the bottom of the screen then the desktop and monitor are out of sync.

If you are able to do so, go to control centre>peripherals>display.

What screen sizes are available?

xvidtune is an old utility that can be used to generate what is known as a modeline for a file called xorg.conf Essentially it's just a config file that tells the system the resolution to drive the monitor. Problem here is that I'm running Orion and I do not know for sure how that will work with Scorpion. Orion is supported till 2020. However, rethinking this it may be that is not the problem. Do you know what the native resolution is for the Viewsonic? I don't know whether the chip on your Dell was able to drive a monitor at 1680x1050 - I'd have thought the old CRT would be a good choice assuming it goes to say 1280x1024 - can you use the 15 pin cable?

kev392

Member

Registered: 2018-04-13

Posts: 5

Re: Screen Resolution too low on live USB

It seems Scorpion is having trouble with the Dell video card. There are no other options in the Display area, except 640x480 with 0 hz refresh.

I downloaded another copy of Scorpion 32 bit i686 but the same problem occurred.

I downloaded Orion 32 bit and the screen resolution is perfectly fine and all resolution options are available in the Display area.

So it seems my 3 options are:

1) just install Orion.

2) attempt to install Scorpion using screenshots of the installation process and just use the Tab key to get to the Forward button, ect.

3) install Scorpion 32 bit i386 which uses a text-based installer.

If I chose option 2, am I going to be able to rectify the screen resolution upon a full install, or be stuck with 640x480. That would be unacceptable of course.

If I chose option 3, is there any difference in performance between the i386 and i686. Would I have screen resolution options...

q4osteam

Q4OS Team

Registered: 2015-12-06

Posts: 4,501

Website

Re: Screen Resolution too low on live USB

If I chose option 3, is there any difference in performance between the i386 and i686 ...

No, there is no difference, you will get the same OS installed. The text based installer autodetects CPU type and installs i686-pae kernel if applicable.

bin

Member

From: U.K.

Registered: 2016-01-28

Posts: 1,333

Re: Screen Resolution too low on live USB

It seems Scorpion is having trouble with the Dell video card. There are no other options in the Display area, except 640x480 with 0 hz refresh.

I downloaded Orion 32 bit and the screen resolution is perfectly fine and all resolution options are available in the Display area.

So it seems my options are:

1) just install Orion.

That's good news.

Sadly it seems that Debian 9 / Ubuntu 16/18 have marked the start of the end of the road for linux working well with older hardware - that's why I'm stuck with Orion on a 2006 Dell Inspiron laptop. Not saying it affects all older machines, but it is sort of inevitable.

The only other current(er) release that may work for you is LinuxLite. Although it is Ubuntu 16 based they do have a repository which allows the installation of the 3.16 kernel and that MAY work for you - it did for me. You have to be able to get the machine working after a fashion first, but it can be done.

kev392

Member

Registered: 2018-04-13

Posts: 5

Re: Screen Resolution too low on live USB

I did try Scorpion full install with text-based installer, but the screen res problem remained and unable to correct. I'll just try Orion instead. I don't plan on using the Dell machine often.

Linux Lite says 700 Mhz processor is needed, so I'm not going to try it since the Dell is 566 Mhz.

The only other ones I would consider is Puppy and Lubuntu.

Lubuntu only supports their latest distros for like 9 months, so I'm shying away from that.

I will remember to look for kernel 3.16 if needed, as long as it's patched for Spectre and Meltdown.