Welcome to LinuxCNC.org

I've gone back to trying to get Ubuntu 10.04 working with a res better than 800 x 600.

It all installed OK from the Live CD but I'm missing something on the graphics side.

Further delving in the wiki reveals I'm also suffering the Display Issues shown at Para 5 of wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/emcinfo.pl?Tro...oting#Display_Issues

It would seem implementing Vesa drivers might be the way forward.

I checked for a xorg.conf in /etc/X11/ and saw no file.

I tried to create the missing file with sudo Xorg -configure and it breturns
Fatal server error:
Server is already active for display 0. . . . .

Any thoughts where I go from here

Have you tried a different monitor?

Sometimes the stuck-in-800x600 problem is due to DDC not working on your monitor

Many thanks. Presently using a Samsung P2250. I'll borrow another to try but I'm thinking it may be something to do with the PC's ATI Rage graphic system. There seems to be various bits on the web about it and Linux but I can't fathom it.

xorg.conf is no longer part of the standard setup in Ubuntu, hardware detection being supposed to take care of this for you.

That is OK until it doesn't work, as in this case.

To generate a xorg.conf file the way you tried, you have to do it from a non-graphical shell.

Check this thread from a previous query of the same nature, shows one way of doing this.

www.linuxcnc.org/index.php/english/compo...id=38&id=13240#13252

The other way is to write a xorg.conf file from examples on the web, insert it in /etc/X11 and then reboot.
If it does not work you will get a terminal from which you can make alterations or hide the file and start over.

regards

Some more reading here

yosemitefoothills.com/UbuntuResolutionProblems.html

Explains the problem with DDC and EDID detection and has some solutions and partial xorg.conf code for using vesa driver and specifying modes.

Using xrandr, will show you the video modes supported by your monitor.

If they show a higher resolution you wish to use, you can just type xrandr -s 1024x768 for example to switch mode.

I have a badly behaved LCD HD TV with RGB input connected to a Mini ITX box running 10.4 and have to manually set required resolution at the start of each session or it defaults to a ridiculous 2080x????.

If higher resolutions are not shown, this link
grenage.com/xorg.html
is a Ubuntu specific page showing how to generate the modelines needed to added extra resolutions / refresh rates etc to the xorg.conf file, using cvt

regards

I'm very grateful for all the suggestions. Trying the various suggestions in turn I've discovered and resolved a DDC problem (duff cable). Having run Puppy Linux 5.3 on the m/c in question I knew the graphics adapter was capable of far better than 800 x 600. Now to get EMC2 back on and push on a little further.

I'm please to say, with the much appreciated, assistance of the contributors to this forum, I've got EMC2 installed and working.

The learning curve starts here!

I'm using some fairly old hardware (Dell GX240) with an integrated parallel port. One thing I am curious about is how people are going to manage with some of the newer hardware with USB but no parallel ports. The old stuff won't last forever. Has anyone successfully fitted a PCI printer card? If so, what recommendations?

Hi

Glad you came out at the other end, slightly enlightened and with a working system!

Yes lots of people use PCI parport cards, some as their only parallel port on newer machines and more probably to provide a second port and extra IO.

There is much discussion on WHICH card to use

This was posted by a very knowledgeable user recently on the users list:-

NetMOS cards should work fine with EMC2's software signal generation.
EPP only applies to hardware signal generators such as Pico's, Mesa's
and the Pluto-P cards which use their own loadrt drivers. See:
wiki.linuxcnc.org/emcinfo.pl?NetMos
wiki.linuxcnc.org/emcinfo.pl?Startech
wiki.linuxcnc.org/emcinfo.pl?SIIG
wiki.linuxcnc.org/emcinfo.pl?EMC2_Supported_Hardware


Personally I would go for a card which is based upon the 9845 or 9865 MosChip (NETMos) chipset and avoid the 9815 or earlier which often causes problems and had a firmware defect regards EPP.
I have one of each chipset and they worked first time as output and input.

You can get twin headed (2 ports) versions which are really useful if you have no parport and limited PCI slots (or just one!)

regards

PCI parallel port cards work for the most part but knowing about the new Mesa 5i25 & 7i76 cards (about $200) unless your really strapped for cash I would not use a parallel port for a stepper machine. These two are miles ahead of a parallel port card in capability and speed.

John

Besides the parallel port cards companies such as MESA produce PCI cards that just drop in your computer, work with EMC skipping the parallel port while giving several advantages.

Rick G