SUSE 10 screen resolution

Discussion in 'Parallels Desktop for Mac' started by PMinAU, Oct 31, 2006.

  1. PMinAU

    PMinAU Junior Member

    Messages:
    15
    Hi, new here :)

    I have just taken possession of a new iMac with 20" screen and 2GB RAM [2.1gHz model]. I had bought Parallels. I installed it and have successsfully installed Windows XP, kubuntu 6.06 and SUSE 10. All running Ok so far. SUSE was on a DVD from a linux mag. I have a problem that people may well recognise, because I have seen the question asked in places: ie how do I get a workable screen resolution out of SUSE? I have Windows running now at almost full screen size, and kubuntu at 1200x768 from memory. But SUSE wil only give 800x600, tucked in a corner of my screen. I have seen two proposals - one on the Parallels FAQ - but both involve Terminal [whch I am prepared to use if I am guided through] and make some assumptions aabout your technical knowledge that are unreasonable in my case : eg what does this from the Parallels FAQ mean?


    1. In the config file for grub menu.lst boot loader change the VGA setting:

    kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 vga=0x0317 selinux=0 resume=/dev/hda1 splash=silent showopts

    2. Start xmode utility with resolution and frequency parameters, to receive parameters for the record in xorg.conf configuration file:

    xmode -x 1024 -y 768 -r 80


    Has anyone been able to come up with a set of instructions for the common person to achieve this?
     
  2. David Hall

    David Hall Bit poster

    Messages:
    2
    Hello, your situation is exactly the problem I am experiencing. Did you achieve any resolution (heh) of your problem?
    I have Parallels running on a MBP, have installed Windows XP and Ubuntu, as well as SUSE 10.1, and all but SUSE respond as described for changing screen resolution, except that SUSE does NOT.
    I saw another thread about some terminal commands and edits to the kernel, but I was hoping for a more user-friendly (novice-friendly) solution.

    --David
     
  3. PMinAU

    PMinAU Junior Member

    Messages:
    15
    No luck yet, David :( I have been away from home for a while, so no chance to experiment.

    Peter
     
  4. peterwor

    peterwor Hunter

    Messages:
    140
    Frankly I think there is an easier solution that I've used for SUSE. It involves editting the xorg.conf file in the /etc/X11 directory as root. Below are the directions... Hope this helps...

    Pretty straight forward. Log in, launch terminal, and enter

    sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf (or use another cmd line editor)

    First, you may need to change the monitor refresh rate section to allow X to display your new resolution(s). Scroll down to the section labelled monitor. See the HorizSync and VertRefresh values? Change these to read

    HorizSync 30-86
    VertRefresh 50-160

    Note: these are the refresh rates for my CRT, they should be sufficient for most resolutions. You may have to bump up the maximum value of these to handle resolutions higher than 1600x1200. Also note that Parallels virtualizes the display, so you dont need to worry about setting correct values for your monitor - it's sufficient to just fake out X in this case.

    Next, scroll down to the screen section: Section "Screen". Notice that this section contains several subsections, one for each color depth. In our case, ignore all but the 24-bit color depth (Depth 24). Add the desired resolution(s) to the BEGINNING of this list:

    Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"

    The first entry in the list will be the default resolution. Save this file by pressing control-x and answering "yes". Restart X with Ctrl-Alt-Delete (this is ctrl-alt-backspace on a PC keyboard); the login screen will show up in the default resolution. If a resolution isn't available, you may need to adjust the maximum horizontal or vertical frequency values.

    Once you have modified this file, you will see the resolutions you entered (as well as several calculated by X) under the resolution preferences screen (System | Preferences | Screen Resolution)
     
  5. PMinAU

    PMinAU Junior Member

    Messages:
    15
    Thanks for this Peterwor. Unfortunately, that file is blank fo rme, nothing to edit. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I seem to have a faulty X11 installation. No matter what I do, reinstall, delete, etc, I can't seem to successfully launch X11, although I can run some programs under Oroborus. :(
    PeterM
     
  6. parkiecik

    parkiecik Bit poster

    Messages:
    2
    For Suse 10 on my 13'3 MacBook the following worked.
    Go to Yast2 -> Hardware -> Graphics Card and Monitor
    As a monitor select LCD -> 1280x800@75HZ
    Display Size: 13 inches Aspect ratio: 16/10

    Then in properties
    Resolution: 1280x800 Colors:65536[16 bit]

    Test and once you are happy save the changes. Logout and log back in. Better yet restart whole thing. Voila:)
     
  7. PMinAU

    PMinAU Junior Member

    Messages:
    15
    Hi parkiecik. I tried that: Desktop menu>YaST>Hardware>Graphics Card... and got a selection menu. It is hard to see what selection one should make for my iMac Core Duo with 20" screen, so I tried a number of Apple screens, without success: the setting stubbornly refuses to chage from 800x600 resolution.
     
  8. Anthony

    Anthony Bit poster

    Messages:
    2
    This worked fine for me on my MBP. As indicated by parkiecik I selected "LCD" from the list of monitors (I'm guessing this is a "generic" selection), picked 1024x768 and it worked fine. Restarted the VM and now I don't feel like everything is huge.

    Give it another shot.
     

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