Video resolution not correct on power up

Interesting. Do they actually reach a full desktop with the wrong resolution? And do they reboot completely, or is it more of a flickering? I know that the initial loading screens are done in a low resolution, before the graphics drivers are loaded, then it brings up the normal interface.

Otherwise, is there some common factor between the two--e.g. in the graphics cards?

Yes, both machines reach a full desktop with the wrong resolution. It's not
a flickering.

Here's the scenario on both machines.
1. Power on
2. Boot and get to login screen.
3. Login
4. Screens at lower resolution than set.
5. Restart. > Login. > Both have correct resolution.

The issue is intermittent and random. Both machines nomally start up at the
normal screen resolution. The ubuntu machine is using a proprietary Nvidia
driver with Nvidia card. The xubuntu machine driver is whatever came with
the xubuntu installation, and a Matrox graphics card. So, no common factor
between the two machines.

At first I thought it had something to do with the Nvidia driver not loading
on the ubuntu machine, but then it started happening with the xubuntu
machine as well. I suppose it may be some local phenomenon, but I don't know
what that could be.

I also wanted to thank you for your quick responses. After a number of years
using Windows, I'm amazed at the level of help I'm finding in my transition
to Ubuntu.

Thanks,
David

On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 3:29 PM, Thomas K <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #46233 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/46233
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> Thomas K requested for more information:
> Interesting. Do they actually reach a full desktop with the wrong
> resolution? And do they reboot completely, or is it more of a
> flickering? I know that the initial loading screens are done in a low
> resolution, before the graphics drivers are loaded, then it brings up
> the normal interface.
>
> Otherwise, is there some common factor between the two--e.g. in the
> graphics cards?
>
> --
> To answer this request for more information, you can either reply to
> this email or enter your reply at the following page:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/46233
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

OK, it being an intermittent fault makes slightly more sense--rebooting just gives it another try, and it gets it right. I'm still puzzled, though--is there some particular program you've installed that might be running at startup? Is there anything unusual about the monitors, or the correct resolution?

With the NVidia card, if you disable the proprietary driver, so it's using the open source driver, does the problem still occur? Can you (on either box) change the resolution in the appropriate settings dialog to be the correct one? Can you spot any pattern to when it happens?

Glad you're happy with the support for Ubuntu, although I'm afraid I may not be able to help--it's got me puzzled.

I'm puzzled too. The issue didn't occur either yesterday or today.

Basically the only similarity with the 2 machines is that they are fresh
'buntu boxes. Xubuntu on Monday and Ubuntu week before last. I set up ICS
yesterday with the Ubuntu box being the gateway; and otherwise the Xubuntu
box has had no changes other than that and updates. I've also been updating
the Ubuntu box as I'm notified.

Just tried changing resolutions on xubuntu using Xfce>Settings
Manager>Display Preferences:
- Default 1024 x 768
- Change to 800 x 600 - restart
- OK
- Change back to default - restart
- OK

I can test the ubuntu box graphics settings later today after I finish some
work stuff.

At this point I'm just wondering if the issue is just a result of getting
the systems stabilized?

Thanks again,
David

On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 3:30 AM, Thomas K <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #46233 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/46233
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> Thomas K requested for more information:
> OK, it being an intermittent fault makes slightly more sense--rebooting
> just gives it another try, and it gets it right. I'm still puzzled,
> though--is there some particular program you've installed that might be
> running at startup? Is there anything unusual about the monitors, or the
> correct resolution?
>
> With the NVidia card, if you disable the proprietary driver, so it's
> using the open source driver, does the problem still occur? Can you (on
> either box) change the resolution in the appropriate settings dialog to
> be the correct one? Can you spot any pattern to when it happens?
>
> Glad you're happy with the support for Ubuntu, although I'm afraid I may
> not be able to help--it's got me puzzled.
>
> --
> To answer this request for more information, you can either reply to
> this email or enter your reply at the following page:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/46233
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

With the resolution change, I meant if they start up in the wrong resolution, can you use display preferences to correct them without rebooting?

To be honest, I have no idea what may be causing that behaviour. It doesn't happen to me, I haven't heard of anything similar happening to anyone else, I haven't noticed any recent updates for X.org, and there seems to be no particular common factor between your two boxes. If it had just happened when you first set them up, I'd say it was just part of the set up procedure, but it's definitely happened more than once?

Hi,

The problem happened 3 or 4 days in a row on the ubuntu box and a couple on
the xubuntu box. However it hasn't happened since I reported it. Also, have
done updates as I'm notified.

Anyway, at this point I no longer consider it an issue. I am new to this OS
so it was probably something I did while trying to get it running right.

Thanks for the help.
David

On Sat, Sep 27, 2008 at 3:15 PM, Thomas K <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #46233 on xorg in ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+question/46233
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> Thomas K requested for more information:
> With the resolution change, I meant if they start up in the wrong
> resolution, can you use display preferences to correct them without
> rebooting?
>
> To be honest, I have no idea what may be causing that behaviour. It
> doesn't happen to me, I haven't heard of anything similar happening to
> anyone else, I haven't noticed any recent updates for X.org, and there
> seems to be no particular common factor between your two boxes. If it
> had just happened when you first set them up, I'd say it was just part
> of the set up procedure, but it's definitely happened more than once?
>
> --
> To answer this request for more information, you can either reply to
> this email or enter your reply at the following page:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+question/46233
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Thanks Thomas K, that solved my question.

Hello Thomas,

The issue I've been having with the start-up screen resolution is continuing
to occur when I turn on the computer. (I don't know about the Xubuntu
machine as I have not been using it.)

I've found that I cannot experiment with the screen resolution when the
machine starts up at low resolution because the icons on the upper panel
wind up overlapping. The screen resolution tool at System>Preferences>Screen
Resolution is unavailable on the panel because it's hidden by the "help"
icon. The only way I've found to solve the issue is to log out and then log
back in; and once I log back in I have the correct resolution.

It looks to me like the nvidia video driver doesn't get turned on for some
reason on my initial log-in; but then activates once I log-in again. This
issue *only* occurs upon powering up the computer. Otherwise, the system is
working just great and I have no other problems with it.

Thanks,
David

On Sun, Sep 28, 2008 at 4:23 AM, Thomas K <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #46233 on xorg in ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+question/46233
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Thomas K proposed the following answer:
> OK, fair enough. Do you want to mark this problem as solved, so it isn't
> listed as still open? I guess you can reopen it later if you need to.
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+question/46233/+confirm?answer_id=6
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+question/46233
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Can you find anything in the X.org log (/var/log/Xorg.0.log) indicating what the problem is?

If you're unsure, please don't paste the log into this thread (as it will become incredibly long). I don't know if there is an attach function for this system, but if not, upload it somewhere and post a link.

I attached the text file of the x.org log. Not sure if that works or not. I
do see a number of references to Nvidia, but not sure what to look for.

On Wed, Oct 8, 2008 at 11:14 AM, Thomas K <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #46233 on xorg in ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+question/46233
>
> Thomas K posted a new comment:
> Can you find anything in the X.org log (/var/log/Xorg.0.log) indicating
> what the problem is?
>
> If you're unsure, please don't paste the log into this thread (as it
> will become incredibly long). I don't know if there is an attach
> function for this system, but if not, upload it somewhere and post a
> link.
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

I'm afraid it didn't work. I don't really know what to look for either, but anything talking about errors or failures would be a good bet.

I should point out that you'll need to wait until you see the problem, then take a copy of the file before you restart. In fact, if you're feeling technically minded, you could work out how to get the computer to compare that with a copy of the file when it did work. I guess you'd need to take out the dates, and then do a diff.