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I'm fairly new to Ubuntu and am trying to learn more.

While looking for information on something unrelated, someone suggested using Ctrl+Alt+F2, when I did this it went to a terminal screen, and I couldn't figure out how to get out, so I restarted my computer.

When it loaded back up, it was in 640x480. I went to the terminal and put in xrandr -s 1280x800 (that's not my screens resolution, it's much higher but I can't remember the exact value) and it said to me Size 1280x800 is not found in available mode

I'm using a Nvidia GeForce GT 540M video card, I heard that might be a problem...
I'm stuck at 640x480 right now..so please someone help! haha Thanks in advance.

Boris
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John
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  • your laptop probably use nvidia optimus system. Please see http://askubuntu.com/questions/36930/how-well-do-laptops-with-nvidia-optimus-work – Web-E Jul 24 '12 at 04:33
  • THIS semi-related "fix" resolved my stuck-in-640x480 problem: http://askubuntu.com/questions/156367/messed-up-my-12-04-graphics-falsely-installed-nvidia-drivers-on-hd-graphics ("apt-get remove" intel, reboot). I'm still scanning the forum seas for a definitively helpful resolution to "Nvidia Can't Do Unity 3D" situation (which lead me to a bunch of Nvidia driver fixes that not only didn't work, but they broke my display). – Keeferman Aug 26 '12 at 20:16

1 Answers1

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After switching to the virtual terminals at Control+Alt+F1 to F6 you can always switch back by pressing Control+Alt+F8.

It's very weird that your configuration changed permanently just by changing to the virtual terminal. Are you sure you didn't do anything else?

If you installed the proprietary Nvidia driver, you will probably stop using it if you move /etc/X11/xorg.conf to i.e. /etc/X11/xorg.conf.nvidia.old . Ubuntu should use autodetect and use the nouveau driver (which I guess works, since it worked in the beginning).

You could alternatively try to configure your nvidia card using nvidia-xsettings, it's a tool that comes with the driver.

You could also try inserting a ModeLine into your x.org. I'd suggest the other options first. Here's an example of a modeline that might work with your monitor:

# 1280x800 59.81 Hz (CVT 1.02MA) hsync: 49.70 kHz; pclk: 83.50 MHz
Modeline "1280x800_60.00"   83.50  1280 1352 1480 1680  800 803 809 831 -hsync +vsync

Try reading this section first: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xrandr#Adding_undetected_resolutions

If it works, you can add the modeline permanently like described in the next section in the link.

Boris
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Janus Troelsen
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  • I'm not sure...but I tested pressing 'Ctrl-Alt-F1' and pressed 'Ctrl-Alt-F8' and it didn't work, so I tried 'Ctrl-Alt-F7' which worked...How can I fix my resolution, though? – John Jul 23 '12 at 20:20
  • I told you one way to fix the resolution: stop using the nvidia driver. – Janus Troelsen Jul 23 '12 at 20:25
  • Ok...but I'm trying to use VirtualBox for Windows 7 and it's requiring me to use my NVidia, what should I do about that? – John Jul 23 '12 at 20:30
  • ok, try nvidia-xsettings or adding new resolutions as explained in the updated answer. – Janus Troelsen Jul 23 '12 at 20:31
  • Ok...so I changed xorg.conf to xorg.conf.nvidia.old and did 'sudo apt-get update' then xrandr, but it didn't do anything, did I do this wrong? – John Jul 23 '12 at 20:38
  • and is nvidia-xsettings a terminal command? If so, I used it and it said no command exists. – John Jul 23 '12 at 20:41
  • after renaming xorg.conf, you should make sure you know how to rename it back using the console. when you learnt how to do that, reboot the machine and you should be using the old drivers (not nvidia's). if you don't get graphics after rebooting, you can move the backup back into /etc/X11/xorg.conf . – Janus Troelsen Jul 23 '12 at 20:42
  • also, you should realize that the three solutions i suggested are not meant to be tried all at once. if the xrandr-stuff works, there is no reason to stop using the nvidia driver. – Janus Troelsen Jul 23 '12 at 20:42
  • yes, nvidia-xsettings is a terminal-command, but it should open a window. if you don't have nvidia-xsettings, i don't think you ever had the nvidia proprietary driver. how did you get it? from nvidia's website? – Janus Troelsen Jul 23 '12 at 20:44
  • No, I never manually installed it I don't think, like I said, I'm new with Ubuntu, and a lot of the things you're telling me are going way over my head. – John Jul 23 '12 at 20:49
  • sorry if i'm confusing you. the three commands from the linked arch wiki article would be quite easy to try though, i think it's definitely worth it. – Janus Troelsen Jul 23 '12 at 20:52
  • I did, and it didn't work. The screen is bigger in the sense that when I move my cursor off screen, it keeps going, but the resolution is the same. I did it step-by-step how the website put it. – John Jul 23 '12 at 20:57
  • okay, but since the resolution changed, it's a sign that the xrandr stuff is working. the examples in the linked article used 1280x1024, did you do it with that resolution or with 1280x800? to do it with 1280x800 , just copy from the ModeLine i posted (only the second line, and excluding the word "modeline"). it should be the same count of numbers. maybe your monitor manual says what its native resolution is, though? – Janus Troelsen Jul 23 '12 at 21:00
  • I did it with 1366x768, that's my monitors native resolution – John Jul 23 '12 at 21:02
  • was the resolution correct the first time you installed ubuntu? if it was, the resolution should be like back then, if you reboot after making sure /etc/X11/xorg.conf does not exist. – Janus Troelsen Jul 23 '12 at 21:03
  • Ok, I just reinstalled Ubuntu, I didn't have anything important on it, so I just reinstalled a clean copy, and my resolution is back to normal. – John Jul 23 '12 at 21:26