Problems changing resolution using xrandr: Bad Match

Question

I go to the Displays, and the maximum resolution I have there is 1360x768 (16:9). However, on Windows 8.1 I can have the 1680x1050(16:10) resolution, without any type of problems. Because of this, I tried to add a custom resolution using xrandr:

xrandr --newmode "1680x1050_60.00"  146.25  1680 1784 1960 2240  1050 1053 1059 1089 -hsync +vsync

xrandr --addmode DVI-I-0 "1680x1050_60.00"

However, after typing the last command, this appears:

X Error of failed request:  BadMatch (invalid parameter attributes)
 Major opcode of failed request:  140 (RANDR)
 Minor opcode of failed request:  18 (RRAddOutputMode)
 Serial number of failed request:  39
 Current serial number in output stream:  40

I also typed xrandr, and I confirmed that DVI-I-0 is the only that says is connected:

Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1360 x 768, maximum 16384 x 16384
DVI-I-0 connected primary 1360x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
   1024x768      60.00 +
   1360x768      59.96*   59.80  
   1152x864      60.00  
   800x600       72.19    60.32    56.25  
   680x384       59.96    59.80  
   640x480       59.94  
   512x384       60.00  
   400x300       72.19  
   320x240       60.05  
DVI-I-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-D-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
  1680x1050_60.00 (0x2ae) 146.250MHz
          h: width  1680 start 1784 end 1960 total 2240 skew    0 clock  65.29KHz
          v: height 1050 start 1053 end 1059 total 1089           clock  59.95Hz

Also, I'm running Ubuntu 15.10.

How can I have the 1680x1050(16:10) resolution? Thanks for any help you can give me.

EDIT: Forgot to say - Before Ubuntu, I had Linux Mint, where I also had the same problem. However as I said before, I don't have this problem on Windows.

EDIT2: On the following link there is the /var/log/Xorg.0.log file: http://pastebin.com/sjSLScjK , and also I have an ASUS Monitor.

First of all, apologies for the late response. Second, I checked the log, and apparently it says "[ 71.577] (WW) NVIDIA: GPU:0: Unable to read EDID for display device DVI-I-0". This doesn't appear only one time (I suppose it appear the times I tried changing resolution. I'm new to Linux so I don't know). Besides this, it also says that CRT-0 is connected, but DFP-0, DFP-1, DFP-2, DFP-3, DFP-4 are disconnected. I don't know if this are the complaints, so please forgive me if this is the wrong information. Also, my graphics card is a Nvidia Geforce GTX 760. Thank you for the help. — Jonphobos, Dec 04 '15 at 18:32
Hmm. Apparently there's some name confusion for CRT-0 and DVI-0... did you try the addmode command targeting CRT-0 rather than DVI-0? — Ralph Rönnquist, Dec 04 '15 at 21:00
Hmm again. You targeted DVI-I-0 before (which also is not mentioned in the log). I think we're closing up to the upper edge of my X knowledge here, but perhaps you can declare the mode line in the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. — Ralph Rönnquist, Dec 04 '15 at 21:26
Well, I tried to use CRT-0 and DVI-0, but it says "Cannot find output". About xorg.conf, I can't find that file on /etc/X11, which is strange. — Jonphobos, Dec 05 '15 at 12:15
Ok. You can generate a "template" from instructions at (http://askubuntu.com/questions/217758/how-to-make-an-xorg-conf-file) — Ralph Rönnquist, Dec 05 '15 at 13:19
Just to make sure: did you then try xrandr --output DVI-I-0 --mode "1680x1050_60.00" so as to use the new mode. (Though xrandr puts that mode below DP-1, which seems wrong) — Ralph Rönnquist, Dec 07 '15 at 11:07
Could you edit your question and paste your /var/log/Xorg.0.log file and your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file in please? Also what is this screen? Is it a monitor (if so, what make and model? VGA? HDMI?)? Is it a laptop screen? — Jeffrey Lam, Dec 12 '15 at 12:32
I edited the question with the /var/log/Xorg.0.log file, however the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file was blank, without any type of text. Thanks for the help in advance. — Jonphobos, Dec 12 '15 at 23:53
Do you use more than one machine here, e.g., using ssh from one machine to another? — Ralph Rönnquist, Dec 13 '15 at 06:53
No, I didn't even knew what was that (had to Google it), but, I have a Virtual Machine on Windows, that I used to test Ubuntu itself (before installing it). However after I installed Ubuntu, never used it again. — Jonphobos, Dec 13 '15 at 11:14
You should not have a blank /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. It doesn't exist by default, and if everything works correctly it shouldn't be created, but if everything does not work correctly, then it should be created and configured to suit your system. In either case it should not be blank. If the xorg.conf file truly does exist and is blank, I would start by deleting using command sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf and rebooting. If the problem is not fixed, I would use Ralph's link to create the xorg.conf file, but use Alexander Malakhov's answer, not the accepted one, and definitely not parker.sikand's — Jeffrey Lam, Dec 13 '15 at 11:15
In my experience of creating the xorg.conf file (but I'm using Lubuntu 14.04), the console mode (ctrl+alt+f1) isn't necessary, but if you do go into console mode, you need to either have your instructions on the screen of a different computer, or you need to write/print the instructions out before you go into console mode. I thought lightdm was only in the LXDE environment (typically Lubuntu). Before you go into console mode, type ps -ef | grep dm and see if lightdm or gdm shows up. If gdm shows up, it should be sudo service gdm stop, and sudo start gdm, not lightdm — Jeffrey Lam, Dec 13 '15 at 11:27
I tried to do what you said, using Alexander Malakhov's answer. However, after using the commands, when I go to type my password (on the desktop now), I press enter, and after some 5 seconds, the screen blinks, and it "restarts", making now impossible for me having access to the desktop. I tried to search for some errors, and I don't know what I did to be honest, but maybe they may help finding a solution for this new problem: (next comment) — Jonphobos, Dec 15 '15 at 18:56
(1): Failed to use bus name org.freedesktop.DisplayManager, do you have permissions? (I used sudo on all the commands also, so I don't know why this appeared) (2): Failed to open CK session: GDBus.Error.OrgDBus. (3): Error.Service.Unknown: The name org.freedesktop-ConsoleKit was not provided by any service (...) "error: no alternatives for x86_64-linux_gnu_gfxcore_conf". — Jonphobos, Dec 15 '15 at 18:59
can you go into recovery mode from the grub menu? I have not used recovery mode before so I'm not sure what you'll be able to do. Can you view the xorg.conf file with either more /etc/X11/xorg.conf or sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf? It is a possibility that the xorg.conf file is the problem, and you might be able to revert the change by renaming it. You can rename it with sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.rename. Then try rebooting. If this brings your display manager back, then we know it is the xorg.conf file. — Jeffrey Lam, Dec 16 '15 at 00:33
I recovered the system, and now I can log in. However, now I don't see the menu bar. I only see the icons, but can't open the start menu (it's not there, which is weird). About the resolution, also nothing changed. It's still at 1360x768. Also, sorry for the late response, life being a little too much busy for me right now. — Jonphobos, Dec 19 '15 at 13:07
I don't know what to do about the menu bar I'm afraid. But do we now have an xorg.conf file that we can post somewhere? I appreciate we may need to figure out how to get at the file without a menu bar. My desktop is Lubuntu, not Ubuntu, so not sure how you would go about doing it. Perhaps a nautilus window will pop up if you insert a USB stick? Then perhaps you can navigate to /etc/X11 from there, get the xorg.conf file, and put it on the stick? — Jeffrey Lam, Dec 20 '15 at 00:10
I don't have one called xorg.conf, but I have three, where one is called xorg.conf.rename (http://pastebin.com/QnY09VFT), the other xorg.conf-backup-151130181808 (http://pastebin.com/5ixwTSRs), and xorg.conf.failsafe (http://pastebin.com/aP7k0Cfu). Sorry once more for the late response, and also a late merry Christmas. — Jonphobos, Dec 27 '15 at 00:27
the 151130 in your second xorg.conf file suggests that it was renamed automatically by your system on 30th November 2015, the same day as you asked your question. Did you change anything on that day (if you remember)? I noticed that one of my older comments (Dec 16 at 0:33) suggested that you rename xorg.conf to xorg.conf.rename to see if it fixed the login issue. Was it that change that fixed the login issue, or did you fix it another way? If It was that change, then something is wrong with that xorg.conf file, but not sure what yet. Does my answer give enough for you to work it out? — Jeffrey Lam, Dec 29 '15 at 12:56
To fix the problem I just recovered the system, I didn't touched in the xorg or any other file. — Jonphobos, Dec 29 '15 at 18:32
Hope you had a merry Christmas too, let's try this: sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf.rename /etc/X11/xorg.conf to copy xorg.conf.rename as xorg.conf, then sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf to edit it. Go down to the 3rd line from the end, and insert a line between Depth 24 and EndSubSection. On this line enter Modes "1680x1050". Save the file and reboot. If something untoward happens (or it doesn't work) then delete the xorg.conf file with sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf and try again with one of the other files — Jeffrey Lam, Dec 30 '15 at 17:20

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:23

Ok, at the time of writing this answer, you don't have a menu bar, and I haven't seen your xorg.conf file yet, but I believe I know enough to know what you need to do, and I believe you will be able to make changes to your xorg.conf file from recovery mode if you can't do it in normal boot mode without a menu bar.

First of all, I believe the [ 28.338] (WW) NVIDIA: GPU:0: Unable to read EDID for display device DVI-I-0 warnings are significant, but I don't think anything is "wrong", more that it might be a limitation of your monitor, or VGA cables, or your computer, or some combination. My computer, VGA, TV combination also does not detect the EDID automatically.

Wikipedia has an entry on EDID that you may find a useful reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Display_Identification_Data

You have already created an xorg.conf file, but for completeness I will include the steps in this answer. You follow Alexander Malakhov's answer in this question:

Alt+Ctrl+F1 to switch to console mode
Stop the X server by stopping the display manager: sudo service gdm stop (or sudo service lightdm stop if you have Lubuntu and/or LXDE environment).
sudo X -configure to create an xorg.conf.new file
sudo mv xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf to rename and move the file to where the xorg.conf goes
sudo service gdm start or sudo service lightdm start to restart the display manager and X server. sudo start gdm and sudo start lightdm also work.

You now have the file /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. What it says now and what it should say depends on your own system. I shall share the relevant parts of my own xorg.conf file (correctly configured for my system) here and talk you through it.

But first, how to edit it? If everything is working correctly, then you can edit it by opening a terminal and typing sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf. If you are having trouble editing it in normal boot mode, then you can edit it in recovery mode: start your computer, and from the grub boot menu, select "Advanced options", then the recovery mode of your most recent kernel, then select the root shell prompt. You will need to enter the command: mount -o remount,rw / to make everything read-write. Then you can edit the xorg.conf file with the command nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf (sudo is not needed in root shell prompt mode). (When you are done with root shell prompt, enter exit, then select "Resume normal boot", you might then need to reboot to see if changes have taken effect.)

This link gives helpful info on recovery mode.

Here are the relevant parts of my xorg.conf file, yours may differ. You can access the xorg.conf manual by typing man xorg.conf into a terminal, or you can find it in several places on the internet, like here. There is also an Ubuntu wiki on it here.

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier   "Monitor0"
    VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"
    ModelName    "Monitor Model"
        HorizSync       28.0 - 83.0
        VertRefresh     56.0 - 75.0
EndSection

Section "Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
        ### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz",
        ### <percent>: "<f>%"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option     "SWcursor"              # [<bool>]
        #Option     "kmsdev"                # <str>
        #Option     "ShadowFB"              # [<bool>]
    Identifier  "Card0"
    Driver      "sis"
    BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "Screen0"
    Device     "Card0"
    Monitor    "Monitor0"
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     1
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     4
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     8
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     15
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     16
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
                 Modes     "1360x768"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

I believe you would have the correct Driver in your Section "Device", yours should be something like nvidia.

Next, let's look at Section "Screen". You may, like me, have a number of subsections, in which case the only one you need to worry about is the Depth 24 subsection. Insert the line:

Modes "1680x1050"

into that subsection. Your computer was not able to determine the screen size using EDID, so we are manually telling the computer what the screen size is.

I believe this is the change you need to make to get it working. Reboot the machine and see if the resolution is fixed.

There is a chance you may need to make a further change: in the Section "Monitor" section, you can see HorizSync and VertRefresh lines in my xorg.conf. You may also need these lines in yours. However, the range you need to specify for both lines depends on your monitor. If you have the manual for your monitor, look in the "specifications" towards the back of the manual. If you do not have the manual, ASUS appear to provide them on their website, but I do not know the model name/number of your monitor. You may be able to get the model name/number from a sticker on the back of the monitor.

Somewhere in the Specifications section of the manual is a tabulated list of resolutions, and corresponding horizontal and vertical values. You want the HorizSync range to include all horizontal values for every resolution that you might use: find the lowest value in the list and make that the lower limit, and make the upper limit the same as the highest value in the list. Likewise, with the VertRefresh, use the lowest and highest values in the Vertical column (an ASUS manual I have picked at random just calls this "Refresh Rate"). If you add the HorizSync and VertRefresh lines, then save and reboot to see if this fixes the problem.

Please do share by comment, at which point, if any, the resolution issue is fixed. If it is still not fixed, we may need to look at your /etc/X11/xorg.conf and /var/log/Xorg.0.log files again.

Problems changing resolution using xrandr: Bad Match

1 Answers1