video equipment still forcing my laptop to a lower res, argh

[Robert P. J. Day]

Quoting Ed Greshko <Ed.Greshko at greshko.com>:

> Robert P. J. Day wrote:
>> Quoting Ed Greshko <Ed.Greshko at greshko.com>:
>>
>>> Ed Greshko wrote:
>>>> Robert P. J. Day wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>   ok, i've fought with this for a bit but still have no solution.  to
>>>>> recap, dell inspiron 9200, WUXGA (1920x1200) display, now running F9,
>>>>> runs in full WUXGA mode out of the box perfectly.
>>>>>
>>>>>   the instant i connect via VGA to a video processing unit (sorry, i
>>>>> can't be more specific, i'm not allowed), when i restart the X server,
>>>>> it comes up in 1152x864.  why is this?  what is it about X that
>>>>> connecting to an external VGA destination will drive the resolution on
>>>>> the laptop lower?  i'm baffled.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> The first place I would look is in /var/log/Xorg.0.log and determine if
>>>> there is a difference between when X starts with the unit connected and
>>>> when not connected.  The log file is generated upon X starting.
>>>>
>>> I should have added that this is probably hardware related.  Chances are
>>> the video chipset detects that it is attached to an external device and
>>> the external hardware is limited to the lower resolution and thus
>>> reports this at X startup.
>>
>>   i'd thought of that, but i was *assured* by people who should know that
>> the external hardware is not reporting anything back to the laptop.  and
>> forgive my video-related ignorance, but what is *normally* reported back?
>> in what format?  and is there a way to tap that info in real time (a la
>> tcpdump)?  or is just checking the X log file the way to go?  thanks.
>>
>>
> It may not be reporting anything at all.  The chipset simply detects
> electrical connections on the external jack and does its thing.  I think
> you will see a difference in the log file that indicates the higher
> resolutions are not supported...I forget the exact wordings

   ok, i'll get a chance to check that when i get into the workplace.  but
is there any way to de-activate that checking within X?  from what you've
written, i'm assuming that the X server sees what's happening, and  
consequently
scales back on the resolution as a result.  is there an option to tell  
X to simply ignore that and go with full WUXGA no matter what?  thanks.

rday