[BlackGarden]

Well I finally installed Linux (Fedora Core because that's what I have on my uni's computers) and I only broke my computer 3 times in the process, losing about 5 years' worth of data, but at least the hard drive itself was redeemable.
Anyway, I'm on a laptop, and FC doesn't seem to support my monitor, so when I try and start a graphical mode using startx, the screen just goes black. Does anyone know where I can get a suitable driver to sort this out?
When I start the graphical mode it says it recognised my video card (ATI Mobility Radeon X700) but not my monitor.

[linuxphile]

Try editing /etc/X11/xorg.conf. You'll want to look at the Modes line under the Section "Screen". Try setting the default resolution to something a little more conservative. Below is an example of the line you should be looking for:
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

You will need to be root to edit the file. My fav editor is vi.

HTH

[saikee]

Think you may be able to run the Xwindows configurator "xorgconfig" or its equivalent in root terminal and select "LCD" for the monitor. I run FC2 to FC5 with a flat screen LCD and have the vendor's vertical and horizontal frequencies supply to the configurator.

linuxphile's method of editing the /etc/X11/xorg.conf is quicker because the two frequencies are always specified in the "HorizSync" and "VertRefresh" statements. That is the method I usually go for as going through the configurator you need to specify the keyboard, mouse and video card too even if they are working satisfactorily.

You can also try "ati" or "radeon" in the Driver statement under the heading of "Device" to get the best out of the video card.

[tech1568]

You probably just need the right video settings instead of a driver. In general, what you want to do is set your video settings to the simplest possible so that you can get the GUI going on your screen and then configure from there.
The only thing I might add to linuxphile's post is that the "depth" setting (bit-rate depth of color) in the xorg.conf file may also be a factor. Here you also want to go with the lowest resolution that will work on your screen.

[saikee]

I used to try everything on display resolution, colour depth etc but since I got the scanning frequencies right ( I even written my LCD manufacturer's frequencies at a prominant position at my desk) I never had a need to bother with other parameters.

Most video cards nowadays can support number of colours beyond our visual limit can detect, even with just 128Mb ram.

LCD panels (as used on a laptop) do have frequencies significantly different from those of CRT monitors.