On 27 Aug, I asked:
Re: [SLUG] Odd crashes appear to be netscape-related
> Oh - is there a way to tell X not to use a virtual screen greater than
> the current resolution? I don't dare run in 1600x1200 mode - even more
> frequent crashes. :-( And leaving the 1600x1200 res in as the 2nd
> mode means that windows often pop up partly off-screen.
>
> I wonder whether having actual = virtual screen space of 1280x1024 would
> also reduce the crashes. Going from actual 1600x1200 to 1280x1024
> certainly did.
Before XFree86 4.x, you did it like this:
5.4 Turn off virtual screen resolution. (screen bigger than monitor)
Open /etc/X11/XF86Config in an editor as root(see
above). Look for the "Virtual" line. Comment it out(put
a # in front of it) or set the values to your preferred
resolution(or just remove all the ones you don't want). Have
a look a the XFree86 faq ( http://www.xfree86.org/#support )
for more information.
Despite comments that in 4.x, the virtual desktop is exactly as big as
the maximum resolution specified in the modes for the given screen
colour depth, that didn't appear to be the case. I had a 1600x1200
mode at a colour depth of 24, and none at 16, yet my desktop was always
1600x1200.
Reading up the doco lead me to add a:
Virtual 1280 1024
into the appropriate Display subsection. Unfortunately, the machine
crashed at that point. However, upon restart, the desktop was
(finally!) restricted to 1280x1024 size. But on checking the
XF86Config-4 file, I saw that my changes had not survived the crash.
So, I can only think that quitting the X server is not enough to
restrict the desktop size, and that a reboot is necessary. (Strange!!)
So, while this email started out as a definite "this is how you do it",
I'm afraid it has morphed into a "this is the behaviour I observed".
Now to try the Screen section option `Option "Accel" "no"' and see if
that + reduced desktop size reduces the number of X11/system crashes.
One black-screen crash on Thursday was so bad that I couldn't reset or
power off the machine (soft power button; gave up after 30 seconds of
holding it in), and had to physically pull the plug. :-(
luke
--
SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group - http://slug.org.au/
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