Fix your Kubuntu login screen resolution

Posted by Flo in Tech, Tricks on September 13th, 2008.
Tags: , , ,

After installing Kubuntu Hardy, I noticed that I could scroll through the login screen. This is because Kubuntu’s xserver gives you the option to add some virtual space around your screen, so everything is bigger, and you can scroll to the things you want to see. The problem is that I didn’t want this virtual space. So here’s a quick guide how to repair this problem (a lot of people seem to have it).

This really is a small fix, so it won’t take long to do it. However, please take in mind that you should do the backup steps, otherwise it can take some extra time.

  1. Open your terminal (Alt+F2 and then enter `Konsole` and press OK).
  2. now open a root shell (go to session, and press `r` or manually select `new root shell`)
  3. use the following command:

    cd /etc/X11/
     

  4. Now we are gonna backup the xorg configuration file with the following command:

    cp xorg.conf xorg.confbackup1

    of course, if this one already exists, choose another name.

  5. We are ready to make some changes. Type the command:

    nano xorg.conf
     

  6. Now scroll through the text using your keyboard arrows, and search for the section `screen` and the subsection "display".
  7. Now find the line "virtual" Usually it looks like this: Virtual 1500 1400
  8. Change the numbers 1500 1400 (or whatever stands behind Virtual) into your screen resolution. For example, if you use a 1024×768 resolution, you should change the line into "virtual 1024 768".

    If you don’t know your screen resolution, it’s the first one listed under "Modes", one line below "virtual".

  9. now press ctrl+X to exit. Save your changes.
  10. now type the command `reboot` to reboot, otherwise exit the console, and reboot the normal way.
  11. congratulations, your login screen is fixed!


NOTE
: If you reboot, and get a black screen, or something worse than that, you should reboot again, but then in recovery mode. Then login as root, and type the following commands (if your backup file is called xorg.confbackup1):

cd /etc/X11/
cp xorg.confbackup1 xorg.conf
reboot

This will overwrite the xorg.conf file with your backup file, overwriting all changes, and then reboots the system. Now just boot normally, and everything should work again, except for the fact that your login screen isn’t fixed.





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