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

["Robert P. J. Day" <rpjday crashcourse ca>]

  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.

rday