[K12OSN] monitor madness

[anthony baldwin <anthonybaldwin snet net>]

Dudes,
Lameness has occurred.
In my frustration over my sound issues, I decided to powercycle my 
machine.  (Yeah, real smart.)  I decided to power cycle the monitor, too 
(even smarter).
This monitor hasn't been turned off in...gosh, I don't know...a long 
time.  So, when I turned the monitor back on, it just click, click, 
clicked, and would not come back on.  Numerous attempts produced the 
same result.
Luckily I have an old crappy monitor sitting here that someone had 
thrown out.  I hooked up the old crappy monitor and rebooted,
First attempt ws bad.  You can imagine.  The big problem was really the 
refresh rates and resolution, though, because, through the haze, I could 
actually see the log in screen buzzing back and forth like mad. I had to 
restart in single user and edit XF86Configs for slower refresh rates and 
lower resolution for this old, lamer monitor.
I was stuck at first, trying to run the x configuration tool, and 
couldn't remember what it was (redhat-config-xfree86).
Using my iBook I went onto IRC.freenode and asked at #ltsp and someone 
helped me out, but the redhat-config-xfree86 wasn't cutting the mustard, 
anyway, so I used pico and edited the XF86Configs by hand.  I altered 
them to look like the ones on the box I made for my daughter, because 
she has an equally old, equally lame, ugly monitor.
Anyway, I feel pretty proud of myself that I was able to do something 
like edit my XF86Configs with Pico and effect a useful change.  I'm sure 
that it sounds pretty simple and elementary to most of you, but I'm an 
English teacher...
So, now I am seeing everything in 800x600, like back in the stone ages, 
like the 20th century or something.  I tried to run this old monitor at 
higher res, but it can't hack it.  Looks like a TV with bad Horiz issues 
when I try.  Can't see anything.
One good thing, though, is that this old monitor takes up about 30% less 
space on my desk.  I found stuff that's been missing for ages under there...
This old monitor WAS going to be part of a handful of odds and ends that 
I was going to donate to my proposed LTSP lab at school, too.
Being a teacher, I can afford to buy a new monitor in about 5 years if I 
save all my lunch money and don't eat...I need to lose weight anyway.
Of course, I had been wanting to do a mobo/cpu upgrade when tax returns 
come, as you all know.  I'm going to have to put that off for a while, I 
think.  No point in having a blazing machine with a stone age monitor.

--
Anthony Baldwin

http://www.School-Library.net
Freedom to Learn!