On Tue, 26 May 2020 at 04:25, Michael Hennebry <hennebry@web.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu> wrote:
On Tue, 26 May 2020, Michael Hennebry wrote:

> How do I get xrandr or something else to do what I want,
> i.e. change my resolution to 1440x900
> when using the live DVD..

Note that since I using a live DVD,
changing a config file and
rebooting is not really an option.

> It is what I have on Centos 7.
> That is where I got the numbers to use.

We can't provide useful answers without more details of your hardware.  Were you running Centos 7 on the same HP Compac (sic) dc5800 Small Form Factor?  If so were you using 32-bit or 64-bit CentoOS 7?  Are you using a KVM switch?   The dc5800 came in many configurations, with RAM as little as 2GB and optional graphics cards.   Onboard graphics usually steals system RAM memory space, so with 64-bit OS and 2G RAM you could be stuck with low resolution.  KVM switches sometimes fail to pass correct monitor details.   

What does "env | grep wayland" give?
What do you get from "xrandr" without options?
Are there errors in Xorg.0.log?

I have an iMac with a Core 2 Duo CPU, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics, and 2G ram. It is very usable running 32-bit Linux Mint 19 with 1680x1050 Xorg graphics.  Booting live 64-bit Fedora 30 from USB takes a very long time, and ends up using X11 graphics:

[liveuser@localhost-live ~]$ env | grep wayland
[liveuser@localhost-live ~]$ xrandr
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 1680 x 1050, current 1680 x 1050, maximum 1680 x 1050
default connected primary 1680x1050+0+0 0mm x 0mm
   1680x1050     77.00*

With 64-bit linux the system is very slow and eventually gives a reboot popup blaming firefox -- probably due to the limited RAM.
 
--
George N. White III