Need help with Dell Inspiron 8600 notebook

[Steve Brown]

I'm replying to myself:

After having no success installing Fedora Core (Yarrow, Test 2), I tried 
installing what was probably the last Red Hat beta, "Severn".  Unlike 
Fedora Core, this version detected my video card as "VESA (Generic)" 
rather than "NVIDIA GeForce FX (Generic)".  I was even able to do the 
install in GUI mode.  So, until someone figures out why the NVIDIA 
driver doesn't work with the FX 5200 on a 1680 x 1050 display, I'd 
recommend slipping the VESA driver in its place (the only problem I have 
is that the aspect ratio is not correct -- everything is stretched 
across the screen).

I reinstalled Fedora Core (pre-Test 2) and manually made three changes 
to my /etc/XF86Config file.  In the "Monitor" section I changed the 
VertRefresh setting to 59.0 - 85.0 (from 60).  In the "Device" section, 
under indentifier "Videocard0", I changed the Driver setting to "vesa".  
Under the "Screen" section, I added some "Modes" entries (e.g. 
"1680x1050", "1400x1050", etc.).

Thanks to all who responded.

Steven J. Brown wrote:

> Can anyone help me get Fedora Core running on a Dell Inspiron 8600 
> notebook?  The problem is that it's got an unusual wide-screen monitor 
> (runs at 1680 x 1050).   I've tried various selections  during 
> text-mode installation, but none have worked so far.  I also tried 
> manually inserting "1680x1050" into the XF86Config file, but that 
> didn't help.
>
> Any help would be appreciated.
>


-- 
Steven J. Brown
Value Line, Inc.
Business A*nalyst / Programmer
212-907-1650 (NY)
201-842-8019 (NJ)
sbrown at valueline.com
ny:win2000:mozilla


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