X-Server: video card and monitor

Verify that the video card and monitor are supported by an X server .


Because the X server works directly with your video board and monitor,
configuring it is the most critical of all your GUI management tasks.
It’s imperative that you use the correct settings in your
configuration. If you proceed incorrectly, you could potentially
damage your monitor.

I know this because I had it happen to me once. I configured my system
to use a sync rate that was too fast for an older CRT monitor I was
using. It worked OK for a couple of weeks. However, one evening my monitor started
hissing, sparking, and smoking. I pushed it too fast for too long and
burned it up. Always check your video board and monitor documentation
to obtain the correct specs!


Before you begin, you should pull out your video board and monitor
documentation and identify the following information:


• Who’s the manufacturer of the video board?

• What model number is the video board?

• How much memory is installed on the video board?

• What’s the board’s maximum resolution?

• What’s the board’s maximum color depth?

• What chipset is installed on the board?

• What’s the maximum horizontal and vertical sync rate supported by
  your monitor?


With this information in hand, you need to check the HCL for your
distribution and make sure your video board and monitor are supported. Trust me, having this
information in hand before you begin will save you a lot of trouble.

Be warned, however, that you will many times find that newer video
boards are not listed in the HCL. Does this mean the board is not
supported and won’t work? Maybe, maybe not. Here’s what you can do:


• See if an older driver will support your newer video board until a
  newer driver is released.

  Most X server implementations will include a set of generic drivers
  that will support most
  video boards at some level. It won’t look great, but you can at least
  get your system up
  and running.

• Check the video board manufacturer’s website and see if they have
  released a driver for their board that isn’t included with your X
  server implementation.

  Once you have this information gathered, you’re ready to start
  configuring your X server. This can be done in two ways:

• Editing the X configuration file

• Using an X configuration utility


If you’re using X.org on a Linux distribution that uses the init
daemon, your configuration settings are saved in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.

If you’re using XFree86, your configuration settings are
saved in /etc/X11/XF86Config.


Linux distributions that are based on systemd do not use the
xorg.conf configuration file. Instead, the X11 configuration is stored
in a series of configuration files located in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d.

However, the configuration principles are pretty much the same.
Instead of a single file divided into multiple sections, these systems
break up the one single file into separate files, such as

10-evdev.conf, 50-device.conf,
50-monitor.conf, and 50-screen.conf.


The syntax within these files is the same as that used in the xorg.conf file.




LX0-104 Exam Objectives (H)