Configuring widescreen resolutions in Ubuntu 9.04 on an Acer AL1916W LCD with an Intel 915GM/910GML Graphics Controller

24 May 2009 0 Comments

Ubuntu Linux 9.04 (“Jaunty Jackalope”) includes drivers for the Intel 915GM / 910GML onboard graphics controllers found in many mobile computers, but it will not detect that an Acer AL1916W LCD Monitor connected to it supports widescreen output.

To check whether your computer is using the 915GM / 910GML graphics controller, run the “lspci” command on the command line. You will see output similar to this:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 915GM/PM/GMS/910GML Express Processor to DRAM Controller (rev 03)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 915GM/GMS/910GML Express Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 915GM/GMS/910GML Express Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 04)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 04)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 04)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #1 (rev 04)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #2 (rev 04)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 04)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev d4)
00:1e.2 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 04)
00:1e.3 Modem: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) AC'97 Modem Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FBM (ICH6M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 04)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801FBM (ICH6M) SATA Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 04)
06:01.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI1510 PC card Cardbus Controller
06:02.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10)
06:04.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 2200BG [Calexico2] Network Connection (rev 05)

In this example, the second and third lines indicate the computer’s Graphics Controller, while the rest indicates other system hardware.

Configuring the Acer 1916W LCD Monitor for widescreen display requires that you edit your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. Be VERY careful when changing the contents of this file. Compared to older versions of Ubuntu, Jaunty Jackalope’s xorg.conf file contains the minimum amount of details, but anything you add to the file will override existing configurations even if they aren’t explicitly specified in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.

The contents of your xorg.conf file should like similar to this:

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Configured Monitor"
EndSection
 
Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Default Screen"
	Monitor		"Configured Monitor"
	Device		"Configured Video Device"
EndSection
 
Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Configured Video Device"
EndSection

You’ll need to add a “Display” subsection to the “Screen” section, so after making a backup of the xorg.conf file, modify it to look like this:

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Configured Monitor"
EndSection
 
Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Default Screen"
	Monitor		"Configured Monitor"
	Device		"Configured Video Device"
	SubSection "Display"
		Modes "1440x1440" "1440x900" "1280x1024" "1280x960" "1152x864" "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "720x400" "640x480"
		Virtual	2464 900
	EndSubSection
EndSection
 
Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Restart your machine (if you want to do this from the command line, use “sudo reboot“), and afterwards Administration->Display Preferences should display the correct resolutions for the monitor: