missing xorg.conf file , big mystery ????

[Lsayre]

During the install of PC-BSD 8.0 RC2 on my old Dell desktop computer there was a failure to detect the video card properly. I selected "Intel" and got it to work in the 1024x768 mode and complete the install process, but my monitor is 1680x1050.

Afterward I entered xorg.conf as root and took a mad a guess at the video card being an i810. I changed "Intel" to "i810". On reboot that change just hung up X. In frustration, I then went to root and rm'd the xorg.conf file (deleted it completely) and then on reboot it surprisingly actually permitted me to go into setup under "Display" and select a 1680x1050 option (which was not present before). All is well and it works at 1680x1050 res now, but the thing is at this resolution running dog slow for all applications (which it did not do in Linux Mint at 1680x1050). So I go back to see what king of xorg.conf file it had installed for itself, and guess what, there isn't one. How is it booting to X and selecting 1680x1050 resolution without an xorg.conf file? That is a total mystery to me.

I'm figuring that if I drop the color depth from 24 to 16 the speed may improve, but with no xorg.conf (yet with X running fine, albeit slow at 1680x1050) I'm mystified as to how to change anything in this regard. Any ideas?

[chuck]

Are you SU? check in xterm as SU /etc/X11
Sounds very strange!

[Lsayre]

It is not there. Only a backup copy of the file I deleted out of frustration is present.

[roseway]

I'm a total newbie here, so I don't know if it applies here, but in Linux this has been a talking point for several months - recent versions of xorg autodetect the display and graphics system and (in theory at least) deliver a correct display without requiring any xorg.conf. Most of the time it works very well, but of course there are exceptions. In your case it rather sounds as though it's using a non-optimised display driver.

[Fatmice]

This just get more strange by the day :)

Personally, I would have fun and go ahead and rename the renmaing xorg.conf.bak to xorg.conf and put in some screen resolution that you know doesn't work. It it doesn't load then you'll know right away...

[roseway]

Yes, I should have said that, although xorg can operate without an xorg.conf, if that file is present then xorg will use it. If the configuration in xorg.conf fails to work properly then xorg will revert to autodetection.

[Fatmice]

Well, I suppose it's to late to say, think twice before you delete! :)

Any how it helps to try and invoke Xorg -configure. Do this in single user mode. It will tell you the location of the new xorg.conf. Copy that file into /etc/X11/xorg.conf

It should run now. Then put the content of that file here.