[ excessive crossposting trimmed ]
["Followup-To:" header set to comp.os.linux.hardware.]
On Fri, 8 Sep 2006 07:22:52 -0700, spinlock staggered into the Black Sun
and said:
First, I am a newbie that can't even spell Linux, so, please type slow.

Right.

RH 4 Enterprise edition

Redhat Enterprise isn't usually worth the extra $. CentOS is the way to
go unless you're going to make extensive use of the paid support, or
you're excessively paranoid about running "supported applications".

x86 mobo with an ATI X1600XT AGP adapter. The monitor is a Sony 24"
LCD that looks crappy with any res but the native 1920x1200. The
generic vid driver that installed with the system maxes out at
1600x1200.

Yeah, VESA doesn't define anything larger than that. The man page for
radeon as shipped with Xorg 7.0 doesn't say anything about the X1600,
but you may want to try that anyway (though you'll lose 3D
acceleration). That involves making a backup copy of /etc/X11/xorg.conf
, then changing
Driver "fglrx"
to
Driver "radeon"
....restarting X, and seeing if it worked. If it didn't, copy the
backed-up xorg.conf back to its original location and go trawling
through /var/log/Xorg.0.log for details on *why* it didn't work.
Iterate until it works.

NOTE: Procedures like this are, in general, how you solve problems in
Linux or any other OS where the config files are in plain text and the
logs are reasonably good. Apply this to other problems you find.

When I install the latest driver(8.28.8) from ATI, I can run
1920x1200, but windows are not refreshed properly. Even system windows
like the Logoff/Restart/Shutdown window [do] not display, so, I do NOT
THINK IT IS AN XFREE86 ISSUE.

SHOUTING doesn't make people take you more seriously, eh? And why would
"system windows" behave differently than ordinary X windows? X is very
loosely coupled to the kernel and base system, unlike the whole Win32
graphical subsystem, so your 'Doze experience may lead you astray here.

Basically, when I move a window, it disappears as I move it. I can get
it to refresh by clicking the mouse all over the area that I moved it
to and it slowly refreshes the area around each click!?!?!?! Even when

This is almost certainly a problem with ATi's evil binary-only modules
and their interaction with your video card. I saw very similar symptoms
with nVidia's 6629 build of their evil modules, which I fixed by using
any other version (6111, 8178, whatever.) So: First thing to try is to
go back a couple of minor versions. Heck, I'm still running version
8.27.10 of fglrx on my laptop (FireGL 2, 1400x1050), and it works fine.
You'll find that many module providers work on the principle of "if it
ain't broke, fix it until it *is* broke!". HTH anyway,

--
Matt G|There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see
Brainbench MVP for Linux Admin / mail: TRAP + SPAN don't belong
http://www.brainbench.com / I don't practice what I preach, because I'm
-----------------------------/ not the kind of person I'm preaching to.