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I am trying to use a cheap 2-ports VGA Switch (search for: Round Press Button Two Way VGA Switch Splitter Black).

It only takes two VGA in and one VGA out (no power input). However when I boot my XFCE Debian session, I cannot change the resolution to the recommended one for my monitor (HP Pavilion v220 Monitor) which is 1680x1050.

Looking at the X log I can see the following when booting using the switch:

[    26.355] (II) intel(0): EDID for output VGA1
[    26.355] (II) intel(0): Printing probed modes for output VGA1
[    26.355] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1024x768"x60.0   65.00  1024 1048 1184 1344  768 771 777 806 -hsync -vsync (48.4 kHz e)
[    26.355] (II) intel(0): Modeline "800x600"x60.3   40.00  800 840 968 1056  600 601 605 628 +hsync +vsync (37.9 kHz e)
[    26.355] (II) intel(0): Modeline "800x600"x56.2   36.00  800 824 896 1024  600 601 603 625 +hsync +vsync (35.2 kHz e)
[    26.355] (II) intel(0): Modeline "848x480"x60.0   33.75  848 864 976 1088  480 486 494 517 +hsync +vsync (31.0 kHz e)
[    26.355] (II) intel(0): Modeline "640x480"x59.9   25.18  640 656 752 800  480 489 492 525 -hsync -vsync (31.5 kHz e)
[    26.356] (II) intel(0): EDID for output HDMI1

while if I use direct cable connection:

[    26.404] (II) intel(0): EDID for output VGA1
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): Manufacturer: HWP  Model: 26fe  Serial#: 16843009
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): Year: 2008  Week: 13
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): EDID Version: 1.3
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): Analog Display Input,  Input Voltage Level: 0.700/0.700 V
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): Sync:  Separate
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): Max Image Size [cm]: horiz.: 47  vert.: 30
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): Gamma: 2.20
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): DPMS capabilities: StandBy Suspend Off; RGB/Color Display
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): Default color space is primary color space
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): First detailed timing is preferred mode
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): redX: 0.644 redY: 0.333   greenX: 0.286 greenY: 0.606
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): blueX: 0.152 blueY: 0.076   whiteX: 0.313 whiteY: 0.329
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): Supported established timings:
[    26.404] (II) intel(0): 720x400@70Hz
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): 640x480@60Hz
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): 640x480@75Hz
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): 800x600@60Hz
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): 800x600@75Hz
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): 832x624@75Hz
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): 1024x768@60Hz
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): 1024x768@75Hz
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): 1280x1024@75Hz
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): 1152x864@75Hz
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Manufacturer's mask: 0
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Supported standard timings:
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): #0: hsize: 1152  vsize 720  refresh: 60  vid: 113
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): #1: hsize: 1280  vsize 960  refresh: 60  vid: 16513
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): #2: hsize: 1280  vsize 1024  refresh: 60  vid: 32897
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): #3: hsize: 1440  vsize 900  refresh: 60  vid: 149
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): #4: hsize: 1600  vsize 1000  refresh: 60  vid: 169
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): #5: hsize: 1680  vsize 1050  refresh: 60  vid: 179
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Supported detailed timing:
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): clock: 146.2 MHz   Image Size:  473 x 296 mm
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): h_active: 1680  h_sync: 1784  h_sync_end 1960 h_blank_end 2240 h_border: 0
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): v_active: 1050  v_sync: 1053  v_sync_end 1059 v_blanking: 1089 v_border: 0
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Ranges: V min: 56 V max: 76 Hz, H min: 30 H max: 81 kHz, PixClock max 165 MHz
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Monitor name: HP v220
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Serial No: CNT81361N2
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): EDID (in hex):
[    26.405] (II) intel(0):     00ffffffffffff0022f0fe2601010101
[    26.405] (II) intel(0):     0d120103682f1e78eed525a455499b27
[    26.405] (II) intel(0):     135054a56b807100814081809500a900
[    26.405] (II) intel(0):     b3000101010121399030621a274068b0
[    26.405] (II) intel(0):     3600d9281100001c000000fd00384c1e
[    26.405] (II) intel(0):     5110000a202020202020000000fc0048
[    26.405] (II) intel(0):     5020763232300a2020202020000000ff
[    26.405] (II) intel(0):     00434e5438313336314e320a202000c5
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Printing probed modes for output VGA1
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1680x1050"x60.0  146.25  1680 1784 1960 2240  1050 1053 1059 1089 -hsync +vsync (65.3 kHz eP)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1600x1000"x60.0  133.16  1600 1704 1872 2144  1000 1001 1004 1035 -hsync +vsync (62.1 kHz)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1280x1024"x75.0  135.00  1280 1296 1440 1688  1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync (80.0 kHz e)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1280x1024"x60.0  108.00  1280 1328 1440 1688  1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync (64.0 kHz e)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1440x900"x59.9  106.50  1440 1520 1672 1904  900 903 909 934 -hsync +vsync (55.9 kHz e)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1280x960"x60.0  108.00  1280 1376 1488 1800  960 961 964 1000 +hsync +vsync (60.0 kHz e)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1152x864"x75.0  108.00  1152 1216 1344 1600  864 865 868 900 +hsync +vsync (67.5 kHz e)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1152x720"x60.0   67.28  1152 1208 1328 1504  720 721 724 746 -hsync +vsync (44.7 kHz)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1024x768"x75.1   78.80  1024 1040 1136 1312  768 769 772 800 +hsync +vsync (60.1 kHz e)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "1024x768"x60.0   65.00  1024 1048 1184 1344  768 771 777 806 -hsync -vsync (48.4 kHz e)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "832x624"x74.6   57.28  832 864 928 1152  624 625 628 667 -hsync -vsync (49.7 kHz e)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "800x600"x75.0   49.50  800 816 896 1056  600 601 604 625 +hsync +vsync (46.9 kHz e)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "800x600"x60.3   40.00  800 840 968 1056  600 601 605 628 +hsync +vsync (37.9 kHz e)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "640x480"x75.0   31.50  640 656 720 840  480 481 484 500 -hsync -vsync (37.5 kHz e)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "640x480"x60.0   25.20  640 656 752 800  480 490 492 525 -hsync -vsync (31.5 kHz e)
[    26.405] (II) intel(0): Modeline "720x400"x70.1   28.32  720 738 846 900  400 412 414 449 -hsync +vsync (31.5 kHz e)
[    26.406] (II) intel(0): EDID for output HDMI1

So until X actually recognize the Modeline, I will not be able to select it from my XFCE session (xfce4-display-settings).

What should I do to fix this ? I do now want to burn my monitor using an improper Modeline setting. I was hoping for a tool to generate the proper Xorg file directly from my edid (eg. get-edid) file:

$ xxd /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/drm/card0/card0-VGA-1/edid
0000000: 00ff ffff ffff ff00 22f0 fe26 0101 0101  ........"..&....
0000010: 0d12 0103 682f 1e78 eed5 25a4 5549 9b27  ....h/.x..%.UI.'
0000020: 1350 54a5 6b80 7100 8140 8180 9500 a900  .PT.k.q..@......
0000030: b300 0101 0101 2139 9030 621a 2740 68b0  ......!9.0b.'@h.
0000040: 3600 d928 1100 001c 0000 00fd 0038 4c1e  6..(.........8L.
0000050: 5110 000a 2020 2020 2020 0000 00fc 0048  Q...      .....H
0000060: 5020 7632 3230 0a20 2020 2020 0000 00ff  P v220.     ....
0000070: 0043 4e54 3831 3336 314e 320a 2020 00c5  .CNT81361N2.  ..

I have not been able to use the famous CustomEDID solution even to fix the issue at Xorg level:

[    25.360] (WW) intel(0): Option "ConnectedMonitor" is not used
[    25.360] (WW) intel(0): Option "UseEDID" is not used
[    25.360] (WW) intel(0): Option "CustomEDID" is not used
[    25.360] (WW) intel(0): Option "IgnoreEDID" is not used

Of course a half-baked solution would be to hard code stuff in xorg.conf like in the stone age (mixing parse-edit with hand-edited X.org log file):

$ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf 
Section "Monitor"
    Identifier "HP v220"
    ModelName "HP v220"
    VendorName "HWP"
    # Monitor Manufactured week 13 of 2008
    # EDID version 1.3
    # Analog Display
    DisplaySize 470 300
    Gamma 2.20
    Option "DPMS" "true"
    Horizsync 30-81
    VertRefresh 56-76
    # Maximum pixel clock is 160MHz   
#   Modeline    "Mode 0" -hsync +vsync 
Modeline "1680x1050"  146.25  1680 1784 1960 2240  1050 1053 1059 1089 -hsync +vsync
Modeline "1600x1000"  133.16  1600 1704 1872 2144  1000 1001 1004 1035 -hsync +vsync
Modeline "1280x1024"  135.00  1280 1296 1440 1688  1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync
Modeline "1280x1024"  108.00  1280 1328 1440 1688  1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync
Modeline "1440x900"  106.50  1440 1520 1672 1904  900 903 909 934 -hsync +vsync
Modeline "1280x960"  108.00  1280 1376 1488 1800  960 961 964 1000 +hsync +vsync
Modeline "1152x864"  108.00  1152 1216 1344 1600  864 865 868 900 +hsync +vsync
Modeline "1152x720"   67.28  1152 1208 1328 1504  720 721 724 746 -hsync +vsync
Modeline "1024x768"   78.80  1024 1040 1136 1312  768 769 772 800 +hsync +vsync
Modeline "1024x768"   65.00  1024 1048 1184 1344  768 771 777 806 -hsync -vsync
Modeline "832x624"   57.28  832 864 928 1152  624 625 628 667 -hsync -vsync
Modeline "800x600"   49.50  800 816 896 1056  600 601 604 625 +hsync +vsync
Modeline "800x600"   40.00  800 840 968 1056  600 601 605 628 +hsync +vsync
Modeline "640x480"   31.50  640 656 720 840  480 481 484 500 -hsync -vsync
Modeline "640x480"   25.20  640 656 752 800  480 490 492 525 -hsync -vsync
Modeline "720x400"   28.32  720 738 846 900  400 412 414 449 -hsync +vsync
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "Screen0"
    Monitor    "HP v220"
EndSection

But the framebuffer would still be left as:

$ fbset -i

mode "1024x768"
    geometry 1024 768 1024 768 32
    timings 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    accel true
    rgba 8/16,8/8,8/0,0/0
endmode

instead of something like:

$ fbset -i 

mode "1680x1050"
    geometry 1680 1050 1680 1050 32
    timings 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    accel true
    rgba 8/16,8/8,8/0,0/0
endmode

I also like the fact that my GRUB2 is running full resolution.

I am looking something that will fix the low level issue.

Improve this question
4
  • Modern monitors won't burn because of that – CRTs have a safety shutoff, and LCDs/LEDs don't even have the relevant circuitry in the first place.
    – u1686_grawity
    Nov 14, 2016 at 11:38
  • Did you try to add the mode manually? There seem to be various articles about it online.
    – Seth
    Nov 14, 2016 at 11:50
  • The low level issue seems to be that your cheap VGA switch doesn't connect the EDID pins, so X doesn't get EDID information. Personally, I'd use the "stone age" solution and add the correct modelines to xorg.conf. If you are worried about correct timings, use xrandr --verbose without the switch to see the timings of the modes EDID provides. As for why you are not able to use CustomEDID, and why the framebuffer still has the wrong resolution even if the modeline is accepted, I have no idea.
    – dirkt
    Nov 14, 2016 at 14:23
  • I think it's also possible to use custom EDID files for the framebuffer/KMS on boot, but I've never done this myself.
    – dirkt
    Nov 14, 2016 at 14:23

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

Because CustomEDID is not implemented for intel see here, an alternate solution is simply to use drm_kms_helper.edid_firmare module. In my case:

# ls -al /lib/firmware/edid/HPv220.edid.bin 
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 128 Nov 14 15:32 /lib/firmware/edid/HPv220.edid.bin
# cat /etc/default/grub 
[...]
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="drm_kms_helper.edid_firmware=edid/HPv220.edid.bin"
# update-grub
# reboot

The grub screen is using some other default resolution, but that is acceptable. Now my session has the proper resolution, no need to tweak the stone-age xorg.conf file. And on top of that fb is properly initialized:

$ fbset -i

mode "1680x1050"
    geometry 1680 1050 1680 1050 32
    timings 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    accel true
    rgba 8/16,8/8,8/0,0/0
endmode

Now my dmesg output are 100% identical (well except the Kernel command line).

Improve this answer
1
  • CustomEDID worked for me with intel
    – DependencyHell
    Feb 3, 2019 at 13:38

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