You have been subscribed to a public bug:
Issue: When changing screen refresh rate within "System --> Preferences
--> Screen Resolution" (on the top bar) selection of an invalid refresh
rate for the monitor being used results in an unusable system.
What should happen is this: After a resolution is selected and the user
applies it, there should be a (relatively) short period of time
displaying the new resolution with a confirmation dialog - similar to
the M$ "Do you want to keep this new resolution?" dialog. If no
response is received after the (short) time-out interval, the screen
resolution and refresh rate should revert to the resolution and refresh
rate in use prior to the change.
The logic should be something like this:
user selects new resolution;
user selects "apply"
Ubuntu saves original display parameters in a temp location.
Ubuntu applies the new parameters to the display, and posts a "do you want to
keep this new screen configuration" (or whatever) dialog. [yes] [no]
(Dialog parameters: Default selection = "no". Dialog timeout = 15 seconds.
Timeout auto-responds "no" if triggered)
Case selection_dialog:
selection_dialog == "yes"
{
Commit new resolution data to wherever it is normally stored;
Clear saved resolution data;
Dismiss dialog;
End;
}
selection_dialog != "yes"
dialog_timeout == TRUE
anything else happens
{
Restore saved display parameters and update display;
Clear saved resolution data;
Dismiss dialog;
End;
}
esac
Note:
1. Stored resolution and refresh parameters applied at system startup are NOT
committed until AFTER a positive dialog response.
(a) If the user "bombs" the system manually, or the selection forces a system
reboot, or whatever - the user gets the original resolution parameters back.
2. Making the default action "no" allows the user - even if the display
is un-usable - to hit the enter key and restore the original display
immediately.
3. Making *anything* other than a positively asserted "yes" response
restore the original parameters makes the system virtually bullet-proof
regarding display parameter selection.
System:
AMD K6-2 - 400 (mhz) with 398 meg ram and an ATI Radeon video card (with TV
out) (I do not believe these are critical to the bug)
Video and mouse travel to my workstation through a Belkin OmniView SE 4-port
KVM as Port 3 (also assume non-critical)
Monitor is a ViewSonic A75F (potentially critical)
Resolution attempted is 1024x768 at 87hz refresh (which is - apparently! -
invalid for this monitor / video card)
O/S is Ubuntu 8.10 as initially installed on this system prior to any
updates being applied.
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Configure a baseline Ubuntu 8.10 system using a monitor with known
capabilities and limits.
(Choices in this report are for the A75F, pick appropriate choices for your
monitor)
2. Login and wait for the "normal" desktop to appear and finish
building. (wait until "quiet hard drive")
3. From the top menu bar on the screen select:
(a) "System"
(b) Then "Preferences"
(c) Then "Screen Resolution"
4. Select a screen resolution and refresh rate that is **not displayable** by
your system hardware.
(i.e. Results in either a blank screen, an "Out Of Limit" message, or a
hopelessly garbled screen image.)
Expected Result: (desired result)
After a short period of inactivity, the screen automatically restores itself to
the configuration it was in prior to the change.
If the system is manually reset, or spontaneously reboots, prior to the timeout
interval, upon restart the original configuration prior to change is restored.
Actual Result:
The system remains in the unusable display state.
Rebooting the system results in the system returning to the unusable display
state with no apparent way to recover.
Attempting to use the "recovery mode" boot option does not provide a method for
returning the display to a "sane" condition.
Note that there is an "attempt to fix X-server" or such like in the recovery
menu, but it does not help.
Requested changes:
1. Implement the display time-out feature as noted above.
2. Add an item to the recovery menu that allows the user to reset the
display parameters to a sane value, (say 800x600, 60hz).
3. (Optional) Add, as one of the boot choices, an option that boots
normally except it changes the screen resolution to something sane.
Note that simply passing " -- bestResolution" does not work well, since
the user gets the un-desired resolution first.
Jim H.
** Affects: gnome-control-center (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
--
"Screen Resolution" does not gracefully recover from bad choices
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/316961
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Desktop
Bugs, which is subscribed to gnome-control-center in ubuntu.
--
desktop-bugs mailing list
desktop-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/desktop-bugs
