[newbie] Can't alter resolution - is Linux video driver the answer ??

[Andrew J Fortune]

Hi there,   This is my first posting, so "hello, everyone".   I installed Mandrake Linux v7.0 a bit over a week now. It basically went OK, but with a few teething problems that I can't seem to resolve.   When I first logged in, I noticed that it woke up in 640x480 mode. So I furiously set about to find out how to change this to 1024x768. This turned into a total exercise in frustration. I hit a few newsgroups to try to resolve this, and I got a lot of advice about using XF86Setup, xconfigurator, DrakConf and a couple of other X Configuration tools to re-set the resolution. Nothing worked !! ... it has been driving me absolutely crazy....   I think this problem had something to do with the fact that the Mandrake Installer automatically installed some software called "Kernel version 2.2.14 with framebuffer support". I have since found out that this software can only support 640x480, and this is why it has stubbornly refused to change resolution the way that I want it. I don't know why Mandrake did not allow me to manually configure the X Server, but I had no control over this.   Along the way, I have been advised by a couple of people to install a Linux driver for my video card (which is a Trident Blade 3D/MVP4). So, I hunted one down and I now have a file called XF86_SVGA.GZ on my hard disk, waiting to be installed.   I am wondering if someone can tell me how I can install this driver on to my Linux partition ? Also, does anyone know why Mandrake automatically installed linux-fb on my machine without allowing me to manually configure the X server.   One other problem with the LILO prompt -- Can anyone suggest why I can't manually enter "linux-fb", "linux" or "fb" and get in -- I get an error message "Block Move Error 0xAE" ?? .... If I don't enter anything, it defaults to linux-fb and boots up to Linux. It also allows me to key in "windows" to get into Windows 98.   (I should mention a couple of technical details - my PC is a Compaq Presario, my monitor is a Compaq MV520, and - as previously mentioned - my video card is a Trident Blade 3D/MVP4.)   Many thanks in advance.   regards, Andrew J Fortune