new to linux

[tehcris]

i installed kubuntu ubuntu and mandriva on an old laptop of mine.and they all gave me the same problem.....every time i open a window the entire screen messes up and looks all crazy and for me to get it back to normal i have to refresh desktop....any idea on how i can stop this?

ps and when i change resolution it messes up too and refresh dont work

[slonkak]

Very first thing to do is make sure you have the correct driver. Usually the one that comes with whatever version of linux doesn't work all that well. If you have an NVIDIA card, goto their site and grab the latest driver, same goes with ATI.

If your screen is messing up too much for you to browse the internet, download the file from another computer and put it on a flash drive. Then, when you're booting your linux box, stop GRUB from autoloading, edit the "kernel" line by adding the word "single" to the end (without the quotes) then boot that line. (You'll see the hotkeys at the bottom of the screen for editing and booting).

Once you get into single user mode (no gui) copy the driver from your thumb drive to your machine and execute it. Follow the instructions (both companies are pretty good at guiding you through this process) and reboot when it's done.

I've assumed that you know how to do basic things like work around the console and accessing external devices. If you don't know how to do those things, just say so and I'll be happy to walk you through it.

[tehcris]

My laptop is runing UniChrome Pro IGP.

My laptop is a Gateway MX3231.....I've been looking for the drivers for linux but cant seem to find it

[tehcris]

by the way thanx for the help man

[slonkak]

My laptop is runing UniChrome Pro IGP.

Eww, VIA. Sorry. Well, here's the Unbuntu page. It lists a bunch of chipsets, hopefully one of them is yours. Just choose the download for your version of Ubuntu. If you're worried about which chipset you have, `lspci` from a shell should give you the answer.

Link (http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=420&OSID=45&CatID=3220&SubCatID=158)

[uteck]

You can try using the generic 'vesa' video driver. That works on most everything.

[computoman]

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/slackware-linux-help/73019-video-driver-s3g-unichrome.html