[SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

LinuxGirl · 2018-11-15 16:38:33

Hi guys!
Sorry if this is a total noobie question, I am basically that, though, lol.

I made a bootable USB, booted up the live version to test, and I can't see anything around the edge of my screen. I can't even see the back or close buttons on the browser, or anything in the trays. If it's close to the edge, it's not visible.

I found the resolution settings, and not one of them works. I believe I need a higher resolution than what's available. Is there a fix for this in the terminal? Or will this be solved during the actual installation?

Thanks smile

Last edited by LinuxGirl (2018-11-18 06:34:32)

rbh · 2018-11-15 22:47:21

LinuxGirl wrote:

Or will this be solved during the actual installation?

That's impossible to tell, as we don't know what hardware you have.
Some hardware is there no linux driver for, only windows drivers.
Some hardware, will the manufacturer provide proprietary linux drivers.

You can search the net or start here: https://wiki.debian.org/Hardware

Other good links are
https://askubuntu.com/questions/389176/ … e-hardware
https://www.linux-drivers.org

You can also test boot the SystemRescueCd, it is good in autodetecting hardware.

Last edited by rbh (2018-11-15 22:48:43)

LinuxGirl · 2018-11-16 18:21:00

Thank you for replying!
I have an MDG desktop computer using AMD A8-6500 APU with Radeon HD 8750D graphics. 64-bit x64 based. I'm pretty new to all this, so please let me know if you need anything else smile

I used the bl-Helium_amd64+build2.iso and it has been installed now. I've found a way to adjust the margins of screens for now in OpenBox, but it's still cutting off the edges, making full screen videos a little bit cut off. I can't see most of the Tnt2 either, no matter where I put it.

I need a resolution of 1776X1000, but I can't seem to find a manual method of changing that. Any ideas?

I really love this OS, and it's perfect other than that. any help is very much appreciated smile

LinuxGirl · 2018-11-16 18:25:39

Also, the hardware is no longer supported at all by the manufacturer hmm

beaker · 2018-11-16 19:05:10

1920 x 1080 then

You're not using a television set as a monitor are you?

LinuxGirl · 2018-11-16 19:10:34

Yes I am...
And I've tried the 1920 res... It basically partitions the screen so I have a small desktop and blank areas surrounding it

beaker · 2018-11-16 19:28:18

ah! well ok . . . You need to adjust the overscan settings on your television set. Set everything you've adjusted on your linux install back to defaults. Just to reiterate. . . the settings you need to adjust are on your TV.

LinuxGirl · 2018-11-16 20:23:10

I just went through every display setting on this thing...everything else makes it worse. It doesn't have an abundance of options, lol

damo · 2018-11-16 21:06:05

You may be able to adjust the screen resolution or "underscan" using xrandr. Here is one thread that may point you in the right direction: Overscanning picture problem....

Menu -> Help&Resources -> xrandr

LinuxGirl · 2018-11-17 00:15:21

Thanks damo,
I followed that link, and tried some suggestions.

Turning off underscanning didn't work.

But using
"xrandr --output HDMI-1 --fb 1776x1000 --transform 1,0,-20,0,1,-19,0,0,1" seemed to work somewhat ok. I played with the commands in that thread... It seemed to bring the screen down so I could see Tint2 but now the bottom is cut. After I made a change and the screen went all wonky I stopped messing with the numbers, lol. But basically that command just moved my screen around after a bit of an adjustment to the rez.

It's getting better and better though! I'll try higher resolutions tonight and see what happens smile

LinuxGirl · 2018-11-17 05:50:03

It works perfectly now! Yay! smile

I used this in the terminal

xrandr --output HDMI-0 --set underscan on
xrandr --output HDMI-0 --set "underscan hborder" 35 --set "underscan vborder" 20

But now I have a new problem...it won't save on reboot. How do I run that script on startup?

damo · 2018-11-17 06:36:58

Put the commands in a script in your ~/bin, make it executable, and add it to your autostart.

#!/bin/bash
# my-clever-screen-setup.sh

xrandr --output HDMI-0 --set underscan on
xrandr --output HDMI-0 --set "underscan hborder" 35 --set "underscan vborder" 20

exit

In ~/.config/openbox/autostart, add the command - the SETTINGS section is probably a good place.

...
...
my-clever-screen-setup.sh

### SETTINGS END

If you edit the title of your first post and add "[SOLVED]" it may help others looking for answers.

FURTHER reading: How To Ask Questions The Smart Way wink

LinuxGirl · 2018-11-17 07:23:41

Thank you so much! Successfully saved on reboot. smile

beaker · 2018-11-17 17:43:17

That's great news. Well done smile

Apologies for steering you wrong. My suggestion has worked for me in the past.

LinuxGirl · 2018-11-17 17:59:05

@beaker no you were great, I actually never heard the term "overscan" until you mentioned it, so it got me looking more into it... Which definitely helped. Hard to look up fixing a problem when you don't know what the problem is called lol. Thanks!

#1 2018-11-15 16:38:33

[SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#2 2018-11-15 22:47:21

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#3 2018-11-16 18:21:00

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#4 2018-11-16 18:25:39

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#5 2018-11-16 19:05:10

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#6 2018-11-16 19:10:34

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#7 2018-11-16 19:28:18

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#8 2018-11-16 20:23:10

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#9 2018-11-16 21:06:05

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#10 2018-11-17 00:15:21

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#11 2018-11-17 05:50:03

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#12 2018-11-17 06:36:58

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#13 2018-11-17 07:23:41

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#14 2018-11-17 17:43:17

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

#15 2018-11-17 17:59:05

Re: [SOLVED] Can't see the entire screen (Overscanning fix in terminal)

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