Please describe the problem:
Originally reported at:
  https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/bugs/399727
then
  http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=590376
both rejected as wrong place.

Brief:

1. When choosing a new resolution, it expects you to reject a bad mode without
being able to see the dialogue! This should be changed so you have to click to
-accept- keeping the new resolution.

2. If the monitor resolution is not detectable in probing, it would be best for
the resolution set by user control to affect both the display resolution
(xorg.conf/Screen/Display/Viewport) AND virtual resolution
(xorg.conf/Screen/Display/Virtual) as the later currently defaults to the
maximum the video device can generate.

Thanks

**** Original bug report to https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/bugs/399727 ****

Installed Ubuntu 9.04 on a friends Amilo L7320GW.
LCD not recognised, so I ended up with just the top left 1280x800 of a
1600x1200 virtual screen.
It thought it was displaying the full 1600x1200.

However, when I tried to set 1280x800 resolution it still seemed to still think
it was displaying on a 1600x1200 screen and the display was very corrupted.
(i.e. the horizontals were out of sync, strange wrapping, etc, like the worst
interlacing feathering ever! - and even stranger, the mouse pointer was
unaffected and completely out of sync with all of the 'interlace feathered'
dialogue boxes I could just about make out)

The Display dialogue then KEEPS this bad setting by default!
It should REJECT it if not confirmed within the time limit, that's the whole
point of confirming right?
How do I reject the mode if I can't see or aim at the damn dialogue box!
So, I was FORCED to edit '/etc/X11/xorg.conf' to revert this - a scary enough
proposition to me, let alone my friend.

I eventually discovered that in Section "Screen" I needed my SubSection
"Display"s to have both 'Virtual' and 'Viewport' set to '1280 800'.

My initial xorg.conf was basically empty, so I guess setting a resolution was
leaving the virtual resolution at the 1600x1200 size dictated by the lack of a
useful monitor probe. (assumes monitor must cope with the highest resolution
card is capable of, it would seem)

Maybe assuming Virtual/Viewport should match when monitor is 'unknown' would be
safe way to do things, in the absence of a full blown 'tell me what resolution
the monitor is' dialogue?


Steps to reproduce:
1. have an unspecified monitor that is smaller than max video card resolution
2. video should now extend off the visible screen (virtual size > screen size)
3. try to change resolution to actual screen resolution




Actual results:
video goes bad, can't see dialogue to reject chosen resolution.
no way to get virtual resolution to match actual screen and output resolution.


Expected results:
In the first place, if the monitor size is unknown the virtual/display resolution would be set in tandem so avoiding the issue.
Regardless, the dialogue should be to select to keep a new resolution (i.e. yes I can actually see the dialogue) rather than to reject it.

Does this happen every time?
yes

Other information:
The default xorg.conf was basically empty.