Arch Linux

Annoyingduck

Member

Registered: 2016-08-02

Posts: 179

Fix Monitor Resolution XFCE - Keeps Reverting On Input Change

My HTPC is an Arch box that runs XFCE with the open source Intel drivers (did not configure anything, worked upon install). I recently added in a new surround receiver which requires the HDMI to connect to the receiver, then its output to the TV. The resolution I set on the HTPC is 1280x720 so everything is bigger on the screen (1080 is way too small for me). This all worked fine when directly connected to the TV, but now through the receiver whenever I switch to the PC input, the resolution changes back to 1080p. I really like the new setup and don't want to connect directly to the TV so I need to find a way to permanently lock in my chosen resolution.  The way I've changed my resolution is via the Display settings in XFCE's settings. Most stuff I found in the Wiki under xorg and xrandr all have solutions that can be applied to boot, but none of those will work in my situation. It's the changing of input that's triggering a resetting back to 1080p.  Can anyone recommend an easy solution?

Mortimer Houghton

Member

Registered: 2014-09-28

Posts: 89

Re: Fix Monitor Resolution XFCE - Keeps Reverting On Input Change

The wiki (Xfce - Multiple monitors) indicates that display configurations are not persistent and that using arandr might help.

Ropid

Member

Registered: 2015-03-09

Posts: 1,069

Re: Fix Monitor Resolution XFCE - Keeps Reverting On Input Change

You could try writing a config file for /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ with a "Monitor" section for a certain output on your graphics card, where you use an option "PreferredMode" to choose the mode.

Here's an example file, you would name it something like "/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-monitor.conf":

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier "HDMI-A-0"
    Option "PreferredMode" "1280x720"
EndSection

For the "Identifier" line, choose the output name of your graphics card where the monitor is connected. You get the names of the outputs through the "xrandr" command or from the Xorg log file.

You can check that the config file works by looking into the Xorg log file, for example here for me where I have something configured for an output named "DisplayPort-0":

[     6.584] (II) AMDGPU(0): Output DisplayPort-0 using monitor section DisplayPort-0
[     6.584] (**) AMDGPU(0): Option "PreferredMode" "2560x1440_144"
[     6.584] (II) AMDGPU(0): Output DisplayPort-1 has no monitor section
[     6.584] (II) AMDGPU(0): Output HDMI-A-0 has no monitor section
[     6.584] (II) AMDGPU(0): Output HDMI-A-1 has no monitor section
[     6.584] (II) AMDGPU(0): Output DVI-D-0 has no monitor section