Getting screen resolution correct with nvidia drivers

I have a new install of ubuntu.

Upon first installing the nvidia drivers are not active and I get the correct screen resolution. 1680x1050

Then I install the nvidia drivers and the best resolution I can get is 1280x1024.

In searching around there is a lot of information related to this and similar issues. I have tried tips with xrandr, manually installing the drivers, etc, etc. Finding the right information is proving troublesome however.

I know that the graphics card can out put the correct resolution because it does until the nvidia drivers are activated. So does anyone here know the solution? (Why does this have to be so hard?)

This is not a new whiz bang system, but one I put together with spare parts.

Graphics: NV37GL Quadro PCI-E Series

Monitor: ViewSonic VX2025WM -- This monitor worked correctly on my other ubuntu system with the nvidia drivers, but was connected with VGA instead of digital.

--------------xorg.conf------------after--- 1. Install the restricted drivers System ---> Hardware Drivers-------2. Select the recommended drivers, install and reboot. ------

(# nvidia-xconfig: X configuration file generated by nvidia-xconfig
(# nvidia-xconfig:  version 1.0  (buildmeister@builder75)  Sun Nov  8 21:50:38 PST 2009
Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection
Section "Files"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Mouse0"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "Protocol" "auto"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Keyboard0"
    Driver         "kbd"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Unknown"
    HorizSync       30.0 - 110.0
    VertRefresh     50.0 - 150.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection
Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

---

So, any suggestions on this? At this point I'm assuming that the issue has to do with a good xorg.conf file and possibly EDID. A clear set of docs on this issue is hard to find. In searching the forums and other web sites I've found LOTS of others with similar issues, but it's all so scattered that it's hard to tell which ones are not dead ends. Given that many posts are dated as far back as 2006 and earlier, and that nvidia cards are so ubiquitous, it's hard to understand why there isn't an easier solution.

Do you have "NVIDIA X Server Settings" in your System -> Administration menu?
For some reason the nvidia driver does not like to work with the normal X tools sometimes.

Also, try just deleting /etc/X11/xorg.conf and restarting X (sometimes this can be difficult, so it might be easier just to reboot the machine.) When you delete the file Ubuntu or Xorg will detect that it is missing and attempt to rebuild it, guessing at sane settings. If the settings are not satisfactory then you can change them if necessary- but starting over with a "clean" auto-generated xorg.conf is a good way to make sure leftover parts of the configuration aren't tripping you up.

PLEASE NOTE that this worked for me in 9.10 but I have not tested it in 10.04. If anyone knows a reason why this will not work or will break things, please speak up!