Changing Xserver res from tty1

[xvi]

Any tips on how to change resolution from non-gui terminal such as terminal 1 on Ubuntu/gnome?

Example, I launch GameX and it sets my resolution to something that isn't supported. I go to tty1, log in and sudo kill. Switch back and resolution is still wrong.
Switch to tty1..
sudo xrandr -r 1680x1050
...but I just get "Can't open display"

Tried sudo xrandr --output tty7 -r 1680x1050..but no go.

Setting resolution with xrandr from gnome's GUI terminal works fine.

Suggestions?

[xfire]

sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

also hit ctrl+alt+del to restart x

[xvi]

Do you mean ctrl+alt+backspace? I know about that..

The goal is to not restart X.

[xfire]

the first command will do the trick.

[xvi]

the first command will do the trick.

You're sure? I tried it and it just rewrote xorg.conf

[xfire]

yup. You even set the resolution.

[xvi]

yup. You even set the resolution.

..but rewriting xorg.conf doesn't take effect until I restart X? ..right? :wtf:

I'm hesitant to do so. My Radeon is a bit touchy when it comes to Ubuntu. I guess there's always a backup xorg.conf

Oh well, lets give it a try.

[xvi]

Yeah. All it did was rewrite xorg.conf. Still need to restart X.

Like I say, the goal is to change the resolution from tty without restarting X.

I checked man before I posted and it shows me two promising options:

--screen snum
This option selects which screen to manipulate. Note this refers
to the X screen abstraction, not the monitor (or output).
and
--output <output>
Selects an output to reconfigure. Use either the name of the
output or the XID.

..but I can't figure out the syntax of these two commands. Giving them things like "/dev/tty7", "tty7" or "7"

Edit: I might have found something. Had the idea to run "xrandr -q" from GUI terminal to see what screen it reports. Says screen 0 (which I should have thought to try).

Wait a minute.. man page says it's "-screen" and error page says it's "--screen". I thought that looked funny. Still says "Can't open display"

Still, xrandr -q gives me this:
xvi@xvi-desktop:~$ xrandr -q
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1680 x 1050, maximum 1680 x 1200
VGA-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right)
S-video disconnected (normal left inverted right)
DVI-0 connected 1680x1050+0+0 (normal left inverted right) 433mm x 270mm
1680x1050 60.0*+
1280x1024 75.0 59.9
1280x960 59.9
1152x864 75.0 74.8
1280x720 74.8 59.9
1024x768 75.1 70.1 60.0
832x624 74.6
800x600 72.2 75.0 60.3 56.2
640x480 75.0 72.8 66.7 60.0
720x400 70.1
..which says "Screen 0" and --screen syntax asks for "snum".

Apparently there's also a "--display <display>" option that isn't in the man pages. I'll try that.