LCA: Updates on the X Window System

LCA: Updates on the X Window System

When video modes are set in the kernel, it will be as you say.

Until then, it is up to the process to set up the card. How can the news process know what mode the card is currently in? Even if it COULD reliably read back the mode settings (and on most hardware you can't), it would also have to see if the framebuffer is obscured by a video surface or GL surface, or if it's rotated 90 degrees, or... It amounts to a ton of code.

So, until it's all in the kernel (2 years at least, maybe more, IMo) it's safest just to reset and start from scratch.