Dell Inspiron E1505 video/display problem

[vajohn1308]

I have a Dell Inspiron E1505 with the ATI Radeon Mobility ( 256 mb) video card.

I have tried to change the video resolution on this computer from the 800x600 setting and i can't get it to change.
I have tried using kmanager and it wont let me change anything
I also tried the xmanager and it does in fact allow me to change the resolution. It then tells me that i need to restart/ reboot to effect the changes. When i do its right back to 800 x 600.
Also is there a way to get the desktop icons to not look compressed vertically and stretched horizontally ?

My guess is that it might have something to do with the display resolution setting but since i am new to this its only a guess
Thanks to any / all that offer any help to this noobie.
vajohn1308

[cbagger01]

You may not need to reboot in order to try the X-Server with the new settings.

Instead, make the change and then press the CTL-ALT-BACKSPACE keys and it will re-load the graphics system, but without a complete reboot of the entire computer.