One of the good things about being in a big consulting company is that you get these "once every one/two years" laptop upgrades. So my lucky upgrade day was yesterday, and my friend Dell D400 was upgraded to HP nc2400. So I decided to change my course a little, and use Ubuntu on a company laptop (instead of XP). I talked to the company people, they did not mind, which was great! The only problem is, when you get a new Windows XP laptop (upgrade), there are certain people that set it up for you, and you just pick it up and go to the client. Well, in my case I had to get up to speed very quickly myself. And of course one of majors problems with Ubuntu Feisty (as with most Linux distros) it does not have any tooling to deal with dual (laptop/LCD) monitors. So it was a fun time experimenting with "xorg.config". It took me quite some time, but I DID GET IT WORKING! And just want to share with everybody what I came with, since none of the Ubuntu forums, and none of what Google (with their new Web 2.0) told me did NOT work.
So here we go… Checking what graphic (video) my new nc2400 has:
user@host:~$ lspci ... 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03) 00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)<br /> ...
Ok, so I’ve got "Intel 945GM" – cool. Notice that there are two VGA/Display controllers, one is on 0:2:0, and another one is on 0:2:1 (those numbers are BusIDs by the way). Nevertheless, I used only one BusID, which is the first one 0:2:0 to get it working.
I also have 1280×800 laptop screen resolution, which means I need to get 915resolution
apt-get install 915resolution
Now, my External Monitor has 1280×1024 @ 60 Hz by specs. Let’s see it is supported by 915resolution:
user@host:~$ sudo 915resolution -l Password: Intel 800/900 Series VBIOS Hack : version 0.5.2 Chipset: 945GM BIOS: TYPE 1 Mode Table Offset: $C0000 + $269 Mode Table Entries: 36 Mode 30 : 640x480, 8 bits/pixel Mode 32 : 800x600, 8 bits/pixel Mode 34 : 1024x768, 8 bits/pixel Mode 38 : 1280x800, 24 bits/pixel Mode 3c : 1920x1440, 8 bits/pixel Mode 41 : 640x480, 16 bits/pixel Mode 43 : 800x600, 16 bits/pixel Mode 45 : 1024x768, 16 bits/pixel Mode 49 : 1280x800, 16 bits/pixel Mode 4d : 1920x1440, 16 bits/pixel Mode 50 : 640x480, 32 bits/pixel Mode 52 : 800x600, 32 bits/pixel Mode 54 : 1024x768, 32 bits/pixel Mode 58 : 1280x800, 32 bits/pixel Mode 5c : 1920x1440, 32 bits/pixel
Seems like I do not have 1280×1024 as one of the supported modes. Hmmm. Ok, then I need to explicitly ask for it by modifying this file, to look like this:
user@host:~$ cat /etc/default/915resolution # # 915resolution default # # find free modes by /usr/sbin/915resolution -l # and set it to MODE or set to 'MODE=auto' # # With 'auto' detection, the panel-size will be fetched from the VBE # BIOS if possible and the highest-numbered mode in each bit-depth # will be overwritten with the detected panel-size. MODE=3a # # and set resolutions for the mode. # e.g. use XRESO=1024 and YRESO=768 XRESO=1280 YRESO=1024 # We can also set the pixel mode. # e.g. use BIT=32 # Please note that this is optional, # you can also leave this value blank. BIT=24
Ok. No I still need to patch laptop LCD to 1280×800, therefore im going to write a one liner script that is going to do that on startup (how-to). Here is that one line:
# Set the laptop monitor resolution # Add it to 915Resolution supported modes 915resolution 38 1280 800 24
Did, resolution, did the patching, is it now time for an "xorg.conf"? Ok, then, here it is (working too) 
# /etc/X11/xorg.conf (xorg X Window System server configuration file) # # This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using # values from the debconf database. # # Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf(5) manual page. # (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.) # # This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only* # if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg # package. # # If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated # again, run the following command: # sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg Section "Files" FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc" FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic" FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled" FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled" FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1" FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi" FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi" # path to defoma fonts FontPath "/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType" EndSection Section "Module" Load "i2c" Load "bitmap" Load "ddc" Load "dri" Load "extmod" Load "freetype" Load "glx" Load "int10" Load "vbe" EndSection Section "InputDevice" Identifier "Generic Keyboard" Driver "kbd" Option "CoreKeyboard" Option "XkbRules" "xorg" Option "XkbModel" "pc105" Option "XkbLayout" "us" EndSection Section "InputDevice" Identifier "Configured Mouse" Driver "mouse" Option "CorePointer" Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice" Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2" Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5" Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true" EndSection Section "InputDevice" Identifier "Synaptics Touchpad" Driver "synaptics" Option "SendCoreEvents" "true" Option "Device" "/dev/psaux" Option "Protocol" "auto-dev" Option "HorizScrollDelta" "0" EndSection Section "InputDevice" Driver "wacom" Identifier "stylus" Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom" Option "Type" "stylus" Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY EndSection Section "InputDevice" Driver "wacom" Identifier "eraser" Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom" Option "Type" "eraser" Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY EndSection Section "InputDevice" Driver "wacom" Identifier "cursor" Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom" Option "Type" "cursor" Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "0 Intel 945GM" Driver "i810" BusID "PCI:0:2:0" Screen 0 Option "MonitorLayout" "CRT,LFP" Option "DRI" "false" # I don't think these next lines are actually required. #Option "BackingStore" "true" #Option "DevicePresence" "on" #Option "DisplayInfo" "FALSE" #Option "DRI" "true" #Option "CacheLines" "1024" EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "1 Intel 945GM" Driver "i810" BusID "PCI:0:2:0" Screen 1 Option "MonitorLayout" "CRT,LFP" Option "DRI" "true" # I don't think these next lines are actually required. #Option "BackingStore" "true" #Option "DevicePresence" "on" #Option "DisplayInfo" "FALSE" #Option "DRI" "true" #Option "CacheLines" "1024" EndSection Section "Monitor" Identifier "0 nc2400 Monitor" Option "DPMS" Option "DPMS" # HorizSync 28-75 # VertRefresh 43-100 EndSection Section "Monitor" Identifier "1 nc2400 Monitor" HorizSync 30 - 83 VertRefresh 56 - 76 Option "DPMS" Modeline "1280x1024@60" 108.0 1280 1328 1440 1688 1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "0 Screen" Device "0 Intel 945GM" Monitor "0 nc2400 Monitor" DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1280x800" EndSubSection EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "1 Screen" Device "1 Intel 945GM" Monitor "1 nc2400 Monitor" DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1280x1024@60" EndSubSection EndSection Section "ServerLayout" Identifier "Default Layout" Screen 0 "0 Screen" Screen 1 "1 Screen" RightOf "0 Screen" Option "Xinerama" "on" Option "Clone" "off" InputDevice "Generic Keyboard" InputDevice "Configured Mouse" InputDevice "stylus" "SendCoreEvents" InputDevice "cursor" "SendCoreEvents" InputDevice "eraser" "SendCoreEvents" InputDevice "Synaptics Touchpad" EndSection Section "DRI" Mode 0666 EndSection
You may notice "Modeline "1280×1024@60" 108.0 1280 1328 1440 1688 1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync", well I just got it from the same place you would get it, yea..that’s right, I got it from Google.
Remember, no matter what a general opinion is (linux follows "install without restart" philosophy), you have to restart. And not just /etc/init.d/gdm restart, but a FULL system restart,
Ok, so now you should see two beautiful screens – one is your laptop, and the other one is your external monitor which is now a separate screen. Congrats!
If you have any questions – shoot, I killed so much time figuring out all these details, why should you?
Thanks! That seems great, at least the coverage. will check and post if I get any luck.
I am trying to get it done for the last 3+ hours.
Hey, it is me again. How do I create a start up script with that 915resolution thingy?
Thx
Hey Maink,
You can follow instructions here
good luck
Oh… found it in the article, nevermind. Thx
Yeaaaaa!! Thank you soo much – it did work indeed!
Thank you. I’ve spent a week trying to get an extended monitor working to no avail. I’ve read dozens of posts on the other sites and none of them worked. Upgrading to the latest Intel 945 driver (not the i810 one) may lead you down a dead end path, as I have discovered.
Lattitude D520
Intel 945GM chipset
Sincerely,
Tom Johnson
Great blog… i learned a lot. Thank you for sharing!
One question: how can i configure 2 LCDs, one 1280×1024 and other widescreen 1400×900 in “extended” mode?
Nothing that i tried so far seems to work… i can get the two monitors working but can’t change resolution and both are clone.
I would like to use one for movies (WS) and one for other tasks..
Thank you!
i wasted so many hours to configure dual monitors but didn’t work. I did most of the things you did except the configuration of the 915resolution file.
So, we need to introduce the resolutions of NOT ONLY laptop’s screen resolution (which was 1280×800) BUT ALSO external screen’s resolution?
I’ll give it a try.. I hope it works..
Victor,
I am glad you learned something new – that is great to hear, honestly
I hope that you used this knowledge and it worked for you.
Unfortunately I do not have an answer to your “two LCD” question, since this “configuration” tasks are performed 50% by my hands and only other 50% goes to my brain activity.
But let me clarify – do you have a workstation with two LCDs or a laptop with two external LCDs? If it is a workstation with two external LCDs and you can get them both to work, then in a “ServerLayout” section turn on Xinerama, and turn off Clone as follows:
Section "ServerLayout" Identifier "Victors Layout" Screen 0 "0 Screen" Screen 1 "1 Screen" RightOf "0 Screen" Option "Xinerama" "on" Option "Clone" "off" ..... ... ...... EndSectionGive it a try see what happens. Also what card are you using? If you are using Intel, get 915Resolution and patch it with both of your LCD’s resolutions (similar to what I explained above, but just add another resolution, if it is not already supported by 915Resolution)
Have fun,
Toly
what about tv-out ?
You are doing everyone who tries to use these instructions a MASSIVE disservice by not explaining that “LFP” stands for “Local Flat Panel”.
I near went out of my mind trying to figure out which resolution/refresh settings I was sending to each monitor until I finally found a link showing what “LFP” means. Once you know that, you can control what’s happening with each output. If you don’t tell people that, you’re leaving a critical acronym in there that’s specific to the Intel driver family versus generic to the industry the way “CRT” is…that’s really, really annoying.
Also: have you tried these instructions with the new “intel” driver and matching Synaptic package? It eliminates the need for 915resolution but I haven’t been able to get it working with two screens.
Hi Jim,
Thank you for pointing out what LFP is.
As per Intel: “Suppose you have a laptop that contains the Mobile Intel® 945GM Express Chipset and has two displays: the internal flat panel display (also referred to as Local Flat Panel or LFP)…”
However there is no MASSIVE disservice, not even a TINY disservice, because services are not what is provided here – I am just sharing my knowledge with everybody who may need it. For acronyms there is an excellent website google that will answer most of your acronym’s questions.
I have tried the latest Intel’s driver, and still need 915Resolution to archive “dual” result with correct resolution.
Thanks for the posting–it’s really helpful.
Am I right that the highlevel steps are:
1–install 915resolution
2–edit /etc/default/915resolution file if a resolution is not listed in 915resolution -l
3–Write one-liner script and install it as per http://ubuntu.wordpress.com/2005/09/07/adding-a-startup-script-to-be-run-at-bootup/
4. Edit xorg.com
Two areas were unclear to me:
1. Is there a step betwen lines 2 and 3 to get 915resolution to pick up the edited /etc/default/915resolution?
2. Could you supply any pointers on editing xorg.conf? I’m unclear on which sections you need to update. Were they the “Device”, “Monitor”, and “Screen” sections? To what extent should the parameters that you put down carry over with a 1280 x 800 laptop and 1680 x 1050 monitor? Do I just Google 1280×800@60 to get my modeline and otherwise follow your xorg.conf?
Thanks,
Andrew Borthwick
Hey Andrew,
1. Is there a step betwen lines 2 and 3 to get 915resolution to pick up the edited /etc/default/915resolution?
- 915resolution always reads “/etc/default/915resolution” before it starts, so the answer is simple – “(re)start it”
2. Could you supply any pointers on editing xorg.conf? I’m unclear on which sections you need to update. Were they the “Device”, “Monitor”, and “Screen” sections? To what extent should the parameters that you put down carry over with a 1280 x 800 laptop and 1680 x 1050 monitor? Do I just Google 1280×800@60 to get my modeline and otherwise follow your xorg.conf?
- Just look at your xorg.conf, and compare it to mine. I have changed sections DEVICE(S), MONITOR(S), SCREEN(2) and SERVERLAYOUT.
- Yes, just google the modeline for your 1680 x 1050 monitor, for LFP (your laptop internal monitor) you do not have to provide a modeline – it is “native”. Look closely to my xorg.conf – I only need modeline for my external monitor.
have fun
Oh my god. it worked all perfectly, thanks man!… Now I just need to find out how to get Beryl working properly..
First off I’d like to thank you this seems solid but I have 2 questions:
1) For some reason when I reboot the changes I made are ok but the resolution on my laptop is not 1280×800.. but after doing this command “sudo 915resolution 38 1280 800 24″ in the shell then hitting “ctrl alt bksp” everything appears normal. I did add the link to start it up as you said and made the permissions right but it doesnt automagically boot into 1280×800.
2) Is there away to make an exact copy of my laptop screen on my other monitor? I turned cloning on but it is like a whole new desktop.
Again thanks!
Hey Devin,
1. Make sure that you have 915Resolution in “/etc/init.d”:
2. There is. I am not sure about the whole screen, but I usually take an application snapshot by pressing ALT key along with keys that trigger a snapshot to be taken. So for my case it would be ['FN' + 'ALT' + 'PRT SC'] – it will take a snapshot of an active window in any of workspaces or monitors.
Good luck!
Yes the 915 file is there but inside it I saw
[code]
if [ ! -x "$VBETOOL" ] || ! panelsize=`$VBETOOL vbefp panelsize` ; then
echo "*** Your 915resolution was not automatically configured! ***"
echo "Please read /usr/share/doc/915resolution/README.Debian then define"
echo "MODE, XRESO, and YRESO manually in /etc/default/915resolution ."
echo "For now a default will be set, which might be inappropiate."
XRESO=1024
YRESO=800
fi
[/code]
which I am going to change to
[code]
if [ ! -x "$VBETOOL" ] || ! panelsize=`$VBETOOL vbefp panelsize` ; then
echo "*** Your 915resolution was not automatically configured! ***"
echo "Please read /usr/share/doc/915resolution/README.Debian then define"
echo "MODE, XRESO, and YRESO manually in /etc/default/915resolution ."
echo "For now a default will be set, which might be inappropiate."
XRESO=1280
YRESO=800
fi
[/code]
Hopefully this fixes it
Hey Devin,
Here is my 915resolution in “/etc/init.d”
Lines that deserve attention:
which means that if you have /etc/defaults/915resolution config, it will read only that
Here is my config:
So do all experiments in the config above.
Good Luck!
Thanks, your system was the only one that worked after hours of trying
Good I will tell people to get your explanation to solve their problem.
thanks, working now!
-devin
Does anyone have working direct rendering?
sonium@marvin:~$ glxinfo | grep direct
direct rendering: No
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa GLX Indirect
Great, thanks! This worked. Now any suggestions for making the external CRT the primary monitor (menubar, etc)? I tried swapping CRT and LFP in the Options MonitorLayout line but that just kept it from working at all. I can’t find anything else in the xorg.conf that indicates which is the flat panel and which the external display…
Hi,
Thanks for your post. It works perfectly for my laptop and a 19″ LCD monitor. But at work I have a 17″ CRT monitor and the resolution is 1024×786. The same setting still works but the font on my 17″ is too small. I try to replace 1280×1024 to 1024×786 but it doesn’t work. Any suggestion?
Thanks,
This was really helpful. Following your steps I got the resolution of my HP Pavillion dv6000 to 1280X800 but when trying to get my external Samsung SyncMaster731n set up as an extended monitor all I get is a black screen. Your configuration is not far from mine so I am stumped, Here is my xorg.conf and 915resolution files for Ubuntu 7.04: Any help would be great, Thanks!
# /etc/X11/xorg.conf (xorg X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf(5) manual page.
# (Type “man xorg.conf” at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
# sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg
Section “Files”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1″
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi”
FontPath “/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi”
# path to defoma fonts
FontPath “/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType”
EndSection
Section “Module”
Load “i2c”
Load “bitmap”
Load “ddc”
Load “dri”
Load “extmod”
Load “freetype”
Load “glx”
Load “int10″
Load “vbe”
EndSection
Section “InputDevice”
Identifier “Generic Keyboard”
Driver “kbd”
Option “CoreKeyboard”
Option “XkbRules” “xorg”
Option “XkbModel” “pc105″
Option “XkbLayout” “us”
EndSection
Section “InputDevice”
Identifier “Configured Mouse”
Driver “mouse”
Option “CorePointer”
Option “Device” “/dev/input/mice”
Option “Protocol” “ImPS/2″
Option “ZAxisMapping” “4 5″
Option “Emulate3Buttons” “true”
EndSection
Section “InputDevice”
Identifier “Synaptics Touchpad”
Driver “synaptics”
Option “SendCoreEvents” “true”
Option “Device” “/dev/psaux”
Option “Protocol” “auto-dev”
Option “HorizScrollDelta” “0″
EndSection
Section “InputDevice”
Driver “wacom”
Identifier “stylus”
Option “Device” “/dev/input/wacom”
Option “Type” “stylus”
Option “ForceDevice” “ISDV4″ # Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection
Section “InputDevice”
Driver “wacom”
Identifier “eraser”
Option “Device” “/dev/input/wacom”
Option “Type” “eraser”
Option “ForceDevice” “ISDV4″ # Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection
Section “InputDevice”
Driver “wacom”
Identifier “cursor”
Option “Device” “/dev/input/wacom”
Option “Type” “cursor”
Option “ForceDevice” “ISDV4″ # Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection
Section “Device”
Identifier “Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller”
Driver “i810″
BusID “PCI:0:2:0″
Screen 0
Option “MonitorLayout” “CRT,LFP”
Option “DRI” “false”
EndSection
Section “Device”
Identifier “Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller”
Driver “i810″
BusID “PCI:0:2:0″
Screen 1
Option “Display” “CRT”
Option “MonitorLayout” “CRT,LFP”
Option “DRI” “true”
EndSection
Section “Monitor”
Identifier “0 dv6000 Monitor”
Option “DPMS”
HorizSync 28-64
VertRefresh 43-60
EndSection
Section “Monitor”
Identifier “1 SyncMas731n Monitor”
Option “DPMS”
HorizSync 30-83
VertRefresh 56-76
Modeline “1280×1024@60″ 108.0 1280 1328 1440 1688 1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync
EndSection
Section “Screen”
Identifier “0 Screen”
Device “Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller”
Monitor “0 dv6000 Monitor”
DefaultDepth 16
SubSection “Display”
Depth 16
Modes “1280×800″
EndSubSection
EndSection
Section “Screen”
Identifier “1 Screen”
Device “Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller”
Monitor “1 SyncMas731n Monitor”
DefaultDepth 16
SubSection “Display”
Depth 16
Modes “1280×1024″
EndSubSection
EndSection
Section “ServerLayout”
Identifier “Default Layout”
Screen 0 “0 Screen”
Screen 1 “1 Screen” RightOf “0 Screen”
Option “Xinerama” “on”
Option “Clone” “off”
InputDevice “Generic Keyboard”
InputDevice “Configured Mouse”
InputDevice “stylus” “SendCoreEvents”
InputDevice “cursor” “SendCoreEvents”
InputDevice “eraser” “SendCoreEvents”
InputDevice “Synaptics Touchpad”
EndSection
Section “DRI”
Mode 0666
EndSection
Here is my 915resolution file:
#
# 915resolution default
#
# find free modes by /usr/sbin/915resolution -l
# and set it to MODE or set to ‘MODE=auto’
#
# With ‘auto’ detection, the panel-size will be fetched from the VBE
# BIOS if possible and the highest-numbered mode in each bit-depth
# will be overwritten with the detected panel-size.
MODE=auto
#
# and set resolutions for the mode.
# e.g. use XRESO=1024 and YRESO=768
XRESO=
YRESO=
#
# We can also set the pixel mode.
# e.g. use BIT=32
# Please note that this is optional,
# you can also leave this value blank.
BIT=
Oh God, I have spent 6 hours just to extend my monitors. In contrast, I just need 6 seconds in Windows to extend my monitor with just a few clicks. I did all the procedure everywhere include yours but all not working. But finally I copied your configuration starting from the Device until the end, and finally it works. So happy….
This was a brilliant piece of documentation. I got this running on my Samsung 226CW . The only issue I faced was this . The first time I ran the 915confiugration -l it did not list the 1680×1050 mode and so I added it in the default . This resulted in a black screen. I checked again and this time I found that the mode is listed. So I just removed the values from the default and tried .
Thanks a lot for this again
Regards
Hari
I found your website after about 3 hours of unsuccessfully trying to setup dual screen with my laptop (a Gateway mt6840) and a CRT monitor. I had already did the 915resolution part and configured xorg.conf until it looked right but it still wouldn’t work. I was about to give up when I though “Hey, maybe I could just blindly copy and paste the relevant parts from this guy’s xorg.conf into mine to see what happens”. Surprisingly, it suddenly worked right away, with no modifications at all! Thanks a lot for posting this! You saved my life
Worked like a charm!
Now I too have to figure out how to make Berly+Compiz work again…I am sacrificing my eye candy for more monitor space
If anyone knows has any hints, let me know…otherwise it’s back to the books.
Mike
I posted my dilemma here if anyone has any insight
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=652714
Sir, you are officially a legend!
Had this laptop (Dell Inspiron 6400) 6 months now and have failed miserably to get multiple monitors working. I stumbled across your page today and got my second screen working within six minutes!
Thank you
Thanks a lot!!!
I got it working thanks to your HOWTO!
Also, for those that have previously been using the Intel driver, I have been unsuccessful getting said driver to work with the way this HOWTO explains. So, you need to use the i810 driver. The problem is, unless you “apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-i810″ (this is Ubuntu Feisty), it will actually use the intel driver even if you specify the i810 driver (they intel driver must create a symlink or something). Once you run that apt-get, you should have it working!
Thanks again to Toly for this HOWTO!
PS: While I have this working and in all its awesomeness, I do find my external LCD to be a bit hard on the eyes (tad blurry). I’m not sure if it’s because I’m used to the laptop LCD or what. It’s a KTC 7005L external LCD which does 1280×1024 @ 75Hz max. The monitor is far from the best of brands so it might be just that. I’ve changed the xorg.conf settings for this monitor to the right vert/horiz sync rates but it still displays a little blurry. Any ideas?
Just thought I’d write back and say .. I think it’s the monitor
I, unfortunately, also have Vista on this Laptop and I set it up to use the external LCD as an extended desktop and it looks just as blurry as it does on Linux (which isn’t actually blurry, it’s just not as sharp as the laptop LCD).
This is awesome!!
Oh my… you just saved me a lot of work. I have a customer asking about Dual Monitor on Ubuntu powered laptop, and I wasn’t sure where to turn.
Thank you for the excellent how to and the time you must have put into this.
Again thanks for sharing,
Bob
WOW, man, you’re a genius! Thank you so much!
This has really been an exhilarating experience. I cannot thank you enough for this.
I am using Mepis 6.5 on a Lenovo Y300 laptop. I think a lot of Mepis users would like to be able to do this. While I am happy to put this on the Mepis Wiki I would really think the credit is yours and would appreciate your doing it.
In more general terms, it would be nice to be able to give a description that makes sense of the logic of the xorg.conf
Thanks once again.
samar
That is ok – you can go ahead and put it on “Mepis Wiki”, and if you want to give me a credit, just post a link on the wiki to here
Will do, Toly.
That would be cool – thanks Samar
I wrote an article on dual monitors using xrandr. It only involves changing 1 line in your xorg.conf.
http://navetz.com/v/132/Simple-dual-monitor-setup-with-XrandR-in-Ubuntu-Linux
If anyone is interested
Hi Stevan,
Thank you for sharing your article.
– Toly
Damn, good article. Had to fiddle around with somewhat. Changed RightOf to LeftOf and that had some strange effects on the resolution. But, when i changed both resolutions to 1280×800 everything started working nicely. Only question i have is that my background image gets streched over the 2 monitors, and i would like to have the same background on both.. but i guess that this aint possible. Please let me know if Better in this case really is the enemy of good (edison’s law)
Thanks again. Jeffrey