Dual Monitor help in Ubuntu 10.10
 

i have a computer with a fresh install of Ubuntu 10.10, that i want to run 2 monitors on. i have a 2nd graphics card to run the 2nd monitor, and i have proven that the 2nd graphics card works with the computer by plugging it in and using it for 1 monitor.

my problem is that i can't get Ubuntu 10.10 set up for dual monitors.
any help?

We need more infos to help you. Which graphics cards are you using? Which drivers are installed?

my computer's built-in graphics card I don't know what it is, but the 2nd graphics card i put in is a Nvidia gaming card from 2003, i'm pretty sure. i know it is Nvidia.

as far as i know, the drivers installed are the one's my computer automatically installed for the graphics card.

Hardware...

Try the command "lshw" in a terminal with "root" privileges to find details about your graphics and post back with the information. Look for a mention of "display" near the bottom of the list.

Are you interested in one image spread across two screens or do you hope for two different images on two screens?

I'm interested in different images on the 2 screens.
also, i'll come back in a few hours and post what comes up from "root lshw".

here's the 2 pci sections of the read-out, as well as the display section. I'm pretty sure one of the pci sections is the integrated graphics

On the old motherboards with AGP-slot the integrated graphic is switched off, if you put a graphics card is put in the slot. This is because there is only one AGP-bus in the system.
So you can't use the integrated graphics in combination with your graphics card for a dual monitor setup, you have to use a graphics card with two monitor outputs to do that.

well, thank kind of stinks...oh well...
i suppose there's no way to get around that.

TobiSGD may well be correct.

I would try it anyways, if both cards appear in the output of the `lspci` command. I notice you already showed the output of something up there (lshw??) but please show us too the output of `lspci` for the heck of it. If you can't see both cards there (and there's no way in the BIOS to select and/or enable them both), pretty much forget it. There's no work-around, other than a multi-output card, or a second add-in card..

here's the output from command "lspci":

i'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for...but i think they're both there

Unfortunately not. Only the nVidia card is showing up. :|

Now, I notice your nVidia card is an MX440.. I have one of them, and it has dual outputs - doesn't yours? Maybe they don't all have the same connectors on them..

EDIT - thinking back, the second output (on mine) may be a composite or Svideo connector, so even if you have one, it would be difficult to use with an average monitor unless it happens to have composite input.

Looks like TobiSGD hit it right on, anyhow - if you want dual monitors with your current machine, you need a second card, or one with dual VGA or DVI outputs.

my card has 1 VGA, and 1 S-Video output.
is it possible (via an adapter of some sort) to plug a monitor into an s-video port? the one i would be plugging in would be one of those huge monitors that have a flat screen, but are not flat panel.

I am totally not sure about this, and have no idea if such an adapter exists. You'd need to research that yourself, but my first thought is "no", due to the different nature of the VGA/DVI signal components vs. Svideo/composite signal. I'm fine with being wrong, so feel free to look around and let us know if you find something that looks like it may help.

Another option would be some sort of "box" (more than a mere adapter), which can take the composite or svideo input, and send it out a VGA port. Something like this is more likely to exist than an in-line adapter, but still, you'll need to search on this yourself.

Your big monitor- does it have *any* inputs besides VGA connector? Does it have a yellow composite input (usually yellow if I remember right, but possibly white)? You could use that; but if the monitor is ONLY VGA, it's time for researching an adapter/box, or getting a dual-VGA or VGA+DVI card (for which there exist adapters to go from DVI to VGA and vice versa).

I don't think that this is possible, and even if it is, the S-Video-outputs often deliver poor quality, so I wouldn't recommend that. I think simple solution is to go for a cheap AGP-card with 2 monitor outputs, they are around 30$ at newegg.

I cannot disagree, and second the notion that OP should get a second card or dual-output card. Easiest solution.

@ TobiSGD - I haven't looked recently (and am Canadian so I don't shop at Newegg (unless they *finally* got their Canadian end sorted out)) but AGP cards must be getting very rare these days, yes? But probably cheap because the machines they plug into must be getting scarce too.. Soon, they'll be gone completely....