dual monitors in Red Hat 9
 

Alright, nobody seemed to pay much attention to my last post, but I finally got XFree86 up and running...on one monitor. But, now a new question:

Is it possible to a)use two monitors in RH9 (and how?!), and b)can I get the functionality of windows for it, meaning can I choose which one is primary separate from the bios setting?

I know similar questions have been asked all the time, but I can't find any for Red Hat...

And I'm apparently a total Newbie afterall, so please just lay it out straight. I'm good with figuring things out, I just have to have all the info first...doesn't everyone, really?

Thanks for your time & help (please give it to me this time! :)

gothgeek84

Linux Aficionado/Newbie

It depends on your video card, but it's all done in XF86Config-4.
nVidia has a readme on ho to set this up at:
http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_4...880/README.txt
And ATI probably has something similar.

Whoops, can't forget I forgot to mention my video cards!

Onboard: Intel 810
PCI: Diamond Multimedia Stealth 2000 3D (S3 Virge chip)

BIOS has my primary set as the PCI, because Win2k automatically switches to the onboard when it boots up. (I'm hoping I can get linux to do the same). The reason I have this is that it was the easiest (and only one I could find) way to have dual-monitors work with my setup in Win2k.

Hope that's enough info, if not let me know!

PS: I don't remember all the little specs, but it's a 2.4 kernel...red hat 9, using gnome...can't think of anything else relevant (except XFree86 version, which I have no clue of...but it's whatever would've come with RH9)

OK, then you're going to need to define in the /etc/XF86Config-4 file:

two seperate "Device" blocks - these are your video cards: your intel onboard and your Diamond PCI card.

a "Monitor" for each - this tells XFree86 what to expect to be connected to the above devices

a "Screen" for each - this tells X what display modes to use for each monitor

the "ServerLayout" block - this tells X to use both devices, and how to orient them.

All of this is hardware-specific, so I really can't help much more than that. :|

There's a guide available for the 810 chipset at
http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/HOWTO-INDEX/apps.html#GUIXWIN
that should get you off the ground. Read the other HOWTOs there for ideas. Read also man XF86Config-4 for a description of the different sections.

Start reading, and let us know if you have problems.
BACK UP YOUR XF86Config-4 FILE BEFORE CHANGING IT.

--Rounan

heh, ironically, that's what I've started doing...just didn't do the ServerLayout block. :) I'll try that and see if I can get it going.

Hmm, my config is just XF86-Config, no 4...btw, anyone know if changing this will cause any problems with the builtin redhat-xfree86-config program? If so, no big deal...I'll just have to remember not to use it. :)

Well...no luck yet.
 

So far, no luck...:(
Ok, here's the relevant parts of /etc/X11/XF86Confg (I hope it's the one it's going for...)
Any ideas? something I'm doing blatantly wrong that I'm just overlooking?
The original entries (the 0 ones) where put in there by the redhat-config-xfree86 util, so I just copied and modified them to what I (thought I) need.

Thanks for all your help, and I'd pay you if I could...but I'm a poor college student, I can't even afford...well, anything.

I don't know if order matters for these sections... the manpage doesn't specify. It couldn't hurt to put things in order though:
Files File pathnames
ServerFlags Server flags
Module Dynamic module loading
InputDevice Input device description
Device Graphics device description
VideoAdaptor Xv video adaptor description
Monitor Monitor description
Modes Video modes descriptions
Screen Screen configuration
ServerLayout Overall layout
DRI DRI-specific configuration
Vendor Vendor-specific configuration

Also, because you have more than one device, the BusID entry is mandatory.
Do lspci to figure out which is which.

Why 16-bit depth? Both heads should be able to handle 24.

--Rounan

well, a step in the right direction
 

Well, so far I can't get the system to show on two windows at once, BUT it now shows on the right monitor, at least.

Here's a slightly condensed version of my XF86Config...I'm putting everything except the comments (I hate to post such a large message, but there's always a chance something like the mouse is affecting the monitor...stranger things have happened).

Any suggestions?

TIA,
gothgeek84 (who wishes he could afford to affero you for all your help)

Oh, and btw, the reason I'm doing 16 bit is that I don't want there to be a chance of anthing else throwing it off; when I get it working, I'll try upping it to 24 (I doubt 32...windows won't let me, prolly for a reason).

But, all things considered, I think it's best to keep the settings low for now, and try upping them later.

Is display showing on Screen0 or Screen1?

Try changing the serverlayout line for Screen0 to:
Screen "Screen0" Absolute 0 0

Does your Diamond card have more than one head? (ie tvout or DVI jacks?) If so, you may need to specify the screen-num field in serverlayout, like:
Screen 1 "Screen0" Absolute 0 0

Fiddle around, and describe what you see - I'll try to help you troubleshoot if you need it.

I'm not at home right now, so I can't directly troubleshoot it, but I can tell you what I know...

It's showing up on Screen 1. The Diamond card has another jack, but from what I've found online, it's just for sound (honestly, I have no clue what it does, but I don't think it's video, anyhow).

Oh, and when I do lspci, it shows the Diamond card at 1:0b.0; does XF86Config take hex or decimal numbers? I tried it both way (leaving it on decimal above), without any changes.

I'd keep it hex... seems to be the way to go.
Try changing the last number to 1:
PCI:1:0b:1
I don't know what the other head on your card is... but maybe sending the video another "function" will make it choose the appropriate head? That's a total shot in the dark though, and probably way off base.

--Rounan

Sorry it took so long to reply...busy day.

I tried everything you listed, and nothing seemed to work. So, I think I'm going to quit while I'm ahead: I may not have two monitors, but everything shows up on the one I want it to. I may tinker around with it a little, but overall I've given up on getting a dual display.

Thanks for all your help, though! I couldn't have gotten as far as I did without you! If there's anything you need, let me know. (unless it involves money...I would if I had any. :))

Doug

Huh. too bad about that - sorry I couldn't figure it out for ya.
If you ever do get it working, post the solution so others can learn.

And we don't talk about money. :P
If you got it, and I was worth it, affero. If you don't, don't worry.

--Rounan