how to make second screen active

JonasBoy · 05-28-2021, 01:31 PM

I started using PCLinuxOS, but I think my problem is universal to most distros. I am using PCLinuxOS on my laptop, but am using a live USB stick. I can see the OS on my laptop screen, but would also like to duplicate the screen with the HDMI monitor I have connected to the laptop. How do I do that?

boughtonp · 05-28-2021, 03:59 PM

A quick check suggests PCLinuxOS comes with KDE Plasma, Mate, or Xfce - you should state which of those you're using (as well as the distro).

For KDE Plasma, Super+P can switch between duplicate/extend/etc. I suspect that's the same with most desktop environments, since it's the same shortcut on MacOS+Windows.

Alternatively, the "Unify Outputs" button in System Settings > Hardware > Display and Monitor seems to do the same thing, but I wouldn't be surprised if that is different on Mate/Xfce.

JonasBoy · 05-28-2021, 06:19 PM

I have tried two variations:
1) PCLinuxOS64-XFCE-Mini-2021.02
2) PCLinuxOS64-KDE5-Darkstar-2021.0215

I like #2 a bit better and it did have an option to set the monitors, but my second monitor did not show up.

boughtonp · 05-29-2021, 06:52 AM

Well that's the first step - you can't mirror the screen until the laptop recognizes the monitor is attached.

Have you used this monitor for any other OSes on the same laptop?
Have you confirmed the HDMI cable is (still) securely connected at both ends?
Have you confirmed the monitor source/input is set to the correct HDMI port?
What is the monitor screen currently showing?

The output of running "xrandr" may also have useful info (post the output between [code]..[/code] tags to maintain formatting).

JonasBoy · 05-30-2021, 07:13 AM

The laptop is 4 months old and I have been using the external monitor ever since new, so, yes, the monitor is recognized when plugged into the laptop (Win10 OS).
Since I am a newbie at Linux, I'm not sure what you mean by xrandr, so I booted into PCLinuxOS and went to terminal mode. Here is the result of doing that:

Code:

[guest@localhost ~]$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 32767 x 32767
eDP1 connected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 380mm x 220mm
   1920x1080    144.03*+  60.01
   768x576       99.99    79.37
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
[guest@localhost ~]$ ^C
[guest@localhost ~]$

boughtonp · 05-30-2021, 07:49 AM

Well you guessed correct - any time you're asked to run a command, it almost always means to do so in a terminal. (Though it's a good idea to understand what a command does before running it, generally a quick web search and/or running "man command" will give enough explanation.)

xrandr is the "resize and rotate" tool from the X Windows System, which can be used to set screen resolution/orientation (and yes, they're both terribly named), and is commonly used as a diagnostic tool, since it shows known resolutions, connected/disconnected ports, etc.

Anyway, for a machine with an in-use HDMI port the output would say something like "HDMI-1 connected" plus a list of available resolutions, whilst I'd expect an unused HDMI port to appear as "HDMI-1 disconnected".

Since you don't have a HDMI line at all in that output, my guess would be some sort of driver issue.

If PCLinuxOS provides "inxi" and/or "lshw" then running "inxi -Gxx" and/or "lshw -C video" can provide further information that may be of use to someone who knows this side of thing more than I do.

mrmazda · 05-30-2021, 01:03 PM

Laptops often have two GPUs, which requires extra setup. Does yours?

Code:

inxi -GIa