[SOLVED] How would I set up a dual monitor setup in Xubuntu 11.10?
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How would I set up a dual monitor setup in Xubuntu 11.10?
I have an Asus Eee PC 901 (Yes, I fixed it) with a resolution of 1024x600, and a larger LG Flatron w1946 with a resolution of 1360x768. Normally, when I have Ubuntu 11.10 on here (running Unity) I can set up a dual monitor set up, as long as both are within 2048x2048* (I think this is because of the graphics card), however I put Xubuntu on here as it seems to be faster and more configurable. I cannot find how to set up a dual monitor set up on here. I have tried Displays in Menu>Settings>Settings editor>Displays, however this only mirrors them at a resolution of 1360x768. I have tried Grandr, however it disables the 19" one whenever I leave the page where you set that, not allowing me to set it up.
I also tried Arandr, however this did not let me turn the larger monitor on. These are both Xrandr frontends. Is there a way I could set this up?
*I normally have them set up the netbook below the desktop, so it is 1360x1368, so would fit.
Have you tried to run xrandr without any options to see how your monitor gets detected and what resolutions are available? If I run xrandr without any options I get this:
Code:
eric@ericvs-laptop ~ $ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 3046 x 1050, maximum 8192 x 8192
LVDS1 connected 1366x768+1680+282 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 344mm x 194mm
1366x768 60.0*+
1360x768 59.8 60.0
1024x768 60.0
800x600 60.3 56.2
640x480 59.9
VGA1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI1 connected 1680x1050+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 474mm x 296mm
1680x1050 60.0*+
1600x1200 60.0
1400x1050 60.0
1280x1024 75.0
1440x900 75.0 59.9
1280x960 60.0
1360x768 59.8
1152x864 75.0
1024x768 75.1 70.1 60.0
832x624 74.6
800x600 72.2 75.0 60.3 56.2
640x480 72.8 75.0 66.7 60.0
720x400 70.1
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
and whenever I want to use Awesome I use these to set my monitors like I want:
Have you tried to run xrandr without any options to see how your monitor gets detected and what resolutions are available? If I run xrandr without any options I get this:
Code:
eric@ericvs-laptop ~ $ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 3046 x 1050, maximum 8192 x 8192
LVDS1 connected 1366x768+1680+282 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 344mm x 194mm
1366x768 60.0*+
1360x768 59.8 60.0
1024x768 60.0
800x600 60.3 56.2
640x480 59.9
VGA1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI1 connected 1680x1050+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 474mm x 296mm
1680x1050 60.0*+
1600x1200 60.0
1400x1050 60.0
1280x1024 75.0
1440x900 75.0 59.9
1280x960 60.0
1360x768 59.8
1152x864 75.0
1024x768 75.1 70.1 60.0
832x624 74.6
800x600 72.2 75.0 60.3 56.2
640x480 72.8 75.0 66.7 60.0
720x400 70.1
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
and whenever I want to use Awesome I use these to set my monitors like I want:
Right, I did that, and now I have a nice working dual monitor set up. I just want to check, if I disconnect the larger monitor, will it just go back to the netbook one as the main one? Also, is there a way I can make it so every time the larger one is plugged in it sets it like this?
Wow, that was fast! Well, glad you got it working. I'm not sure that if you disconnect the external monitor all settings will revert to the netbook alone. Just test it? Not sure about how to 'automate' the execution of the xrandr commands whenever you plugin the monitor. I suppose you can write a script to detect changes in the xrandr output and act consequently. Shouldn't be to difficult.
-- edit -- : This might be interesting too, using udev to monitor for changes and execute a script consequently. Probably more difficult to set up and get working but more dynamic solution. Have a look here.
Wow, that was fast! Well, glad you got it working. I'm not sure that if you disconnect the external monitor all settings will revert to the netbook alone. Just test it? Not sure about how to 'automate' the execution of the xrandr commands whenever you plugin the monitor. I suppose you can write a script to detect changes in the xrandr output and act consequently. Shouldn't be to difficult.
Kind regards,
Eric
I disconnected the monitor, and it just dumped all of the open windows (Thunderbird, Firefox, Terminal) on the netbook screen, however no panels. It seems like it still thinks the other monitor is there, as I can move the cursor up to where he other monitor would be. Is there a way I can use the xrandr commands to disable it?
--auto For connected but disabled outputs, this will enable them using their preferred mode (or, something close to 96dpi if they have no preferred mode). For disconnected but enabled outputs, this will disable them.
So by using the --auto parameter it should automatically disable the disconnected but enabled outputs which is your case.
Perfect! Glad you've found a solution. Most likely there are other ways but this is the closest to the 'core' I think, without using any front-ends or so. The only thing left to do if I'm not mistaking is automating the process, right?
Perfect! Glad you've found a solution. Most likely there are other ways but this is the closest to the 'core' I think, without using any front-ends or so. The only thing left to do if I'm not mistaking is automating the process, right?
Kind regards,
Eric
Automating the process, while nice, is not really needed. I have written two shell scripts which have the commands to set it up, and I placed them in /usr/bin, so all I have to type is 'enable_monitor' and 'disable_monitor' whenever I plug it in, and as I can get access to a terminal pretty quickly, it is not really much of a problem.
Thanks for your help though!
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