I am **VERY** new to Linux. I know basically nothing and need it at work. I am attempting to get both of my monitors with an extended desktop. I've googled and googled to no avail. Here is what I know:

My primary monitor is 1920x1080HD connected via DVI.
My second monitor is 1280x1024 connected via VGA.

The hardware is Intel B43 Express Chipset.
My kernel is 2.6.32-5-686 and have Gnome installed.
The computer is defaulted to 1280x1024 and both monitors display the same thing. My HD monitor has about a third of it cropped off to the right and is just black. I've tried to generate something called an xorg.conf file but it does not work. This is driving me crazy. Can anyone help? Tell me anything you need and I'll do my best to acquiesce. I appreciate it,

-Robb-

Hello and welcome to LinuxQuestions,

Have you looked at the 'Displays' settings? If both monitors show the same then most likely you have 'Mirror displays' checked in there. If so, remove the 'check' and click Apply. In the same preferences window you can change the resolution and position of your displays by clicking, holding down and moving the boxes that represent your displays.

Looking forward to your participation in the forums. Have fun with Linux.

Kind regards,

Eric