Dual monitor issue

piete · 06-10-2005, 11:52 AM

Could you post your xorg.conf file on your site, too? I can never be sure how much things get tinkered with ...

From your xorg.log file:

Code:

(WW) RADEON(0): Mode "1680x1050" is not a supported mode for CRT1
(WW) RADEON(0): Skipping metamode "1680x1050-1280x1024".
(EE) RADEON(0): Failed to parse MetaModes or no modes found. MergeFB mode disabled.

This is, in my mind, clearly the problem. You're trying to run a dual monitor setup for the game (using the stuff you learnt before), but actually you want to run a single monitor set up and therefore ignore one or other of your monitors. You can run 2 setups in two different ways:

* Use a separate xorg.conf file for each "setup" and in the script call the xorg.game.conf file instead of using the standard one.
* Put all the info in the same conf file <-- what I do.

Either way, you need to have:

* 2 "Monitor" sections, one for each monitor, detailing Ident, HorizSync & VertRefresh
* 2 "Device" sections, one for each setup (ie 1 single head and one dual-head card setup)
* X "Screen" sections. 1 for the dual-monitor setup and then 2 or 3 for the single head setup (640480, 800600 and 1024768 for example)

The Device section is what controls the dual-/single-monitor layout - just make sure you reference the sections properly. You *should* be able to see what my xorg.conf file is doing ... it all comes together at the "Screen" sections, thus:

Code:

# ******************* #
#  Dual head screens  #
# ******************* #

Section "Screen"
    Identifier  "Screen[0]"
    Device      "Card[0]"
    Monitor     "TFT"

   DefaultDepth 24

[snip]
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubsection
[snip]
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier  "Screen[0]"
    Device      "Card[0]"
    Monitor     "TFT1"

   DefaultDepth 24

[snip]
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubsection
[snip]
EndSection

Since I have 2 TFT monitors identified as "TFT" and "TFT1", you can see the stuff above. I think it's just a formality to stop X complaining I haven't listed proper screen sections. Card[0] is the dual monitor setup, listing the preferred mechanism for using 2 monitors and all the other options.

In the single head setup, the screens appear thus:

Code:

# ********************* #
#  Single head screens  #
# ********************* #

Section "Screen"
        Identifier "800600"
        Device      "Card[1]"
        Monitor     "TFT"

[snip]
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes "800x600"
    EndSubsection
[snip]
EndSection

Card[1] is my single head setup, which uses X in it's traditional capacity (so-to-speak). The script explicitly calls a screen section and depth when running xinit, so there is no need for default depth. Also this will output on the default-output port of the card, which I believe is the RGB and not the DVI in most cases. In the laptop's case, I really don't know what will happen. You can "fake it", tho', by setting a dual-monitor setup with one monitor turned off in the device setting - again I can't say specifically how to do this with an ATI, but probably something like:

Code:

Option "MetaModes"  "800x600-null"   # Program runs on the left monitor
Option "MetaModes"  "nulll-800x600"   # Program runs on the right monitor

I sincerely hope this has been of some help, and isn't just a large amount of patronising waffle!

xushi · 06-10-2005, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by piete
Could you post your xorg.conf file on your site, too? I can never be sure how much things get tinkered with ...

Sorry, forgot to mention that i updated the xorg.conf on the first thread, but anyway here's a link to it
http://xushi.co.uk/xushi/sv/xorg.conf

Quote:

This is, in my mind, clearly the problem. You're trying to run a dual monitor setup for the game (using the stuff you learnt before), but actually you want to run a single monitor set up and therefore ignore one or other of your monitors. You can run 2 setups in two different ways:

Ofcourse..

hehe, i guess that error passed without me finding it..

Quote:

* Put all the info in the same conf file <-- what I do.

Yep, i'll try now, and keep you updated.

Quote:

I sincerely hope this has been of some help, and isn't just a large amount of patronising waffle!

You've helped alot =) it would have taken me days to figure it out without your advice. Thanks.

brb

EDIT: I should also mention that for gaming i'd want to use just my laptop's monitor.. the second one i don't mind it being disabled..

EDIT2:
I'm just confused to how i can let X load the correct screen in serverlayout when i want to play games..

piete · 06-10-2005, 01:37 PM

Quote:

I'm just confused to how i can let X load the correct screen in serverlayout when i want to play games..

Ah!

Server layout has nothing to do with anything in this setup - again it's just paying lip-service to the X server methodology!

My understanding is basically that there are so many different ways of making X work, that you find something that works for you, and stick with it. Hence the total lack of anything resembling the definitive guide to writing x.conf files!

Leave serverlayout exactly how it should be for the standard layout. When you run startx, you're basically kickstarting X by using the ServerLayout portion to supply your information. Of course, you're overriding the "Screen" bit by passing 800600 to xinit. As I say, should work ...

Looking at your xorg.conf file, you're just starting a new X server with the same settings as your first server ... you've only got one device, which is effectively double headed.

You need TWO devices ... so something like:

Code:

Section "Device"
	Identifier	"gaming"
	Driver		"radeon"

	ChipID 0x4c66
	Option "Overlay"
	Option "EnablePageFlip" "on"
	BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
	Option "DCCMode" "on" 

	#Option	"MergedFB" "True"
	Option "MonitorLayout" "LCD,null"                      # Maybe?
	#Option "OverlayOnCRTC2" "true"
	#Option "MetaModes" "1680x1050-1280x1024"
	#Option "MetaModes" "1680x1050-1024x768"
	#Option "CRT2Position" "RightOf"

#	Screen 0
EndSection

And then edit the single-head screens to read:

Code:

# --------------GAMES--------------------
# Screen listing - this is where the resolution comes into play.
Section "Screen"
    Identifier  "800600"
    Device "gaming"                 # <<------ Change this line here to match your single headed screen as above in the identifier!
    Monitor     "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth 24

    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       24
	Modes       "800x600"
    EndSubsection

    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       16
	Modes       "800x600"
    EndSubsection
EndSection

xushi · 06-10-2005, 02:05 PM

Oops, forgot to copy the new file before uploading

The new one's uploaded

Well, i've done it all, and it still does what it always does.. new session starts, the cd turns so its trying to load the game, waits there, then everything closes and i get the same Xorg error. BTW i'm using the same values for the monitor, because its more or less the same settings..

At one point i thought maby it doesn't like me using cedega or this game in particular. But if that's the case, how come it allows me to run the game from cedega in the normal conditions ?

I think i should try another game, Quake 3 say.. to make sure that this isn't a game issue.

xushi · 06-10-2005, 02:13 PM

LOL...

Ok.. i don;t know why i didn't try this before, but if i run

Code:

  xinit /bin/sh -c "xterm" -- :1 -screen "800600" -depth "24"

and let it start the session with the terminal.. and then if i manually start cedega from there, that did the job beautifuly

The only problem now, is that it chose the wrong monitor.. lol (the external one)

I guess that's left to be fixed, and also, i'd still like to know how come it doesn't want to work through the methods we're trying up there?! hmm.. much to learn

EDIT: i can't help but to jump up and down and shout.. YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

i'm assuming this method will also work for the 3D drivers! which i managed to get working but never could play any games for the sole reason of that they wouldn't fit my screen..

If this works, then you're truely a hero

it took me 13 months to try and figure all this out, and i wouldnt have done it withouth you

Edit:
http://xushi.co.uk/xushi/sv/xorg.conf
Cleaned it up a bit. Unfortunately the 'mergefb' section in the device driver and specifying it to use only the left monitor didn't work. But atleast i got the games to work now =) I can temporarely live with using the bigger monitor.

piete · 06-10-2005, 04:22 PM

I'm just glad you've managed to get it working! The first thing I wanted to do when I started making the switch from Windows to Linux was get both my monitors & Starcraft working - so I did a lot of manual reading and Googling for the solutions, and then eventually solved my own problem! If in a matter of a week we've managed to solve this, and now hopefully know how to solve it for others, it's a job well done!

Incidentally, you can run the script from a bare console, and it'll start on VT7 just as any "startx" invocation would usually, useful if you're playing a resource intensive game and wanna save your game from RAM-hungry desktop managers =D

Enjoy, and don't forget to write up your how-to on getting this to work

xushi · 06-11-2005, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Enjoy, and don't forget to write up your how-to on getting this to work

I've restarted from scratch and modifited over and over again so many times that i can't even begin to backtrace.. lol.

The advice i'd give, appart from taking yours and reading all the above, is CHECK YOUR LOGS! the Xorg log is huge, but there are a few lines in there that always give you the problem.

Here's my xorg.conf

Code:

# **********************************************************************
# DRI Section
# **********************************************************************
Section "DRI"
    Mode 0666
EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Module section -- this  section  is used to specify
# which dynamically loadable modules to load.
# **********************************************************************
#
Section "Module"

    Load        "dbe"  	# Double buffer extension
    Load  "extmod"
    SubSection "extmod"
       Option    "omit xfree86-dga" 
    EndSubSection
    Load        "type1"
    Load        "freetype"
    Load        "glx"   # libglx.a
    Load        "dri"   # libdri.a
EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Files section.  This allows default font and rgb paths to be set
# **********************************************************************

Section "Files"

# The location of the RGB database.  Note, this is the name of the
# file minus the extension (like ".txt" or ".db").  There is normally
# no need to change the default.

    RgbPath	"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"

    FontPath   "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/local/"
    FontPath   "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
    FontPath   "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath   "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath   "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/"
    FontPath   "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo/"
    FontPath   "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
    FontPath   "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"
EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Server flags section.
# **********************************************************************

Section "ServerFlags"
    Option "BlankTime"  "5"
    Option "OffTime"  "10"
EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Input devices
# **********************************************************************

# **********************************************************************
# Core keyboard's InputDevice section
# **********************************************************************

Section "InputDevice"

    Identifier	"Keyboard1"
    Driver	"kbd"

    Option "AutoRepeat" "500 30"
    Option "XkbModel"   "microsoft"
    Option "XkbRules"	"xfree86"
    Option "XkbModel"	"pc101"
    Option "XkbLayout"	"en"

EndSection


# **********************************************************************
# My USB Mouse
# **********************************************************************

Section "InputDevice"

# Identifier and driver

    Identifier	"Mouse1"
    Driver "mouse"
    Option "Protocol"   "IMPS/2"
    Option "ZAxisMapping"   "4 5"
    Option "Device"     "/dev/input/mouse0"
    Option "Emulate3Buttons"
    Option "ChordMiddle"
    #Option "Buttons" "7"

EndSection


# **********************************************************************
# This is for my Touchpad
# **********************************************************************

 Section "InputDevice" 
    Identifier  "Mouse2"
    Driver      "mouse"
    Option      "Protocol"      "IMPS/2"
    Option      "Device"        "/dev/input/mice"
    Option 	"ZaxisMapping"	"4 5"
#    Option	"Buttons"	"7"
 EndSection


# **********************************************************************
# Monitor section
# **********************************************************************

# Any number of monitor sections may be present

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier  "Monitor0"
    HorizSync   31.5 - 64.3
    VertRefresh 50-90
    Option "DPMS"
EndSection

# Monitor settings for games
Section "Monitor"
    Identifier "GameMon"
    HorizSync   31.5 - 64.3
    VertRefresh 50-90
    Option "DPMS"
EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Graphics device section
# **********************************************************************

# Default 2D Radeon drivers (used when i dont have fglrx installed)
Section "Device"
	Identifier	"myati"
	Driver		"radeon"

	ChipID 0x4c66
	Option "Overlay"
	Option "EnablePageFlip" "on"
	BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
	Option "DCCMode" "on" 

	Option	"MergedFB" "True"
	Option "MonitorLayout" "LCD,CRT"
	Option "OverlayOnCRTC2" "true"
	Option "MetaModes" "1680x1050-1280x1024"
	#Option "MetaModes" "1680x1050-1024x768"
	Option "CRT2Position" "RightOf"

	Screen 0
EndSection

# 3D Radeon drivers (used for gaming)
Section "Device"
        Identifier      "atigames"
        Driver          "radeon"
	BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
	#Option  "MergedFB" "True"
        Option "MonitorLayout" "LCD,CRT"
        #Option "OverlayOnCRTC2" "true"
        #Option "CRT2Position" "RightOf"

        ChipID 0x4c66
EndSection


# ****************************************
# Screen sections
# ****************************************

# Default ext desktop screen
Section "Screen"
    Identifier  "Screen 0"
    Device "myati"
    Monitor     "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth 24
    #Option "backingstore"

    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       24
	Modes       "2960x2074 2704x1818 1680x1050 1024x768 800x600 640x480"
    EndSubsection
EndSection

# --------------GAMES--------------------
Section "Screen"
    Identifier  "800600"
    Device "atigames"
    Monitor     "GameMon"
    DefaultDepth 24

    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       24
	Modes       "800x600"
    EndSubsection

    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       16
	Modes       "800x600"
    EndSubsection
EndSection


# Also used for games
Section "Screen"
    Identifier  "640480"
    Device "atigames"
    Monitor     "GameMon"
    DefaultDepth 24

    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       24
	Modes       "640x480"
    EndSubsection

    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       16
	Modes       "640x480"
    EndSubsection
EndSection


# **********************************************************************
# ServerLayout sections.
# **********************************************************************

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier  "Multihead Layout"
    Screen "Screen 0" 0 0
    InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
#   InputDevice "Mouse2" "AlwaysCore"
    InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

### EOF ###

The most important part to look for is in red above. Basically for dual monitors, by default and without editing, your second monitor will mirror what you have in the first. But if you want extended desktop, you don't need xinerama, but you need the folowing

Code:

Option	"MergedFB" "True"
	Option "MonitorLayout" "LCD,CRT"
	Option "OverlayOnCRTC2" "true"
	Option "MetaModes" "1680x1050-1280x1024"
	Option "CRT2Position" "RightOf"

The MetaModes gives you the size of every screen, and the total size must be included as the highest resolution in the red code in Screen settings above

Code:

"2960x2074 2704x1818 1680x1050 1024x768 800x600 640x480"

.
The calculation's probably wrong, but it worked for me. I want 1680x1050 and 1280x1024 as the resolutions for my two monitors respectively. I just added the numbers up, and got 2960x2074.

If you get the numbers wrong, or too high, X will start with just normal mirrorring, and you'll have to read the logs to know that it gave an error.

Notice i'm using the same Monitor settings on both monitors. That's bad especially if you have different monitors. I'll have to change that soon, because the settings above are a bit too low for my ext. tft monitor. (refresh rate, etc)

As for gaming, i couldn't get the settings to be perfect.. It either started on the wrong monitor, or had dangerous resolutions on the laptop. So what i did is give it bogus options (but a good 800x600 resolution), enough to let it keep the resolution, but revert back to mirroring the game on both monitors. I don't mind that, and i'm too happy to correct it now that it atleast works..

Its been 13.. thirteen .. months i've been trying to get this to work, and thanks for piete, i can finally play my favorite games once again.

The above settings, if working for you two, should also work with fglrx 3d drivers.. but don't quote me on that. Why do i say so? Because after days of configuration, i've gotten the fglrx drivers to work, but the only thing that was stopping me was the resolution. Now that the resolution issue is fixed with a .. hack, all should work =)

Good luck all, and i hope this helps a bit.

enricong · 06-12-2005, 03:53 PM

May I ask which graphics card you are using?

I am having trouble finding a dual DVI card that can go above 2560x2048

I would want to have something that can go up to 2960x2074 or 2880x2224 or 3200x2224

xushi · 06-12-2005, 05:29 PM

Trick question.. I've bought the laptop (compaq presario x1000) under the impression that its has an ATI Mobility Radeon 9200. Even the sticker says so.

But linux insists that its a Radeon Mobility 9000

Code:

# dmesg | grep radeon 
[drm] Initialized radeon 1.14.0 20050125 on minor 0: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon R250 Lf [Radeon Mobility 9000 M9]

The default resolution i have on it is 1680x1050

lspci

Code:

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon R250 Lf [Radeon Mobility 9000 M9] (rev 01)