Dual DIsplay Issues GeForce FX 5500 w/ New Nvidia Drivers Ubuntu Dapper 6.06
 

I'm very sorry if I am asking stupid questions. I spent my whole Saturday off work trying to figure this out, and the only thing I acomplished was a headache. I was able to get Nvidia's drivers installed w/o a problem, but I can't get the dual display working for the life of me. I spent all day reading forums and How To's with no luck. The second monitor remains in power saving.

My primary screen is a Hyundai B70A flatpanel. My secondary screen is some KDS Avitron 17 inch CRT. Ubunto detects only the flat screen.

Since my second display wasn't able to be detected, I knew I had to enter that file information manually, but it still doesn't work. I will post the file below. If anybody could point out my mistake, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for any assistance.

did you use the drivers from the nvidia site? or the drivers from the ubuntu cd?

Try the file below it should give you two separate screens where you can move the mouse between them. Now I could not find the proper refresh rates for the KDS monitor so you should get out the manual to put them in or do a search on the model number/make to find them using too high a numbers can damage the monitor so it is important to get them right I used the specs found here for the LCD if it is not correct then don't use these either. If the file does not work when you change the CRT refresh rates then can you post the file /var/log/Xorg.0.log and a few more details like the physical positions of the monitors on your desk, whether you want two desktops of one big desktop spanning both monitors. You may need a BusID "PCI:1:0:0" in the Section Device for the video card you can find the proper numbers for this by looking in the /var/log/Xorg.0.log for a section like this.

BTW is this one or two video card you are using for the dualhead as you will need to use the different numbers for two cards.

Success!!

I did change the sync ranges for my second monitor. The first time I restarted x, the second monitor still didn't come out of power saving, so I added the BusID, and I had the biggest smile when I saw the Nvidia logo flash on the second screen after I restarted it again :) :) . This config file it getting locked away and backed up so I don't have to go through this again. I also had to change the order of the screens (secondary RightOf primary). It's a single card with two VGA outs BTW.

Ok, so about the multiple desktops. I like having separate desktops for both displays, but I would like to be able to move windows from one display to another like I can move them across work spaces. For example, can I make workspaces 1-4 on my primary and 5-8 on my secondary? Then I can move windows across displays just like moving them across workspaces. So far, I haven't found a way to move a window from one display to another this way.

One of the problems with having the separate desktops is that I can't load FireFox in both screens at the same time. I get this error.

(tried to post URL to screenshot, but it wouldn't let me :( ) The error was "Firefox is already running. To open a new window, you must first close the existing FireFox process, or restart your system." It doesn't give me this error when I open multiple sessions on different workspaces, or even the same workspace, just different workspaces.

By the way, whenever I take screenshots in windows, I'm so used to hitting the key, opening paint, copying it in, and saving it. I was so amazed when I saw the save dialog come up when I hit the ss key for the first time in Linux. :)

Thank you so very very much for your help!

Moving across displays will not work you need to use Xinerama and have the one big desktop then you can move between them.
Now that is just plain stupid I just tried the same here and get the error as well now using Konqueror it works perfectly.
Your welcome if you like that then you will just love being able to select the text with your mouse pointer then either middle clicking with the scroll wheel button or both right and left buttons at the same time to paste it just drives me crazy anytime I use a windows machine and actually have to select copy then paste.

Finally got time to work on it again. :)

I had luck with getting dual head with Xinerama working...well sort of. I have two screens working fine, but glx and gl doesn't work on the secondary screen. For example, if I take a screenshot, only the first screen shows up, or if I run glxgears or billard-gl, they don't display anything on the second screen. I only added `Option "Xinerama" "on"` to my xorg.conf file to disable multiple desktops. If there something else I need to change? Below if my conf file.

i think you want twinview.
here's my cfg?

Thanks for sharing your config file. I used some options that you had enabled, but the glx graphics on my second monitor are still non-existent. If I run glxgears on my primary, it renders 1100 fps. When I drag it over to my secondary display, the gears go away (window still there), and the fps goes up to 7000 fps. Weird.

Not a huge deal though. I don't do any games, let alone on my secondary display. If I have FireFox, Thunderbird, BlueFish, gFTP, and Instant Messenger, I'm happy :), even though I would like to know the issue out of my own curiosity.

By the way, a couple weeks ago, I felt like I was in a foreign enviornment in Linux, and I felt more confortable in Windows. Now, I get mad when I have to boot up to Windows to use certain apps, and I definately favor the Gnome enviornment over Windows :D :D :D .

why do you care about glxgears anyways?

glxgears is just what I use to test the display. That program, some games, and the screensaver doesn't work on my second display.

I believe the idea is that you have to have separate displays for glx/gl on each Xinerama only gives it to you on the primary display.

That's interesting. I did a quick search and found this: http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/.../msg02935.html

It seems that some people are having the same problem, so I will have to research this. To Google I go. :)

have you tried twinview?
just curious

Is twinview the two separate desktops? I've tried that, and I'd rather have the spanning desktop.

no just one single desktop spread across both screens