I think I understand but
Posts: 14
Earlier I griped that Mepis wouldn't let me span my desktop across two screens and I didn't fully get what X.org meant. So after a little research I think I figured out that Mepis isn't recognizing my external monitor. It will clone and that's it. Also the colors look a little washed out. If someone can clue me in that would be great.
My hardware:
* IBM Thinkpad T40 w/ 1.5 GHz Pentium M / Centrino Processor Model 2373-7CU
* Intel Mobile Centrino Pentium M 1.5 GHz (1500 MHz) processor
* 256 MB DDR RAM (2 GB / 2048 MB Max)
* 40 GB Hard Drive
* CDRW/DVD Combo
* Built-in 802.11g WiFi Wireless LAN
* UltraNav
* ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 integrated video with 32 MB memory
* Sound Blaster compatible integrated audio w/built-in
speakers
* 14.1-inch TFT LCD Display 1024x768
* Integrated Gigabit Ethernet controller
* Integrated 56K modem
* Lithium-Ion battery pack
* Expansion Slots: Two (2) PCMCIA Type II slots or one Type III
and a Westinghouse LCM-17v8 17in 1280x1024
i just installed 6.5
Posts: 14
hoping that might change something but it didn't. i wasn't hoping too hard. anyway, i do not understand editing the x.org that you speak of. i need something a bit more step by step until this starts to make sense. when i go to configure desktop it only shows the settings for screen 1. what next?
i just installed 6.5
Posts: 2280
OK down in the systray you will find an icon that looks like a monitor, click on that and follow it up to file manager superuser mode & click that and supply root password, that makes you the honcho on your system. Then click on red folder near bottom left thats the root folder it shows all main folders. Then click on the /etc/ folder and in there is a folder called /X11/ & in that is a file, /xorg.conf now that is the file you will have to edit, just click on the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file and it will open so you can edit it. You have to know Linux uses explicit paths and if you don't follow them closely you wont get where you want to be.
Now edit the file as per matts directions and before you leave click on file & save at top left. Then its probably better to reboot for changes to take effect. Now i want you to know this is no place to be careless you have the gun in your hand and your system can be wounded or killed by doing things that shouldn't be done. There is always risk running as root so i can't stress that too much, do it right & get out of there ASAP. Good luck!
jim
so it should say
Posts: 14
so it should read
#Screen 1 "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
#Option "Xinerama" "true"
#Option "Clone" "false"
so it now reads
Posts: 14
#Screen 1 "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
Option "Xinerama" "true"
also i went into Kinfo center and it does not list the external monitor. it only list screen0. any ideas? thanks for the help so far
so it now reads
Posts: 2280
#Screen 1 "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
Option "Xinerama" "true"also i went into Kinfo center and it does not list the external monitor. it only list screen0. any ideas? thanks for the help so far
You shouldn't delete any thing in that file (except this sign #) just remove or add the comment or pound sign # to enable or disable lines. When you see that # sign in front of a text line that line will be ignored or not executed. Conversely if its not in front of a line it will be used accordingly. In other words it is used as a quick way to say yes or no to the system as it performs tasks. Your original file looks like this.
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "XFree86 Configured"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
#Screen 0 "ATIScreen" 0 0
#Screen 1 "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
#Option "Xinerama" "true"
#Option "Clone" "true"
When edited it will look like this if im reading it right.
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "XFree86 Configured"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
#Screen 0 "ATIScreen" 0 0
Screen 1 "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
Option "Xinerama" "true"
#Option "Clone" "true"
jim
the help is great but
Posts: 14
it's still not working. i've typed in exactly what you recommend. i've deleted lines. i've tried a totally different monitor (samsung). i've tried a dvi cable which didn't work at all. on linuxquestions.org this seems like a pretty popular problem with several different distros. however, there's the "fixed" claims without solutions scattered here and there on the net.
i'm very open to suggestions at this point. any help would be great. i do appreciate the help you have given so far.
Hmmm.....
Posts: 2280
it's still not working. i've typed in exactly what you recommend. i've deleted lines. i've tried a totally different monitor (samsung). i've tried a dvi cable which didn't work at all. on linuxquestions.org this seems like a pretty popular problem with several different distros. however, there's the "fixed" claims without solutions scattered here and there on the net.
i'm very open to suggestions at this point. any help would be great. i do appreciate the help you have given so far.
Well at this point i think you should hook up both monitors And boot the install cd and reinstall the xserver with Mepis Utilities. You may have deleted a needed line and that will put it back more the way it should be. Also maybe it will see the second monitor. I don't use dual monitors so
I'm not hep to all the ins and outs, but for some reason it doesn't seem to be picking up on second one. Could be other hardware issues too, i don't know. Possibly trying to get it working with live cd by searching in utilities and trying settings before reinstalling might work try Mepis X-Windows assistant nvidia tab twin view mode & tick the button there to see if its of any help. Cant think of anything else now.
Good luck!
jim
Hi jsragman: Do you know how
Posts: 1175
Hi jsragman: Do you know how to copy and paste? ... if so then copy and paste your Xorg.conf here and let someone make the changes and then you can copy and paste it back over the errant one.
Wayne
cut and paste
Posts: 14
Thanks for the look Wayne. I hope someone can figure this out. It's a show stopper before I try printing.
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "XFree86 Configured"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
#Screen 0 "ATIScreen" 0 0
Screen 1 "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
Option "Xinerama" "true"
# Option "Clone" "true"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
#InputDevice "PS/2 Mouse" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "USB Mouse" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Touchpad" "SendCoreEvents"
#InputDevice "ALPS Touchpad" "SendCoreEvents"
#InputDevice "Appletouch" "SendCoreEvents"
#InputDevice "Stylus" "SendCoreEvents"
#InputDevice "Eraser" "SendCoreEvents"
#InputDevice "Cursor" "SendCoreEvents"
#InputDevice "Serial Mouse" "CorePointer"
EndSection
Section "ServerFlags"
Option "AllowMouseOpenFail" "true"
EndSection
Section "Files"
# Xorg 7.0 font paths
FontPath "/usr/share/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/X11/fonts/Type1"
# Legacy font paths
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
# Other font paths
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/arphic"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/freefont"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/kochi"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/ttf-bitstream-vera"
FontPath "/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType"
EndSection
Section "Module"
Load "dbe"
Load "dri"
Load "extmod"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx"
Load "type1"
Load "v4l"
Load "vbe"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "keyboard"
Option "CoreKeyboard"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
Option "XKbOptions" ""
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Serial Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Microsoft"
Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "false"
Option "Emulate3Timeout" "70"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Touchpad"
Driver "synaptics"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
Option "LeftEdge" "1700"
Option "RightEdge" "5300"
Option "TopEdge" "1700"
Option "BottomEdge" "4200"
Option "FingerLow" "25"
Option "FingerHigh" "30"
Option "MaxTapTime" "180"
Option "MaxTapMove" "220"
Option "VertScrollDelta" "100"
Option "HorizScrollDelta" "0"
Option "MinSpeed" "0.09"
Option "MaxSpeed" "0.18"
Option "AccelFactor" "0.0015"
Option "SHMConfig" "on"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "synaptics"
Identifier "ALPS Touchpad"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mouse0"
Option "Protocol" "event"
Option "LeftEdge" "130"
Option "RightEdge" "840"
Option "TopEdge" "130"
Option "BottomEdge" "640"
Option "FingerLow" "7"
Option "FingerHigh" "8"
Option "MaxTapTime" "180"
Option "MaxTapMove" "110"
Option "EmulateMidButtonTime" "75"
Option "VertScrollDelta" "20"
Option "HorizScrollDelta" "0"
Option "MinSpeed" "0.25"
Option "MaxSpeed" "0.50"
Option "AccelFactor" "0.030"
Option "EdgeMotionMinSpeed" "200"
Option "EdgeMotionMaxSpeed" "200"
Option "UpDownScrolling" "1"
Option "CircularScrolling" "1"
Option "CircScrollDelta" "0.1"
Option "CircScrollTrigger" "2"
Option "SHMConfig" "on"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Appletouch"
Driver "synaptics"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
Option "LeftEdge" "100"
Option "RightEdge" "1120"
Option "TopEdge" "50"
Option "BottomEdge" "310"
Option "FingerLow" "25"
Option "FingerHigh" "30"
Option "MaxTapMove" "220"
Option "TapButton1" "1"
Option "TapButton2" "3"
Option "TapButton3" "2"
Option "MinSpeed" "0.79"
Option "MaxSpeed" "0.88"
Option "AccelFactor" "0.0015"
Option "SHMConfig" "on"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "PS/2 Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "auto"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "false"
Option "Emulate3Timeout" "70"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Buttons" "5"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "USB Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Buttons" "5"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Stylus"
Driver "wacom"
Option "Mode" "Absolute"
Option "Type" "stylus"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Endsection
# Settings for wacom eraser
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Eraser"
Driver "wacom"
Option "Mode" "Absolute"
Option "Type" "eraser"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Endsection
# Settings for wacom cursor (mouse)
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Cursor"
Driver "wacom"
Option "Mode" "Relative"
Option "Type" "cursor"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Endsection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "unknown"
ModelName "unknown"
Option "DPMS" "true"
HorizSync 30-82
VertRefresh 55-70
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor1"
VendorName "unknown"
ModelName "unknown"
Option "DPMS" "true"
HorizSync 30-82
VertRefresh 55-70
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "ATIMonitor"
VendorName "unknown"
ModelName "unknown"
Option "DPMS" "true"
HorizSync 30-82
VertRefresh 55-70
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "radeon"
BoardName "unknown"
Screen 0
#Option "UseDisplayDevice" "dfp"
#Option "MonitorLayout" "crt,crt"
#BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
#Option "sw_cursor" # needed for some ati cards
#Option "hw_cursor"
#Option "NoAccel"
#Option "ShowCache"
#Option "ShadowFB"
#Option "UseFBDev"
#Option "Rotate"
Option "UseInternalAGPGART" "no"
# savage special options, use with care
#Option "NoUseBios"
#Option "BusType" "PCI"
Option "DmaMode" "None"
# nvidia special options, use with care
Option "CursorShadow" "1"
Option "CursorShadowAlpha" "63"
Option "CursorShadowYOffset" "2"
Option "CursorShadowXOffset" "4"
Option "FlatPanelProperties" "Scaling = native"
Option "NoLogo" "false"
Option "UseEDID" "true"
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "true"
Option "RenderAccel" "true"
#Option "AllowGLXWithComposite" "true"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Card1"
Driver "radeon"
BoardName "unknown"
Screen 1
#Option "MonitorLayout" "crt,crt"
#BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultColorDepth 16
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 32
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
# Only the official NVIDIA driver supports twinview
# these setting are an example
Option "TwinView" "false"
Option "SecondMonitorVendorName" "unknown"
Option "SecondMonitorModelName" "unknown"
Option "SecondMonitorHorizSync" "30-82"
Option "SecondMonitorVertRefresh" "55-70"
#Option "MetaModes" "1024x768, 1024x768"
Option "TwinViewOrientation" "RightOf"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "dfp,dfp"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen1"
Device "Card1"
Monitor "Monitor1"
DefaultColorDepth 16
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 32
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "ATIScreen"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "ATIMonitor"
DefaultColorDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Section "DRI"
Mode 0666
EndSection
Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite" "Enable"
EndSection
Xinerama
Posts: 226
It sounds like you have your second monitor recognized but you want to span your desktop and not clone it. This is actually easy if you have your second monitor recognized. It sounds like you are now familiar with your xorg.conf file. If you have a somewhat standard config still you will see a few lines at the top of the file...you may just not know what they mean.
There are specifically three lines that you will be interested in
#Screen 1 "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
#Option "Xinerama" "true"
#Option "Clone" "true"
In my config they are all commented out. In your config you will want to uncomment two of them and leave one commented. The first line tells where your second screen should be placed. In this scenario you primary monitor, Screen0, is on the left and the secondary monitor, Screen1, is on the right. The next line is the important one for having two monitors. If you want your desktop to span two screens then you want to uncomment the Xinerama line. This tells to xorg to span the two screens. If you are spanning your desktops then you want to make the sure the Clone line is commented out. I think the Cloning line is pretty self explanitory. So that is it in quick nutshell. Hope it helps. Also if anyone is reading this and wants to take a shot at witting this up in the wiki in more detail please feel free.