11.1 dual monitors, one video card

English Hardware
1

i haven’t used linux since my days in college, but i just set up my desktop to run windows and opensuse 11.1, everything seems to be working great with the exception of my 2nd monitor

as stated in the subject, i have 2 monitors running on the same video card, in xp these are used as a single, large desktop an i would like to have this same setup in suse

currently my 2nd monitor looks like a bizarro world version of my first monitor, the colors are crazy and the screen stretches and overlaps onto itself, making the screen useless

i have tried YaST -> Graphics Card & Monitor, but i do not see any option where i can click “activate dual head mode” or anything along those lines which most discussions seem to suggest

i have also seen suggestions which recommend enabling Xinerama, so maybe that is what i need to do, but i am little lost on how i go about doing that

thanks for checking this out, any help you could provide would be great, thanks

2

oddlot adjusted his/her AFDB on Monday 13 Jul 2009 07:56 to write:

>
> i haven’t used linux since my days in college, but i just set up my
> desktop to run windows and opensuse 11.1, everything seems to be working
> great with the exception of my 2nd monitor
>
> as stated in the subject, i have 2 monitors running on the same video
> card, in xp these are used as a single, large desktop an i would like to
> have this same setup in suse
>
> currently my 2nd monitor looks like a bizarro world version of my first
> monitor, the colors are crazy and the screen stretches and overlaps onto
> itself, making the screen useless
>
> i have tried YaST -> Graphics Card & Monitor, but i do not see any
> option where i can click “activate dual head mode” or anything along
> those lines which most discussions seem to suggest
>
> i have also seen suggestions which recommend enabling Xinerama, so
> maybe that is what i need to do, but i am little lost on how i go about
> doing that
>
> thanks for checking this out, any help you could provide would be
> great, thanks
>
>

Can you give us some info on the hardware and any drivers you have
installed, Nvidia, ATI etc…

Also can you describe how you configured the dual screen?

–
Mark
Caveat emptor
Nullus in verba
Nil illegitimi carborundum

3

sure, thanks for looking at this

under display in the hardware information section:
nVidia GeForce 6200 TurboCache
under x11 it shows:
x11 -> nv -> version 4
x11 -> nvidia -> version 4

under monitor in the hardware information section it lists 2 monitors, a SyncMaster (my samsung syncmaster which is working properly) and L1905 (presumably this is the GEM monitor which is not currently working)

in YaST under the “Monitor” heading in “Graphics Card & Monitor” it only lists options for “Display 1” (no options for a second monitor) and it says:
Card: NVidia GeForce 6200 TurboCache™
Monitor: HED L1905
and has no mention of my samsung monitor even though that is the only one working

as for the physical configuration, the graphics card has two outputs, a VGA out and a DVI,
samsung (working) connected to DVI
GEM (not working) connected to VGA

as for configuration within suse, i have not done anything other than install the OS. i can’t seem to find where in suse i should be configuring the dual monitor setup (there are no options listed for me to click within sax2 for dual monitor configuration)

hopefully this was the kind of information you were looking for, if not, let me know and i’ll try to get something more specific, thanks

4

oddlot adjusted his/her AFDB on Monday 13 Jul 2009 13:36 to write:

> hopefully this was the kind of information you were looking for, if
> not, let me know and i’ll try to get something more specific, thanks
>
>

Yep that is spot on, you are using the open source modules ( drivers ) for
your card, I do not think that they support dual head very well.

Have a look here:

http://en.opensuse.org/Nvidia

And choose your poison how you install.

Please read the page fully and ask any questions first before you dive in,
you will need the top link if you are going to do a one-click install ( the
green one ) read the link about problems further down the page.

If you go the repository way which means you can control the versions and
stuff via yast then note that these drivers lag a bit behind the latest and
greatest on the Nvidia site as do the 1-click ones.

If you want to do it the “Hard Way” ™ so that you have the latest ones
from Nvidia then do read about the extra packages ( gcc, kernel-source, make
) that are needed.

You will find loads of posts about how to install the hard way ( actually
not that hard ) and once you have done it it is simples, only thing you have
to remember is that after a kernel update ( not very often ) you need to re-
install them again which takes all of 2-3 mins.

If you have any Q`s then just holler someone will help.

Being an old f^rt I only use the Hard Way for both ATI and Nvidia and find
it second nature but YMMV.

Take care and most of all enjoy.

HTH

–
Mark
Caveat emptor
Nullus in verba
Nil illegitimi carborundum

5

wow – that’s great, thank you – i went the repository route and everything is working beautifully now

but that brings me to a follow-up question, as a result of this update which allows my monitors to work my boot screen now shows another option

*opensuse 2.6.27.23-0.1 (this has both monitors working)
*-> failsafe
*opensuse 2.6.27.7-9
*-> failsafe
*other linux
*windows

i should (and likely will) start a new thread for this, but just in case anyone following along knows the answer,

is there any way for me to get rid of the version (and the corresponding failsafe) which i no longer need – i am trying to get my wife using suse instead of booting up windows and all these versions will definitely scare her away

or maybe doing this is a terrible idea? i just don’t know at this point

thanks again

6

Did you try “nvidia-settings?” You have to do that as root - so do it from the command line after executing “su” (and giving it your root password). If that doesn’t work, then…

NVidia is what I always use, so I have the procedure down for compiling their drivers custom for your system - I find this easier than using YaST. Go to NVidia’s website and download their Linux driver (foo-bar-pkg2.run) and put it in your home directory. Use the file manager to change it’s properties and check the box “is executable.” Go to YaST and install the gcc compiler suite (it’s probably already installed). Then log off (not shut down) SuSE, then in the lower left-hand part of the logon screen, there’s a menu option to do a “console” login. This logs you into the command line. Log in as root, and:

#> cd /home/yourname

Then do

#> ./foo-bar-pkg2.run

It will ask you if you want to install the drivers - answer “yes” to everything and it will compile all drivers for your system. Tell it you want to install the drivers also and it will modify the system files. After you will be at the root prompt again. (at this point I can’t recall how to get back to the KDE logon screen - maybe it’s “exit” or else I just “reboot”)

After you log back on as yourself, you can run “nvidia-settings” and tell it how you want your monitors configured. Likely you have the wrong colors. If something has gone bzorken, you can logon as root again and

#> cd /etc/X11
#> ls
#> rm xorg.conf

There will be several other copies: xorg.conf.backup, xorg.conf.saxsave, xorg.conf.install, … just do:

#> mv xorg.conf.install xorg.conf

or

#> cp xorg.conf.install xorg.conf

…then reboot. You will be back where you started and you can try another fix, though I’ve had good luck with this on all my NVidia systems since the days of SuSE 10.1.

:)Patti:X

7

oddlot adjusted his/her AFDB on Monday 13 Jul 2009 16:26 to write:

>
> wow – that’s great, thank you – i went the repository route and
> everything is working beautifully now
>
> but that brings me to a follow-up question, as a result of this update
> which allows my monitors to work my boot screen now shows another
> option
>
> *opensuse 2.6.27.23-0.1 (this has both monitors working)
> *-> failsafe
> *opensuse 2.6.27.7-9
> *-> failsafe
> *other linux
> *windows
>
> i should (and likely will) start a new thread for this, but just in
> case anyone following along knows the answer,
>
> is there any way for me to get rid of the version (and the
> corresponding failsafe) which i no longer need – i am trying to get my
> wife using suse instead of booting up windows and all these versions
> will definitely scare her away
>
> or maybe doing this is a terrible idea? i just don’t know at this
> point

You can edit the title of the items by using Yast>system>bootloader

here you can change the names to something a bit more easier on the eye but
just change the name nothing else.

I don`t think it would be a very good idea to actually delete anything in
there because the failsafe can come in handy if some update or crash finds
you not being able to start with just the default entry.

I have no idea what the “Other linux” entry is unless you have another
distro or version on there?

You could just name them

SuSE
Panic
Windows

If you want :slight_smile:

HTH

–
Mark
Caveat emptor
Nullus in verba
Nil illegitimi carborundum

8

thanks mark,

i definitely do not want to delete the failsafe associated with the version of openSUSE which i am currently using

my question regarding deleting was directed at the other version of openSUSE which is listed, i like your name change suggestions and now have a bootloader which looks like:

*openSUSE
*PANIC
*Windows XP
*opensuse 2.6.27.7-9
*-> failsafe
*other linux

description

*openSUSE
*PANIC
i believe that the “openSUSE” option is the kernel which was created when i set up my monitors to work as one large screen. this is option i select to run openSUSE and PANIC is the associated failsafe

*Windows XP
what i use to boot up windows when i need it

*opensuse 2.6.27.7-9
*-> failsafe
i think this is associated with my original installation and i no longer use this or the failsafe to run openSUSE, i am not sure if it is safe to remove the reference to or otherwise delete this option

*other linux
the “other linux” was some sort of default thing created during installation, if i look at the details in bootloader, it looks very different from either of the openSUSE options

it has no kernel image, it just has an “Other System” dropdown which reads:
/dev/mapper/nvidia_ddcbgifd_part1

i am not sure what deleting this would cause since i haven’t a clue what it is for, i do not have any other versions of linux installed on this machine

9

oddlot adjusted his/her AFDB on Monday 13 Jul 2009 19:06 to write:

> i am not sure what deleting this would cause since i haven’t a clue
> what it is for, i do not have any other versions of linux installed on
> this machine
>
>

I had to nip out there, not read this all the way through with all 3 brain
cells functioning, let me get back to you in a bit, gotta get some food in
me.

But off the top of my head this looks like you have upgraded your kernel and
the other entries are leftovers from the old one.

However do not take my word for it yet and please don`t delete anything on
my quick look.

Will be back a bit later, if anyone else can jump in then please feel free.

HTH

Mark
Caveat emptor
Nullus in verba
Nil illegitimi carborundum

10

What does:

uname -a

give?

As you went down the repository route it might have pulled in a different kernel from the one you had installed IIRC this can happen.

Ich I have had to come onto the webinterface as nntp has stopped working as of 20:45 BST.

11

uname -a gives:

Linux linux-eghr 2.6.27.23-0.1-default #1 SMP 2009-05-26 17:02:05 -0400 i686 athlon i386 GNU/Linux

12

since this discussion has changed into more of a boot issue at this point, i have reposted the boot question in the Install/Boot/Login board should someone with a similar problem be looking there for a solution, thanks