Lenovo E420 No External VGA output

English Hardware
#1

Hello,

I am six months into this OS… I have a Lenovo ThinkPad E420 with OpenSUSE11.3 / KDE installed with the i586 DVD (32 bit). I believe this laptop has an Intel HD graphics 3000 chip. During installation on this machine I selected a 1024x768 monitor resolution.

When I plug in a VGA LCD monitor all I get a blank screen with a continuous amber light. If I disconnect the cable I get a “Cable Not Connected” message on the lcd screen.

Fn F7 does nothing.

Some terminal information if it helps:

linux-xrxd:/sbin # lspci -nnk
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation Sandy Bridge DRAM Controller [8086:0104] (rev 09)
Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:21e2]
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Device [8086:0116] (rev 09)
Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:21e2]

linux-xrxd:~ # xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 1024 x 768, current 1024 x 768, maximum 1024 x 768
default connected 1024x768+0+0 0mm x 0mm
1024x768 76.0*

Can anyone tell me what to do to connect to an external VGA monitor in a mirror application (not extended desktop) ???

Thank you in advance!

Dave

#2

Sorry, if I’m asking the obvious - Is the xrandr output derived from when you have the external monitor plugged in?

You will almost certainly find that your graphics hardware is better supported by an updated intel driver in openSUSE 11.4, or 12.1. This (solved) Fedora thread may also be useful to you.

#3

Hello deano_farrari, thank you for your reply.

The xrandr output was derrived while the external monitor was plugged in.

I have an HP Laptop that shows a second port with an LVDS monitor connected (and s-video not connected), unlike the Levono E420 which only shows one port.

Regarding the updated intel driver in OpenSUSE 11.4/12.1, I prefer to stay with 11.3 right now. Are the drivers interchangable? If not, where would I locate the latest driver for the current configuratoin?

Thanks again

Dave

#4

Regarding the updated intel driver in OpenSUSE 11.4/12.1, I prefer to stay with 11.3 right now. Are the drivers interchangable? If not, where would I locate the latest driver for the current configuratoin?

No, they’re build against the X.Org libraries (particular versions) installed with each particular distribution version.

You may try upgrading XOrg by subscribing to the XOrg repo (but whether this will solve your dual head problem I do not know):

Index of /repositories/X11:/XOrg/openSUSE_11.3

Use the ‘1-click Install’ to add the repo, and update the required xorg packages:

software.opensuse.org: Search Results