I use a Dell advanced port replicator at home and in the office. Each is connected to a second monitor. In neither place does the monitor actually receive a signal even though the monitor seems to be detected correctly in display settings. The function-F8 key does not have any visible effect. Any idea what I can tweak to make it work.
Oh, almost forgot. At work once when I preparing to shut down the second monitor popped on for a few seconds though it was at the wrong resolution.
Any guidance is appreciated.
I would say we need to know a few details to determine how to help.
- openSUSE version and bit format (32 or 64)
- Desktop being used (KDE or Gnome or Other)
- Video Chipset (Intel, Nvidia or ATI).
- Any other problems besides using Multiple Monitors?
I can say that with openSUSE 11.2 64 bit, Intel Video & KDE 4.4.4, Dual monitors work great for me both at home (Second monitor in Side VGA port) and at work (with Docking Station) using a Dell Latitude E6400. I have to set the resolution & mode every time I start, but it works like a champ. I am told that KDE 4.6 will remember the combination in the future. I am able to use two monitors on my home desktop using an nVidia video card and driver, both on DVI ports. In general, using a DVI connection works better than VGA it would seem.
Thank You,
Further to James’s excellent advice (about submitting more info to us), you might want to determine what Xorg can see with the external monitor connected via this command
xrandr
The proprietary drivers have their own config tools which can help with multi-monitor configuration, while xrandr is good for open source drivers. We’ll await your further info…
Sorry for the delay in getting back on this. Life got in the way.
Info:
Notebook: Dell Precision M90 with dual core 2.1 gHz, 4 GB ram. External monitor is connected via a digital/hdmi coverter and then a hdmi cable to the monitor. The monitor is a Hannspree 28 inch 1920x1200 combo 1080p hdtv/monitor.
- openSUSE 11.3 64 bit
- Gnome desktop
- Video Chipset: Nvidia
- Other problems: Bluetooth works fine in the office but at home, in or out of a docking station the OS does not see the presence of a bluetooth adapter. It is built in on this notebook.
Here is output of xrandr:
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 3360 x 1200, maximum 4096 x 4096
LVDS-1 connected 1440x900+0+176 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 367mm x 230mm
1440x900 60.0*+ 50.0
1152x864 60.0
1024x768 59.9
800x600 59.9
640x480 59.4
720x400 59.6
640x400 60.0
640x350 59.8
VGA-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
TV-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-D-1 connected 1920x1200+1440+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 593mm x 350mm
1920x1200 60.0*+
1920x1080 60.0
1680x1050 60.0
1280x1024 60.0
1440x900 59.9
1280x720 60.0
1024x768 60.0
800x600 60.3
720x480 59.9
640x480 60.0
I really appreciate any help. I’ve worked with Linux a bit and am impressed how much easier things are now over a couple years ago but am not super experienced in this OS.
If you have installed the optional nVidia graphics, have you considered installing the nVidia driver? If you are content with using the default kernel supplied by oprnSUSE, then your best bet is to add the nVidia repository to your setup and load their driver. You might want to check to make sure this has not already been done for you. Here is the repository:
ftp://download.nvidia.com/opensuse/11.3/
You then load two files from here to use the nVidia proprietary video driver. There is also a manual way to do this, as to use the very latest driver if you want to know how, but not required. If you have loaded the nVidia driver, then you have access to a super nVidia settings application called: nvidia-settings which can greatly assist in setting up two monitors for you. In KDE the app comes up under menu/system/configuration/nvidia-settings, but not sure about gnome, but the app still works in gnome. I might suggest you look at this information on setting up video cards in openSUSE.
SDB:Configuring graphics cards - openSUSE
External monitor is connected via a digital/hdmi coverter and then a hdmi cable to the monitor. The monitor is a Hannspree 28 inch 1920x1200 combo 1080p hdtv/monitor.
Now when you indicate using a digital/hdmi converter, I do wonder how your PC is seeing this monitor. Does it really know its type or what is going on? Adapters often only work with blind video output that is not two way like monitors are, at least in the ability to determine its supported resolutions.
Thank You,
Thanks for your quick help. You pointed me in the correct direction and I now have two monitors working at the correct resolution and exactly as desired. I downloaded the driver from Nvidia and then was reading an installation help file that explained how to use Yast to install by downloading it. I did that, rebooted and then used the Nvidia tool to enable the second monitor and set resolution. Fantastic!
Any chance you have any ideas on my Bluetooth problem? Works fine in the office connected to a docking station but at home it fails in our out of an identical docking station.
At any rate, thanks so much for your help with the dual screens.