Two monitors, one video card, almost working

[Guest Frabit]

I'm running Mandriva 2006. I just got a widescreen display that I want to be my main display, and I've shifted my old 17" monitor over to use as a second display. My video card is NVidia GeForce 9200, with a DVI output and a standard output. Because the displays have different resolutions, I'm not using twinview.

 

I've managed to edit xorg.conf enough to get both displays working, but the mouse and keyboard are attached to the 17" display, and I can't figure out how to switch or move anything to the large display. Here's my xorg.conf. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

I want the widescreen (Viewsonic) display to be the primary, and the 17" (Samsung) display to be the secondary.

 

 

Section "Module"

 

Load "dbe" # Double buffer extension

 

SubSection "extmod"

Option "omit xfree86-dga" # don't initialise the DGA extension

EndSubSection

 

# This loads the font modules

Load "type1"

Load "speedo"

Load "freetype"

# Load "xtt"

 

 

EndSection

 

Section "Files"

 

RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"

FontPath "unix/:-1"

 

EndSection

 

 

Section "ServerFlags"

 

 

EndSection

 

Section "InputDevice"

 

Identifier "Keyboard1"

Driver "kbd"

Option "AutoRepeat" "500 30"

Option "XkbRules" "xorg"

Option "XkbModel" "microsoft"

Option "XkbLayout" "us"

 

EndSection

 

Section "InputDevice"

 

Identifier "Mouse1"

Driver "mouse"

Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"

Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"

Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"

 

EndSection

 

# **********************************************************************

# Monitor section

# **********************************************************************

 

Section "Monitor"

 

Identifier "Viewsonic VX2235wm LCD"

HorizSync 30-82

VertRefresh 50-75

ModeLine "1680x1050" 146.2 1680 1784 1960 2240 1050 1053 1059 1089

 

EndSection

 

Section "Monitor"

 

Identifier "Samsung Syncmaster 172n"

HorizSync 31.5-82

VertRefresh 50-90

ModeLine "1280x1024" 108.0 1280 1328 1440 1688 1024 1025 1028 1066

EndSection

 

# **********************************************************************

# Graphics device section

# **********************************************************************

 

 

Section "Device"

Identifier "NVIDIA GeForce 6200 AGP0"

Driver "nvidia"

Option "DPMS"

BusID "PCI:01:00:00"

Screen 0

EndSection

 

Section "Device"

Identifier "NVIDIA GeForce 6200 AGP1"

Driver "nvidia"

Option "DPMS"

BusID "PCI:01:00:00"

Screen 1

EndSection

 

# **********************************************************************

# Screen sections

# **********************************************************************

 

Section "Screen"

Identifier "Screen 0"

Device "NVIDIA GeForce 6200 AGP0"

Monitor "Viewsonic VX2235wm LCD"

DefaultDepth 24

 

Subsection "Display"

Depth 8

Modes "1680x1050" "1600x1200" "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

ViewPort 0 0

EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"

Depth 16

Modes "1680x1050" "1600x1200" "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

ViewPort 0 0

EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"

Depth 24

Modes "1680x1050" "1600x1200" "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

ViewPort 0 0

EndSubsection

EndSection

 

Section "Screen"

Identifier "Screen 1"

Device "NVIDIA GeForce 6200 AGP1"

Monitor "Samsung Syncmaster 172n"

DefaultDepth 24

 

Subsection "Display"

Depth 8

Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

ViewPort 0 0

EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"

Depth 16

Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

ViewPort 0 0

EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"

Depth 24

Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

ViewPort 0 0

EndSubsection

EndSection

# **********************************************************************

# ServerLayout sections.

# **********************************************************************

 

Section "ServerLayout"

 

Identifier "Double Monitors"

Screen 0 "Screen 0"

Screen 1 "Screen 1" rightof "Screen0"

InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"

InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"

 

EndSection

[Guest Frabit]

Answering my own question. After more Googling, reading log files and playing with Xorg.conf, I discovered that the instructions given in the NVidia readme are incomplete. It needs a ConnectedMonitor line in the "Screen" section for each monitor. Changed the following sections and it worked!! I have two monitors, in two different resolutions running two desktops, and I can move the mouse between the monitors seamlessly. Here's the affected sections:

 

Section "Screen"

Identifier "Screen 0"

Device "NVIDIA GeForce 6200 AGP0"

Monitor "Viewsonic VX2235wm LCD"

Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP-0" #README didn't document this!!

DefaultDepth 24

 

####

 

Section "Screen"

Identifier "Screen 1"

Device "NVIDIA GeForce 6200 AGP1"

Monitor "Samsung Syncmaster 172n"

Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP-1" #<<Add this!

DefaultDepth 24

 

 

 

Hope this helps someone else.

[tyme]

Ha! Good to see you got it worked out. I read your thread earlier but couldn't find anything wrong with your configuration (admittedly i've not done a dual-monitor setup recently), so this will most definitely help me in the future when I do get a second monitor ;)

[coverup]

What does DFP-0 stand for? Is it an nvidia specific option?. I have a laptop with a ATI card and a different resolution LCD monitor connected via DVI port on the port replicator. Tried to get them working simultaneously, but it never worked

[Guest Frabit]

It's in the NVidia readme file. DFP is Digital Flat Panel. You can also use CRT for a standard monitor, or TV for a television.

[oshunluvr]

Answering my own question. After more Googling, reading log files and playing with Xorg.conf, I discovered that the instructions given in the NVidia readme are incomplete. It needs a ConnectedMonitor line in the "Screen" section for each monitor. Changed the following sections and it worked!! I have two monitors, in two different resolutions running two desktops, and I can move the mouse between the monitors seamlessly. Here's the affected sections:

 

Section "Screen"

Identifier "Screen 0"

Device "NVIDIA GeForce 6200 AGP0"

Monitor "Viewsonic VX2235wm LCD"

Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP-0" #README didn't document this!!

DefaultDepth 24

 

####

 

Section "Screen"

Identifier "Screen 1"

Device "NVIDIA GeForce 6200 AGP1"

Monitor "Samsung Syncmaster 172n"

Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP-1" #<<Add this!

DefaultDepth 24

 

 

 

Hope this helps someone else.

Using "twinview" eliminates the need for separate "screen" sections but only works if you have identical screens.

[Guest Frabit]

Using "twinview" eliminates the need for separate "screen" sections but only works if you have identical screens.

 

Yes, I had twinview working when I was fumbling around with the 17" LCD and an old CRT. That's not an option now because the widescreen wants to be 1680x1050 and the maximum resolution for the 17" is 1280x1024. This way I get two separate desktops instead. Can't drag apps from one to the other, but I'll just suffer through it ;)