Help with 2 monitors: LCD + DFP1 on ati radeon laptop graphics

[c_martini]

I need two monitors running with independent resolutions and extended desktop (not mirrored) for work. This worked flawlessly before switching from Windows to Linux. Now Under Karmic, the monitor settings are not allowing a true multi-monitor setup. I can see both LCD & DFP1 connected and identified, but they mirror each other. When I change resolution of either lcd or dfp1, Changes are set for both. Under "multiple monitors" section, I only see a message stating "This module is only for configuring systems with a single desktop spread across multiple monitors. You do not appear to have this configuration".

I am using the proprietary ATI driver suggested by the Hardware Drivers app when I first installed the system yesterday.

I have not used Kubuntu since 8.10. Back then it was on a desktop system with an Nvidia graphics card. I think at that time to get multiple monitors working, I needed to tinker around with xorg.conf directly. I would have thought since there have been a couple of major releases since that, this procedure would have been simplified. Is that so? I need to be able to easily connect and disconnect the second monitor on the fly without too much trouble...

Can anyone with experience in this issue offer advice?

[ukchucktown]

Re: Help with 2 monitors: LCD + DFP1 on ati radeon laptop graphics

No, unfortunately, manual editing of the xorg.conf file is still necessary. Everyone will tell you it's deprecated and it is if auto-detection works correctly. In some cases it might even be missing. The settings in xorg.conf override everything else. You can add it yourself if it doesn't already exist.

You can also try xrandr from the command-line. I have an Intel and NVIDIA setup, both continue to require manual edits to xorg.conf if I want extended desktops at the correct resolution on both monitors.

[c_martini]

Re: Help with 2 monitors: LCD + DFP1 on ati radeon laptop graphics

No, unfortunately, manual editing of the xorg.conf file is still necessary. Everyone will tell you it's deprecated and it is if auto-detection works correctly. In some cases it might even be missing. The settings in xorg.conf override everything else. You can add it yourself if it doesn't already exist.

I do have xorg.conf and it looks like this:

Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Default Screen"
	DefaultDepth	24
EndSection

Section "Module"
	Load	"glx"
EndSection

Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Default Device"
	Driver	"fglrx"
EndSection

This looks rather bare compared to versions of this file I have seen in the past. Its been awhile since I have tinkered with Linux so any help or point me in the right direction on adding the second display would be great...

You can also try xrandr from the command-line. I have an Intel and NVIDIA setup, both continue to require manual edits to xorg.conf if I want extended desktops at the correct resolution on both monitors.

I tried this command but it seemed to do nothing on my system

[ukchucktown]

Re: Help with 2 monitors: LCD + DFP1 on ati radeon laptop graphics

The one card I have never configured under Linux is ATI but the process should be similar. The setup is often the same across distributions. I think there is an aticonfig utility to configure ATI cards for dual monitors. It might be included with the proprietary driver download. To get an idea what you need, I found a sample for ATI cards. It's probably close to what you need. Notice it has 2 Monitor, Device and Screen sections and the ServerLayout defines the screen orientation. That's basically what you need in your file with modified settings for sync, refresh and resolution for your monitors.

Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier   "X.org Configured"
	Screen   0 "aticonfig-Screen[0]-0" 0 0
	Screen     "aticonfig-Screen[0]-1" RightOf "aticonfig-Screen[0]-0"
 Option     "Xinerama" "on"
	InputDevice  "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
	InputDevice  "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
	ModulePath  "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
	FontPath   "catalogue:/etc/X11/fontpath.d"
	FontPath   "built-ins"
EndSection

Section "Module"
	Load "dbe"
	Load "glx"
	Load "dri2"
	Load "record"
	Load "extmod"
	Load "dri"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier "Keyboard0"
	Driver   "kbd"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier "Mouse0"
	Driver   "mouse"
	Option	  "Protocol" "auto"
	Option	  "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
	Option	  "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier  "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-0"
	Option	  "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"
	Option	  "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"
	Option	  "DPMS" "true"
	HorizSync  30.0 - 60.0
	VertRefresh 50.0 - 60.0
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier  "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-1"
	Option	  "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"
	Option	  "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"
	Option	  "DPMS" "true"
	HorizSync  30.0 - 60.0
	VertRefresh 50.0 - 60.0
EndSection

Section "Device"
	Identifier "aticonfig-Device[0]-0"
	Driver   "fglrx"
	BusID    "PCI:1:5:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
	Identifier "aticonfig-Device[0]-1"
	Driver   "fglrx"
	BusID    "PCI:1:5:0"
	Screen   1
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]-0"
	Device   "aticonfig-Device[0]-0"
	Monitor  "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-0"
	DefaultDepth   24
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport  0 0
		Depth   24
  Modes   "1440x900"
	EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]-1"
	Device   "aticonfig-Device[0]-1"
	Monitor  "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-1"
	DefaultDepth   24
	SubSection "Display"
		Viewport  0 0
		Depth   24
  Modes   "1280x1024"
	EndSubSection
EndSection

[c_martini]

Re: Help with 2 monitors: LCD + DFP1 on ati radeon laptop graphics

The one card I have never configured under Linux is ATI but the process should be similar. The setup is often the same across distributions. I think there is an aticonfig utility to configure ATI cards for dual monitors. It might be included with the proprietary driver download. To get an idea what you need, I found a sample for ATI cards. It's probably close to what you need. Notice it has 2 Monitor, Device and Screen sections and the ServerLayout defines the screen orientation. That's basically what you need in your file with modified settings for sync, refresh and resolution for your monitors.

I will try your suggestion and post back my result. I am working in Windows now so will try this later on. I am determined to get to a point where I can work primarily in Kubuntu for work and just use wine and/or Virtualbox for my Windows dev testing...

[sithlord48]

Re: Help with 2 monitors: LCD + DFP1 on ati radeon laptop graphics

i have an ati card in my computer and have had no luck getting any thing other then clone mode (although i have not tried with karmic yet, or the newest version of the ati driver,or much xorg.conf tweaking). i will try to investigate when i get home and report back
there is always the ati driver unoffical wiki you might find something good there
http://wiki.cchtml.com/

[sithlord48]

Re: Help with 2 monitors: LCD + DFP1 on ati radeon laptop graphics

ok finally got home to test this out,,

i have the following, an ati radeon 9830HD with two monitors, hooked up
1. acer 22" wide screen (dvi) w/ a res of 1680*1050
2. dell 17" 4:3 (dvi2) w/ a res of 1280*1024

each monitor has its own desktop (i can config backgrounds / plasma for each seperatly)

how i did it ... (be sure u have the drivers installed for the card first)
first open a run box (alt+F2 default)
type 'kdesudo amdcccle' (no ' )
put in ur sudo password..
goto the display manager and set your settings as you desire,. be sure to apply the settings,
restart your computer, (or Xorg)

profit

[c_martini]

Re: Help with 2 monitors: LCD + DFP1 on ati radeon laptop graphics

how i did it ... (be sure u have the drivers installed for the card first)
first open a run box (alt+F2 default)
type 'kdesudo amdcccle' (no ' )
put in ur sudo password..
goto the display manager and set your settings as you desire,. be sure to apply the settings,
restart your computer, (or Xorg)

profit

Thanks for the tips. Wow, nice to see Ati finally supports Linux. The Catalyst Control Center looks nearly identical to the Windows version.

This hasn't worked for me yet though. After I changed the settings in amdcccle and restarted, I am no longer able to reach the desktop. It only goes so far as a terminal login prompt (http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3107311.0). Once I figure out how to get back into KDE, I will then address the multi-monitor issue again...

[sithlord48]

Re: Help with 2 monitors: LCD + DFP1 on ati radeon laptop graphics

might be slightly depending on the version of the driver you have installed..
i am using v.9-10 currently.

i think the one supplied by jockey(the restricted driver notifier) is version 8.6 (not sure i don't use jockey it never works for me)

could be something they added in between those versions that caused your issue, if your card is supported by the newer version of their driver. i would suggest using the newer version.

[c_martini]

Re: Help with 2 monitors: LCD + DFP1 on ati radeon laptop graphics

Update: I have since reformatted and installed the final release of Karmic x64 and installed the Catalyst 9.10 proprietary driver from ATI. Multiple desktops across 2 screens work now with the proper resolution set for each using the Catalyst Control Panel. Also the display settings in system settings also display the monitor settings the way they should.

The issue now is that though I have two screens and can drag windows across from one to the other, the primary desktop & KDE panel is on screen 2. Odd. I have looked in all the Catalyst settings and can find no setting that specifies which screen the primary desktop resides. There is an option called "Xinerama" in Display Options but it is greyed out for some reason.

Is there anyone with experience of the ATI Catalyst Control Panel in Karmic that can help me figure out how to get the primary desktop on screen 1?

I have attached screenshots.

[sithlord48]

Re: Help with 2 monitors: LCD + DFP1 on ati radeon laptop graphics

The issue now is that though I have two screens and can drag windows across from one to the other, the primary desktop & KDE panel is on screen 2. Odd. I have looked in all the Catalyst settings and can find no setting that specifies which screen the primary desktop resides. There is an option called "Xinerama" in Display Options but it is greyed out for some reason.

Is there anyone with experience of the ATI Catalyst Control Panel in Karmic that can help me figure out how to get the primary desktop on screen 1?

xinerama is also greyed out on my driver (don't worry about it unless you need xinerama)
to get you desktop panel and widgets on to desktop 1 you can click on the "cashew" on your panel and click and drag on the screen edge area to move it around drag it (along edges ) to where you want it as the for others just drag them over.. if you don't see the "cashew" on your panel click on the the on the desktop and select "unlock widgets". you can drag the plasmoid items where ever you want , i have been using second monitor and my "spare" monitor's plasma space is covered in status plasmoids and other info plasmoids.
this is the only soluition i am aware of to get you primary desktop on the plasma you want (assuming that screen 1 is you laptop screen, and if so i ask did you install w/ screen 2 connected?)
if its not you can drag the monitors around in the control panel section shown in screen shot 2 so it reflects the monitors physical layout.

you had asked about how easy it is to go back to one screen after having the two.. basicly you can just reset it in Catalyst Conrol Panel, and restart X or the computer

[c_martini]

Re: Help with 2 monitors: LCD + DFP1 on ati radeon laptop graphics

xinerama is also greyed out on my driver (don't worry about it unless you need xinerama)
to get you desktop panel and widgets on to desktop 1 you can click on the "cashew" on your panel and click and drag on the screen edge area to move it around drag it (along edges ) to where you want it as the for others just drag them over.. if you don't see the "cashew" on your panel click on the the on the desktop and select "unlock widgets". you can drag the plasmoid items where ever you want , i have been using second monitor and my "spare" monitor's plasma space is covered in status plasmoids and other info plasmoids.

Ahh thanks for the tips. I suspected that maybe that was the case but I had not tried it.