Dual Monitors in 8.10

[Guest]

Hey folks,
I'm fairly new to Linux, though I've dabbled a bit over the years, so I thought I should probably post in this area. I've just installed Kubuntu 8.10. I have an nVidia GeForce 9800 GT with dual DVI outputs and two monitors hooked up. I've installed the "restricted" nVidia driver and I now have the "nVidia X Server Settings" Item installed under K>Applications>System. When I open it, I can see exactly what I need to do to enable dual monitor support. However, when I enable my second monitor as a separate X Screen and click "Save to X Configuration File," I get an error message stating:
"Unable to create new X config backup file '/etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup'."
This seems to be a permissions issue, but I really don't know how to fix it.
Any help is VERY appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[arochester]

Re: Dual Monitors in 8.10

Don't open the program you want from the menu. Open it from the terminal by inputting:

sudo (the name of the program)

sudo stand for super user do and that will give you the rights to change and save.

[jankushka]

Re: Dual Monitors in 8.10

as a "regular" user you do not have permission to write in /etc/...

i would edit the "nVidia X Server Settings" entry in the menu
and would modified the command textfield to read "kdesudo /usr/bin/nvidia-settings".

that is:
- right click on the kmenu icon
- click on "menu editor"
- expand "settings"
- select "nvidia x server settings"
- write "kdesudo /usr/bin/nvidia-settings" in the "command" textfield
- click "save" in the menu bar

next time you start the tool you'll be asked to enter your password.
the tool will then run with administration privileges.

hth

[Guest]

Re: Dual Monitors in 8.10

First of all, thanks for the advice, I really appreciate the way this community steps in to help people like me start getting up to speed. At the risk of getting flamed within an inch of being 100% carbon, this problem seems a little bit iffy to me. I'm sure that I owe a good portion of my perception to my general lignorance, (Linux-Ignorance) but it just seems like this sort of setting shouldn't require that much research to change. Now, I'm not trying to put Kubuntu down, I've really enjoyed it so far, but I can see how, if I were less persistent than I generally am, I might have abandoned the explorations until a newer version after encountering this difficulty. I also understand that with Linux's security (and price) one can and should expect a few tradeoffs in convenience. However, as someone who would love to see this technology proliferate even further, I have to ask if this sort of challenge is a necessary evil, or if it's just something that hasn't been dealt with yet in this particular distro. Thanks again for your help and input, and please remember my lignorance and be nice if anyone replies.

[jankushka]

Re: Dual Monitors in 8.10

no problems, mate.
you're right.
there is no reason why this menu entry could not be setup properly by the installation procedure.
nvidia-settings is an officially supported ubuntu package (if it wasn't, it would of course be more complicated).
so you should find out where this sort of issues can be reported (https://launchpad.net/ubuntu, maybe?) and file a bug accordingly.
it'll take some time, but it'll get fixed.
it is a simple fix, anyway.
instead of firing the nvidia-settings binary, they could start the tool through a wrapper script.
that could check what desktop environment is installed (kde, gnome, ...) and fire the binary through kdesudo (or gksudo, or ...) accordingly.
hth
cheers