Dual Monitor Question

[Matt Smith]

I am very very new to Linux and Fedora 12 is the first OS I am working
with.  Can someone explain to me in detail how to get my dual monitor setup
working?  I have searched all over the internet to no avail.  I have a dell
monitor and a samsung monitor.  I am not sure what video card i have and i
dont know how to check or find that out since i am new to fedora.  Any help
is much appreciated.

Thanks
Matt

[Waleed Harbi]

*Use terminal and run this command show video card vendor: lspci | grep -i
vga
This command to configure dual: system-config-display

Make sure you install ** video card driver.*
---
Best Wishes,
Waleed Harbi
-----------------------------------------------------------
Try not to become a man of success
but rather try to become a man of value.

On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 5:17 PM, Matt Smith  wrote:
> I am very very new to Linux and Fedora 12 is the first OS I am working
> with.  Can someone explain to me in detail how to get my dual monitor setup
> working?  I have searched all over the internet to no avail.  I have a dell
> monitor and a samsung monitor.  I am not sure what video card i have and i
> dont know how to check or find that out since i am new to fedora.  Any help
> is much appreciated.
>
> Thanks
> Matt
>
> --
> users mailing list
> [e-mail]
> To unsubscribe: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users
> Guidelines:
> http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines

[Sam Varshavchik]

Matt Smith writes:
> I am very very new to Linux and Fedora 12 is the first OS I am working 
> with.  Can someone explain to me in detail how to get my dual monitor 
> setup working?  I have searched all over the internet to no avail.  I have 
> a dell monitor and a samsung monitor.  I am not sure what video card i 
> have and i dont know how to check or find that out since i am new to 
> fedora.  Any help is much appreciated.

To determine your video card:

Open "System → Administration → Display", then the "Hardware" tab. This 
shows your video card. Additionally, the "Configure" button shows your video 
driver. The video card may be occasionally listed as "unknown video card", 
even though you obviously have a working video driver. And even if the video 
card is listed, it is likely to be a generic name. Run the "lspci -v" 
command in your terminal window. The resulting output will include your 
detailed video card hardware info.

Your ability to use dual monitors depends on the combination of your video 
card and your video driver. In the best possible case, you can get it 
working directly through "System → Administration → Display"'s "Dual Head" 
tab, then finish the set up in "System → Preferences → Display". In the 
worst possible case, you will need to manually install non-free video card 
drivers in order to get dual-head support.

[Aaron Konstam]

On Mon, 2010-01-18 at 10:06 -0500, Sam Varshavchik wrote:
> Matt Smith writes:
> > I am very very new to Linux and Fedora 12 is the first OS I am working 
> > with.  Can someone explain to me in detail how to get my dual monitor 
> > setup working?  I have searched all over the internet to no avail.  I have 
> > a dell monitor and a samsung monitor.  I am not sure what video card i 
> > have and i dont know how to check or find that out since i am new to 
> > fedora.  Any help is much appreciated.
>
> To determine your video card:
>
> Open "System → Administration → Display", then the "Hardware" tab. This 
> shows your video card. Additionally, the "Configure" button shows your video 
> driver. The video card may be occasionally listed as "unknown video card", 
> even though you obviously have a working video driver. And even if the video 
> card is listed, it is likely to be a generic name. Run the "lspci -v" 
> command in your terminal window. The resulting output will include your 
> detailed video card hardware info.

I have no System->Administration->Display in my menus. What program does
this represent?
> Your ability to use dual monitors depends on the combination of your video 
> card and your video driver. In the best possible case, you can get it 
> working directly through "System → Administration → Display"'s "Dual Head" 
> tab, then finish the set up in "System → Preferences → Display". In the 
> worst possible case, you will need to manually install non-free video card 
> drivers in order to get dual-head support.
>
> -- 
> users mailing list
> [e-mail]
> To unsubscribe: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users
> Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines

--
=======================================================================
I am deeply CONCERNED and I want something GOOD for BREAKFAST!
=======================================================================
Aaron Konstam telephone: [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]

[Jerry Feldman]

On 01/18/2010 10:36 AM, Aaron Konstam wrote:
> On Mon, 2010-01-18 at 10:06 -0500, Sam Varshavchik wrote:
> > Matt Smith writes:
> > > I am very very new to Linux and Fedora 12 is the first OS I am working 
> > > with.  Can someone explain to me in detail how to get my dual monitor 
> > > setup working?  I have searched all over the internet to no avail.  I have 
> > > a dell monitor and a samsung monitor.  I am not sure what video card i 
> > > have and i dont know how to check or find that out since i am new to 
> > > fedora.  Any help is much appreciated.
> >
> > To determine your video card:
> >
> > Open "System → Administration → Display", then the "Hardware" tab. This 
> > shows your video card. Additionally, the "Configure" button shows your video 
> > driver. The video card may be occasionally listed as "unknown video card", 
> > even though you obviously have a working video driver. And even if the video 
> > card is listed, it is likely to be a generic name. Run the "lspci -v" 
> > command in your terminal window. The resulting output will include your 
> > detailed video card hardware info.
>
> I have no System->Administration->Display in my menus. What program does
> this represent?

You can install it from the command line:
sudo yum install system-config-display

[Matt Smith]

Thx

But I don't have a hardware tab after I click display just this
monitor tab that says "unknown" with a pic of a monitor and also it
says "rotation not supported", I click the detect monitors tab and
nothing happens

Thanks again
Matt

On 1/18/10, Sam Varshavchik  wrote:
> Matt Smith writes:
> > I am very very new to Linux and Fedora 12 is the first OS I am working
> > with.  Can someone explain to me in detail how to get my dual monitor
> > setup working?  I have searched all over the internet to no avail.  I have
> >
> > a dell monitor and a samsung monitor.  I am not sure what video card i
> > have and i dont know how to check or find that out since i am new to
> > fedora.  Any help is much appreciated.
>
> To determine your video card:
>
> Open "System → Administration → Display", then the "Hardware" tab. This
> shows your video card. Additionally, the "Configure" button shows your video
> driver. The video card may be occasionally listed as "unknown video card",
> even though you obviously have a working video driver. And even if the video
> card is listed, it is likely to be a generic name. Run the "lspci -v"
> command in your terminal window. The resulting output will include your
> detailed video card hardware info.
>
> Your ability to use dual monitors depends on the combination of your video
> card and your video driver. In the best possible case, you can get it
> working directly through "System → Administration → Display"'s "Dual Head"
> tab, then finish the set up in "System → Preferences → Display". In the
> worst possible case, you will need to manually install non-free video card
> drivers in order to get dual-head support.

[François Patte]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Le 18/01/2010 16:45, Matt Smith a écrit :
> Thx
>
> But I don't have a hardware tab after I click display just this
> monitor tab that says "unknown" with a pic of a monitor and also it
> says "rotation not supported", I click the detect monitors tab and
> nothing happens

In that case, use the way pointed by Waleed: open a terminal:

Apps>System-tools>terminal

Then run the command line:

lspci | grep -i vga

and press enter.

This will return something like:

05:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation G70 [GeForce 7800
GTX] (rev a1)

With your card model instead of nVidia....

- --
François Patte
UFR de mathématiques et informatique
Université Paris Descartes
45, rue des Saints Pères
F-75270 Paris Cedex 06
Tél. [phone]
http://www.math-info.univ-paris5.fr/~patte
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
> Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux)
> Comment: Using GnuPG with Fedora - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/
>
> iEYEARECAAYFAktUh4wACgkQdE6C2dhV2JVGvgCgoGkdiitN4RR9SSj4Z1sccifd
> 1wQAoIsUmZrwkckTme0sdA5bVPBqn+EH
> =ugrl
> -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

[Matt Smith]

When typing "system-config-display" I get command not found

On 1/18/10, François Patte  wrote:
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> Le 18/01/2010 16:45, Matt Smith a écrit :
> > Thx
> >
> > But I don't have a hardware tab after I click display just this
> > monitor tab that says "unknown" with a pic of a monitor and also it
> > says "rotation not supported", I click the detect monitors tab and
> > nothing happens
>
> In that case, use the way pointed by Waleed: open a terminal:
>
> Apps>System-tools>terminal
>
> Then run the command line:
>
> lspci | grep -i vga
>
> and press enter.
>
> This will return something like:
>
> 05:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation G70 [GeForce 7800
> GTX] (rev a1)
>
> With your card model instead of nVidia....
>
> François Patte
> UFR de mathématiques et informatique
> Université Paris Descartes
> 45, rue des Saints Pères
> F-75270 Paris Cedex 06
> Tél. [phone]
> http://www.math-info.univ-paris5.fr/~patte
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
> Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux)
> Comment: Using GnuPG with Fedora - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/
>
> iEYEARECAAYFAktUh4wACgkQdE6C2dhV2JVGvgCgoGkdiitN4RR9SSj4Z1sccifd
> 1wQAoIsUmZrwkckTme0sdA5bVPBqn+EH
> =ugrl
> -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
>
> users mailing list
> [e-mail]
> To unsubscribe: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users
> Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines

[François Patte]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Le 18/01/2010 18:07, Matt Smith a écrit :
> When typing "system-config-display" I get command not found

yum install system-config-display

After that, you get it "graphically" in System>Admin

- --
François Patte
UFR de mathématiques et informatique
Université Paris Descartes
45, rue des Saints Pères
F-75270 Paris Cedex 06
Tél. [phone]
http://www.math-info.univ-paris5.fr/~patte
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
> Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux)
> Comment: Using GnuPG with Fedora - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/
>
> iEYEARECAAYFAktUmF4ACgkQdE6C2dhV2JVG4gCgnFn8Jt8pYQ51IZYoe76C6MVB
> lEIAnA5+5kqDaP3svoEabygZYjK4CBmu
> =KQJy
> -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

[Matt Smith]

I installed system config display from the terminal.  Now I have a
"display" icon in the administration menu however when I click on it I
get a message that says " a crash in package system-config-display has
been detected"

Thoughts?

On 1/18/10, François Patte  wrote:
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> Le 18/01/2010 16:45, Matt Smith a écrit :
> > Thx
> >
> > But I don't have a hardware tab after I click display just this
> > monitor tab that says "unknown" with a pic of a monitor and also it
> > says "rotation not supported", I click the detect monitors tab and
> > nothing happens
>
> In that case, use the way pointed by Waleed: open a terminal:
>
> Apps>System-tools>terminal
>
> Then run the command line:
>
> lspci | grep -i vga
>
> and press enter.
>
> This will return something like:
>
> 05:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation G70 [GeForce 7800
> GTX] (rev a1)
>
> With your card model instead of nVidia....
>
> François Patte
> UFR de mathématiques et informatique
> Université Paris Descartes
> 45, rue des Saints Pères
> F-75270 Paris Cedex 06
> Tél. [phone]
> http://www.math-info.univ-paris5.fr/~patte
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
> Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux)
> Comment: Using GnuPG with Fedora - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/
>
> iEYEARECAAYFAktUh4wACgkQdE6C2dhV2JVGvgCgoGkdiitN4RR9SSj4Z1sccifd
> 1wQAoIsUmZrwkckTme0sdA5bVPBqn+EH
> =ugrl
> -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
>
> users mailing list
> [e-mail]
> To unsubscribe: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users
> Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines

[Matt Smith]

this is the message i get when trying to run system-config-display after
installing it

File "/usr/share/system-config-display/xconf.py", line 378, in <module>
    dialog = xConfigDialog.XConfigDialog(hardware_state, xconfig,
videocard.VideoCardInfo())
  File "/usr/share/system-config-display/xConfigDialog.py", line 640, in
__init__
    if len(self.xconfig.layout[0].adjacencies) > 1:
IndexError: index out-of-bounds

i now know that i have an ATI Radeon x300 video card, do I have to get
drivers for this first?  Is this card particularly problematic, again i
appreciate the help as i am very new to this linux thing.

thanks
matt

On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 12:23 PM, Matt Smith  wrote:
> I installed system config display from the terminal.  Now I have a
> "display" icon in the administration menu however when I click on it I
> get a message that says " a crash in package system-config-display has
> been detected"
>
> Thoughts?
>
> On 1/18/10, François Patte  wrote:
> > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> > Hash: SHA1
> >
> > Le 18/01/2010 16:45, Matt Smith a écrit :
> > > Thx
> > >
> > > But I don't have a hardware tab after I click display just this
> > > monitor tab that says "unknown" with a pic of a monitor and also it
> > > says "rotation not supported", I click the detect monitors tab and
> > > nothing happens
> >
> > In that case, use the way pointed by Waleed: open a terminal:
> >
> > Apps>System-tools>terminal
> >
> > Then run the command line:
> >
> > lspci | grep -i vga
> >
> > and press enter.
> >
> > This will return something like:
> >
> > 05:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation G70 [GeForce 7800
> > GTX] (rev a1)
> >
> > With your card model instead of nVidia....
> >
> > François Patte
> > UFR de mathématiques et informatique
> > Université Paris Descartes
> > 45, rue des Saints Pères
> > F-75270 Paris Cedex 06
> > Tél. [phone]
> > http://www.math-info.univ-paris5.fr/~pattehttp://www.math-info.univ-paris5.fr/%7Epatte
> > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
> > Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux)
> > Comment: Using GnuPG with Fedora - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/
> >
> > iEYEARECAAYFAktUh4wACgkQdE6C2dhV2JVGvgCgoGkdiitN4RR9SSj4Z1sccifd
> > 1wQAoIsUmZrwkckTme0sdA5bVPBqn+EH
> > =ugrl
> > -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
> >
> > users mailing list
> > [e-mail]
> > To unsubscribe: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users
> > Guidelines:
>
> http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
>
> --
> Sent from my mobile device

[Aaron Konstam]

On Mon, 2010-01-18 at 10:41 -0500, Jerry Feldman wrote:
> On 01/18/2010 10:36 AM, Aaron Konstam wrote:
> > On Mon, 2010-01-18 at 10:06 -0500, Sam Varshavchik wrote:
> > > Matt Smith writes:
> > > > I am very very new to Linux and Fedora 12 is the first OS I am working 
> > > > with.  Can someone explain to me in detail how to get my dual monitor 
> > > > setup working?  I have searched all over the internet to no avail.  I have 
> > > > a dell monitor and a samsung monitor.  I am not sure what video card i 
> > > > have and i dont know how to check or find that out since i am new to 
> > > > fedora.  Any help is much appreciated.
> > >
> > > To determine your video card:
> > >
> > > Open "System → Administration → Display", then the "Hardware" tab. This 
> > > shows your video card. Additionally, the "Configure" button shows your video 
> > > driver. The video card may be occasionally listed as "unknown video card", 
> > > even though you obviously have a working video driver. And even if the video 
> > > card is listed, it is likely to be a generic name. Run the "lspci -v" 
> > > command in your terminal window. The resulting output will include your 
> > > detailed video card hardware info.
> >
> > I have no System->Administration->Display in my menus. What program does
> > this represent?
>
> You can install it from the command line:
> sudo yum install system-config-display

That is interesting. I thought that system-config-display produced
System->Preferences->Display. But I see it is produced by:
gnome-display-properties. Sort of confusing. Thanks for straightening me
out.

--
=======================================================================
Sic transit gloria Monday!
=======================================================================
Aaron Konstam telephone: [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]

[Marko Vojinovic]

Matt, first of all, welcome to the Linux community! :-)

On Monday 18 January 2010 17:52:56 Matt Smith wrote:
> this is the message i get when trying to run system-config-display after
> installing it

It is a good idea not to rely on GUI tools, especially when troubleshooting 
something.

This is how I would proceed --- plug in all monitors you have, open a terminal 
(xterm, konsole, shell, any such will do), and type:

lspci | grep VGA

(and press the enter/return key) to find out exactly what video hardware is 
being detected. Feel free to copy&paste the above command into a terminal, if 
you don't feel like typing. Then copy&paste the output of that when replying 
here.

Second, type

xrandr

into the terminal, and copy&paste that output also into a reply.

Once we have that information, we can tell you if any drivers need to be 
installed and how, and what to do to enable both monitors. Also, feel free to 
attach the /var/log/Xorg.0.log file to the message --- it might look cryptic to 
you at first, but it is an ultimate information source about what is going on 
with your display. It contains a lot of useful info (once you get accustomed 
to reading it).

HTH, :-)
Marko

P.S. Since you are a newcomer to Linux, keep in mind that CLI (command line 
interface) terminals and shells are a Good Thing --- they can save a lot of 
time and grief, and are ultimately used when all GUI's fail... :-) The faster 
you learn to use the terminal (or at least get comfortable with the idea of 
using it) the easier you will learn Linux. And soon enough you will also find 
out that terminal is way more powerful than any GUI. This is a big change of 
perspective compared to Windows (where the MS-DOS prompt is useful only to a 
small minority of know-how people), and one of the first things newcomers 
typically stumble upon. ;-)

[Matt Smith]

Thanks for the help.  I am making a concerted effort to do everything in the
terminal and just purchased books to learn in depth.

Here is my video card type.

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RV370 5B60 [Radeon
X300 (PCIE)]
You have mail in /var/spool/mail/root

Result of second command below:

Screen 0: minimum 640 x 480, current 1280 x 1024, maximum 1280 x 1024
default connected 1280x1024+0+0 0mm x 0mm
   1280x1024       0.0*
   1024x768        0.0
   800x600         0.0
   640x480         0.0

finally when i typed in "/var/log/Xorg.0.log" I got the following

[root@Matt ~]# /var/log/Xorg.0.log
-bash: /var/log/Xorg.0.log: Permission denied

Thanks again for the help it is much appreciated

Matt

On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 6:28 PM, Marko Vojinovic  wrote:
> Matt, first of all, welcome to the Linux community! :-)
>
> On Monday 18 January 2010 17:52:56 Matt Smith wrote:
> > this is the message i get when trying to run system-config-display after
> > installing it
>
> It is a good idea not to rely on GUI tools, especially when troubleshooting
> something.
>
> This is how I would proceed --- plug in all monitors you have, open a
> terminal
> (xterm, konsole, shell, any such will do), and type:
>
> lspci | grep VGA
>
> (and press the enter/return key) to find out exactly what video hardware is
> being detected. Feel free to copy&paste the above command into a terminal,
> if
> you don't feel like typing. Then copy&paste the output of that when
> replying
> here.
>
> Second, type
>
> xrandr
>
> into the terminal, and copy&paste that output also into a reply.
>
> Once we have that information, we can tell you if any drivers need to be
> installed and how, and what to do to enable both monitors. Also, feel free
> to
> attach the /var/log/Xorg.0.log file to the message --- it might look
> cryptic to
> you at first, but it is an ultimate information source about what is going
> on
> with your display. It contains a lot of useful info (once you get
> accustomed
> to reading it).
>
> HTH, :-)
> Marko
>
> P.S. Since you are a newcomer to Linux, keep in mind that CLI (command line
> interface) terminals and shells are a Good Thing --- they can save a lot of
> time and grief, and are ultimately used when all GUI's fail... :-) The
> faster
> you learn to use the terminal (or at least get comfortable with the idea of
> using it) the easier you will learn Linux. And soon enough you will also
> find
> out that terminal is way more powerful than any GUI. This is a big change
> of
> perspective compared to Windows (where the MS-DOS prompt is useful only to
> a
> small minority of know-how people), and one of the first things newcomers
> typically stumble upon. ;-)

[Marko Vojinovic]

On Tuesday 19 January 2010 00:15:43 Matt Smith wrote:
> 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RV370 5B60 [Radeon
> X300 (PCIE)]

Ok, as far as I know, this card should be supported by the open-source radeon 
driver. The other choice would be the ATI closed-source fglrx (or Catalyst, or 
whatever it is called now) driver, but I am not sure that it works with 
current Fedora.

I'll try to help you set up the radeon driver, but we need to do it step by 
step. (and you'll have a chance to learn a bit about Linux as we go... :-) 
...)
> Screen 0: minimum 640 x 480, current 1280 x 1024, maximum 1280 x 1024
> default connected 1280x1024+0+0 0mm x 0mm
>    1280x1024       0.0*
>    1024x768        0.0
>    800x600         0.0
>    640x480         0.0

This shows that X (the graphics server in Linux) apparently doesn't know about 
the details of your graphics card, and uses some default settings. My guess is 
that it uses the vesa driver (this is a typical fallback if X doesn't have a 
better driver). Once we fix the driver, the output of xrandr should be different 
and more elaborate.
> finally when i typed in "/var/log/Xorg.0.log" I got the following
>
> [root@Matt ~]# /var/log/Xorg.0.log
> -bash: /var/log/Xorg.0.log: Permission denied

Sorry, I should have been more specific. The /var/log/Xorg.0.log is the file 
named Xorg.0.log, and it resides in the /var/log directory on the disk. Typing 
its name as you did in the terminal will attempt to execute it, and will fail 
because the file is not executable. Rather, this is a log of the X server 
events --- a text file, which can be read using a text editor.

So, if you wish to see the contents of the file (just for fun), you can open 
some text editor (find one in the menus), then open that file from within the 
editor --- choose to open a file, navigate to /var/log directory and select 
Xorg.0.log file to open and read. If you wish to use a terminal, you would type

less /var/log/Xorg.0.log

to display its contents (use arrow keys or PageUp/PageDown to move through the 
file, type q to exit the less program).

More importantly, you should attach the file to the e-mail and send it to the 
list, so we can examine it. I see that you are using gmail account for e-mail 
--- open a reply to the list, and use the "attach" option in gmail to attach 
it (a file-chooser should open for you to pick a file, navigate to /var/log 
directory and select it, or type /var/log/Xorg.0.log in the "location" field).

N.B. The file chooser displays the contents of your home directory, by default. 
In the Linux file hierarchy, there is the root directory named /  which is 
analogous to C: in windows, and holds various other directories, like /var and 
/home. Your home directory is  /home/yourusername/  and its contents is 
displayed in the file chooser. You need to go "up" in the directory tree from 
that point (twice) to get to the /  directory, and then "down" to var and then 
log (which is inside var). In there you will find the Xorg.0.log file. I hope 
you won't have trouble finding it.

Once I examine the log file, I should be able (hopefully) to tell you what to 
do to fix the video driver. :-)

HTH, :-)
Marko

P.S. Please don't top-post on this list. Here it is custom to bottom-post, ie. 
put your reply *below* the text you quote in the e-mail, possibly deleting 
non-relevant parts of the quote along the way. Personally I don't mind if you 
top-post, but some other people might object. This is explained (among other 
things) in the list guidelines,

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines

which you might wish to read eventually. :-)