on Sunday 16 March 2008 10:45
in the Usenet newsgroup alt.os.linux.mandriva
Reg wrote:

> howdy... pulling out what's left of my gray hair here

Just shave your crown and be done with it. ;-)

> upgraded to a core2duo which came with a nifty ati x300 vid card...
> couldn't get Mandriva to give me 2 desktops, the second just clones the
> first..

Mandriva is not too flash on multiple monitors. Last time I did it
I had two video cards, installed with one card and saved the config
file, installed with the second card and saved that config file,
then worried about getting them to both work together.

> so I downloaded the ati drivers, installed and the same thing
> happens. what's interesting is the catalyst control center will identify
> both #'s 1 and 2 displays, unlike the kdesktop configure which identifies
> both monitors as
> #1, i've tried multiple combinations and cloning is the best it will do so
> far.. anybody have better luck with the dual monitor thing? i've even put
> in a second ati card, which did give me 2 monitors until I rebooted..

Did you save the configuration file?

> never got it back after that..... hmmm... any and all help is, as always,
> appreciated

It is tricky. If and when you get it right make sure that you save
your config file (/etc/X11/xorg.conf).


--
sig goes here...
Peter D.

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:45:09 +0000, Reg wrote:

> howdy... pulling out what's left of my gray hair here upgraded to a
> core2duo which came with a nifty ati x300 vid card... couldn't get
> Mandriva to give me 2 desktops, the second just clones the first.. so I
> downloaded the ati drivers, installed and the same thing happens. what's
> interesting is the catalyst control center will identify both #'s 1 and
> 2 displays, unlike the kdesktop configure which identifies both monitors
> as #1, i've tried multiple combinations and cloning is the best it will
> do so far.. anybody have better luck with the dual monitor thing? i've
> even put in a second ati card, which did give me 2 monitors until I
> rebooted.. never got it back after that..... hmmm... any and all help
> is, as always, appreciated

Have you tried the xinerama howto at tldp.org? I've set up dual displays
several times using that procedure. Pretty much cookbook, but gives you a
good idea of what you're doing.

ray wrote:

> tldp.org
i'll give her a shot..thanks Ray

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:45:09 +0000, Reg wrote:

> howdy... pulling out what's left of my gray hair here upgraded to a
> core2duo which came with a nifty ati x300 vid card... couldn't get
> Mandriva to give me 2 desktops, the second just clones the first.. so I
> downloaded the ati drivers, installed and the same thing happens. what's
> interesting is the catalyst control center will identify both #'s 1 and
> 2 displays, unlike the kdesktop configure which identifies both monitors
> as #1, i've tried multiple combinations and cloning is the best it will
> do so far.. anybody have better luck with the dual monitor thing? i've
> even put in a second ati card, which did give me 2 monitors until I
> rebooted.. never got it back after that..... hmmm... any and all help
> is, as always, appreciated

I've been using dual 19" LCD's with Mandriva for about a year and half
now. It will readily accommodate your monitors. Try this:

To run two monitors, do the mechanical installations and boot to the
desktop. You should be looking at two identical displays on your screens.

Go to: "System/Configuration/Configure Your Computer/Hardware/Set up The
Graphical Server"

Click on Options and check the box for:
"Enable duplicate display on the second display."

Restart X and you should still see two identical displays.

Log in as root and go to etc/X11/xorg.conf and open xorg.conf with a
text editor.

Change the option setting under Section "Device" that reads
"TwinViewOrientation" from "Clone" to "LeftOf" and save your changes.

Log off and restart X. You should now have one big desktop to move around
in.

--
Registered Linux User #267152

JTJersey wrote:

> On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:45:09 +0000, Reg wrote:
>
>> howdy... pulling out what's left of my gray hair here upgraded to a
>> core2duo which came with a nifty ati x300 vid card... couldn't get
>> Mandriva to give me 2 desktops, the second just clones the first.. so I
>> downloaded the ati drivers, installed and the same thing happens. what's
>> interesting is the catalyst control center will identify both #'s 1 and
>> 2 displays, unlike the kdesktop configure which identifies both monitors
>> as #1, i've tried multiple combinations and cloning is the best it will
>> do so far.. anybody have better luck with the dual monitor thing? i've
>> even put in a second ati card, which did give me 2 monitors until I
>> rebooted.. never got it back after that..... hmmm... any and all help
>> is, as always, appreciated
>
> I've been using dual 19" LCD's with Mandriva for about a year and half
> now. It will readily accommodate your monitors. Try this:
>
> To run two monitors, do the mechanical installations and boot to the
> desktop. You should be looking at two identical displays on your screens.
>
> Go to: "System/Configuration/Configure Your Computer/Hardware/Set up The
> Graphical Server"
>
> Click on Options and check the box for:
> "Enable duplicate display on the second display."
>
> Restart X and you should still see two identical displays.
>
> Log in as root and go to etc/X11/xorg.conf and open xorg.conf with a
> text editor.
>
> Change the option setting under Section "Device" that reads
> "TwinViewOrientation" from "Clone" to "LeftOf" and save your changes.
>
> Log off and restart X. You should now have one big desktop to move around
> in.
>
well aren't you the smart one!! lol...kind of....followed your directions to
the letter...I assumed by "enable duplicate display" you meant xinerama...
rebooted and got the dreaded black screen(s)..so I reinstalled the Catalyst
Control Center (ati proprietary drivers) and then changed xinerama
to "RightOf"..sorry just being difficult ....rebooted and OH MY GOD..dual
monitors!! cant' thank you enough... compiz doesn't work with this setup
but i'm going to hunt around for a workaround for that... again a huge
thank you JTJersey

Op zondag 16-03-2008 om 18:18 uur [tijdzone +1100], schreef Peter D.:

> It is tricky. If and when you get it right make sure that you save
> your config file (/etc/X11/xorg.conf).

XRandR 1.2 (supported by some video drivers already) will make it much
easier. At least in my experience on a laptop with onboard ATI Mobility
Radeon 9600.

--
Reinout van Schouwen