Home / ubuntu / Questions / 56055
In Process
Kit Sunde
Asked: 2011-08-07 09:17:22 +0800 CST

How can I get both of my monitors working with Ubuntu?

  • 772

I have two W2252TQ Flatron screens, both were working in windows 7 prior to installing Ubuntu 10.04. The active monitor is connected via DVI with the VGA one dark. If I disconnect the DVI one then the VGA monitor becomes the active one. I would like both of them to work.

Additionally if I check the monitors settings it says "Monitory: unknown" with the refresh rate at 50hz. However the monitor seem to be working fine at the right resolution.

I have activated the additional drivers for my NVIDIA graphics card although it says "No proprietary drivers are in use on this system."

What can I do to make Ubuntu handle the second monitor?

Monitor preferences

Additional Drivers Dialogue.

11.04

4 Answers

  1. I recently had something similar happen to me.

    To resolve it I selected "NVIDIA accelerated graphics driver (version 173)"

    After it downloads and installs the driver, you're supposed to restart your computer. I'm fairly certain you won't receive any indications about this.

    After your restart your computer, both monitors should display your desktop without your intervention. Will then be up to you to configure.

    Cheers!

    • 1

  2. I would suggest you to use the propietary nVidia Settings GUI for that purpose with sudo by dropping the sudo nvidia-settings in a terminal, this way you will be able, (the same as normal way) to set your monitor preferences, in which you can enable both TwinView and Separate X-Screen.

    The difference between using sudo in this case is that you may experience an issue when trying to save your preferences to your current X Configuration file, task that can be achieved by hitting the "Save to X Configuration file" in your X Server Display Configuration screen, a screenshot is placed here for your convenience with the Twinview Configuration in action, which in the case of some nVidias may result in an extended desktop instead of a screen clone. (as in my Spakle 9400GT)

    Good luck!

    enter image description here

    • 0

  3. Once I used this "trick" in a friend's computer and it worked, so it's maybe worth trying.

    Copy the Bus ID from your graphic card and input it into your xorg.conf

    lspic | grep VGA

    The output will be something like that 

    00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Device 0df4 (rev a1)

    So, copy the Bus ID from your graphic card, in this sample 00:02.0

    Back to the console type:

    sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

    Go to the section "Devices" and add the line below, but in the Bus ID you have to replace the last dot "." for a ":"

    Busid "PCI:00:02:0"

    Remeber, 00:02:0 and not 00:02.0 ;-)

    I hope it helps.

    • 0

  4. I could not get twinview working after initial install either. I switched from Nvidia (Recommended) to Post Release driver with no luck, even after running sudo nvidia-xconfig, sudo nvidia-settings.

    Then I switched back to Nvidia Recommended driver, Reboot. In terminal: sudo nvidia-xconfig, then sudo nvidia-settings. Chose 2nd monitor for twinview and setup both monitors accordingly. Now it got weird as the monitor came on, but I lost all frames and keyboard controls. So at this point I did a manual reboot from reset button on my tower, crossed my fingers just for luck and whala !! everything is fine... at least for now it seems.

    Oh also before switching drivers back I had also deleted the new xorg.conf file that was created and renamed the orig file back before creating another new one. (hope that makes sense)

    • 0