[NBLUG/talk] Ubuntu 12.04 dual monitor problems [not solved but working...]

[Christopher Wagner]

Interesting..  I'm glad that the 11.04 xorg.conf and hocus pocus worked.

Given the problems with jockey, I would probably just forget trying to 
use that and try installing the ATI proprietary drivers from their site, 
if you're feeling adventurous..  I don't have any clues off the top of 
my head about why the jockey interface isn't working right.

The Live CDs generate their config on the fly, without a config file, 
xorg has some nifty features for that.  Yeah, theoretically the Live CDs 
are supposed to be the same as a default install, but it never seems to 
work that way in reality.  I think perhaps because they're trying to 
support a wider range of hardware with the Live CD, or simply because 
the Live CD is using slightly different versions of various software and 
hardware databases, but it's all speculation on my part.  As far as the 
mouse problems with the Live CD, I have seen strange problems with mice 
(especially trackpads) and Live CDs.  I don't have much in the way of 
guesses here.

I have found with some computers (frequently with inexpensive HPs., and 
inexpensive computers in general), Linux just has more issues with them 
because of bizarre combinations of cheap hardware the manufacturer uses 
to tweak their costs down as much as possible.  So fighting issues like 
this on cheap computers seems to just be par for the course.

Anyway, I hope this helps in some way..

- Chris

On 05/26/2012 01:37 PM, s smith wrote:
> Hi Chris.
>
> Thanks for the reply.  I got it working and the results are below.  
> Thanks for mentioning xorg.conf.  I copied the working 11.04 conf file 
> into the 12.04 directory and after doing the suitable goats entrails 
> on the keyboard at midnight etc... rebooted and it worked.  Miracles 
> still happen I guess :)  See below for other things I did first.
>
> On 05/25/2012 05:11 PM, Christopher Wagner wrote:
>>
>> When you say the ATI drivers, where are you getting the drivers from 
>> (the AMD site or Ubuntu repositories) and are you getting some sort 
>> of error when you try to install (if so, what)? Also, sometimes I 
>> find that I need to shut down X and install the drivers from the 
>> command line when using the proprietary drivers.
> In the system tools settings menu there is an 'unsupported drivers' 
> item that has (in my case) an ATI driver's section that has 
> proprietary drivers 'tested but not supported by Ubuntu.'  My computer 
> is a little HP they probably didn't hit this configuration in their 
> testing.  I already know it's power-supply limited and won't support 
> another display but don't care.  It's quad-core 64-bit 12Gb 1Tb system 
> for $300.  I bought it for compute power not display.
>>
>> My initial thought is that there's a syntax problem in the X config 
>> (perhaps a bug).. Is this a clean install?
> yes.
>>
>> Could you reply and attach the xorg.conf file?
> more below...
>>
>> I use dual monitors frequently in Linux, but almost always with 
>> nVidia cards and not with 12.04 yet, so I don't know how much I can 
>> help but I'm willing to try.
>>
> I have the log file and saw lots of debug warnings but no errors -- 
> unless the last debug statement is the error.  The log file is 
> /var/log/jockey.log.  I attached the last few lines but will be more 
> than happy to send you the whole thing.
>> - Chris
>
>
> Out of curiosity I rebooted the live CD to do some testing.  I am able 
> to select the right configuration.  The live CD identifies the new 
> monitor correctly as an "AOC 23" where the install finds a "laptop."  
> Interestingly there is no /etc/X11/xorg.conf on the live boot so they 
> are doing something entirely different for graphics on the live-CD.  
> This also means that just because you can configure your displays on 
> the live CD -- you can't assume things  will work when the system is 
> installed.  Also, the mouse on the live-cd didn't work correctly in 
> dual-monitor mode.
>
> After copying the 11.04 conf file into the 12.04 /etc/X11 directory 
> the system still identified my new monitor as a laptop and I still had 
> to go through the configuration process -- but everything worked 
> including my wacom.  I still can't install the proprietary drivers 
> though...
>
> I have the working and non-working files and will be posting to the 
> guys with a problem.  If you want my files, please let me know.  I'll 
> be more than happy to send 'em.
>
> Steve S.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> talk mailing list
> talk at nblug.org
> http://nblug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/talk
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nblug.org/pipermail/talk/attachments/20120527/78f8d825/attachment.html>