I got this working on my HP/Compaq nx9010 Laptop and a Samsung SyncMaster LCD display.
The laptop has a video card that Ubuntu Feisty is seeing as an ATI Radeon IGP 340M.
I am using the stock ATI drivers that Ubuntu came with, have downloaded no extra stuff.
It was frustrating, very frustrating getting this to work the way I am accustomed so I am
posting it here in case it may help someone else.
This setup allows the laptop screen to be recognized as the primary monitor (taskbar,etc there
by default) and the Samsung LCD to work beside it. Windows will maximize to either screen
individually, not maximize to fill both monitors. Windows, icons, etc can be dragged from
one monitor to the other or anywhere in between. The monitor resolutions can be set to
different sizes (ie 1040×768 on one 1240×1028 on the other) none of the desktops will scroll
around on a monitor, they are full screen, fixed, like normal.
One flaw I found is that since Xinerama needs to be set “true”, it causes the python
based powermanager application to crash on login and also the Ubuntu “System Settings”
control panel application will crash when you click on “Monitor & Display”. This goes
away when Xinerama is turned off, so you may want to switch between 2 configs a single
monitor config for on the go and double for home/office.
Preperation:
Backup your old config! Be prepared to restore it from the
recovery console if X and KDM will not run. You may also need
to borrow settings from it.
You will need to set at least 32MBs for the AGP memory set in the laptop Bios.
Less memory can cause some weirdness and drag system to a halt upon
opening windows.
Here is the Xorg.conf which is all I had to change:
– I left out the top of the config which sets up pointing devices –
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Section “Device” # First Video Port – used for Laptop Intenal Screen
identifier “ATI Technologies Inc Radeon IGP 330M/340M/350M (Primary)”
boardname “ati”
busid “PCI:1:5:0″ # This is from my stock config – use whatever yours says
driver “ati”
Option “MonitorLayout” “LVDS, CRT” # this order is critical – don’t modify it
# “CRT” has nothing to do with the actual hardware
# – just go with the flow here
Option “MetaModes” “1024×768-1280×1024″ # two screen resolutions you want
# laptop resolution is set first,
# regardless of position
screen 0
option “MergedFB” “off” # Yes leave off if you want to be able to move items
# between windows and are using Xinerama
EndSection
Section “Device” # Second Video Port – used for External device on VGA connector
identifier “ATI Technologies Inc Radeon IGP 330M/340M/350M (Secondary)”
boardname “ati”
busid “PCI:1:5:0″ # Same as the first video device
driver “ati”
screen 1
option “MergedFB” “off” # Yes leave off if you want to be able to move items
# between windows and are using Xinerama
EndSection
Section “Monitor”
identifier “Laptop LCD”
vendorname “Generic”
modelname “Flat Panel 1024×768″
HorizSync 31.5-55
VertRefresh 40-70
modeline “1024×768@75″ 78.8 1024 1040 1136 1312 768 769 772 800 +hsync +vsync
modeline “1024×768@70″ 75.0 1024 1048 1184 1328 768 771 777 806 -vsync -hsync
modeline “1024×768@60″ 65.0 1024 1048 1184 1344 768 771 777 806 -vsync -hsync
# I chopped off the modelines I didn’t want the laptop to use (ie 800×600 )
gamma 1.0
EndSection
Section “Monitor”
identifier “External Monitor”
vendorname “Plug ‘n’ Play”
modelname “Samsung SyncMaster”
HorizSync 30.0 – 81.0
VertRefresh 56.0 – 75.0
option “DPMS”
# This lets the system probe my LCD for modes,
# I still needed the correct Sync & refresh rates
# manually to get the monitor to display clearly.
# You may need to tweak the Hor And Vert to get
# Your display to work properly
EndSection
Section “Screen” # this is the laptop display
Identifier “Internal Screen”
Device “ATI Technologies Inc Radeon IGP 330M/340M/350M (Primary)”
Monitor “Laptop LCD”
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection “Display”
depth 24
modes “1024×768@75″ “1024×768@70″ “1024×768@60″ #Modes I will allow
EndSubSection
EndSection
Section “Screen” # this is the external monitor
Identifier “External Screen”
Device “ATI Technologies Inc Radeon IGP 330M/340M/350M (Secondary)”
Monitor “External Monitor”
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection “Display”
depth 24
modes “1280×1024″ #Modes I will allow
EndSubSection
EndSection
Section “ServerLayout”
Identifier “Default Layout”
screen 0 “Internal Screen” 0 0
screen 1 “External Screen” rightof “Internal Screen” # Sets the position
# in relation to the laptop screen
InputDevice “Generic Keyboard”
InputDevice “Configured Mouse”
InputDevice “stylus” “SendCoreEvents”
InputDevice “cursor” “SendCoreEvents”
InputDevice “eraser” “SendCoreEvents”
InputDevice “Synaptics Touchpad”
EndSection
Section “DRI”
Mode 0666 # Number of the beast – How appropriate
EndSection
Section “ServerFlags”
option “Xinerama” “true” # Allows you to drag items between screens
EndSection
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