On Tue, May 07, 2013 at 03:09:13PM -0400, Ross Walker wrote: > On Tue, May 7, 2013 at 2:34 PM, Ross Walker <rswwalker at gmail.com> wrote: > > > On Mon, May 6, 2013 at 4:47 PM, Fred Smith <fredex at fcshome.stoneham.ma.us>wrote: > > > >> I was just handed a 2nd monitor for my system at work, and using Centos 5 > >> (latest) > >> can't make dual head work. a good bit of googling isn't being particularly > >> helpful either. > >> > > > > Dual head or dual monitor? > > > > Dual head typically means running two instances of X, one on each video > > out, which can only be done with two or more graphic cards from what I can > > gather. hmm. good point. > >> It's a HP workstation xw4100, with Nvidia Quadro NVS280SD graphics card. > >> Enabling dual head in the "display" app simply configures X so that it > >> (i.e., X) won't start. I haven't found the x log file in /var/log to be > >> helpful, either. This is using the legacy 96.x.x driver from Nvidia. > >> > >> the NvidiaDetect app (from epel) says it should be using a newer driver > >> than the 96.x.x (forgot which one, exactly) but when attempting to install > >> it I get a msg that the card requires a 96.x.x driver. > >> > >> browsing to nvidia.com and entering the model numbers into their driver > >> finder app gives another newer version that also gives the same result. > >> So it looks like I'm stuck with the 96.x.x driver. > >> > >> some googling indicates a few people have made it work, but none of their > >> methods are working for me. > >> > >> I was beginning to wonder if the hardware even supported dual head, so I > >> booted up a Fedora 17 LIVE CD. it initializes both monitors with no action > >> from me at all, with a desktop spanning the two screens, just fine. It > >> must > >> be using the Nouveau driver (which, AFAIK, can't be used on Centos 5), > >> so still the issue could either be spanning/dual head doesn't work with > >> the > >> ancient nvidia driver, or we (neither me, nor the tools on Centos) knows > >> how to configure it. > >> > >> Clues would be appreciated. thanks in advance! > >> > > > > In my experience I was able to drive both the DisplayPort and DVI (or HDMI > > and VGA) interfaces off my card to give me dual monitor support. > > > > To setup the monitor preference I just created a monitors.conf file in > > /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d as such: > > > > Section "Monitor" > > Identifier "HDMI1" > > Option "Primary" "true" > > EndSection > > > > Section "Monitor" > > Identifier "VGA1" > > Option "RightOf" "HDMI1" > > EndSection > > > > Substitute the Identifier for whatever 'xrandr' gives you, and use LeftOf > > if you secondary monitor is left of your primary. > > > > Nevermind, I am not paying attention here, my setup is C6 with Intel. This is strange... xrandr (on C5) only shows one monitor even though two are connected Booting up a Fedora 17 live CD, automatically configures for a single desktop spread across both monitors, AND xrandr shows both monitors. This makes me think that the hardware supports what I was seeking but C5 doesn't. So, some more poking around, and I discover that Nvidia supports "Twinview" which actually works on C5, giving me a single desktop spread across both displays. According to the Nvidia readme, it fools X into thinking it has only one monitor, and it does seem to work. While I think I might like two separate desktops, it doesn't look like it's likely to be possible with the system I have, so I'll manage with what I've got, I think. thanks for the responses! Fred -- ---- Fred Smith -- fredex at fcshome.stoneham.ma.us ----------------------------- The Lord detests the way of the wicked but he loves those who pursue righteousness. ----------------------------- Proverbs 15:9 (niv) -----------------------------