Adding dual monitor settings to xorg.conf.d-Collection of common programming errors

11 years ago

admin

2 minutes

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "default Screen Section"
    SubSection "Display"
        Virtual   2560 1024
    EndSubSection
EndSection

The main reason for the problem detecting the VGA screen resolution is that I have a splitter cable and an extra display with an extension cord, which I don’t always use.

I wasn’t sure how to identify the vga output in the monitor section so I always referred to it by ATI’s naming convention, “VGA-0”. Even where I could refer to it as something else, I call it VGA-0. (I’ve found the device and server sections of the conf file to be unnecessary for this).

I discovered I needed to add a modeline as per the instructions on the link above. Well to find your modeline, the cvt command has superseded the gtf command (Don’t use mine). Lord knows what a modeline really does. There seems to be no way to specify which monitor you’re even probing so you just have to cross your fingers that this bunch of numbers is even what you’re looking for…
```
Section "Monitor"
    Identifier   "VGA-0"
        Modeline "1280x1024_60.00"  109.00  1280 1368 1496 1712  1024 1027 1034 1063 -hsync +vsync
        Option  "RightOf" "DVI-0"
EndSection
```
It worketh … mostly …

I turn monitors off because I’ve had to replace capacitors in the power circuit of my LCD screen. I am also disappointed by the power consumption of these devices in standby.

When this monitor was turned off during startup, I got clone mode again. I had to add some repetition of information.
```
        Option  "RightOf" "DVI-0"
        Option  "Position" "1280 0"
```
I also added a DVI-0 monitor section.

ARANDR consistently crashed on me when I tried to adjust it on the fly like most people recommend nowadays, so that seems to be a piece of poo that doesn’t play nicely with xorg.conf settings (It reminds me of CSS which doesn’t play nicely with HTML attributes… but I digress).

I still have to find a way to specify a VGA refresh rate of 60Hz which is not “helpfully” automatically reset all the time, or else I can not turn on my third monitor (with the splitter cable) when I want it, which is offpissing. The following line does not work:
```
        Option  "PreferredMode"  "1280x1024_60.00"
```