[ltp] managing external display output w/latest distros...
linux-thinkpad@linux-thinkpad.org
linux-thinkpad@linux-thinkpad.org
Mon, 9 May 2005 13:36:56 -0400
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I'm one of many TP users who is now trying to get the most out of using
VGA/DVI outputs from my thinkpad. I crave screen 'real estate', want to
drag x apps between display devices, want to deliver presentations by
connecting extra screens to a local vnc server, etc. I can see that the
topic of managing external displays, dual head configurations, big
desktops, xinerama, mergedfb, blahblahblah, etc. has taken up quite a bit
of this NGs attention. Rightfully so - because it still seems to be a
witches brew of confusing options, dependencies, etc. It basically sucks.
I know that desktop linux has come a *long* way recently. I've just
finished playing w/suse 9.3 and ubuntu Hoary on my TP41p. Overall....
TERRIFIC!
But - I'm not jumping for joy yet. Reason...see subject of this post.
Case in point - Ubuntu Hoary... After doing some research, installing
some additional packages, and some ACPI configuration tweaks I was able to
get my T41p to move in/out of Fn-F4 sleep, Fn-F12 hibernate to disk,
running ati fglrx driver, and do both while gracefully stopping/restarting
wireless net via the auto detected Atheros device... oh yes, very nice,
this is looking good. But when I start X with an external VGA device (an
IBM L170p TFT), I get a small and warped version of the same display
showing on my panel. Ooops, time to dig into the xorg conf and figure
this out... But none of the *many* recommendations I've found in this NG
and other places regarding xorg.conf settings, radeon vs. fglrx, etc. have
helped. It may be that with the right combination of xorg config settings
I can get a useful external display working, but I can't seem to get it
right with the puzzle pieces I'm working with. Also, Fn-F7 is not
implemented - display switching seems to be dependent on ibm-acpi and tpb
- both installed. So I couldn't get Ubuntu to do anything useful w/an
externally connected display - projector or TFT panel. ...ixnay ubuntu
With Suse 9.3 Prof'l, I had similar successes. It even was able to drive
an external display, if I started X w/it attached. But in that mode, I
could not get same video signal to appear on my laptop panel at the same
time. Far from ideal. But in a pinch I guess this would do.
What do I want? I want this last bit of laptop HW device support to work
(thats when I jump for joy). I want the same flexibility that WinXP
provides w/dual head support, running the latest distros (2.6.1x kernels,
xorg, etc)... ;-) I want thinkpad buttons to work w/OSD. And I want to
do this without thinking about whether or not I need to setup special udev
device permissions, worry about NVRAM, etc...
In an odd twist of fate here, what I'm trying to do now was working on
same machine using 2.4.x kernel (RHEL) and XFree 4.3.x (I used a xinerama
based big desktop, and Fn-F7 display switching worked when I needed it, I
could hook up a 1024x768 projector, or a 1280x1024 external TFT display,
to the VGA port ,w/no problems.)
Has anyone got t41p multiple display management config info that they are
willing to share?... specific to xorg, Ubuntu Hoary, Suse 9.x prof'l,
etc.?
I don't need 3d acceleration. Is using the xorg radeon drivers the best
strategy? Although I have no experience using it, mergedfb sounds like
the best strategy when I'm in the office and need that screen real estate.
But I'll be a happy with a working xinerama config. The virtual VNC
server setup sounds like the way to go when I'm doing presentations, but
I'll be happy for now w/a setup that just allows me to drive both the
laptop panel and the external projector cloned, at the best resolution the
projector supports.
What is the long term strategy for distro development & HW support to make
this as easy (or even better) than the way WinXP supports it now?
...Chris
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<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">I'm one of many TP users who is now
trying to get the most out of using VGA/DVI outputs from my thinkpad. I
crave screen 'real estate', want to drag x apps between display devices,
want to deliver presentations by connecting extra screens to a local vnc
server, etc. I can see that the topic of managing external displays,
dual head configurations, big desktops, xinerama, mergedfb, blahblahblah,
etc. has taken up quite a bit of this NGs attention. Rightfully so
- because it still seems to be a witches brew of confusing options, dependencies,
etc. It basically sucks. I know that desktop linux has come
a *long* way recently. I've just finished playing w/suse 9.3 and
ubuntu Hoary on my TP41p. Overall.... TERRIFIC!</font>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">But - I'm not jumping for joy yet. Reason...see
subject of this post. </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Case in point - Ubuntu Hoary... After
doing some research, installing some additional packages, and some ACPI
configuration tweaks I was able to get my T41p to move in/out of Fn-F4
sleep, Fn-F12 hibernate to disk, running ati fglrx driver, and do both
while gracefully stopping/restarting wireless net via the auto detected
Atheros device... oh yes, very nice, this is looking good. But when
I start X with an external VGA device (an IBM L170p TFT), I get a small
and warped version of the same display showing on my panel. Ooops,
time to dig into the xorg conf and figure this out... But none of
the *many* recommendations I've found in this NG and other places regarding
xorg.conf settings, radeon vs. fglrx, etc. have helped. It may be
that with the right combination of xorg config settings I can get a useful
external display working, but I can't seem to get it right with the puzzle
pieces I'm working with. Also, Fn-F7 is not implemented - display
switching seems to be dependent on ibm-acpi and tpb - both installed. So
I couldn't get Ubuntu to do anything useful w/an externally connected display
- projector or TFT panel. ...ixnay ubuntu</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">With Suse 9.3 Prof'l, I had similar
successes. It even was able to drive an external display, if I started
X w/it attached. But in that mode, I could not get same video
signal to appear on my laptop panel at the same time. Far from ideal.
But in a pinch I guess this would do.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">What do I want? I want this last
bit of laptop HW device support to work (thats when I jump for joy). I
want the same flexibility that WinXP provides w/dual head support, running
the latest distros (2.6.1x kernels, xorg, etc)... ;-) I want
thinkpad buttons to work w/OSD. And I want to do this without thinking
about whether or not I need to setup special udev device permissions, worry
about NVRAM, etc...</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">In an odd twist of fate here, what I'm
trying to do now was working on same machine using 2.4.x kernel (RHEL)
and XFree 4.3.x (I used a xinerama based big desktop, and Fn-F7 display
switching worked when I needed it, I could hook up a 1024x768 projector,
or a 1280x1024 external TFT display, to the VGA port ,w/no problems.)</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Has anyone got t41p multiple display
management config info that they are willing to share?... specific to xorg,
Ubuntu Hoary, Suse 9.x prof'l, etc.?</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">I don't need 3d acceleration. Is
using the xorg radeon drivers the best strategy? Although I have
no experience using it, mergedfb sounds like the best strategy when I'm
in the office and need that screen real estate. But I'll be a happy
with a working xinerama config. The virtual VNC server setup sounds like
the way to go when I'm doing presentations, but I'll be happy for now w/a
setup that just allows me to drive both the laptop panel and the external
projector cloned, at the best resolution the projector supports.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">What is the long term strategy for distro
development & HW support to make this as easy (or even better) than
the way WinXP supports it now? </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">...Chris</font>
<br>
<br>
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