Why can Windows and Mac OS X do it so easily, but it's such a pain to do it in X11? Whenever I want to change something, I have to restart X11 entirely, and sometimes it switches what I want to be X screen 0 and X screen 1.
Posted Jul 19, 2012, 12:28 AM UTC
If you use drivers that implement randr correctly (i.e. xf86-video-{intel,nouveau,ati}) things should be relatively easy and work with any of the available (x)randr GUIs available. The whole "restarting X11 entirely" thing sounds like you're mucking around with nvidia twinview.
The real ELI5 question is "why do nvidia's proprietary drivers require a restart of my graphical server to make the simplest of changes?". ELI5 Answer: "Because nvidia doesn't care about linux users".
NVIDIA now supports RandR in their latest drivers.
So do the Catalyst drivers these days...
On a related note, if your card is supported by nouveau (it most likely is), give nouveau-dri/xf86-video-nouveau a try and see if your pain subsides.
How would I find out if it's supported? I'm running Ubuntu 12.04.
According to this page your card should be supported.
Close: Nvidia Xinerama.
There is something you're not doing right. With RandR extensions you can pretty much change any monitor setting on the fly. Would you mind sharing the process you're using to change the settings so that we can help you improve your workflow?
I'm using Ubuntu 12.04 and I have a Gigabyte Nvidia Geforce 8400 GS card. I use the Nvidia X Server Settings program and use Xinerama. I would prefer to use Display, Ubuntu's default program, but it says "RANDR extension is not present," even though Synaptic says I have them all installed. Sorry that took so long for me to type; I tried uploading a screenshot, but I can't get Imgur to upload the picture.
Edit: here's the screenshot
The problem is that your Nvidia drivers do not support RandR.
i just click some buttons/knobs in a gui tool and presto... my screens reconfigure on the fly. no restarts. nvidia's closed drivers have, in the past, never supported xrandr so you have to use their nvidia-settings tool to do it, but other drivers support xrandr so the generic tool will do. at least with enlightenment the tool is built into the wm. :)
If your using the Nvidia Binary blob (I think you are)
You need to use nvidia-settings and select Twin-View not Xinerama that's your problem.
Gotcha, I'll do that, thanks.
Why is spelling simple words properly in the third millennium so difficult?
Because not everybody is a native English speaker.
http://www.freedictionary.org/
If I can look up words in a language that *I* don't speak, then they can too.
did you understand what OP was trying to say? communication mission accomplished.
Duel monitors are problematic because one tends to shoot the other.
Yup.