ConnectedMonitors Option non-functional

[bopbaul]

I've been using the "ConnectedMonitor" option for quite some time to force X to load in dual screen even if one of the monitors is turned of.

My secondary screen is is big power-thirsty CRT and I only turn it on when I need a second screen.

However, I recently ran an "emerge --update world" which, while bringing my system up to date, also must have updated my nvidia graphics driver.

my /etc/X11/xorg.conf is still set with :
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "CRT-0,CRT-1"

However unless I have both monitors turned on, the system only launches X with 1 screen working.

Has the syntax changed, or is this option just no longer valid? nVidia's website still lists it in their FAQ, but of course I can't e-mail them and ASUS just tells me that nVidia writes the driver and to contact them

[netllama]

The ConnectedMonitor option is valid in 1.0-7676. You didn't state which driver version you were using previously, or which version you're using now, nor did you post a bug report, so I can't comment further without that information.

Thanks,
Lonni

[bopbaul]

Originally Posted by netllama

The ConnectedMonitor option is valid in 1.0-7676. You didn't state which driver version you were using previously, or which version you're using now, nor did you post a bug report, so I can't comment further without that information.

Wow, that's awesome! I didn't realize nVidia people hung out here.

I think I was using 6111 before and was upgraded to 6629 by the update. (I'm not positive on those versions, but am fairly certain as 6629 is the latest "stable" build in gentoo portage.

I later upgraded to 7676 on my own so that I could get better gaming support with cedega. I don't know anything about bug reports. Is there a sticky I should read?

[Edit] Found the stick, sorry. I'm attaching two logs. One is after starting X with both monitors turned on (and just X loads in TwinView) and the other is when starting x with only my LCD turned on (so X ignores TwinView even though ConnectedMonitors is set...)

[netllama]

I think I see the problem. In your X log I see:
(WW) NVIDIA(0): Unable to find mode "1280x1024" for display device 1 in
(WW) NVIDIA(0): MetaMode "1280x1024,1280x1024"

and in your xorg.conf you have:
Option "SecondMonitorHorizSync" "UseEdidFreqs"
Option "SecondMonitorVertRefresh" "UseEdidFreqs"

If no display is attached (for CRT-1), then there are no EDID frequencies, and X falls back to its internal safe defaults, which do not include 1280x1024 (or 1024x768, which is also failing in your X log).

Try specifying real frequencies for SecondMonitorHorizSync & SecondMonitorVertRefresh, and your problem should be fixed in 1.0-7676.

If this all worked back in 1.0-6629 or 1.0-6611, then that was actually a bug.

Thanks,
Lonni