laptop: docking station external monitor on nvidia linux will not work properly

stefan1975 · 06-10-09, 03:17 AM

Hi All,

I have a Dell precision m65 laptop that is running F11_x64 on with a nvidia quadro m350 videocard and the nonfree binary drivers from rpmfusion (180.51)

AT work I use my laptop docked with a samsung 24" widescreen monitor on 1920x1200 resolution, the same native resolution my laptop screen has.

For quite some time now and over quite a lot of distros I have been trying to get docking my laptop working properly, i.e. putting it in with the lid closed and get the boot-process and all other output redirected by default to my external monitor, however this has *never* worked properly. So it does not seem a fedora problem, I also had this on Arch or F10 and F9.

The only way i can get it to work somehwat is by using "nvidia-settings" (and thus creating an xorg.conf as well incidentally) and "cloning" my primary screen to the external monitor with twinview.. This gives me a proper image on the external screen, however it means that my laptop lid has to remain open in its dock since the TFT is a clone of the laptop and it means that I do not see the boot process at all since the TFT only kicks in after starting X and the nvidia driver.

Is there another way of doing this so I can use my dock like it is supposed to (i hardly dare say it .... but like it does in *cough*Windows*cough* on this very same laptop using either vista or XP)?

thanks,
stefan

packermann · 06-10-09, 05:51 AM

You could use disper (http://willem.engen.nl/projects/disper/) to get on-the-fly monitor-switching. Regarding lid close you could find out what acpi-event is produced and "capture" it with udev where you can define a udev-rule, which fires up disper with your desired settings...
I've done that to get Fn/F7 (switch ext./int. monitor) working on my Thinkpad.

stefan1975 · 06-10-09, 05:56 AM

shouldn't this work OOTB without udev catching? I consider this base functionality of a laptop. My colleagues running Vista always snicker when they see my opened laptop lid in my dock.

I had it working once with nvidia-settings by making the TFT a seperate X-screen instead of Twinview but somehow on 180.51 on F11 this does not work anymore.

stefan1975 · 06-22-09, 01:10 PM

well i recently got nvidia updates through rpmfusion, but docking with the lid closed it still a no-go for me. I also still can't view boot messages on my TFT. would really like to have this fixed.

N8N · 05-10-10, 11:00 PM

Stefan,

Either I replied to you on Launchpad or there's three of us with the exact same problem! I posted some add'l info there and I'm copying it here as well because I am having what sounds like an identical problem:

I am having a similar issue on my Dell Precision M90 also in a Dell docking station using a Samsung P2570HD monitor. Fresh install from .iso of 10.04; however, I was having the same problems on 9.04 as well (I skipped over 9.10) With the laptop docked and the lid closed I have the exact same symptoms. I get BIOS, GRUB, Ubuntu splash and then external monitor goes dark when it switches over to login screen (is that the point when x starts?) If I do this in a dark room I can see that at the same time the monitor switches off, the laptop's LCD display turns on. I suspect the problem is with the nvidia proprietary drivers, however, as I have discovered the following:

- everything works perfectly with the nvidia proprietary drivers completely uninstalled, and the monitor connected with either a DVI or VGA cable.
- everything works perfectly with the "nvidia accelerated graphics driver (version 96)" installed, and the monitor connected with a VGA cable.
- the problem occurs with either "version 173" or "version current" with the VGA cable, and all three versions with the DVI cable.

I have not extensively tested this with either VGA or DVI (and obviously my keyboard and mouse) directly connected to the ports in the back of the laptop, although I can do so if desired as I am using USB connections for both. Currently I am running the DVI connection and the graphics drivers disabled, although I certainly would rather use 3d graphics. Workarounds are less than ideal as I have a small desk and am using the Dell monitor stand that holds the docking station and the laptop to save space. Also, using the DVI connection, the Fn-F8 switch ("LCD/CRT") does not work, although I'm not entirely certain that that's a real bug.

If you need any specific info about my setup or would like me to test more with the laptop *out* of the dock but with the lid closed just let me know. Unfortunately I suspect that this is likely a nvidia problem.

If I do need 3d acceleration I can use the VGA connection with the version 96 driver, but video quality is markedly better with DVI so I really wish that that worked...

06-10-09, 03:17 AM	#1
stefan1975 Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 11	laptop: docking station external monitor on nvidia linux will not work properly Hi All, I have a Dell precision m65 laptop that is running F11_x64 on with a nvidia quadro m350 videocard and the nonfree binary drivers from rpmfusion (180.51) AT work I use my laptop docked with a samsung 24" widescreen monitor on 1920x1200 resolution, the same native resolution my laptop screen has. For quite some time now and over quite a lot of distros I have been trying to get docking my laptop working properly, i.e. putting it in with the lid closed and get the boot-process and all other output redirected by default to my external monitor, however this has never worked properly. So it does not seem a fedora problem, I also had this on Arch or F10 and F9. The only way i can get it to work somehwat is by using "nvidia-settings" (and thus creating an xorg.conf as well incidentally) and "cloning" my primary screen to the external monitor with twinview.. This gives me a proper image on the external screen, however it means that my laptop lid has to remain open in its dock since the TFT is a clone of the laptop and it means that I do not see the boot process at all since the TFT only kicks in after starting X and the nvidia driver. Is there another way of doing this so I can use my dock like it is supposed to (i hardly dare say it .... but like it does in coughWindowscough on this very same laptop using either vista or XP)? thanks, stefan

06-10-09, 05:51 AM	#2
packermann Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 47	Re: laptop: docking station external monitor on nvidia linux will not work properly You could use disper (http://willem.engen.nl/projects/disper/) to get on-the-fly monitor-switching. Regarding lid close you could find out what acpi-event is produced and "capture" it with udev where you can define a udev-rule, which fires up disper with your desired settings... I've done that to get Fn/F7 (switch ext./int. monitor) working on my Thinkpad.

06-10-09, 05:56 AM	#3
stefan1975 Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 11	Re: laptop: docking station external monitor on nvidia linux will not work properly shouldn't this work OOTB without udev catching? I consider this base functionality of a laptop. My colleagues running Vista always snicker when they see my opened laptop lid in my dock. I had it working once with nvidia-settings by making the TFT a seperate X-screen instead of Twinview but somehow on 180.51 on F11 this does not work anymore.

06-22-09, 01:10 PM	#4
stefan1975 Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 11	Re: laptop: docking station external monitor on nvidia linux will not work properly well i recently got nvidia updates through rpmfusion, but docking with the lid closed it still a no-go for me. I also still can't view boot messages on my TFT. would really like to have this fixed.

05-10-10, 11:00 PM	#5
N8N Registered User Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 1	Re: laptop: docking station external monitor on nvidia linux will not work properly Stefan, Either I replied to you on Launchpad or there's three of us with the exact same problem! I posted some add'l info there and I'm copying it here as well because I am having what sounds like an identical problem: I am having a similar issue on my Dell Precision M90 also in a Dell docking station using a Samsung P2570HD monitor. Fresh install from .iso of 10.04; however, I was having the same problems on 9.04 as well (I skipped over 9.10) With the laptop docked and the lid closed I have the exact same symptoms. I get BIOS, GRUB, Ubuntu splash and then external monitor goes dark when it switches over to login screen (is that the point when x starts?) If I do this in a dark room I can see that at the same time the monitor switches off, the laptop's LCD display turns on. I suspect the problem is with the nvidia proprietary drivers, however, as I have discovered the following: - everything works perfectly with the nvidia proprietary drivers completely uninstalled, and the monitor connected with either a DVI or VGA cable. - everything works perfectly with the "nvidia accelerated graphics driver (version 96)" installed, and the monitor connected with a VGA cable. - the problem occurs with either "version 173" or "version current" with the VGA cable, and all three versions with the DVI cable. I have not extensively tested this with either VGA or DVI (and obviously my keyboard and mouse) directly connected to the ports in the back of the laptop, although I can do so if desired as I am using USB connections for both. Currently I am running the DVI connection and the graphics drivers disabled, although I certainly would rather use 3d graphics. Workarounds are less than ideal as I have a small desk and am using the Dell monitor stand that holds the docking station and the laptop to save space. Also, using the DVI connection, the Fn-F8 switch ("LCD/CRT") does not work, although I'm not entirely certain that that's a real bug. If you need any specific info about my setup or would like me to test more with the laptop out of the dock but with the lid closed just let me know. Unfortunately I suspect that this is likely a nvidia problem. If I do need 3d acceleration I can use the VGA connection with the version 96 driver, but video quality is markedly better with DVI so I really wish that that worked...