DUAL HEAD ACHIEVED! xorg.conf Fedora Core 3 Build 2.6.9-1.681

[jmcqueen]

hi all:
thought i would pass along the contents of my xorg.conf file for everyone who is attempting 'dual head' mode with 2 LCD monitors. this was a BIG project for me as a newb.

driver is the 6629 off of the nvidia.com website. all of their drivers back support all other cards AFAIK, so all you have to do is grab the most recent.

on new Fedore Core 3 builds, update your core to most recent and get the blue checkmark on the up2date before trying to install the driver. reason is, you'll have to re-install the video driver every time you upgrade the kernel. this is a major bummer, but hey...it works.

after updating the core, the first thing you want to do is get the gcc and the gcc++ rpm's. if you don't do this, the driver won't install with the 'sh' command in term. FC3 will NOT install the nvidia driver without the gcc and the gcc++ rpm's due to the way FC3's compiler works. you can read about this in other posts.

at any rate, comment out the 'dri' lines in xorg.conf and basically go with what you see below. you need to know the PCI bus address of your card for this to work. i tried xorg.conf without specifying this and i got a boot failure when X started. my nvidia 256 AGP GeForce FX 5500's address is PCI 1,0,0. unless you have a really whacked out config, try this first if you don't want to go back into Blindows XP to find it. i couldn't get the PCI address while in Linux??? oh well, i told you i was a complete newb!

the only thing i'm bummed about is the fact that you can't 'Span' your display in Linux. nvidia says this right in their release notes for the driver. if anyone knows any tricks, please post them here! at any rate, you can still have a cool set up. there are major advantages... i am going to keep one monitor at 1280x1024 for desktop work and one at 1024x768 to check web .html outputs since over 80% of the folks who visit our sites still run 1024x768 on their monitors. in the config below, "Monitor0" is on the left and is my primary monitor. i hope this helps a few of you out there!

/etc/X11/xorg.conf is as follows:

# Xorg configuration created by system-config-display

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "dual head configuration"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
Screen 1 "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"

# RgbPath is the location of the RGB database. Note, this is the name of the
# file minus the extension (like ".txt" or ".db"). There is normally
# no need to change the default.
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
# By default, Red Hat 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
# the X server to render fonts.
RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
ModulePath "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/nvidia"
ModulePath "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"
FontPath "unix/:7100"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe"
Load "extmod"
Load "fbdevhw"
Load "record"
Load "freetype"
Load "type1"
Load "glx"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

# Specify which keyboard LEDs can be user-controlled (eg, with xset(1))
# Option "Xleds" "1 2 3"
# To disable the XKEYBOARD extension, uncomment XkbDisable.
# Option "XkbDisable"
# To customise the XKB settings to suit your keyboard, modify the
# lines below (which are the defaults). For example, for a non-U.S.
# keyboard, you will probably want to use:
# Option "XkbModel" "pc102"
# If you have a US Microsoft Natural keyboard, you can use:
# Option "XkbModel" "microsoft"
#
# Then to change the language, change the Layout setting.
# For example, a german layout can be obtained with:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# or:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# Option "XkbVariant" "nodeadkeys"
#
# If you'd like to switch the positions of your capslock and
# control keys, use:
# Option "XkbOptions" "ctrl:swapcaps"
# Or if you just want both to be control, use:
# Option "XkbOptions" "ctrl:nocaps"
#
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "yes"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "NEC MultiSync XE17"
DisplaySize 330 270
HorizSync 31.0 - 65.0
VertRefresh 55.0 - 120.0
Option "dpms"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor1"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "NEC MultiSync XE17"
DisplaySize 330 270
HorizSync 31.0 - 65.0
VertRefresh 55.0 - 120.0
Option "dpms"
EndSection

Section "Device"

# Edit the BusID with the location of your graphics card
Identifier "nvidia0"
Driver "nvidia"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"

# Edit the BusID with the location of your graphics card
Identifier "nvidia1"
Driver "nvidia"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
Screen 1
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "nvidia0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen1"
Device "nvidia1"
Monitor "Monitor1"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

obviously, this file won't work in XF86, but all of you running different Linux packages should be able to get some ideas. notice the header section is rewritten and the other duplicate sections (1 for each monitor) in the body. take care and be well...

john
http://www.TheGemZone.com
http://www.eTanzanite.com

[badri]

Hi,

I would also suggest you to add the following option under
device section.

Option "NvAGP" "3"

my complete xorg.conf you can check at :

http://ii-consult.com/downloads/xorg.conf.gz

Cheers,

Badri

[jmcqueen]

I would also suggest you to add the following option under
device section.

Option "NvAGP" "3"

if the PCI address is specified, why would you suggest this? just curious?

thx,
j

[Thunderbird]

That line isn't needed after all. The option NvAGP can be used to choose the agp driver you want to use (agpgart of the driver's builtin agp support). By default it tries to use agpgart first and if that won't work it tries the builtin support. The default behaviour is similar to NvAGP 3. It is only usefull if you want to force a specific agp driver but in general that is not needed.

[badri]

Originally Posted by badri

Hi,

I would also suggest you to add the following option under
device section.

Option "NvAGP" "3"

my complete xorg.conf you can check at :

http://ii-consult.com/downloads/xorg.conf.gz

Cheers,

Badri

Well, if you see in your Xorg.0.log file similar line
(II) NVIDIA(0): Detected AGP rate: 4X
You don't need it..

Cheers,

Badri

[jmcqueen]

i should be good to go with the following then. excerpt from Xlog:

X Window System Version 6.8.1
Release Date: 17 September 2004
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0, Release 6.8.1
Build Operating System: Linux 2.6.9-1.751_ELsmp i686 [ELF]
Current Operating System: Linux localhost.localdomain 2.6.9-1.681_FC3 #1 Thu Nov 18 15:10:10 EST 2004 i686
Build Date: 01 December 2004
Build Host: tweety.build.redhat.com

Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.X.Org
to make sure that you have the latest version.
Module Loader present
OS Kernel: Linux version 2.6.9-1.681_FC3 (bhcompile@tweety.build.redhat.com) (gcc version 3.4.2 20041017 (Red Hat 3.4.2-6.fc3)) #1 Thu Nov 18 15:10:10 EST 2004
Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
(++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
(==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Wed Dec 29 02:44:15 2004
(==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf"
(==) ServerLayout "dual head configuration"
(**) |-->Screen "Screen0" (0)
(**) | |-->Monitor "Monitor0"
(**) | |-->Device "nvidia0"
(**) |-->Screen "Screen1" (1)
(**) | |-->Monitor "Monitor1"
(**) | |-->Device "nvidia1"
(**) |-->Input Device "Mouse0"
(**) |-->Input Device "Keyboard0"
(**) FontPath set to "unix/:7100"
(**) RgbPath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
(**) ModulePath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/nvidia,/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"
(**) Option "NoPM"
*
*
* etc...etc...etc...
*
*

(II) Setting vga for screen 0.
(II) Setting vga for screen 1.
(**) NVIDIA(0): Depth 24, (--) framebuffer bpp 32
(==) NVIDIA(0): RGB weight 888
(==) NVIDIA(0): Default visual is TrueColor
(==) NVIDIA(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
(--) NVIDIA(0): Linear framebuffer at 0xD0000000
(--) NVIDIA(0): MMIO registers at 0xFC000000
(II) NVIDIA(0): NVIDIA GPU detected as: GeForce FX 5500
(--) NVIDIA(0): VideoBIOS: 04.34.20.69.00
(--) NVIDIA(0): Interlaced video modes are supported on this GPU
(II) NVIDIA(0): Detected AGP rate: 8X
(--) NVIDIA(0): VideoRAM: 262144 kBytes
(II) NVIDIA(0): Connected display device(s): CRT-0, CRT-1
(WW) NVIDIA(0): Multiple displays connected, but only one display allowed;
(WW) NVIDIA(0): using first display
(--) NVIDIA(0): Display device CRT-0: maximum pixel clock at 8 bpp: 400 MHz**************
*
*
* etc,etc,etc...
*
*
(II) NVIDIA(0): Setting mode "1280x1024"
(II) Loading extension NV-GLX
(II) NVIDIA(0): NVIDIA 3D Acceleration Architecture Initialized
(II) NVIDIA(0): Using the NVIDIA 2D acceleration architecture
(==) NVIDIA(0): Backing store disabled
(==) NVIDIA(0): Silken mouse enabled
(**) Option "dpms"
(**) NVIDIA(0): DPMS enabled
(II) Loading extension NV-CONTROL

i have a question though, when looking through the log i did notice in the above bolded line that 3D architecture is not being loaded. anyone have any ideas as to how i can get this to run true 3D?

j

[zander]

@jmcqueen: the NVIDIA 2D acceleration architecture affects XAA, not OpenGL/GLX.

[kremit]

Originally Posted by jmcqueen

the only thing i'm bummed about is the fact that you can't 'Span' your display in Linux. nvidia says this right in their release notes for the driver. if anyone knows any tricks, please post them here! at any rate, you can still have a cool set up.

Errm, unless I am doing something different than you here, I've used the Xinerama extension for the past 2 years to 'span' my desktop across two monitors. In fact right now, my primary monitor is an LCD at 1280x1024 and the secondary is a CRT running on the bare nv driver at 1024x768 (there is a bug in the current drivers that cause GF2 cards to display gibberish). There are a few small bugs with Xinerama but you might be able to get it working better with the TwinView config (see the release notes). Here are the lines I use in xorg.conf:

Section "ServerFlags"
        Option "Xinerama" "On"
EndSection

And the rest of my file:

Section "Files"
	RgbPath      "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
	FontPath     "unix/:7100"
EndSection

Section "Module"
	Load "dbe"
	Load "glx"
	Load "ddc"
	Load "extmod"
	Load "v4l"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
	Option "Xinerama" "On"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier  "Keyboard0"
	Driver      "kbd"
	Option      "XkbModel" "logicordless"
	Option      "XkbLayout" "dvorak"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
	Identifier	"Mouse0"
	Driver		"mouse"
	Option		"Device"		"/dev/input/mice"
	Option		"Protocol"		"IMPS/2"
	Option		"Emulate3Buttons"	"no"
	Option		"Buttons"		"7"
	Option		"ZAxisMapping"		"4 5"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier   "Monitor0"
	VendorName   "Acer"
	ModelName    "AL1715"
	HorizSync    55.0-85.0
	VertRefresh  70.0-75.0
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier   "Monitor1"
	VendorName   "NEC"
	ModelName    "NEC MultiSync XV15"
	HorizSync    50.0-65.0
	VertRefresh  69.0-95.0
EndSection

Section "Device"
	Identifier  "NVIDIA AGP"
	Driver      "nvidia"
	BoardName   "GeForce FX 5700"
	Option      "RenderAccel" "true"
	Option      "NoLogo" "On"
	BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
	Identifier  "NVIDIA PCI"
	Driver      "nv"
#	Option      "NvAGP" "0"
	Option      "RenderAccel" "true"
	Option      "IgnoreEDID" "1"
	Option      "NoLogo" "On"
#	VideoRam    32768
	BusID       "PCI:0:13:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier "Screen0"
	Device     "NVIDIA AGP"
	Monitor    "Monitor0"
	DefaultDepth     24
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth     24
		Modes    "1280x1024"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth     32
		Modes    "1280x1024"
	EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier "Screen1"
	Device     "NVIDIA PCI"
	Monitor    "Monitor1"
	DefaultDepth     24
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth     24
		Modes    "1024x768"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth     32
		Modes    "1024x768"
	EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
        Identifier     "2 Screens"
        Screen         "Screen0"
        Screen         "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
        InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
        InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Hope this helps.

[sm0ke]

yeap... using extension xinerama will span your desktop.
not sure though why you'd like to do that.

having 2 screens x 6 vitrual desktops kicks ass (as soon as you get used to it )

[jmcqueen]

how are your screens set up? left monitor and right monitor??? i mean...what windows do you use on each desktop?

i appreciate the help greatly!

j

[vinividivici]

as root use scanpci to find the PCI info of your card.

[ackster]

Using the above X config, I successfully setup Dual Head on Chaintech 6600GT PCI Express on AMD64 on FC3 w/ updates and Kernel 2.6.10-1.741_FC3 w/ 6629 drivers.

RGB 15-pin to Monitor on Screen 0 , DVI to LCD on Screen 1.

Many thanks jmcqueen.