Which NVIDIA drivers to use for dual-monitor support?

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Use TwinView or Xinerama to drag windows between displays (if you use Xinerama with Nvidia drivers, you can't run Compiz as it disables OpenGL support). Try TwinView mode.

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Aroel Haqi
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Aroel Haqi

IT Consultant Dabbles in ASP.NET/C# coding

Updated on September 18, 2022

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  • Aroel Haqi
    Aroel Haqi about 1 year

    I have a fresh installation of Ubuntu 11.10 32-bit. The hardware I am running is:

    • Asus P5Q Pro
    • 4GB RAM
    • NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT
    • 24" LA2405wg connected via DisplayPort (shared with other machine)
    • 20" LP2065 connected by DVI (shared with other machine)
    • Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.40GHz x4

    When installed Ubuntu only uses the 20" monitor. The System Settings > Display utility sees both screens, but when I enable the 24" monitor, it complains about the refresh rate I have set (it flashes too quickly for me to see exactly what it says but it does mention 60Hz which is what it is using accoring to xrandr.

    So I went to Additional Drivers and enabled what Ubuntu [Recommended] which was 'version current'. This failed to load so I went for (version current-updates). I then loaded nvidia-settings and configured the monitors as I wanted after a restart to activate the drivers.

    After restarting, the 24" monitor showed a blank white screen (what is apparently a blank X Display) and the other monitor continued to work. This problem was my reason for rebuilding Ubuntu so I removed the driver and installed version 173.

    Now in NVIDIA X Server Settings, when I click X Server Display Configuration to setup my monitors, it says:

    Unable to load X Server Display Configuration page:
    
    Failed to query NoScanout for screen 0.
    

    Why is this so difficult?! Which are the correct drivers to use?

    I'm a newbie so please excuse me if anything above is quite right... I'm struggling :S

    • Aroel Haqi
      Aroel Haqi almost 12 years
      Monitor says: Input Out of Range Change Setting 1920 x 1200 60Hz
    • Aroel Haqi
      Aroel Haqi almost 12 years
      I've tried a second 24" monitor (ZR24w) and the same thing happens.
    • Aroel Haqi
      Aroel Haqi almost 12 years
      Just tried using 9600GT card's second DVI output instead of DisplayPort into the ZR24w monitor and it works??? So is this something wrong with DP in Ubuntu? I'm using native drivers not nvidia ones!
  • Aroel Haqi
    Aroel Haqi almost 12 years
    thanks for the reply... I tried what you suggested, but it doesn't say when or how to call those scripts? I also assume I can take out the google-chrome & sleep lines as I don't want them. Running them in a terminal got me as far as get a proper icon, but the display isn't usable (can't drag anything there).
  • Shane
    Shane almost 12 years
    I placed my scripts into /home/nonoo/bin/ and set them to start automatically (system menu, startup applications). Yes, you can take out the sleep and google-chrome lines. You won't be able to drag windows to those displays, they are running as separate X screens. Use TwinView or Xinerama to drag windows between displays (if you use Xinerama with Nvidia drivers, you can't run Compiz as it disables OpenGL support). Try TwinView mode.
  • Aroel Haqi
    Aroel Haqi almost 12 years
    Ahhh, TwinView! I think they could do with some explanations to what each meant! I took it that TwinView mirrored the display (i.e same on each) DOH! Thanks for the help... if you answer with this I will mark it as an answer, otherwise I will answer it myself! :)