Re: how to control tty to external monitor or local lcd

[Stephen Powell <zlinuxman@wowway.com>]

On Tue, 6 Apr 2010 18:53:46 -0400 (EDT), Alex Samad wrote:
> 
> Okay a couple of things, I thing we are talking similiar and dissimiliar
> things.
>
>
> turn on laptop - not connected to ext monitor
> loads debian
> starts gdm
> login
> connect to external monitor
> use xrandr to move screen to ext monitor
> close lid on laptop
> use alt+ctrl+f1 to get to tty1
> 
> the ext monitor stays on the X screen and the laptop monitors goes to
> the tty - but the lid is closed, I want to move the tty to the ext
> monitor
>
> hope that clears it up...

How can you use Ctrl+Alt+F1 to switch to virtual terminal number 1 if the
lid is closed?  Are you using an external keyboard as well as an external
monitor?  You never mentioned that.

I have an IBM ThinkPad 600.  Here's what I do:

(1) While the laptop is powered off, I connect the external monitor.
I do not connect an external keyboard.

(2) I power on the external monitor, then I power on the laptop.

(3) As soon as possible during the boot process, usually after "LILO"
has been written to the screen but before the timeout occurs to
boot the default kernel (which for me is a four-second window),
I use Fn+F7 on the internal keyboard to switch to the external monitor.

(4) By the time the kernel boots, the display is on the external
monitor for the text-mode portion of the boot.

(5) When gdm starts, the graphical console also displays on the
external monitor.

(6) When I use Ctrl+Alt+F1 on the *internal* keyboard, without
closing the lid, the display switches to virtual terminal 1 on
the external monitor.

(7) When I use Alt+F7 to switch back to the graphical console,
the display stays on the external monitor.

I don't have your hardware, but I would assume that some function
is provided on your laptop to do what Fn+F7 does on mine.

When I do things this way, the X server picks a decent vertical
refresh rate (about 75 Hz) for my CRT-based external monitor.
I leave the lid open and use the internal keyboard for everything.
The internal display is black from the moment I press Fn+F7 the
one and only time.  I leave the lid open and I use the internal
keyboard for everything.  Everything, text mode virtual terminals
and the graphical X server, stays on the external monitor.

HTH

-- 
  .''`.     Stephen Powell    <zlinuxman@wowway.com>
 : :'  :
 `. `'`
   `-