Re: Using a second monitor
On 14/08/2014, saint@eng.it <saint@eng.it> wrote:
> Robert D. Hilliard writes:
> > Reply To: bobhilliard@gmail.com
>
>> I have a new Dell Ispiron that dual boots Windows 7 and Debian 7.4.
> > The new machine uses the F1 key to connect to the second monitor, but
> > it only works in Windows - In Debian pressing F! is a noop.
>
> I would advice to use xrandr.
>
> First issue the
>
> xrandr -q command
>
> in a terminal so that you can see which monitors are available.
>
> Here is what the output on my laptop:
>
> 08:42:12 [24] $xrandr -q
> Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 2390 x 768, maximum 8192 x 8192
> LVDS1 connected 1366x768+1024+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
> 344mm x 194mm
> 1366x768 60.0*+
> 1360x768 59.8 60.0
> 1024x768 60.0
> 800x600 60.3 56.2
> 640x480 59.9
> VGA1 connected 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 304mm
> x 228mm
> 1024x768 75.1 75.0 70.1 60.0*
> 800x600 72.2 75.0 60.3
> 640x480 72.8 75.0 60.0
> 720x400 70.1
> HDMI1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
> DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
>
> VGA1 on a laptop SHOULD be always be the VGA connector, on my machine
> the screen of the laptop is LVDS1 and it is the default primary
> monitor. IF I understood the manual page, the primary monitor is also
> the first one listed with the -q option.
>
> Please note that there are 2 other connectors that are not in use
> HDMI1 and DP1.
>
> Once you know the monitor names you can build the command that better
> suits your needs. In the following example I will assume that the
> external monitor is named VGA1 and the laptop monitor is named LVDS1.
>
> If you just need to have the external monitor as only output (you do
> not use the laptop monitor)
>
> xrandr --output VGA1 --primary
>
> that turns the external monitor into the primary (this comes from one
> of the pages mentioned in this thread). I will use this command with a
> slight change:
>
> xrandr --output VGA1 --primary --output LVDS1 --off
>
> that shuts down the laptop monitor and saves some power. To turn the
> monitor on you must issue the
>
> xrandr --output LVDS1 --mode widthxheight.
>
> This command
>
> xrandr -output VGA1 -same-as LVDS1
>
> turns the external monitor into a mirror of the internal monitor
> without changing the primary monitor.
>
> Reading the xrandr manual you will discover what options suits your
> problem best.
>
> One last thing. Since you do not want to issue this command over and
> over again, you can place it into the .xsession file (if you use
> xdm/gdm/kdm) or .xinitrc file if you log on in a text console and then
> manually run the startx program.
>
> --
After reading the thread, and the above response, it occurred to me,
that this could be worthwhile to add to the debian.org web site, as a
"HowTo", for whoever has the privileges.
Or, if such a thing exists, a Debian "HowTo" wiki?
--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............
"So once you do know what the question actually is,
you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
A Trilogy In Four Parts",
written by Douglas Adams,
published by Pan Books, 1992
....................................................
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