X11 issues: Laptop thinks there are two screens [dual monitors?]

[asdinnie]

Hi all

Have just installed Raring after using Precise for ages. So I am trying to understand newer versions of KDE & X.
A few issues to resolve/understand but this is the main one?

Am using a HP Pavilion Laptop (dv6) with dual graphics on it (Intel graphics & a Radeon graphics).
After installation I get a working screen in KDE.

In Raring, X11 (or something else) seems to think I have multiple screens attached but its only the standard laptop screen.
The laptop does have an external SVGA port but its not being used.
So when I try to use Synaptic, Reconq, etc., the application window swaps to the (invisible) LHS screen so I cannot use them.

Looking in the System Settings | Display & Monitor, there is no option to remove/disable the second screen on startup.

Looking in the Xorg.log I can see the following:

[    14.818] (==) Using system config directory "/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d"
[    14.819] (==) No Layout section.  Using the first Screen section.
[    14.819] (==) No screen section available. Using defaults.
[    14.819] (**) |-->Screen "Default Screen Section" (0)
[    14.819] (**) |   |-->Monitor "<default monitor>"

However when I look in the xorg.conf.d directory, there is no .conf file for the screen.
Also I cannot find the X.conf file that used to be telling X what to do under older versions of X.

Further down I can see it is trying to load the following:

[    14.861] 	Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[    14.861] 	ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 13.0
[    14.861] (==) Matched intel as autoconfigured driver 0
[    14.861] (==) Matched fglrx as autoconfigured driver 1
[    14.861] (==) Matched ati as autoconfigured driver 2
[    14.861] (==) Matched intel as autoconfigured driver 3
[    14.861] (==) Matched vesa as autoconfigured driver 4

The fglrx does not load as I have not installed the 3rd party graphics drivers. Not sure where X got the idea from?
I have always been under the impression its better to use open source graphics so I have not installed fglrx.

I would probably like to have the option to have both cards running as
(a) the Radeon graphics will give be better performance for day-to-day work
(b) I need to use the Intel graphics to conserve batter power when unplugged at work.

NB I cannot turn off either a graphics card or the external SVGA port in the BIOS on this system so it cannot be done that way.
I also do not have a spare monitor here to get around these problems!

Can someone point me in the right direction please?

Many thanks, cheers

Andy

[oshunluvr]

I can't say how to get both cards working that way - I have no ATI experience. I can say that the xorg.conf file is no longer used by default. You can create or generate one if needed.

The other way to manipulate your video setup is using the command xrandr

You can adjust most settings and control monitors using it. Open a terminal and type:

xrandr -q

and post the output.

[asdinnie]

Output from xrandr

Hi oshunluvr

Thanks for the reply.

Here is the output from xrandr -q, as requested.

Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 2732 x 768, maximum 32767 x 32767
LVDS1 connected 1366x768+1366+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 344mm x 194mm
   1366x768       59.6*+
   1360x768       59.8     60.0  
   1024x768       60.0  
   800x600        60.3     56.2  
   640x480        59.9  
VGA1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
LVDS-1 connected 1366x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm
   1366x768       59.6*+
   1280x720       59.9  
   1152x768       59.8  
   1024x768       59.9  
   800x600        59.9  
   848x480        59.7  
   720x480        59.7  
   640x480        59.4  
HDMI-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
VGA-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
  1366x768 (0x49)   69.3MHz
        h: width  1366 start 1398 end 1430 total 1486 skew    0 clock   46.6KHz
        v: height  768 start  770 end  774 total  782           clock   59.6Hz

What got me confused is that X appears to be reading some sort of config file, according to the entries in the X log, as posted in the original message.
I do not have one present though.

Cheers, thanks again.

Andy

--

[oshunluvr]

That's a weird output. It shows LVDS1 is right of LVSD-1. I've not seen that unless two monitors are actually connected.

What does this do:


xrandr --output LVDS1 --off

[asdinnie]

Hi oshunluvr

Thanks for the reply.

That's a weird output. It shows LVDS1 is right of LVSD-1. I've not seen that unless two monitors are actually connected.

What does this do:
xrandr --output LVDS1 --off

BTW Two monitors are definitely not connected. Just one laptop screen, including during the installation of Kubuntu et al.

Not good things, to answer your question.
I entered in the above command under my primary username, my screen went blank.
Had to inelegantly restart system the Windows way.
KDE login screen came up ok.
Tried to login as my primary usernname, screen goes blank once more during the login process.

Went via the Kubuntu recovery mode to a root prompt.
Logged in as my primary username.
Tried to reverse the above command using "xrandr --output LVDS1 --on". But just got a list of xrandr options so clearly it did not like it.
Tried to find out my xrandr settings by typing "xrandr". Keep getting "cannot open display" as an error message.
Ditto with "xrandr -q"

Can I make some change to at least get my X back working, using a command-line editor?
Not too familiar with them under linux, but used them in multiple operating systems?

I am typing this in, using Guest on my laptop, as I cannot get into my primary user account under X!

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Cheers, thanks

Andy

[oshunluvr]

Well, an xrandr command entered from the console doesn't make permanent changes to your computer or software. That why it's the best way to test a system.

If you're getting "can't open display" that just means X isn't running at all. The command to turn on a monitor is:

xrandr --output LVDS1 --auto

We must have picked the wrong display initially, but this is really odd. A reboot would clear anything you entered from the console unless you edited something.

First, let's see what's happening - start by entering this after you log in:

sudo restart lightdm

This will likely produce an error message, post it here. If nothing happens, try

startx

and post the error messages. Finally, look at the X error log with:

cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log |more

scroll through and note any errors (EE) or warnings (WW) and then see what it says at the last few lines at the end - likely "no screens found"

[oshunluvr]

BTW, recovery mode does not start X on it's own. You have to log in as your user and start X manually or reboot into normal mode.

[asdinnie]

Hi oshunlvr

Thanks for your message.

I logged-in as my main username, after:
a. going into recovery mode
b. running FSCK to mount the hard disk drive
c. entering the root prompt

Here are the results:

sudo restart lightdm

-> "restart : unknown instance" - so lightdm appears not to be running

if I run "sudo start lightdm", I get a blank screen in X (and appears to be hanging the system ?? I have to use the off-switch on the laptop to get out of this)

startx

X: user not authorised to run the X server, aborting
Xinit: giving up
Xinit: unable to connect to the X server: connection refused
Xinit: server error

BTW if I try "sudo startx", it fires up but I get the same issue as above (blank screen). Same if I try "startX" under the root userid.

cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log |more

I have trouble getting a useful X logfile as it appears to be 0 bytes when the system hangs (see above).
BTW Some of the log files show up as tomorrow (today at the moment is 13/6, some log files showing up as 14/6!)

This is driving me a little crazy as: I cannot access my email at the moment, cannot access my data files easily and the display in my normal username is a bit of a mess (when I had it before).

Thanks, cheers

Andy

PS Tried to attach my current log file, but I keep getting the following error msg in a new tab in Firefox:
"You are not logged in or you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:"

--

[oshunluvr]

When you're at the "blank screen" does CTRL-ALT-F1 return you to the text console? If not, it is indeed locking up your system.

[asdinnie]

Hi oshunluvr

CTRL-ALT-F1 works when I have logged-in as my primary username and the screen is blank. So there is some life still there.
It appears to have some sort of X / graphical interface running, just not displaying anything (if I try to "reboot" the system, it gives me a vague screen with a mouse cursor on it, and then it hangs without rebooting).

So my primary username will not work, the "guest" username will. Its very strange.
I have just installed a plain version of Kubuntu with no other tweaks. Only the xrandr command you mentioned first.
I am completely confused.

Is it worth reinstalling the Xserver package(s) - not sure how to remove any saved settings to get around this problem?

I have also attached a copy of the log file for my primary username (when I get a terminal running), in case it is of any help.

Cheers, thanks

Andy

[oshunluvr]

It appears to be a video driver issue. You have two video cards - one Intel, one ATI. They are both attached to your internal monitor, thus the appearance that's there is two screens. This is likely what's causing your headache. The good news is, if you're able to switch to the terminal mode using CRTL-ALT-F1 you're not actually locked up.

Here's a link that I found that might help:
http://xpressrazor.wordpress.com/201...-linux-ubuntu/

Unfortunately, I'm not much of a laptop guy and definitely not an ATI guy. Hopefully, someone with experience with this issue will come along.

[asdinnie]

Thanks oshunluvr

I have got a fglrx install roughly working. Its got a screen going now with usable boundaries, however the GLX is not quite there.
I'm putting it into the hardware category to see how it's solved.

Thanks for your help

Andy

[walttheboss]

Hello Thread members,

This thread is the exact thing that has been crashing two laptop installs in my ComSci class I am teaching at school. Two of the student's laptops are smaller (3yr old) laptops and both work initially after the 13.04 (64 bit) install. However after updating all the packages they lose the ability to manage and go to a black screen after password entry.

If you have learned anything new that would convince x to only use one screen instead of trying to use two (when only one is actually there) that would be a big help.

Thanks in advance,
Walt

[asdinnie]

Hi Walt

It appears that at default install (without fglrx) gives you the same problem as me.

My only solution (I found) is to install the fglrx (ATI non-free) drivers instead of the free ones.
This way the default "free" driver is bypassed so it does not get in the way. Then you'll end up with a workable system.
I have an issue with mine but am living with it until the next Kubuntu is released. Then I'll do a clean install and wipe it out.

This link might work well (lots of positive feedback), as I cannot remember where I read it up originally.
BTW It shows there is a "funny" with the intel drivers which might be the root of these dual screen problems.
http://askubuntu.com/questions/20511...rivers-to-work

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Andy

[walttheboss]

Andy,

Thanks for the quick reply. I will give it a go. Have to wait for two weeks till class meets again but will get back to you.

Sincerely,
Walt