Dual Screens, nvidia-settings, and sax2

[crito]

I'm new to OpenSuse, trying to mirror my PC screen to my TV screen (NOT Xinerama)

I have set this up before on Fedora with no problem. Once I have the nvidia drivers installed I could run nvidia-settings, make my adjustments, and both screens were up. After running nvidia-setup with Suse, I have one working display and the other shows my desktop but nothing launched from display0 is mirrored to display1.
So I launch sax2 -r, change resolution settings on both primary and secondary displays, check "Activate Dual Head Mode', and set it to 'Cloned Multihead'.
After reboot I now have one X-display not launching at all. And if I go back to nvidia-settings it has been changed by the sax2 settings. The resolution is changed back to default 1024x768 and it has been changed from 'seperate x-screens' to 'multiview', among other things.
I can give you my xorg.conf if necessary, but what I am really looking for is an explanation of the correlation and (apparent) conflicts between nvidia-settings and sax2. It seems that in my googling I read somewhere that sax2 shouldn't be touched, but I cant figure out any other way to mirror with the nvidia-settings alone
Any help would be appreciated.
thx
m

[gogalthorp]

Ok Sax2 and at least part of the nvidia server settings simply modify the X configuration file /etc/X11/xorg.conf

The nvidia program and sax2 are essentially making changes that the other does not know or understand.

Does that help?

[crito]

Well, no not really...

I understand that nvidia-settings and sax2 are configuring my xorg.conf file. And it has become painfully obvious to me that nvidia-settings and sax2 do not play well together. But by only adjusting nvidia-settings I do not get 2 monitors up and running. In Fedora, this was all I had to do. With Suse (after tweaking nvidia-settings) my computer monitor works fine but my TV monitor shows my desktop (the wallpaper anyway) but with no icons, the taskbar on the TV shows up like the original install taskbar did before I tweaked it to my liking, and if I open any applications (Firefox for instance) on either my computer monitor OR the TV monitor, the app only opens on the computer monitor. So something else needs to be adjusted. If I go into sax2 -r and adjust my screen resolutions for both monitors and activate Dual Head Mode, Cloned Multihead I get a functioning desktop on my TV but it kills X on my computer monitor. It goes black. And, interestingly enough, when I go back to nvidia-settings my resolutions have changed back to default, the computer monitor has been disabled, AND twin-view is set, rather than the seperate X screens I had before sax2 became involved.

So what I need is for someone out there who has dealt with this contradiction between nvidia-settings and sax2 to help me to get past this. Do I use nvidia-settings only? Do I use sax2 only? Do I use bothof them, or something else? This is just weird...

m

[crito]

Although I seem to be talking to myself...

I'm now trying now to use only sax2 -r to configure my video monitors, leaving nvidia-settings alone.
Under Display 1 Card and Monitor Properties I set the native resolution of my first monitor (1440x900), activated Dual Head Mode (under this checkbox it states 'Activated in clone with 1920x1080), configured second monitor resolution (1920x1080), Cloned Multihead, tested (apparently tested fine) saved, rebooted. One thing I don't change (no exact matches) under the second monitor settings is 'Second Monitor -->Vesa 1440 1024x768@60Hz'. The second monitor resolution is, however, set at 1920x1080. After reboot, Screen 2 is now activated, but screen 1 wont pull up X (black screen).

Anyway, one thing I did notice this time through is that under Display 1 Card: NVIDIA Ge Force 8800GTS there is an option box. It appears to be defaulted to 'Twinview' (not what I want). All other options are highly cryptic. The only thing that looks close to what I may want is NVEmulate, but I have no idea if this is correct. A little bit of Googling turned up nothing

Any help out there? Below is my xorg.conf file. I'm not that much a Linux geek, a bit nervous about editing this by hand, but any suggestions would be appreciated.

m

linux-5mr8:/home/michael # cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
# /.../
# SaX generated X11 config file
# Created on: 2009-07-24T10:05:05-0500.
#
# Version: 8.1
# Contact: Marcus Schaefer <sax@suse.de>, 2005
# Contact: SaX-User list <https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/sax-users>
#
# Automatically generated by [ISaX] (8.1)
# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE!
#

Section "Files"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/local"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/URW"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/Speedo"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/PEX"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/cyrillic"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/latin2/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/latin2/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/latin2/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/latin2/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/latin7/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/baekmuk:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/japanese:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/kwintv"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/truetype"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/uni:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/CID"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/ucs/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/ucs/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/ucs/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/hellas/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/hellas/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/hellas/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/hellas/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/misc/sgi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/xtest"
FontPath "/opt/kde3/share/fonts"
InputDevices "/dev/gpmdata"
InputDevices "/dev/input/mice"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
Option "AllowMouseOpenFail" "on"
Option "ZapWarning" "on"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dri"
Load "dbe"
Load "freetype"
Load "extmod"
Load "glx"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "kbd"
Identifier "Keyboard[0]"
Option "Protocol" "Standard"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
Option "XkbModel" "microsoftpro"
Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
EndSection


Section "InputDevice"
Driver "mouse"
Identifier "Mouse[1]"
Option "Buttons" "14"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Name" "Logitech USB Receiver"
Option "Protocol" "explorerps/2"
Option "Vendor" "Sysp"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection


Section "Monitor"
Option "CalcAlgorithm" "XServerPool"
DisplaySize 305 230
HorizSync 50-70
Identifier "Monitor[0]"
ModelName "1440X900@60HZ"
Option "PreferredMode" "1440x900"
VendorName "--> VESA"
VertRefresh 50-60
UseModes "Modes[0]"
EndSection


Section "Modes"
Identifier "Modes[0]"
EndSection


Section "Screen"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1440x900" "1366x768" "1360x768" "1280x800" "1152x864" "1280x768" "1280x720" "1024x768" "1280x600" "1024x600" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1440x900" "1366x768" "1360x768" "1280x800" "1152x864" "1280x768" "1280x720" "1024x768" "1280x600" "1024x600" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1440x900" "1366x768" "1360x768" "1280x800" "1152x864" "1280x768" "1280x720" "1024x768" "1280x600" "1024x600" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1440x900" "1366x768" "1360x768" "1280x800" "1152x864" "1280x768" "1280x720" "1024x768" "1280x600" "1024x600" "800x600" "768x576" "640x480"
EndSubSection
Device "Device[0]"
Identifier "Screen[0]"
Monitor "Monitor[0]"
EndSection


Section "Device"
BoardName "GeForce 8800 GTS"
Driver "nvidia"
Identifier "Device[0]"
Option "SaXDualHead"
Option "TwinView"
Option "SaXDualMonitorVendor" "--> VESA"
Option "SaXDualOrientation" "RightOf"
Option "MetaModes" "1440x900,1920x1080;1366x768,1366x768;1360x768,136 0x768;1280x800,1280x800;1152x864,1152x864;1280x768 ,1280x768;1280x720,1280x720;1024x768,1024x768;1280 x600,1280x600;1024x600,1024x600;800x600,800x600;76 8x576,768x576;640x480,640x480"
Option "SaXDualResolution" "1920x1080"
Option "TwinViewOrientation" "Clone"
Option "SaXDualMode" "Clone"
Option "SecondMonitorVertRefresh" "50-60"
Option "SaXDualHSync" "31-50"
Option "SaXDualMonitorModel" "1024X768@60HZ"
Option "SaXDualVSync" "50-60"
VendorName "NVIDIA"
EndSection



Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Layout[all]"
InputDevice "Keyboard[0]" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse[1]" "CorePointer"
Option "Clone" "off"
Option "Xinerama" "off"
Screen "Screen[0]"
EndSection


Section "DRI"
Group "video"
Mode 0660
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite" "on"
EndSection

[gogalthorp]

Purely guessing. try running the nvidia-settings program as root.

[crito]

Thx for the guess, but I'm always running nvidia-settings as root. The thing I cant get past is that sax2 and nvidia-settings seem to conflict with each other. If I just set nvidia-settings and don't touch sax2 I don't get an active second monitor. If I just set sax2 and leave nvidia settings alone (which I am playing with now) I get an active second monitor, but it kills the first monitor. I just went back and looked at nvidia-settings (mind you, I did a fresh install and haven't touched a thing there yet) it shows my second monitor (the TV) with a resolution of 1360x768 (not what I have configured in sax2) and the first monitor (my computer monitor) off. My sax2 settings are 1440x900 for the first monitor, and 1920x1080 for the second monitor. But I can guarantee you, if I were to fire up nvidia-settings (as root) and change the settings to match what I have in sax2 it would screw up the sax2 settings and not work. That is my problem, they conflict with each other and I haven't figured out a way to make both happy, or even which one or the other I should be configuring.
One thing I was noticing looking at my xorg.conf file is that it seems to be showing only one monitor (monitor0). And the monitor it is showing has a resolution of 1440x900, which is the res of my computer monitor. Problem is, I am viewing (and typing this out on) my TV monitor (which should be set at 1920x1080). I went back to sax2 to see if I could distinguish between monitor0 (which should be my computer monitor 1440x900) and the TV monitor (1920x1080). I really can't tell from sax2 which is which. You know, with nvidia-settings you can easily distinguish between the monitors, with sax2 not so much. Anyway, I'm betting by looking at my xorg.conf file that my TV is probably running 1440x900 (if I'm lucky)
I'll keep fiddling with it. This shouldn't be so hard to do. But I'm by no means a Linux guru (yet)

m

[gogalthorp]

This may help it is a very annotated xorg.conf file it does not address your problem directly but it may give some clues

Twin 17" LCD 1280 x 1024, ATI Redeon 9550 128mb video card, non-scroll wheel mouse - MEPIS Documentation Wiki.

and this may help

xorg.conf(5x) manual page