[SOLVED] - Configure KDE multiple monitor on Lenovo G450 laptop

[cjcboy2]

Hello!

I need help!... I am currently hooking my laptop on Samsung SyncMaster T220 19" LCD but I cannot adjust it's screen resolution anymore. Its maximum resolution is only 1024 x 768. Is there a way to adjust it?

Thanks a lot!

Kudos!

[evervigilant]

Hi cjcboy2 - welcome to the forums!

Just so we're clear, do you mean to say that you are unable to adjust the resolution of the SyncMaster regardless of what computer it is connected to and that it is permanently stuck at 1024x768, or do you mean that you're not able to change the output resolution within PCLOS?

If the latter, what have you tried so far?  It looks like that monitor's native resolution is 1680x1050, and while I've seen a couple different video cards listed for the G450, both should be capable of much higher resolution than 1024x768.  If you're having trouble getting PCLOS set to your desired resolution, are you sure that PCLOS is using the correct driver for your video card?  You can check in the PCLOS Control Center (PC>System>Configuration>Configure Your Computer or just type pcc at a command line) under Hardware.  The button for 'Browse and configure hardware' can tell you which video card is installed and which driver (module) has been chosen for it.  Why don't you check that and report back with what you've got?

Good luck.

[cjcboy2]

Yes I am stuck with 1024 x 768 resolution... As per checking of hardware under PCC, I am not able to see any video card drivers installed for my lenovo G450 laptop...


Thanks

[cjcboy2]

I re-checked my configuration and PCLOS has a driver for my video card... refer below:


Identification
Vendor: ‎Intel Corporation
Description: ‎Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller
Media class: ‎VGA compatible controller
Connection
Bus: ‎PCI
PCI domain: ‎0
Bus PCI #: ‎0
PCI device #: ‎2
PCI function #: ‎0
PCI revision: ‎0x09
Vendor ID: ‎0x8086
Device ID: ‎0x2a42
Sub vendor ID: ‎0x17aa
Sub device ID: ‎0x3a02
Misc
Module: ‎Card:Intel 810 and later

Thanks

[evervigilant]

Alright, based on that info the correct driver may have been chosen.  I'm not sure if there's a better driver, for it but let's see what we do using that one.

Currently are you trying to override the built-in monitor and just use the external, duplicate the desktop on both monitors, or use an extended desktop that spans across both monitors?  I suspect that it's trying to use the settings for the laptop's built-in monitor for the external and that this is why you're currently stuck at such a low resolution.

[cjcboy2]

I configured this to use an extended desktop... just an extension of my laptop screen for me to have more space... so how to i maximize my resolution?

Thanks again...

[evervigilant]

Well, the success I've had with doing extended desktops has been with an ATI card, but I'll see what I can recommend.  After getting the card to see and display to both monitors using the ATI software, I believe the next step was to go into the KDE Control Center.  Since your card is already aware of and displaying on the second monitor, try Peripherals > Display in the KDE Control Center.  For mine I believe I had to go to the Multiple Monitors tab, enter the height and width of Display 1, the laptop screen, (if they weren't already there), then enter the width of Display 1 as the X Coordinate for Display 2 and update its height and width if necessary.  I believe that after doing that and applying the changes, the Screen Size drop down on the Size & Orientation tab had been updated.

I have some notes elsewhere on the steps I took, so I'll see if I can find them.  In the mean time, I know there are some other threads on these boards that led me to the steps I used, so you might be able to find them if you search for phrases like "x coordinate" and such.

[cjcboy2]

I wasn't able to edit parameters in KCC (Multiple Monitors) .. coordinates and dimensions are disabled for manual value input...

[evervigilant]

Hey, I haven't forgotten you, cjcboy2.  I've been looking for my notes on how I got that working.  I found that Texstar re-posted the most to-the-point version of instructions I posted at one point under Tips  here:  http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,59690.0.html.  Steps 1 through 5 on that are mostly related to ATI in particular, but there are some things that might be useful for you since your video card seems to already recognize both monitors.  First off, always follow step 0 and back up your xorg.conf so you can revert if something gets messed up.  The step which I think has the best chance of helping you:

6. Add "Virtual    xxxx yyyy" to SubSection "Display" under Section "Screen" in /etc/X11/xorg.conf with a text editor (where xxxx is your external max horizontal resolution and yyyy is your external max vertical resolution).
...

So on mine it reads:

Code: [Select]

    Subsection "Display"
        Depth 24
        Modes "1280x800"
        Virtual 1280 1024
    EndSubsection

The Modes line is the built-in laptop monitor, and the Virtual is the external, so in your case "Virtual 1680 1050" might work.  Try that, restart X, and then see if it helps.

I'll see if I can find my more extensive notes in case that helps me think of anything else.

In the meantime if anyone else has any ideas, please jump in... 

[cjcboy2]

I cannot locate my xorg.conf, under the directory etc/X11....

[evervigilant]

I don't know yet, but I suppose it's possible that the file is in a different location or is deprecated by something else if you're using PCLOS 2010.  Are you using 2010?

And does anyone who's reading this thread know whether PCLOS 2010 has switched from xorg.conf to something else?

If you're not using 2010, try this at a command line:

Code: [Select]

[you@localhost ~]$ cd /etc/X11
[you@localhost X11]$ ls

If you don't see xorg.conf in the resulting list, please copy and paste the entire list here.

[cjcboy2]

I already located my xorg.conf file... see details:
-------------------------------------------------------

 File generated by XFdrake (rev )

# **********************************************************************
# Refer to the xorg.conf man page for details about the format of
# this file.
# **********************************************************************

Section "ServerFlags"
    Option "DontZap" "False" # disable <Ctrl><Alt><BS> (server abort)
    #DontZoom # disable <Ctrl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching)
    AllowMouseOpenFail # allows the server to start up even if the mouse does not work
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension
    Load "v4l" # Video for Linux
    Load "extmod"
    Load "glx" # 3D layer
    Load "dri" # direct rendering
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier "monitor1"
    VendorName "Generic"
    ModelName "Flat Panel 1024x768"
    HorizSync 31.5-48.0
    VertRefresh 56.0-65.0

    # TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output.
    # 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync
    ModeLine "768x576"     50.00  768  832  846 1000   576  590  595  630

Type  :quit<Enter>  to exit Vim                                         1,1           Top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[evervigilant]

I believe there's some more to your xorg.conf than is showing, particularly because what's visible doesn't show an 'EndSection' to close the "Monitor" section that is at the bottom.  Can you paste more of it by scrolling within vi or by opening the file using Kwrite instead?

Thanks.

[cjcboy2]

Hi there!

Here is the new config file:
----------------------------------------------------------

# File generated by XFdrake (rev )

# **********************************************************************
# Refer to the xorg.conf man page for details about the format of
# this file.
# **********************************************************************

Section "ServerFlags"
    Option "DontZap" "False" # disable <Ctrl><Alt><BS> (server abort)
    #DontZoom # disable <Ctrl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching)
    AllowMouseOpenFail # allows the server to start up even if the mouse does not work
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension
    Load "v4l" # Video for Linux
    Load "extmod"
    Load "glx" # 3D layer
    Load "dri" # direct rendering
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier "monitor1"
    VendorName "Generic"
    ModelName "Flat Panel 1024x768"
    HorizSync 31.5-48.0
    VertRefresh 56.0-65.0
   
    # TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output.
    # 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync
    ModeLine "768x576"     50.00  768  832  846 1000   576  590  595  630
   
    # 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync
    ModeLine "768x576"     63.07  768  800  960 1024   576  578  590  616
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier "device1"
    VendorName "Intel Corporation"
    BoardName "Intel 810 and later"
    Driver "intel"
    Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "screen1"
    Device "device1"
    Monitor "monitor1"
    DefaultColorDepth 24
   
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth 8
        Modes "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "640x480" "480x360" "320x240"
    EndSubsection
   
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth 15
        Modes "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "640x480" "480x360" "320x240"
    EndSubsection
   
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth 16
        Modes "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "640x480" "480x360" "320x240"
    EndSubsection
   
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth 24
        Modes "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "640x480" "480x360" "320x240"
    EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier "layout1"
    Screen "screen1"
EndSection

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[cjcboy2]

Any updates on this one?

Thanks