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[Hardware] Sorta but not really: Four monitors on the PC but only two will display

Linux Kernel, Network, and Services configuration.
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MikeLieberman
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[Hardware] Sorta but not really: Four monitors on the PC but only two will display

#1 Post by MikeLieberman »

I have a new install on a unit what was running Windows 10 (but no longer). It has four monitors.
  • Two are connected to the onboard system board.
    Two are connected to GT-610 adapter.
    I have four options for monitors in the BIOS. When running under Windows, it was just a question of how to determine which was primary. All four worked at all times.
    Debian can use both video systems -- Just not at the same time!
    • Under Debian:
      Three of BIOS options allow the two monitors connected to the GT-610 to display.
      One of those knows about the Intel HD connected two displays and the mouse pointer displays on the other two, but nothing else displays. Draging something into it is like a blackhole.
      When I set two of the other options Debian sees the GT-610 only.
      One setting works on the Intel HD attached displays only
NONE display on all four. EXCEPT during the pre-graphics text in the initial loading of the Debian OS. Then the lines of text appear on all four monitors.
The proper drivers are all installed.
Clearly the hardware supports all four and has since 2012 under Windows on ALL four BIOS settings.
As a VM of Debian running on top of Windows I was able to even set it up to use all four monitors.
I have looked at syslog. When The GT-610 is the board it is using, I see an error about the Intel drivers. When the Intel HD displays are working, there is no message at all about the GT-610. It's like the board isn't there. There are error messages about the ACPI but nothing to point to video.
How do I force Bulleseye 11.5 to use all four? Is Debian the wrong OS for this?

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kent_dorfman766
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Re: [Hardware] Sorta but not really: Four monitors on the PC but only two will display

#2 Post by kent_dorfman766 »

I've used mutliple monitors for years and years: sometimes more than two, but I prefer a separate X display for each monitor. I suspect your problem is as simple as crafting the correct VGA device entries in your xorg.conf file.

----------------------------------------------
Section "Device"

    #Option        "UseEDID" "False"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 1060 3GB"
    Option         "AllowGLXWithComposite" "true"
    Option         "RenderAccel" "true"
    BusID          "PCI:5:0:0"
    Screen          0
EndSection

Section "Device"
    #Option        "UseEDID" "False"
    Identifier     "Device1"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 1060 3GB"
    BusID          "PCI:5:0:0"
    Screen          1
EndSection


codejp3
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Re: [Hardware] Sorta but not really: Four monitors on the PC but only two will display

#3 Post by codejp3 »

I just went through a similar ordeal, but only 2 monitors on 2 adapters. Probably quite a bit from that topic that you could put to use troubleshooting this, and to help set up your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file:
viewtopic.php?t=153609

Code: Select all

Xorg -configure
will help you generate the settings for the onboard adapter.

Code: Select all

nvidia-xconfig
will help you generate the settings for the GT-610

Then you can blend the 2 files together to make 1 file that covers all adapters/monitors.

You can't have xserver running when you do those generations either, which makes it slightly more complicated, but infinitely more frustrating trying to make a working xorg.conf file.

Hard lesson learned for me is that there is no easy way to setup multiple monitors on multiple adapters, and preserve dag-n-drop window capabilities across all of the monitors...like it was a giant single workspace. You'll probably end up being able to drag-n-drop windows between the 2 monitors on one adapter, and the 2 monitors on the other adapter, but not freely between all 4. The mouse will travel freely between all 4, but drag-n-drop windows will have limitations, on a per-adapter basis.

Also, if you are manually setting up an xorg.conf file, some display-settings GUI programs will not work anymore. Found this out the hard way with XFCE. May also apply to other desktop environments.

If those are absolutely a critical MUST for you, then your best bet is to use a single adapter for all 4 monitors.

While I'm sure it's POSSIBLE to resolve those quirky issues with multiple adapters, it's certainly not an easy task, or straightforward at all.

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