FC6 with 2 Nvidia cards

[Ematthe1]

I have Fedora Core 6 running on an AMD Athlon64 in 32 bit mode. I installed on this new hardware with a GeForce Nvidia FX 5200 PCI video card and installed the nvidia drivers from livna (kmod-livna). That ran fine. I have now added a GeForce Nvidia 7300 LE PCIE card and am trying to set up dual monitors with a generic CRT on each card. I first tried to run both monitors with dual monitor setup - blank screen (blinking light) on the new monitor and normal output on the old monitor. I then tried to run just a single monitor using the new 7300 PCIE card but with the PCI card still physically plugged in - no video at all. It seems that nothing is being sent to the new monitor and new 7300 PCIE, although the Nvidia setup show that the new video card ia being recognized.

I assume (!!!) that both cards use the same nvidia driver that I installed for the original 5200 PCI and that the new 7300 card on the PCIE bus should be detected automatically. Apparently not, and I don't know where to go from here. I will attach my xorg.conf as it is presently found, and hope someone can give me a push in the tight direction to get this working.

I am, incidentally, a relative newbie although old, and not the sharpest tack in the box.

Thanks for any and all help. Matt

# Xorg configuration created by system-config-display

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Multihead layout"
Screen 0 "Screen0" LeftOf "Screen1"
Screen 1 "Screen1" 0 0
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
Option "Xinerama" "off"
Option "Clone" "on"
EndSection

Section "Files"
ModulePath "/usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/nvidia"
ModulePath "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
Identifier "Monitor1"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Monitor 1024x768"
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
HorizSync 31.5 - 57.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 70.0
Option "dpms"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
Identifier "Monitor1"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Monitor 1024x768"
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
HorizSync 31.5 - 57.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 70.0
Option "dpms"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Videocard0"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Videocard1"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "Videocard Vendor"
BoardName "nVidia Corporation GeForce 7300 LE"
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"
BusID "PCI:5:0:0"
Screen 1
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Videocard0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen1"
Device "Videocard1"
Monitor "Monitor1"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
EndSection

[lazlow]

I think you need two monitor sections as well. The general name for what you are doing is dualhead. Here is another xorg.conf I found:

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "multihead layout"
Screen 0 "Screen_1" 0 0
Screen 1 "Screen_2" RightOf "Screen_1"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
Option "Xinerama" "on"
EndSection

Section "Files"
FontPath "unix/:7100"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe"
Load "extmod"
Load "fbdevhw"
Load "glx"
Load "record"
Load "freetype"
Load "type1"
Load "synaptics"
Load "dri"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "gb"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Matrox_1"
Driver "mga"
BusID "PCI:2:0:0"
Screen 0
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Matrox_2"
Driver "mga"
BusID "PCI:2:0:0"
Screen 1
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor_1"
Option "DPMS"
HorizSync 56.4
VertRefresh 69.9
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor_2"
HorizSync 31.5 - 57.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 70.0
Option "dpms"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen_1"
Device "Matrox_1"
Monitor "Monitor_1"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen_2"
Device "Matrox_2"
Monitor "Monitor_2"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
EndSection



Section "DRI"
Mode 0666
EndSection


Good Luck
Lazlow

[Ematthe1]

Thank you for your input. I had hoped that there was a gui interface that would help with the configuration. I'm sure if I start manually setting up the configuration file, I will dig myself a large hole and crawl in! I have found a BIOS setting that selects which card to use first - PCI or PCIE - and if I select the PCIE I get a display on the new card and monitor, but nothing on the old card. That at least proves that the hardware is working and being recognized.
At this point I have some basic questions that I don't know how to answer:

Is the kmod-nvidia driver that I installed from Livna all that I need - one driver for both cards?

Should I be able to configure both cards and screens from System-administration-display-dual-head?

What else do I need to configure with the applications-systemtools-nvidia display settings screen?

Again, thanks for any and all input. Like everything else, this is probably easy if you know how.

Matt

[Ematthe1]

After some more flailing around, I have reconfigured with the display manager and seem to have two monitor sections as indicated above. I have verified that my PCIE bus is 5.0.0 and have established that screen 0 on Device 0 attached to videocard 0 is the one functioning. screen 1 on Device 1 (Samsung 753DF) on videocard 1 (nvidia 7300LE on PCIE bus) in never being started - blank screen with flashing inactive light. I am about stumped. By the way, what is xinerama and where does it fit into this pciture, if at all?

The current xorg.conf follows:

# Xorg configuration created by system-config-display

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Multihead layout"
Screen 0 "Screen0" LeftOf "Screen1"
Screen 1 "Screen1" 0 0
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
Option "Xinerama" "off"
Option "Clone" "on"
EndSection

Section "Files"
ModulePath "/usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/nvidia"
ModulePath "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
Identifier "Monitor0"
ModelName "CTX VL950 series, EX950 series, PL9 series"
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
HorizSync 30.0 - 95.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 160.0
Option "dpms"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
Identifier "Monitor1"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Samsung SyncMaster 753DF(X)/703DF(X)/783DF(X)/CD173A(T)"
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
HorizSync 30.0 - 71.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 160.0
Option "dpms"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Videocard0"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Videocard1"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "Videocard Vendor"
BoardName "nVidia Corporation GeForce 7300 LE"
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"
BusID "PCI:5:0:0"
Screen 1
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Videocard0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen1"
Device "Videocard1"
Monitor "Monitor1"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Thanks for any comments. Matt

[Dies]

Have you tried configuring it through 'nvidia-settings', is the new monitor shown under X Server Display Configuration?

If it is, try configuring it then save the file to your desktop and adjust your xorg.conf accordingly.

Xinerama

The Xinerama extension takes multiple physical X screens (possibly spanning multiple GPUs), and binds them into one logical X screen. This allows windows to be dragged between GPUs and to span across multiple GPUs.

From the Nvidia README which you can find here:

http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86/1.0-9631/README/index.html

[Ematthe1]

Still floundering, despite lots of willing help. I have quit (perhaps temporarily) the attempt to use two video cards, and am using only the Nvidia 7300 LE in the PCIE slot. Having set the bios to use that as the first video card, it comes up OK with one monitor and if the second monitor is attached it also displays all of the startup text, until starting X. I am still very confused about how to get the proper drivers for this card. Elsewhere in the forum there is a severe warning about using drivers direct from NVIDIA. The NV driver which comes with FC6 does no seem to do the trick, and when I install kmod-nvidia-96xx and xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-96xx from Livna, which seems to be the correct driver for the 7300 LE, I don't get the fully functional NVIDIA display settings tool - no ability to make changes and can't get the second monitor set up.

All I want to do is find the right drivers for the 7300LE and connect two monitors with the ability to mouse between them. This does not seem to be a simple task with one answer.

Still floundering. Matt

[lazlow]

Unfortunately, you may have to resort to the drivers straight from Nvidia. My best guess is that the options you need were not built into Livna's version. While it sucks for you, it probably boils down to them providing a stable kmod that works for the majority of people. Realatively speaking not that many people run two monitors (I am not saying that it is a rare thing). In the event you find an easy way to do this you MIGHT consider packaging it for others(just a thought).

Sorry I could not help.

Lazlow

[Dies]

and when I install kmod-nvidia-96xx and xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-96xx from Livna, which seems to be the correct driver for the 7300 LE

Sounds like you may have the wrong driver try removing it and re-installing.
The latest driver from Livna would be the 9755 for your card.

yum install kmod-nvidia -y

Should be all that's needed, from there you should be able to use the nvidia-settings utility to do what you want, *should*. Just choose to save the file after configuring and then modify your xorg.conf to make it global.

I don't believe any functionality is stripped out of the Nvidia drivers when they're packaged for Livna, but I think Firewing is the maintainer so he would know for sure.

[Ematthe1]

YIPPEE!!! I have stumbled on a setting that works almost as I want it to. In fact I was using the nvidia driver 9755 as reported by the NVIDIA settings screen. (obtained from Livna kmod-nvidia) I did some configuration within the NVIDIA settings screen, saved the file, tweeked the HorizSync and VertSync values which were not set, and the final xorg.conf which I am using I will post below. I can drag a screen from one CRT to the other, I can start an applicatioin on one CRT and have it run on the other. In short, it seems to work like I wanted. The only aberration that I find is that the picture which I use for a desktop is stretched across two screens, making my lighthouse picture look really weird. That's not a big deal, and I am a happy camper.

Thank you to those friendly Fedorites who offered suggestions. I hope that this followup will be helpful to someone else who is trying to set up a dual monitor setup. Matt

# nvidia-settings: X configuration file generated by nvidia-settings
# nvidia-settings: version 1.0 (buildmeister@builder3) Mon Feb 26 23:39:38 PST 2007

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Layout0"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
Screen 1 "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Files"
RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
ModulePath "/usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/nvidia"
ModulePath "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
FontPath "unix/:7100"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx"
Load "dbe"
Load "extmod"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
Option "Xinerama" "1"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

# generated from default
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "auto"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

# generated from data in "/etc/sysconfig/keyboard"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

# HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Unknown"
ModelName "Samsung S/M 753DF"
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
HorizSync 30.0 - 70.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 160.0
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

# HorizSync source: unknown, VertRefresh source: unknown
Identifier "Monitor1"
VendorName "Unknown"
ModelName "Chuntex"
### Comment all HorizSync and VertSync values to use DDC:
HorizSync 30.0 - 95.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 160.0
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Videocard0"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "NVIDIA Corporation"
BoardName "GeForce 7300 LE"
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"
BusID "PCI:5:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Videocard1"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "NVIDIA Corporation"
BoardName "GeForce 7300 LE"
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"
BusID "PCI:5:0:0"
Screen 1
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Videocard0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
Option "metamodes" "CRT-0: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen1"
Device "Videocard1"
Monitor "Monitor1"
DefaultDepth 24
Option "metamodes" "CRT-1: 1024x768 +0+0"
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

[Ematthe1]

Just a quick follow up. For what it's worth, I always failed to get the dual monitor setup running when I tried to configure dual monitors with the Fedora Core 6 Administration -> display setup routine. When I finally got it working I set Fedora display setup as a single monitor setup and them went to the nvidia display settings to configure dual monitors. I tweeked the sync settings within xorg.conf and did not ever touch the Fedora display settings, which nvidia seemed to adjust properly according to its owm needs. The resolution which was finally set was 1680x1050, although the nvidia dimensions show 2048x768 which makes sense based on my setting of 1024x768 (x 2 screens). I would never have figured this out without nvidia intervening. In short, leave the Fedora settings alone and let the nvidia display setting make the adjustments. Matt