[SOLVED] Dual monitor size issue

[StephenRan]

So I've been wanting to switch back from win 7 to linux for a while now, and have decided to come back to fedora. The only problem is that i haven't been able to get my dual monitors setup correctly no matter what I try.

Here's my setup: 1440x900 dvi monitor and a 1920x1080 vga monitor, along with an ati radeon HD 7000 series card.

here's the error I get when I try and set the correct resolutions in displays:

requested position/size for CRTC 148 is outside the allowed limit: position=(1440, 0), size=(1920, 1080), maximum=(1920, 1920)

and then afterwards a

GDBus.Error:org.gtk.GDBus.UnmappedGError.Quark._gn ome_2drr_2derror_2dquark.Code3: requested position/size for CRTC 148 is outside the allowed limit: position=(1440, 0), size=(1920, 1080), maximum=(1920, 1920)

I've searched around and tried a few things already, including this guide: http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=155503 to no avail.

I've also heard that the main issue here is that the virtual desktop size is simply set too small and that all I need to do is create a xorg.conf file and set it larger. here's what I tried for that:

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Device "Default Video Device"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Virtual 3840 1080
EndSubSection
EndSection

I'm thinking that if I was putting in the correct info in the xorg.conf file that I would be able to get it to work. I just don't know how to write the file, and so that's where I need some help. Please help me get this running so I can come back to linux again, and thanks in advance!

[MauserM98]

Do you use Gnome?
If so I had only problems with dual monitors with Gnome. Frankly it never worked. That was the end of my experimenting with Gnome 3.
Try KDE or XFCE.
I use KDE and dual monitors has never been a problem since.

[adamk75]

What is the output of 'xrandr'?

[StephenRan]

I did a fresh install after breaking everything trying to install proprietary drivers and catalyst control center and now the output of xrandr is

xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 640 x 400, current 1440 x 900, maximum 1440 x 1024
default connected 1440x900+0+0 0mm x 0mm
1280x1024 0.0
1440x900 0.0*
1280x960 0.0
1152x864 0.0
1024x768 0.0
800x600 0.0
640x480 0.0
720x400 0.0
1440x1024 0.0

I noticed that it won't even detect my second monitor this time, but that might change after i update the system and will post back if it does.

I also tried an install of the kde distro chakra linux and managed to get dual screens working with catalyst control center there fairly easily, but I'd much rather have fedora running on gnome 3 if possible.

EDIT:
ran the update and it still doesn't recognize my second monitor. I don't understand why this install is any different than the last....

here is xrandr output after the update:

xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 1440 x 900, current 1440 x 900, maximum 1440 x 900
default connected 1440x900+0+0 0mm x 0mm
1440x900 0.0*

[george_toolan]

Try to install the proprietary catalyst driver from rpmfusion

yum install kmod-catalyst

[StephenRan]

Originally Posted by george_toolan

Try to install the proprietary catalyst driver from rpmfusion

yum install kmod-catalyst

I installed the drivers from rpm fusion and used catalyst control center to set dual screen up. It worked, and that was incredibly simple. Thank you so much for helping with this one, even though the solution was so simple that I facepalmed as soon as it worked.

---------- Post added at 01:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:29 AM ----------

Well I spoke too soon. I booted up this morning and it started in fallback mode. It was also cloned in a strange way, there were two sets of four workspaces, where each set was just a duplicate of the previous set. Every time I reboot it adds another set of those cloned workspaces. I'll attach a screenshot for clarity (not that I only have one browser window open in the primary workspace, not in multiple).




new xrandr output:

xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1440 x 960, maximum 3360 x 1920
DFP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DFP2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DFP3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DFP4 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DFP5 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DFP6 connected 1440x900+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 408mm x 255mm
1440x900 59.9*+ 75.0
1280x1024 75.0 60.0
1280x960 60.0
1280x800 74.9 59.8
1152x864 75.0 59.9
1280x768 74.9 59.8
1280x720 74.9 59.8
1024x768 75.0 70.1 60.0
800x600 72.2 75.0 60.3 56.2
640x480 75.0 72.8 67.0 59.9
DFP7 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
CRT1 connected 1280x960+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 1600mm x 900mm
1920x1080 60.0 +
1680x1050 60.0
1280x1024 60.0
1280x960 60.0*
1280x768 60.0
1280x720 60.0
1024x768 60.0
800x600 60.3
640x480 59.9

Oh and I can't open the system settings dialogue anymore.




UPDATE:
So here's what I ended up doing to solve the issues. From a clean install I did all updates, updated the kernel, installed kernel headers, and then installed drivers from rpm fusion. I think the reason it broke before was that I must have forgotten to update the kernel before installing the drivers (and I got a kernel failed to compile error message upon restarting the computer).

Super simple solution to the problem, but the reason it was so hard to solve was because there's so much irrelevant information out there. I looked through several guides giving completely wrong suggestions as to how to fix these dual screen issues, and that got me looking in the wrong direction for my own solution. Hopefully this helps some other ATI user out there,

[trekkie690]

Same thing happened to me. did this command

sudo aticonfig --initial=dual-head

based on a link i found, and all it did is force to fall back mode, and then the workspace would replicate and eventually my work space become a line across my screen. Otherwise i couldnt figure out how to undo the command to restore. Either way did a fresh install and my Fedora is back to the way it was before cannot duel screen on Fedora.
BTW i my xrand dump

xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 1920 x 1920
DFP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DFP2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DFP3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DFP4 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DFP5 connected 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 477mm x 268mm
1920x1080 60.0*+ 50.0 59.9 30.0 25.0 30.0
1776x1000 50.0 59.9 25.0 30.0
1680x1050 60.0 30.0
1400x1050 60.0 30.0
1600x900 60.0 30.0
1280x1024 60.0 30.0
1440x900 60.0 30.0
1280x960 60.0 30.0
1152x864 60.0 30.0
1280x768 60.0 30.0
1280x720 50.0 59.9
1024x768 60.0 30.0
1152x648 50.0 59.9
800x600 60.0 30.0
720x480 60.0 30.0
640x480 60.0 30.0
DFP6 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
CRT1 connected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
1280x1024 60.0 + 76.0 75.0 67.0
1280x960 60.0
1152x864 75.0 60.0
1280x768 60.0
1280x720 60.0
1024x768 75.0 70.1 66.0 60.0
800x600 72.2 75.0 60.3 56.2
640x480 75.0 72.8 67.0 59.9

and of course i have a Radeon 7750HD which of course lspci gives me this

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Device 683f

I do have the catalyst drivers installed, just need to figure out how to increase the virual desktop and make it so Gnome see's it as well

[StephenRan]

If you open catalyst control center (as root) you should be able to set all your settings there with no problem. You will have to restart every time you apply new changes however. In the end I didn't need to edit any config files manually at all.