The New Hotness

After considerable thrashing, this hand-tweaked version of /etc/X11/xorg.conf seems to do what’s needed for Xubuntu 9.10. It includes only display setup stuff; all the input device configuration is now tucked away in HAL FDI files.

I used the nvidia-settings control panel to create a basic xorg.conf file that used separate X sessions, saved it in my home directory, then tweaked it in small increments until everything worked. Or, more precisely, until things stopped failing…

Some observations:

• Obviously, this uses the proprietary nVidia driver
• The option Rotate CCW line must be commented out (or omitted) to avoid killing xrandr, because many utilities expect xrandr
• Use the Xubuntu display setup applet to apply the xrandr rotation; just specify Screen 2 as rotated left
• X locks up occasionally when Wacom tablet cursor falls into the seam between the displays. Make sure you can ssh into the box to restart X: an X crash kills the keyboard, too!
• Metamodes must specify the exact monitor resolution
• The nVidia logo doesn’t appear on either monitor during boot, even with NoLogo turned off. I like the logo, because it gives an early heads-up when something goes wrong.

The xorg.conf file:

Section "ServerLayout"
 Identifier     "RotatedPortrait"
 Screen      0  "Landscape" 0 0
 Screen      1  "Portrait" RightOf "Landscape"
EndSection

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

Section "ServerFlags"
 Option         "Xinerama" "0"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
 # HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
 Identifier     "Dell2001FP"
 VendorName     "Dell"
 ModelName      "DELL 2001FP"
 HorizSync       31.0 - 80.0
 VertRefresh     56.0 - 76.0
 Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
 # HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
 Identifier     "Dell2005FP"
 VendorName     "Dell"
 ModelName      "DELL 2005FPW"
 HorizSync       30.0 - 83.0
 VertRefresh     56.0 - 75.0
 Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
 Identifier     "GF9400_0"
 Driver         "nvidia"
 VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
 BoardName      "GeForce 9400 GT"
 BusID          "PCI:1:0:0"
 Screen          0
EndSection

Section "Device"
 Identifier     "GF9400_1"
 Driver         "nvidia"
 VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
 BoardName      "GeForce 9400 GT"
 BusID          "PCI:1:0:0"
 Screen          1
EndSection

Section "Screen"
 Identifier     "Landscape"
 Device         "GF9400_0"
 Monitor        "Dell2001FP"
 DefaultDepth    24
 Option         "TwinView" "0"
 Option         "metamodes" "DFP-0: 1600x1200 +0+0"
 Option         "NoLogo" "Off"
 SubSection     "Display"
 Depth       24
 EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
 Identifier     "Portrait"
 Device         "GF9400_1"
 Monitor        "Dell2005FP"
 DefaultDepth    24
 Option         "TwinView" "0"
 Option         "metamodes" "DFP-1: 1680x1050 +0+0"
 Option         "NoLogo" "Off"
 Option         "RandRRotation" "On"
#    Option         "Rotate" "CCW"
 SubSection     "Display"
 Depth       24
 EndSubSection
EndSection