Hard help: ATI Linux X.org Dual Screen. - Help.com

ATI Linux X.org Dual Screen.

I’ve searched online for help, but I don’t think anyone has tried what I’m trying to do before (or I’m just not using the right keywords).

I’m looking to setup X to work with dual screens (one on VGA, the other on DVI). But I wish to have seperate login on both screens (each screen with their own keyboard)

So that 2 screens can be powered by one machine but used by two people simultaneously.

I’d like to do this
A) Because I’m a student and energy bills are high.
B) So that my friends can use my PC while i’m using it on a seperate screen so they don’t interrupt my session

Hardware:
3.00 GHZ Pentium Dual Core
512MB Ram
ATI Radeon 9250 (Using OpenSource driver ati)
Generic AC97 Sound card
160GB Hard Disk

My current Linux flavor is Debian Linux (Etch 4.0), and I use X.org 7.0.

Is what i’m suggesting even possible, and how would I go about implementing a solution?

I was thinking that USB keyboards could be configured in X to allow them to be used on the separate screen.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.
I have quite a bit of experience using Linux, so I should be able to understand any reply given.

Many thanks,

This open post was written 5 months, 3 weeks ago | V/U/S: 689, 4, 1 | Edit Post | Leave a reply | Report Post

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Since writing this post debug117 may have helped people, but has not within the last 4 days. debug117 is a verified member, has been around for 6 months, 2 weeks and has 4 posts and 46 replies to their name.

Post Tags (10)

linux, Dual, keyboard, screen, Ati, Hard, Ati, Dual Screen, computing, xorg (How Tags Affect Reciprocity)

Replies (4)

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debug117 invited 1 user to read this post 5 months, 3 weeks ago.

Help me with: I had such a rubbish week.
yourabi offline Verified User (6 months, 2 weeks) Admin Help.com Volunteer Moderator Long Term User Shouts: 133 #
San Francisco, CA, US | 5 months, 3 weeks ago (2 days, 6 hours after post)

I’ve never done anything like this but you in X you can have two screens acting separately (not spanning)

Where it gets tricky (maybe impossible) is that i don’t know if you can associate an InputDevice to a specific Screen in /etc/x11/xorg.conf

Take a look at the X.org wiki: http://www.x.org/wiki/

Also consider asking on the Ubuntu forums — same as Debian but more friendly towards beginner questions

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yourabi offline Verified User (6 months, 2 weeks) Admin Help.com Volunteer Moderator Long Term User Shouts: 133 #
San Francisco, CA, US | 5 months, 3 weeks ago (2 days, 6 hours after post)

You might actually have to use Two separate ServerLayout sections, one with each of the Screens and InputDevices.

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debug117 offline Verified User (6 months, 2 weeks) Long Term User Shouts: 6 #
An Undisclosed Location | 5 months, 3 weeks ago (2 days, 6 hours after post)

I found a few links for commercial software to do it, but all the software I found didn’t do what I needed it too.

I believe I must use two graphics cards, because X doesn’t appear to be able to span two logins on the same card (for the way its built).

I tested out userful and it just died.

Yeah, I was thinking that you could use two ServerLayout sections, but I set it up, and both screens initiated but they wernt independant and the keyboard wouldn’t assign properly.

I was using PS/2 and a USB keyboard. I think I have to use another VGA card (possibly on PCI) to accomplish this task as it seems impossible for a single card (or at least my single card) to run two X processes at the same time.

I’m not gonna give up though.

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