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| | == Video == | | == Video == |
| − | As predicted, the dual-monitor setup is not inherently available, it's only operating on the external screen and the maximum resolution available is lower than the screens native resolution. After reading [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=221174 this] on Ubuntu forums, it looks like my only option is Xinerama since it's the only dual-monitor solution which supports any arbitrary video hardware supported by XWindow.
| + | The Xorg 1.3 drivers which were introduced in 7.10 are far superior to prior ones and have a proper graphical interface to the multi-monitor setup. I still couldn't get dual-monitor working at the proper resolutions with my Toshiba Satellite A10 though. Also I found that the i810 driver was not able to work at my external widescreen resolution of 1680x1050, but changing to the "intel" driver in my xorg.conf fixed the problem. |
| − | :'''Note:''' to restart the window session quickly to test ''xorg.conf'' adjustments, use ''pkill Xorg''.
| |
| − | *[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=221174 Ubuntu forums: Dual Monitor HowTo]
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| − | *[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=1773624 Ubuntu forums: Xinerama]
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| − | *[[Nad/xorg.conf|My /etc/X11/xorg.conf file]]
| |
| − | *[[Nad/xorg.log|My xorg.log file]]
| |
| − | *[http://www.x.org/archive/X11R6.8.0/doc/xorg.conf.5.html About xorg.conf]
| |
| − | *[http://xorg.freedesktop.org/archive/X11R7.0/doc/html/xorg.conf.5.html xorg.conf syntax]
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| − | *[http://xorg.freedesktop.org/archive/X11R7.0/doc/html/i810.4.html i810 Driver Details]
| |
| − | *[http://intellinuxgraphics.org/documentation.html IntelLinuxGraphics Docs]
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| − | *[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=239894&highlight=xorg.conf Example of i810 config]
| |
| − | *[[G:xorg.conf+i810+dual|Google search for i810 configuration]]
| |
| − | *[http://lists.freedesktop.org/pipermail/xorg/2006-October/019115.html No need for Xinerama?]
| |
| − | *[http://doc.gwos.org/index.php/Dual_Monitor_Intel_i810_i915 Another i810 example]
| |
| − | *[[G:i810+different+resolutions|Google search for running i810 at different resolutions]]
| |
| − | *[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=281275 How to install the Intel modesetting driver]
| |
| − | *[http://absolutebeginner.wordpress.com/2006/08/20/absolute-beginner-guide-915resolution/ Beginners guide to 915resolution]
| |
| − | I tried installing the ''xserver-xorg-video-intel'' driver which has the new '''modesetting''' capability, but it fails with the following problem: | |
| − | :'''Note:''' this is actually not the problem because it's also present on successfull boots. The problem is an exception which seems to occur when failing to call ''xf86AllocateGARTMemory''.
| |
| − | {{code|<pre>
| |
| − | (EE) Detecting sil164
| |
| − | (EE) Unable to read from DVOI2C_E Slave 112
| |
| − | </pre>}}
| |
| − | I tried installing the ''915resolution'' hack, but still could not get the proper resolution on the external monitor. The monitor is being detected and communicated with properly, but the it falls back to 1024x768 saying that there's no mode called 1280x1024. I noticed that the two can run at different resolutions though, the external can run at 800x600 or 640x480 while the laptop panel remains at 1024x768.
| |
| − | {{code|<pre>
| |
| − | (II) I810(0): Polyview: Using hsync range of 30.00-82.00 kHz
| |
| − | (II) I810(0): Polyview: Using vrefresh range of 56.00-76.00 Hz
| |
| − | (II) I810(0): Not using mode "1280x1024" (no mode of this name)
| |
| − | (--) I810(0): Virtual size is 1024x768 (pitch 1024)
| |
| − | (**) I810(0): Built-in mode "1024x768"
| |
| − | (**) I810(0): Built-in mode "800x600"
| |
| − | (**) I810(0): Built-in mode "640x480"
| |
| − | (II) I810(0): Attempting to use 75.03Hz refresh for mode "1024x768" (854)
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| − | (II) I810(0): Attempting to use 75.00Hz refresh for mode "800x600" (852)
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| − | (II) I810(0): Attempting to use 75.00Hz refresh for mode "640x480" (850)
| |
| − | (**) I810(0): Display dimensions: (380, 300) mm
| |
| − | </pre>}}
| |
| − | Here's what the xorg log says about the 1280x1024 resolution which I can get to work in single monitor mode:
| |
| − | {{code|<pre>
| |
| − | (II) I810(0): Generic Monitor: Using hsync range of 30.00-82.00 kHz
| |
| − | (II) I810(0): Generic Monitor: Using vrefresh range of 56.00-76.00 Hz
| |
| − | (II) I810(0): Increasing the scanline pitch to allow tiling mode (1280 -> 2048).
| |
| − | (--) I810(0): Virtual size is 1280x1024 (pitch 2048)
| |
| − | (**) I810(0): *Built-in mode "1280x1024"
| |
| − | (**) I810(0): Built-in mode "1024x768"
| |
| − | (**) I810(0): Built-in mode "800x600"
| |
| − | (**) I810(0): Built-in mode "640x480"
| |
| − | (II) I810(0): Attempting to use 75.02Hz refresh for mode "1280x1024" (858)
| |
| − | (II) I810(0): Attempting to use 75.03Hz refresh for mode "1024x768" (854)
| |
| − | (II) I810(0): Attempting to use 75.00Hz refresh for mode "800x600" (852)
| |
| − | (II) I810(0): Attempting to use 75.00Hz refresh for mode "640x480" (850)
| |
| − | (**) I810(0): Display dimensions: (380, 300) mm
| |
| − | (**) I810(0): DPI set to (85, 86)
| |
| − | </pre>}}
| |
| − | I've also tried upgrading the xorg components to 1.3 and the kernel to 2.6.22 along with the kernel modules, and none of these things have fixed the crashing of the intel driver in dual monitor mode.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Here is an example of the partially working internal panel display.
| |
| − | | |
| − | [[Image:P7220161.JPG|thumb|left|300px]]
| |
| − | | |
| − | I got this effect again later where it covered the whole bottom screen, and I was able to see that it's actually the subtle colour fade of the ubuntu background image, but with the wrong palette information ;-)
| |
| − | | |
| − | I've re-installed a freash Feisty Fawn, but I came across a small tool called [[G:xrandr+xinerama|xrandr]] which allows adjustment of video properties at runtime. Unfortunately the one that comes with Feisty doesn't support dual display, so I'm doing a gutsy install of that on my nice new system :-/
| |
| − | | |
| − | It's upgrading these packages: <tt>libc6 libc6-i686 libslang2 tzdata util-linux xrandr</tt>
| |
| − | | |
| − | I have my doubts about this working though as many people report it not working with Xinerama - although those comments are from around 2005...
| |
| | | | |
| | == Email == | | == Email == |
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| | To install server software for running a local development environment for our wiki work, just run through the necessary items in the [[Debian Post Install]]. | | To install server software for running a local development environment for our wiki work, just run through the necessary items in the [[Debian Post Install]]. |
| | | | |
| − | == Software I'm Investigating == | + | === Sharing files with Samba === |
| − | *[http://www.burtonini.com/blog/computers/devilspie Devil's Pie] [http://wiki.foosel.net/linux/devilspie (tutorial)] [http://live.gnome.org/DevilsPie (tutorial)]''- a way of overlaying rules onto windows''
| + | The file sharing is quite simple to set up, just go to "Shared Folders" in System/Administration and enable sharing via SMB. You'll also need to edit ''/etc/samba/smb.conf'' and set ''browseable'' and ''writeable'' to "yes", and then add a user and password using ''smbpasswd -a username''. Then reload the service through init.d. |
| − | *<s>[http://www.tinyerp.org/ TinyERP]</s> ''- needs windows emulation''
| |
| − | *<s>[http://tribler.org Tribler]</s> ''- wasn't good (early 2007), stayed with Azureus''
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| | | | |
| − | == Log ==
| |
| − | *I've downloaded the Ubuntu 7.02 ISO, made a CD and booted it live to test it out before nuking the horrible but semi-functional shitware installation.
| |
| − | *Testing from the Live CD by making adjustments then restarting X with CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE
| |
| − | *Backed up important data on the windows drive
| |
| − | *I can't get the dual-monitor configuration to work, and when it doesn't work I have to reboot, but since I'm testing in the Live CD environment, the log information is lost, so I need to install on a writable disk.
| |
| − | *I don't want to nuke the windows partition if I can help it, but since Ubuntu can't natively write to NTFS, it can't install onto any of them. So to start I'm attempting an install onto my 4GB ram stick. (I'm actually able to install the OS while I write this since this is a Live CD environment)
| |
| − | *'''Day2:''' Wouldn't boot from RamStick and boot drive fucked up, installing onto main drive now.
| |
| − | *Rob came over and we got dual-monitors working but only at low res (800x600)
| |
| − | *I found out that it's not how high the res is, but that they can't both be different, so now both can work at 1024x768 (the max res of the smaller monitor)
| |
| − | *'''Day3:''' Tried installing newer driver and 915Resolution but they didn't work, and after trying to revert back, the display is more buggy. I'm going to start with a fresh install again - reinstalling now.
| |
| − | *Attempted installation of ''xserver-xorg-video-intel'' which uses the new (still unstable) ''modesetting'' driver that allows better control over the resolutions for dual head cards. But it failed, notes in video section below.
| |
| − | *Re-installation complete, current setup is a fully working dual-monitor configuration, except that the external monitor is running at 1024x768 instead of 1280x1024.
| |
| − | *Attempted to get proper resolution going using ModeLine's and 915resolution hack, but neither helped.
| |
| − | *Upgraded kernel image and all components, then tried ''xserver-xorg-video-intel'' again, but exactly the same problem, switching back to ''xserver-xorg-video-i810'' is no problem.
| |
| − | *'''Day4:''' Tried installing xorg 1.3 and xorg-xserver-video-intel 2, but won't boot
| |
| − | *Downloading "Gutsy Gibbon", the pre-release of Ubuntu 7.10 which comes with xorg 1.3 and xorg-xserver-video-intel 2
| |
| − | *'''Day5:''' The Gutsy Gibbon LiveCD is too unstable, even the file browser wouldn't run, so I'm not going to install it. I tried some final upgrades of kernel and modules, but still no go, and now the system is unstable so now I'm reverting back to a fresh installation of Fiesty Fawn.
| |
| − | *Did [[G:ModeLine+ForceBIOS|this search]] and found [http://johnsu01.livejournal.com/tag/xorg this discussion] re xorg-overloading, it says [http://www.fairlite.demon.co.uk/intel.html this i810 driver update] is needed for the <tt>ForceBIOS</tt> option to work which I'm trying out - no go so far.
| |
| − | *'''2007-09-20:''' attempted to get dual-monitor working again for a couple of hours, failed.
| |
| | [[Category:Nad]][[Category:Linux]] | | [[Category:Nad]][[Category:Linux]] |
I finally become so sickened by Windows that I'm willing to go through the difficult transition to Ubuntu. I'm expecting trouble since I'm using a two year old Toshiba laptop (Satellite A10) and I require it to work with extended desktop covering the laptop 1024x768 display and an external 1280x1024 LCD panel. I'm willing to change any applications if I have to, but I mainly used Firefox and Open Office so there should be no problem there.
File System
The drives are all currently in NTFS format which the Ubuntu system can't natively write to.
- No problemo, just install the NTFS Configuration tool listed in synaptic and NTFS write-support can be turned on or off for internal and/or external drives. --Nad 00:11, 18 July 2007 (NZST)
- As of Gutsy Gibbon, this NTFS has big problems, and I'd recommend using FAT32 for external drives. After being removed without dismounting (it's only a matter of time before that will eventually happen) the drive can then only be mounted in read-only (-ro switch). It cannot be fixed until a disk check is run on it from a win32 machine.
Network
I was pleasantly surprised by how well the networking went. It has detected all my network interfaces and automatically connected to the local wireless network establishing internet access.
Video
The Xorg 1.3 drivers which were introduced in 7.10 are far superior to prior ones and have a proper graphical interface to the multi-monitor setup. I still couldn't get dual-monitor working at the proper resolutions with my Toshiba Satellite A10 though. Also I found that the i810 driver was not able to work at my external widescreen resolution of 1680x1050, but changing to the "intel" driver in my xorg.conf fixed the problem.
Email
Ubuntu comes with Evolution by default, but this can't import email messages from my backed up Outlook Express store folder. Also I don't need all the scheduling and organisational aspect as we use the wiki for that.
Tried Thunderbird, but this also does not import from Outlook Express.
Why I migrated
- To practice what I preach - only using open-source free software developed by the community
- The browser and office apps were painfully slow
- No control over removing undesirable features like the "security" scanning of all files on a newly attached drive
- Windows would lock my video files so I couldn't move, rename or delete them.
- Microsoft wouldn't fix many reported bugs (such as the one above) after months or even years of complaints
- Windows virus epidemic, and virus scanners slow everything down even more
Additional Software Installed
Browser: Firefox2 (pre installed)- Comms: Thunderbird, Skype, Pidgin
- SMTP Server: Exim4, using local SMTP to send instead of ISP
- Local SMTP not working reliably, tests ok for my POP, but not sending to others, changed back to ISP
- Text Editor:
- Geany - best editor I've found so far - available for *ux/osx/win, apt-get on Debian/Ubuntu
- Gedit is the default but is utter crap, also tried and did not like SciTE, GVim, Cream
- MooEdit (aka medit) is ok, but no where near as good as textpad for windows (see history for install details)
- BlueFish is ok, but find-in-files is dissapointing, not as good as medit which in turn is not as good as textpad
Word processor: OpenOffice2 Writer (pre installed)Spreadsheet: OpenOffice2 Calc (pre installed)- Image Editor: GIMP
- Vector Graphics: InkScape
- Media player: VLC (this worked out of the box for all my media, the default "Movie Player" needed to download codecs and couldn't find many of them)
- NTFS Configuration Tool (allows writing to NTFS drives - big problems, see above)
- P2P: Azureus
Server Software
To install server software for running a local development environment for our wiki work, just run through the necessary items in the Debian Post Install.
Sharing files with Samba
The file sharing is quite simple to set up, just go to "Shared Folders" in System/Administration and enable sharing via SMB. You'll also need to edit /etc/samba/smb.conf and set browseable and writeable to "yes", and then add a user and password using smbpasswd -a username. Then reload the service through init.d.
