WMs & Other Various Q's

xxsashixx · 2010-12-29 04:18:05

Hello fellow Archies, it's been way too long since I've used Arch (about 3 years?) and I almost forgot everything.

Anyways couple of questions.

Currently I have two video cards and 3 monitors. I have X PARTIALLY working. When I do a "startx" I get to desktop, and the mouse is able to go across all three screens, but the main one has a "real cursor" and the other two have "X" cursor. How can I enable all three monitors to be able to do that?
Rather I think my question would be, how can I start 3 different X servers on each monitor because I will be using a tiling manager. I've tried using twinview but then the WM thinks that two monitors are one big screen, so it tiles in across both monitors.
Two monitors are connected to one GPU and the third is connected to GPU2

This is my current Xorg.

# nvidia-settings: X configuration file generated by nvidia-settings
# nvidia-settings:  version 260.19.29  (buildmeister@swio-display-x86-rhel47-04.nvidia.com)  Wed Dec  8 12:27:27 PST 2010

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 1680 0
    Screen      1  "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
    Screen      2  "Screen2" LeftOf "Screen0"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
    Option         "Xinerama" "0"
EndSection

Section "Files"
EndSection

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

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Keyboard0"
    Driver         "kbd"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    # HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "BenQ E2420HD"
    HorizSync       24.0 - 83.0
    VertRefresh     50.0 - 76.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    # HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
    Identifier     "Monitor2"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Samsung SyncMaster"
    HorizSync       30.0 - 81.0
    VertRefresh     56.0 - 75.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    # HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
    Identifier     "Monitor1"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "DELL E173FP"
    HorizSync       31.0 - 80.0
    VertRefresh     56.0 - 75.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 260"
    BusID          "PCI:1:0:0"
    Screen          0
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device2"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 260"
    BusID          "PCI:1:0:0"
    Screen          1
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device1"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce 9800 GT"
    BusID          "PCI:2:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "TwinView" "0"
    Option         "metamodes" "DFP-1: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen2"
    Device         "Device2"
    Monitor        "Monitor2"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "TwinView" "0"
    Option         "metamodes" "DFP-0: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen1"
    Device         "Device1"
    Monitor        "Monitor1"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "TwinView" "0"
    Option         "metamodes" "nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Next question is related as well. I'll be using a tiling manager, and I used dwm in the past but I see that dwm is kinda.. broken? I don't want to use xmonad simply because its haskell and it pulls alot of deps + I used it before without any success.
Currently I'm trying StumpWM and love it but for some reason it doesn't tile stock? Do I have to add something to the config to make it tile?

Final question: Is using a SSD worth it? Currently I have two sitting on my desk from my previous Windows installations and was wondering if the speed difference is worth it. I mentioned before I used Arch 3 years ago, and frankly I remember it being speedy fast and there was no SSD in it.. rather I don't think SSDs were even consumer level yet.

Thanks for all the help

- Sashi

thayer · 2010-12-29 07:18:44

I can't really comment on many of your questions, but I can say that I don't find dwm to be broken in any way. Is there something specific that isn't working for you? As far as I know the xinerama support was significantly revised this past year, but I haven't heard any complaints about its stability.

xxsashixx · 2010-12-29 07:23:20

Well for one thing, I like how StumpWM has customizable layouts, PLUS everyone is talking about how great it is.. maybe I'm just wanting to join the bandwagon here..

Personally though maybe I should stick with DWM, but what are archlinux users thoughts? People tell me that StumpWM/various other tiling WMs are better than DWM.. is DWM still "active" as in... are they still updating it? Maybe something I'm more familar with is better than something I'm not as I have no knowledge of Common Lisp, although people are telling me how lisp isn't hard to learn.

Anyways, anyone got a clue about my Screen issue?

Edit: Also for SSD, should I use EXT4? BTRFS seems to be out of the question because GRUB doesn't support it OOB

- Sashi

Last edited by xxsashixx (2010-12-29 07:43:01)

karol · 2010-12-29 10:23:10

There are many patches for dwm and dwm-sprinkles https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?K=dwm-sprinkles
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Co … w_Managers

AFAIK, ext4 with discard is the way to go for SSDs. Many people fell in love with them so maybe you can give them a shot.

xxsashixx · 2010-12-29 10:26:29

Thanks, would you recommend using dwm or dwm-sprinkles? Looks like sprinkles is more of an "updated" version.

I still need someones input on the X11/Xorg problem.

Thanks

Edit: Also are SSDs, again.. worth the hassle? or should I stick with a rotating HDD for /
- Sashi

Last edited by xxsashixx (2010-12-29 10:27:47)

karol · 2010-12-29 10:44:52

dwm-sprinkles gives you more layouts (grid etc.) out of the box, you don't have to patch dwm, just install / update dwm-sprinkles.

SSDs v. HDDs: that depends on:
1. What do you do.
2. How do you do it.
3. How much do you want to spend.

You say you have SSDs "sitting on your desk" so money shouldn't be a n issue :-)
I have an old HDD and it is fast enough for me. If you don't grit your teeth while waiting for your HDD to do something (start an app etc.) it may be not worth the hassle. That said many people tried SSDs and never looked back :-)

xxsashixx · 2010-12-29 19:14:45

Alright thanks for the help, I would still need some answers with my Xorg.. though would anyone know?

thayer · 2010-12-29 19:16:04

dwm is still actively developed (you can join up to the mailing list to follow along or contrib) though admittedly Anselm has been a busy guy lately. With respect to dwm users within our own community, look no further than this thread for a very rough estimate of active users (dwm is listed in third place, after Xmonad and Awesome).

xxsashixx · 2010-12-29 20:00:06

Ah cool, might stick with dwm as I know how to configure it more than StumpWM & Xmonad. You know what they say, its better to use what you know than to use something you don't

Anyways, does anyone have a clue about what I'm talking about with my Xorg issue?

Inxsible · 2010-12-29 20:04:53

I just use xrandr to set up my multi monitors. xorg.conf OR 10-monitor.conf files (either one works) should have the resolutions that each monitor can support (only if they are all different sized monitors. If you want the same resolutions on all monitors, then you don't even need any config file)

Then in your .xinitrc, simply have the xrandr command to set up the monitors the way you want. I find that to be much more easier than having to play around with nvidia settings.

A starting point would be this post of mine from a while back. Obviously, you will have to have different resolutions and GPU declarations in your file. and your xrandr command would need to set 3 monitors. I am not sure if it can be done in 1 command. If not, you will need 2 separate xrandr commands setting up the first 2 and then the third one.

Also i3 would be a great option for a wm. it has multi monitor support built-in, as does XMonad. and i3 is much simpler to configure and control as it is inspired by wmii

xxsashixx · 2010-12-29 20:22:11

Yea I don't really like Xmonad simply because I stated that I didn't like working with haskell.. plus I've tried to set it up in the past but with no luck...

As for Xorg, I currently have all 3 monitors working, but the WM can only tile to one monitor because I have basically set it up as three different X sessions. I'm not sure how I can get xrandr working for me. Any help would be great.

Thanks

- Sashi

karol · 2010-12-29 20:22:44

The X_cursor is probably what you're seeing. If you open e.g. a browser, does the cursor stay as "the big black X" or changes into e.g. an arrow?

Inxsible · 2010-12-29 20:28:40

xxsashixx wrote:

Yea I don't really like Xmonad simply because I stated that I didn't like working with haskell.. plus I've tried to set it up in the past but with no luck...

No I was actually recommending i3, not XMonad

if the X cursor issue is what karol suggests, then you can change it in your xinitrc using xsetroot (I don't remember the exact command,but if no one beats me to it, I will look it up at home and edit my post here)

xxsashixx · 2010-12-29 20:29:02

The "main" screen has an arrow but when I move to the other monitors where it won't tile, then it chnages to a "X"

Edit: Also

xrandr --output Monitor1 --auto --right-of Monitor0
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
warning: output Monitor1 not found; ignoring

Last edited by xxsashixx (2010-12-29 20:30:15)

karol · 2010-12-29 20:35:04

If I switch to an empty dwm tag (one that has no apps in it) I see the cursor set by 'xsetroot -cursor_name <foo>'. The list of available names http://pissedoffadmins.com/?p=155
Try

xsetroot -cursor_name left_ptr

to get the regular pointer - an arrow pointing towards north-west (top-left).

xxsashixx · 2010-12-29 20:37:21

alright, what about my error?

Inxsible · 2010-12-29 20:37:37

karol wrote:

If I switch to an empty dwm tag (one that has no apps in it) I see the cursor set by 'xsetroot -cursor_name <foo>'. The list of available names http://pissedoffadmins.com/?p=155
Try
xsetroot -cursor_name left_ptr
to get the regular pointer - an arrow pointing towards north-west (top-left).

That's the one !!

Inxsible · 2010-12-29 20:40:54

xxsashixx wrote:

The "main" screen has an arrow but when I move to the other monitors where it won't tile, then it chnages to a "X"
Edit: Also
xrandr --output Monitor1 --auto --right-of Monitor0
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
warning: output Monitor1 not found; ignoring

The error's pretty self explanatory. Are you sure you are using the same names that you defined in xorg.conf or 10-monitor.conf?

xxsashixx · 2010-12-29 20:45:56

Yes I did... but thats fine because.. this is weird.. I enabled xinerama in nvidia-settings, rebooted X and wala, all three screens works and has their own separate X and AwesomeWM is working with all three tiling to their own screens.

http://pastebin.com/t9433J8R is my xorg file if anyone is interested to see what I did.. Thanks for all the help, after work I'll be reformating as right now it was a "test" before I settled on getting everything to work.

Thanks again

- Sashi

xxsashixx · 2010-12-29 20:55:13

Whops spoke too soon.. the monitor that is connect to GPU2 which is alone, the layout settings, titles are cut at the very end as if X is thinking I can see behind the bezel.. any help with this?

karol · 2010-12-29 20:58:34

xxsashixx wrote:

Whops spoke too soon.. the monitor that is connect to GPU2 which is alone, the layout settings, titles are cut at the very end as if X is thinking I can see behind the bezel.. any help with this?

What titles??

xxsashixx · 2010-12-29 21:01:18

What I meant was the layout choices, in the far right corner its cut off behind the bezel

karol · 2010-12-29 21:13:59

xxsashixx wrote:

What I meant was the layout choices, in the far right corner its cut off behind the bezel

Ummm ... What layout choices? Is your screen stretched too wide?
Sometimes when I switch displays and the screen gets displaced, it's enough to use the auto-configuration button I have on my monitor to put it back in place.

ConnorBehan · 2010-12-29 22:06:16

Typically if using xrandr commands, the outputs don't have names like Monitor0, Monitor1. Their names are set by the video BIOS to be things like VGA-0, DVI-0, DVI-1. You can see what they are with

xrandr -q

and then adjust your commands accordingly.

I agree that xrandr will probably be able to solve your problem by allowing your three monitors to all be part of the same Xserver "Screen". If you'd rather fix the X_cursor directly so you can still have separate screens? I'm not sure how to do that. Are your two monitors that give you that cursor being driven by the same card or different cards? If it's the same card, maybe you can try giving that card the option "SWcursor".

xxsashixx · 2010-12-30 09:50:01

Thanks for all the help, using SSD with EXT4 discard flag.. working great, going to set up dwm-sprinkles tomorrow after work..

Question though, I got dwm-sprinkes off of aur and made the package.. now.. should I edit config.def.h from /dwm/src/dwm.s/config.def.h or /dwm/pkg/usr/share/dwm/src/config.def.h? Where does makepkg look for?

Arch Linux

#1 2010-12-29 04:18:05

WMs & Other Various Q's

#2 2010-12-29 07:18:44

Re: WMs & Other Various Q's

#3 2010-12-29 07:23:20

Re: WMs & Other Various Q's

#4 2010-12-29 10:23:10

Re: WMs & Other Various Q's

#5 2010-12-29 10:26:29

Re: WMs & Other Various Q's

#6 2010-12-29 10:44:52

Re: WMs & Other Various Q's

#7 2010-12-29 19:14:45

Re: WMs & Other Various Q's

#8 2010-12-29 19:16:04

Re: WMs & Other Various Q's

#9 2010-12-29 20:00:06

Re: WMs & Other Various Q's

#10 2010-12-29 20:04:53

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#11 2010-12-29 20:22:11

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#12 2010-12-29 20:22:44

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#13 2010-12-29 20:28:40

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#14 2010-12-29 20:29:02

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#15 2010-12-29 20:35:04

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#16 2010-12-29 20:37:21

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#17 2010-12-29 20:37:37

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#18 2010-12-29 20:40:54

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#19 2010-12-29 20:45:56

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#24 2010-12-29 22:06:16

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#25 2010-12-30 09:50:01

Re: WMs & Other Various Q's

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