Arch Linux

harlekin

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2006-07-13

Posts: 408

xrandr, Xinerama: How to setup up monitor hotplugging?

Hello.
As my I've finally switched from dwm to xmonad, I can use my TFT monitor additionally to my laptop's monitor through xmonad supporting xrandr as well as Xinerama.

I've done so configuring my xorg.conf with help of `nvidia-settings` and multi-head support worked so far, except that I had to restart X if I plug in the  second monitor to use it.

Now I want to do this without restarting X, but I am not quite sure how to do this. I want to use Xinerama as it works nicely with my WM and I want to use xrandr to activate my second monitor if I plug it in (or at least being able to configure it without restarting X).

As I read in a blog that it's suggested, commenting everything in the xorg.conf that is related to multi-head setup, I did so.
Here's my xorg.conf:
http://pastebin.archlinux.org/13677

I've activated both RandR and Xinerama extension as I want to use them together and the Xorg.0.log looks fine:
http://pastebin.archlinux.org/13678
Seems to me as if RandR and Xinerama extionsions are loaded properly. But the command xrandr gives me an error:

$ xrandr
Xlib: extension "RANDR" missing on display ":0.0".
RandR extension missing

I've also tried to get xrandr working, but the only solution I found out, was  due commenting 'Option "Xinerama" "1"' in the server layout section. Additionally it was not working as expected. Every command I issued seemed to be ignored and xrandr was not able to recognize my second monitor.
But maybe I am just misunderstanding something. I tried to detect my second monitor with `xrandr --auto`, but `xrandr -q` only gave me information about the default monitor.
Options like `xrandr --output default --fb 1024x768` resulted in weird errors:

$ xrandr --output default --fb 1024x768
 xrandr: specified screen 720x450 not large enough for output default (1280x800+0+0)

I am using xorg-server 1.3.0.0, the proprietary nvidia drivers nvidia-96xx 1.0.9639 and my GPU is a GeForce GT 7600.

I am not sure where the error lies and if it isn't an error of understanding for which I am the cause.

I hope you can clarify this for me.
Thanks in advance.

harlekin

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Hail to the thief!