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I am having some issues getting my third screen working properly.

I had triple screens working fine on 12.04, using 2 nvidia cards. Did a fresh install of 14.04 and having no end of problems getting it working.

It either will just be disabled, or the screen is black with the cursor as an X. I can only enable it from the nvidia server settings tool. The Ubuntu native display settings won't even show the 3rd screen.

I tried copying the xorg.conf from my old install, which upon restarting X worked fine on the login screen, but then it just sat there after I logged in and didn’t do anything (mouse was still working).

I am using gnome-session-fallback instead of unity if that makes any difference. Still having these issues if I try unity though.

How do I get my 3rd screen working and displaying a desktop?

Here is my current xorg.conf

# nvidia-settings: X configuration file generated by nvidia-settings
# nvidia-settings:  version 331.20  (buildd@roseapple)  Mon Feb  3 15:07:22 UTC 2014


Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
    Screen      1  "Screen1" RightOf "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      "DELL 1907FP"
    HorizSync       30.0 - 81.0
    VertRefresh     56.0 - 76.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

    # HorizSync source: unknown, VertRefresh source: unknown
    Identifier     "Monitor1"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "DELL 1907FP"
    HorizSync       0.0 - 0.0
    VertRefresh     0.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor2"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "DELL 1907FP"
    HorizSync       30.0 - 81.0
    VertRefresh     56.0 - 76.0
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 580"
    BusID          "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device1"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GT 520"
    BusID          "PCI:3:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device2"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GT 520"
    BusID          "PCI:3:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"

# Removed Option "metamodes" "DVI-I-2: nvidia-auto-select +0+0, DVI-I-3: nvidia-auto-select +1280+0"
# Removed Option "metamodes" "DVI-I-2: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
# Removed Option "SLI" "Off"
# Removed Option "BaseMosaic" "off"
# Removed Option "metamodes" "GPU-109d4eb8-b40b-87d7-3fd6-95830d1d5215.DVI-I-2: nvidia-auto-select +0+0, GPU-109d4eb8-b40b-87d7-3fd6-95830d1d5215.DVI-I-3: nvidia-auto-select +1280+0, GPU-82e96214-175e-5e6a-218c-5bdbc948daf2.DVI-I-1: nvidia-auto-select +3200+0"
# Removed Option "SLI" "off"
# Removed Option "BaseMosaic" "on"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "Stereo" "0"
    Option         "nvidiaXineramaInfoOrder" "DFP-0"
    Option         "metamodes" "DVI-I-2: nvidia-auto-select +0+0, DVI-I-3: nvidia-auto-select +1280+0"
    Option         "SLI" "Off"
    Option         "MultiGPU" "Off"
    Option         "BaseMosaic" "off"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"

# Removed Option "metamodes" "nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
# Removed Option "metamodes" "DVI-I-3: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
    Identifier     "Screen1"
    Device         "Device1"
    Monitor        "Monitor1"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "Stereo" "0"
    Option         "metamodes" "nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
    Option         "SLI" "Off"
    Option         "MultiGPU" "Off"
    Option         "BaseMosaic" "off"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen2"
    Device         "Device2"
    Monitor        "Monitor2"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "Stereo" "0"
    Option         "metamodes" "nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
    Option         "SLI" "Off"
    Option         "MultiGPU" "Off"
    Option         "BaseMosaic" "off"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Here is my old 'working in 12.04' xorg.conf

# nvidia-settings: X configuration file generated by nvidia-settings
# nvidia-settings:  version 310.19  (buildmeister@swio-display-x86-rhel47-08.nvidia.com)  Thu Nov  8 02:08:55 PST 2012


Section "ServerLayout"

# Removed Option "Xinerama" "0"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
    Screen      1  "Screen1" RightOf "Screen2"
    Screen      2  "Screen2" RightOf "Screen0"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
    Option         "Xinerama" "1"
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      "DELL 1907FP"
    HorizSync       30.0 - 81.0
    VertRefresh     56.0 - 76.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

    # HorizSync source: unknown, VertRefresh source: unknown
    Identifier     "Monitor1"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "DELL 1907FP"
    HorizSync       30.0 - 81.0
    VertRefresh     56.0 - 76.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor2"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Apple Cinema HD"
    HorizSync       74.0 - 74.6
    VertRefresh     59.9 - 60.0
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 580"
    BusID          "PCI:1:0:0"
    Screen          0
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device1"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GT 520"
    BusID          "PCI:3:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device2"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce GTX 580"
    BusID          "PCI:1:0:0"
    Screen          1
EndSection

Section "Screen"

# Removed Option "metamodes" "DFP-0: nvidia-auto-select +0+0, DFP-2: nvidia-auto-select +1280+0"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "Stereo" "0"
    Option         "metamodes" "DFP-0: nvidia-auto-select +0+0; DFP-0: nvidia-auto-select +0+0; DFP-0: 1280x1024_75 +0+0; DFP-0: 1152x864 +0+0; DFP-0: 1024x768 +0+0; DFP-0: 1024x768_60 +0+0; DFP-0: 800x600 +0+0; DFP-0: 800x600_60 +0+0; DFP-0: 640x480 +0+0; DFP-0: 640x480_60 +0+0; DFP-0: nvidia-auto-select +0+0 {viewportout=1280x720+0+152}"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

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

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen2"
    Device         "Device2"
    Monitor        "Monitor2"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "Stereo" "0"
    Option         "metamodes" "DFP-2: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
    Option         "Composite" "Disable"
EndSection

output of xrandr after deleting xorg.conf and rebooting

Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 3200 x 1200, maximum 16384 x 16384
DVI-I-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-I-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-I-2 connected primary 1280x1024+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 376mm x 301mm
   1280x1024      60.0*+   75.0  
   1152x864       75.0  
   1024x768       75.0     60.0  
   800x600        75.0     60.3  
   640x480        75.0     59.9  
HDMI-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-I-3 connected 1920x1200+1280+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 495mm x 310mm
   1920x1200      60.0*+   59.9
bain
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Horse
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  • Can you try booting without `xorg.conf` and then post the output of `xrandr` – bain Jun 18 '14 at 09:24
  • Another thing to try is boot with your old `xorg.conf` and then login to a new account - one that you just created and never logged in to - to see if there is a problem with your local config. Then set up the multiple monitors with `xrandr` (somtimes the Display Settings gui seems to have problems with multiple monitors) – bain Jun 18 '14 at 09:33
  • This could also be a bug - there is a warning in the [Arch Wiki multihead](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/multihead) that *"As of August 2013, Xinerama is broken when using the proprietary NVIDIA driver from 319 upwards. Users wishing to use Xinerama with the NVIDIA driver should use the NVIDIA 313 driver, which works only with Linux kernels earlier than 3.10. "* – bain Jun 18 '14 at 09:36
  • not sure what you mean by booting without xorg.conf, but have gone into failsafe mode, and used a completely vanilla xorg.conf and still had the issue when I try to setup. also this problem was in a brand new user account. also had tried on as far back as NVIDIA 304 (nvidia-current package) then updated to 331 without change – Horse Jun 18 '14 at 16:14
  • also in my current install (12.04) `xrandr` outputs `RandR extension missing` but 3 screens works fine, is that likely to be different in 14.04? – Horse Jun 18 '14 at 16:16
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    I meant delete `/etc/X11/xorg.conf` (or move it out of the way). For most systems, xorg now detects and configures everything automatically. If you think the problem is the Nvidia bug you would have to downgrade your kernel too. Have you tried nouveau? Some people report that it handles triple monitors better than the proprietary driver. I think randr is disabled on your 12.04 config because you have xinerama enabled. – bain Jun 18 '14 at 18:06
  • have removed the xorg.conf and it just gives me 2 screens, with my 3rd disabled. 3rd screen isn't even there on the ubuntu screen display gui, can only see it in nvidia-settings. haven't tried nouveau yet, can't believe this is so hard OOTB :( – Horse Jun 30 '14 at 10:24
  • just posted output of xrandr – Horse Jun 30 '14 at 10:28
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    xrandr is showing only two devices connected, possibly xorg is only configuring the first video card. As I said earlier, you might be hitting the Nividia Xinerama bug mentioned in the Arch wiki. – bain Jun 30 '14 at 11:57
  • Am now on nouveau, deleted the xorg and kapow, 3 screens, want to put something as an answer so I can accept it? :) – Horse Jul 15 '14 at 11:15
  • bah, rebooted, back to 2 screens again. xorg.conf doesn't even exist. xrandr still showing it as disconnected – Horse Jul 15 '14 at 12:11
  • Odd that it worked then did not work. Perhaps there is something wrong with the monitor detection. Report it as a bug with Nouveau. You can try force enabling the monitor with `video=VGA-1:e` kernel parameter. Replace VGA-1 with your device as described in the [Arch wiki](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/kernel_mode_setting) (note device name is not the same as xrandr output) – bain Jul 15 '14 at 12:21
  • Was there any resolution on this? Having similar issues. I have a GTX 460 and a GTX 750 Ti. nvidia support said to upgrade to latest drivers which are 340.46. I have two monitors on the 460 working fine and the HDTV is hooked up to the 750 Ti. It is a blank screen that I can mouse over to with an X pointer. No background. nvidia-settings sees the second card and HDTV. The Ubuntu Displays widget does not see it. When I installed the latest nvidia drivers it told me to disable nouveau, which I did. If I turn on xinerama then everything gets totally hosed. – Ed Harcourt Oct 02 '14 at 22:17
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    @EdHarcourt nope unfortunately not, still stuck on 12.04 waiting for a resolution, and can't really devote hours and hours to hacking about and trawling the internet for answers. Am surprised it hasn't been resolved yet, really don't think our setup is that niche :( If you find anything PLEASE let me know :) – Horse Oct 03 '14 at 14:51

1 Answers1

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I have the same configuration with 3 monitors. One machine have 2 graphic cards and 3 monitors. The other 1 graphic and 3 monitors.

On both machines I had to configure each monitor to have its own xserver.

To config it I start NVidia X Server Settings (nvidia-settings) Go to X Server Display Configuration. In the Configuration: pull down box add a xserver for for each monitor. Also enable the Xinerama check box. Organize the monitor to needs.

Click Save to X Configuration and save in the file /etc/X11/xorg.conf.

Now you will have to reboot or restart the display manager.

Some times (not very often) I do have problems with the configuration getting reset but then do the above again.

With this configuration will some of the standard display configuration tools like selecting screen saver etc.

Hope this helps...

user298448
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  • if i do that and reboot, i get a blank screen (auto login enabled). if i restart X manually, I get to the login screen (which looks as it should across 3 screens) but then after i login it 'hangs' (although mouse still moves) – Horse Jun 30 '14 at 10:21
  • I noticed you are using version 331.20 of the Nvidia driver. On Kubuntu as I am running it's possible to install 331.38 using the Additional Drivers app. It should be possible on Ubuntu/Unity as well. It can be found in the System settings. – user298448 Jul 01 '14 at 18:45