Red Hat Bugzilla – Bug 27169
Dual head problems (Xinerama?)
Last modified: 2007-04-18 12:31:25 EDT
Fresh install of fisher using sawfish, gnome and XF86Config from a working dual headed Guiness setup on same box (i.e. same exact hardware) makes only 1 working screen. The second screen remains the grey hatched pattern of a blank X server. Odly enough the mouse can move from 1 screen to annother as would be expected from a workinf dual head setup and when the screensaver startsa it starts on both screens. Xconfig-4 and X log to follow
Created attachment 9800 [details] XFree86..0.log
Created attachment 9801 [details] XF86Config-4
hp please try to determine if this is a sawfish problem or X - if X assign to mharris
You're going to have to hold my hand here a bit, as I have no idea what Xinerama is like when it works. Is the problem that the background doesn't get drawn on screen 2? Or that you can't put windows on screen 2? Doesn't Xinerama make the two heads appear to be a single screen so windows can be halfway on one and halfway on the other? If so what happens if you put a window in that spot?
As I understand it Xinerama is the piece which allows 2 screens to look like 1 big screen. One window can in fact be half on one monitor and half on the second monitor. (I had this working beautifully under RH 7 with no problem, I'm just not exactly sure which pieces do what) Currently it is not possible for a window to be on the second screen at all. given that screen 0 is to the left of screen 1 (i.e. 2 monitors sitting on my desk) My current setup allows the following after startx Screen 0 looks exactly as you would expect in a single monitor setup (i.e. background, bar at bottom) Screen 1 is grey and black hatched If you move a window past the right edge of screen 0 it disappears The mouse however continues onto the hatched "background" What should appear there should be a background, continuation of bottom bar on screen 1 as well as screen 0 Dragging a window off the right side of screen 0 should make the window appear on screen1
gee, don't I feel stupid. Looks like the only problem with xinerama is that the line in XF86Config-4 Option "xinerama" does not start xinerama on startx. This worked under Guiness. Xinerama is beautiful after the *obvious* startx -- +xinerama is called from the command line
So are you using xinerama successfully with sawfish now then? If so, then there is no bug in sawfish, and if there is a problem with xinerama in X, we should reassign this t XFree86 component.
I have this problem with a fresh install of sawfish on a Matrox G400 dualhead config. Seems XFree86 4.0.3 isn't picking up the 'Option xinerama' line from /etc/X11/XF86Config-4. I have changed /etc/X11/gdm/gdm.conf from: [servers] 0=/usr/bin/X11/X to [servers] 0=/usr/bin/X11/X +xinerama If you have loaded Ximian Gnome 1.4 the gdm.conf file has moved to /etc/gdm.
I don't think any sawfish bug remains here - mharris feel free to close if you don't see any oustanding X issues.
Bug assigned, but i am on XFree 4.1.0-0.20, when i run X on 2 screens without xinerama, you can see the 2 screens are working But when i startx -- -layout testms +xinerama X quits with a signal 11
Created attachment 31836 [details] My XFreelog
Created attachment 31837 [details] My XFreeconfig
Using stock RH 7.1 XFree86 4.0.3-5: the problem seems to be that XFree86 recognizes the Xinerama option in the ServerLayout section ONLY if a ServerFlags section exists. The ServerFlags section can be empty, but it has to be there, otherwise the only way to get Xinerama is to specify it on the startx command line ("startx -- +xinerama"). This had me pulling out what little remains of my hair for over a month. Good luck!
The Xinerama option is clearly documented in the ServerFlags section on the XF86Config manpage. It is also documented that the ServerLayout section can override settings that appear in the ServerFlags section. Putting an override in the ServerLayout section with no previous setting in ServerFlags, is undefined behaviour. I've tested Xinerama configured as documented in the manpage, and it works for me.