Triple monitor setting in Linux with USB-HDMI adapter
I'm trying to set up a triple monitor desktop at my office using Fedora 17, but it seems impossible, let me explain the setting:
- Laptop ASUS K53SD with 2 graphic cards, Intel and nVidia (Screen controled by Intel card)
- 24" Full HD monitor connected to the HDMI output (controlled by Intel card)
- 23" Full HD monitor connected to an USB-HDMI adapter (via framebuffer in /dev/fb2, apparently)
- VGA output (not used) controlled by nVidia card
First of all, the USB-HDMI adapter works perfectly, it gives me a green screen (which means the communication is OK) and I can make it work if I set up a single monitor setting via framebuffer in Xorg. Here I leave the page where I got the instructions: http://plugable.com/2011/12/23/usb-graphics-and-linux
Now I'm trying to set up the the two main monitors (laptop and 24") with the intel driver and the 23" with the framebuffer, but the most succesful configuration I get is the two main monitors working and the third disconnected.
Do you have any idea what can I do to make this work?
Here I leave my xRandr output and my Xorg conf:
-> xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 3286 x 1080, maximum 8192 x 8192
LVDS1 connected 1366x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 344mm x 193mm
1366x768 60.0*+
1024x768 60.0
800x600 60.3 56.2
640x480 59.9
VGA2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI1 connected 1920x1080+1366+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 531mm x 299mm
1920x1080 60.0*+ 50.0 25.0 30.0
1680x1050 59.9
1680x945 60.0
1400x1050 74.9 59.9
1600x900 60.0
1280x1024 75.0 60.0
1440x900 75.0 59.9
1280x960 60.0
1366x768 60.0
1360x768 60.0
1280x800 74.9 59.9
1152x864 75.0
1280x768 74.9 60.0
1280x720 50.0 60.0
1440x576 25.0
1024x768 75.1 70.1 60.0
1440x480 30.0
1024x576 60.0
832x624 74.6
800x600 72.2 75.0 60.3 56.2
720x576 50.0
848x480 60.0
720x480 59.9
640x480 72.8 75.0 66.7 60.0 59.9
720x400 70.1
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
1920x1080_60.00 60.0
The Xorg file:
# Xorg configuration file for using a tri-head display
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Layout0"
Screen 0 "HDMI" 0 0
Screen 1 "USB" RightOf "HDMI"
Option "Xinerama" "on"
EndSection
########### MONITORS ################
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "USB1"
VendorName "Unknown"
ModelName "Acer 24as"
Option "DPMS"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "HDMI1"
VendorName "Unknown"
ModelName "Acer 23SH"
Option "DPMS"
EndSection
########### DEVICES ##################
Section "Device"
Identifier "Device 0"
Driver "intel"
BoardName "GeForce"
BusID "PCI:0:02:0"
Screen 0
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "USB Device 0"
driver "fbdev"
Option "fbdev" "/dev/fb2"
Option "ShadowFB" "off"
EndSection
############## SCREENS ######################
Section "Screen"
Identifier "HDMI"
Device "Device 0"
Monitor "HDMI1"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
EndSubSection
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "USB"
Device "USB Device 0"
Monitor "USB1"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
EndSubSection
EndSection
Solution 1:
I know this should probably be a comment but I only have 46 rep on SuperUser.
I use to get paid to resolve X windows issues and most are not trivial and far to too complicated for this format to resolve. Basically if I wanted to resolve your issue, I would probably need to have a similar setup to test with or work on you system itself. Ian's suggestion of that Matrox TripleHead2Go is a good one.
I will tell you right now if I were building a custom Linux box with triple head support for someone, I would be using at least 2 identical dual head video cards. I don't necessarily need the same video cards but it simplifies things. Now I know with a laptop that is not an option.
First thing you will need to do is show us the xorg log. There's very little chance that we will be able to solve this if we don't know why the usb video card is not working. So the first thing we need to check is the xorg log to see if it can tell us why it's not working or even that it didn't even try to run it.
Solution 2:
You might want to consider a solution like the Matrox TripleHead2Go. It has support for DisplayPort monitors, with optional adapters for DVI and VGA monitor support. Matrox have drivers for Linux. It's an expensive solution, but it will take the pain out of your setup.