Multiple Monitors section missing in display settings

[dagfinn]

Binary package hint: kdebase-workspace

The details of this problem have been discussed in this thread: http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?topic=3103103.0

Since no one else has contributed any information to clear this up, I am choosing to report it as a bug.

Briefly: the display settings (in System Settings) should have a Multiple Monitors section. Or so I am told; I have never seen it, but I've been shown screen shots. But the section is missing when I boot from distro CDs: 8.10, 9.04 and 9.04-AMD64. Personally, I've tried this on two different laptops with an external screen attached. Both laptops are AMD/ATI-based.

I can configure multiple monitors on the same machines in Gnome with the regular Ubuntu CD.

Screenshot with Multiple Monitors: http://imagebin.org/index.php?mode=image&id=46730
Screenshot without Multiple Monitors: http://www.twitpic.com/3uxpo

The information below was registered while running Kubuntu from my hard disk, so it's not completely applicable to the situations I'm referring to in which I boot from CD. In particular, the driver will not be fglrx when booting from CD.

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: amd64
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 8.10
ExecutablePath: /usr/bin/systemsettings
NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx
Package: systemsettings 4:4.1.4-0ubuntu1~intrepid3.1
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=/home/username/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: kdebase-workspace
Uname: Linux 2.6.27-11-generic x86_64

[Oceanwatcher (oceanwatcher)]

I have set up a computer with an ATI 9550 and open source drivers. And as Dagfinn say here, I am missing this subsection of the settings. But Something he forgot to mention is that there are other buttons missing as well.

Kubuntu correctly detects the outputs of the card this computer is using and the connected monitors are working. But the placement buttons are missing, so there is no way to take them out of mirrored mode. Also, as these two monitors need different resolutions (one at 1280x1024 and the other at 1024x768), I tried changing the resolution because it defaulted to the lowest of these two. I can change the resolution, but as soon as I hit Apply, the resolution reverts to 1024x768 again.

After things have been set up in xorg.conf, you have to make sure you do NOT open the Display settings, as this will immediately revert the monitors back to mirrored, identical resolution and you will have to reboot to fix it.

[Chris Puttick (cputtick)]

Problem confirmed. Exactly as described by Oceanwatcher, system settings is missing the section needed to lay the monitors out and resists changes to the correct resolution on the larger monitor. Was the same symptoms in 8.10 although there I was using the proprietary drivers and could enable dual display with the AMD control centre software.

ATI Technologies Inc Radeon X1650 PCI Express dual DVI card.

[Raphael Mattos (raphael.mattos)]

Same thing here. This is quite impairing for anyone using a notebook.
I'm on a notebook with an Intel GMA915. Everything works fine in Kde 4.2 and it is surprisingly fast given that this card has a really limited 8mb memory. I have no other video issues. I've seen this qorking on OpenSUSE, so it's probably a kubuntu specific bug.