External Monitor issue...Dell 1400z

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hogfan

External Monitor issue...Dell 1400z

Post by hogfan »

Hello,

I am loving Linux Mint 13 on my Dell 1400z laptop but have a couple of minor issues I'd like to resolve regarding my external display. I am also using the Jupiter applet for power management and that is working great. I am running Mint 13 with the Cinnamon desktop. I am able to easily mirror to my external display, extend my desktop to the external display, and use the external display only (internal display is off). I have had to temporarily disable my "Turn off monitor" after x mins in Mint because once the display goes to sleep I am unable to bring it back by moving the mouse on my Mint machine (Mint machine is connected to HDMI on my external monitor). My Mac machine is connected the DVI port on same external monitor (different input). If I move the mouse for the Mac, the monitor wakes up and then I can just toggle the input back over to the Mint machine and I'm at the desktop/lockscreen. When I attempt to wake up the monitor from the Mint machine, the display shows a no video signal message. Any suggestions of a fix for this so that I can wake the Acer 23" monitor from the Mint machine?

Question 2:

If I set the Video mode on the Mint laptop to external display only, and don't change the setting back before unplugging from the external monitor, it never defaults back to the laptop LCD when the external monitor is disconnected. The only way to get video back to the laptop display is to plug the laptop back into the external display and change the setting back there. This could be bad if I took the laptop with me somewhere and did not have an external display to connect to. How can I make mint default back to the primary display if no external display is detected? Thanks for any suggestions.

-hogfan
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
hogfan

Re: External Monitor issue...Dell 1400z

Post by hogfan »

I ran across this thread scouring the web and apparently Jupiter saves the current display settings and automatically reloads them on reboot.

http://askubuntu.com/questions/102356/e ... rom-laptop

So that appears to be part of the problem. I guess there is no good way for this to be handled automatically. I want my internal display to be off when the external monitor is connected, and automatically back on as the primary when the external is disconnected.

Would it be possible to write a bash script to run on startup that could check if an external display was connected to the HDMI port on the laptop?

I'm still digging into my second question but no good info yet.

-hogfan
hogfan

External Displays WAY buggy?

Post by hogfan »

Hopefully somebody here can point me in the right direction. I posted something a week or so ago in the Hardware section but got no replies. At this point I have basically dumbed down what I am trying to do. I am trying to get consistent behavior from a single external display. I have a Dell XPS 14Z with Intel 3000 Sandy Bridge. Laptop works great with the laptop LCD. I also have installed the Jupiter applet for power management and that has been working well also. However, I am having HUGE issues when trying to use a single external display. I have an Acer 23" monitor (H233H) with multiple inputs. I am connnecting the Dell Laptop to this monitor via HDMI. When I use Jupiter to set the the display to "External Display Only", the screen resolution on the Acer 23" is full resolution, but my Cairo dock and Conky desktop widgets are in the middle of the screen with the wallpaper halfway tiled. Killing the process for Conky and Cairo and restarting them both fixes the issue and they come back in the correct area of the Acer screen. Same issue happens when I choose to "Clone" the screens in Jupiter. So basically, I am trying to use 1 external display, and that display only when I have the laptop "docked" per say at my desk. The other VERY annoying issue is in the power settings in Cinnamon desktop I have set the laptop to "do nothing" when the lid is closed when running on A/C power. This works fine on the laptop, but if I do this when I have the external monitor plugged into the HDMI port on the laptop, the Acer 23" screen loses video signal when the lid is closed. (however if I open the laptop lid, I am still on the desktop on the laptop LCD). When doing video related work at home, I prefer to use the larger external 23" monitor and an external keyboard and mouse, but it's a major inconvenience to have to restart all my stuff when changing displays. Is this a know issue? Is there a way to fix this. Suggestions are extremely appreciated.

-hogfan
viking777

Re: External Displays WAY buggy?

Post by viking777 »

External Displays WAY buggy?
Not at all, mine is fine thank you. Of course there could be a hundred different reasons why my experience is so different from yours, but personally I would start with the most obvious - throw away Jupiter - completely uninstall it (including config files) and try again. I have never had a problem with my external monitor, but then again I have never used (or even heard of tbh) Jupiter.

That may be the difference or it may not be, you just have to start somewhere.
hogfan

Re: External Displays WAY buggy?

Post by hogfan »

http://www.jupiterapplet.org/

Jupiter is necessary if you wan't to get any decent battery life out of an Ubuntu-based laptop. As far as changing displays, Jupiter is the only way I have found to disable the internal display and use only external. I didn't see an option for this natively in Cinnamon. I am fine with changing that setting natively and could even use a script to automate it, and not use Jupiter for that functionality. So far that is my main issue with using Linux. Most applications, etc. don't have a support forum, only a mailing list or sourceforge project, so it's more difficult to get help. If there was a forum for Jupiter troublshooting, I would start there.

-hogfan
viking777

Re: External Displays WAY buggy?

Post by viking777 »

Most applications, etc. don't have a support forum, only a mailing list or sourceforge project, so it's more difficult to get help
You are absolutely right there, I have quite a few programs installed that are like that!

Battery life is of zero importance to me though, in fact my laptop doesn't even have a battery, just an empty slot at the back where it used to live, that is why I have never heard of Jupiter. I must admit it looks quite a useful tool if battery life is important to you.

You are probably right that Linux doesn't have functionality like that built in, I don't know because I have never looked for it. If I have a problem at all with power management on Linux it is the opposite of yours - trying to make things stay on when they keep going off, not the other way around. As you might have guessed my laptop is a desktop replacement and is plugged in all the time.

Given those differences in our usage patterns I probably can't help you with this, sorry.
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Oscar799
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Re: External Monitor issue...Dell 1400z

Post by Oscar799 »

Threads merged,same OP same issue
hogfan
Another time bump your original post rather than posting again elsewhere.
You say you got no response but there is a reply that arrived the day after you posted your original question
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baj
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Re: External Monitor issue...Dell 1400z

Post by baj »

I guess this thread has been idle a while and you may have found a solution, but...

Don't all laptops have the function keys to switch the video modes between internal, external and both? I haven't run a Dell in years, but my last 3 HP laptops all have it. Works great for me in Arch, Debian, and Mint.

Good luck,
-Brad
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