[lug] multi-monitor question - sw part

[Davide Del Vento]

> what computer hard ware are you working with? and is it nvidia and intel
> graphics.
> fact, laptops with dual video on the docs will allow you to use only 2
> screens at once in any combination of external and laptop screen.

I wrote this in the previous hw-part of the question. This is a Dell
Latitude 420, with the (old-style) unnamed docking station.
GPU is Mobile Intel 9xxYY (can't find the exact name, it could be a
915gm) with xserver-xorg-video-i740, xserver-xorg-video-i810 and
xserver-xorg-video-intel installed under Ubuntu 8.04.

Anyway, it must be something in this version of the operating system,
because I could reproduce exactly the same bug in the live Ubuntu 8.04
(i.e. two monitors work only if resolution of one of them is "low" and
they cannot be "moved around", so they can work essentially in "clone
mode" only).

With Ubuntu 10.04 live, two monitor work fine, i.e. up to their
maximum resolution and are movable around at will. If I try to keep
all the three screens on, it spits some weird and inconsistent error
messages (the error varies with the resolution and location of the
screens), which is not perfect, but still much better than the silent
failure when trying to do the same thing with 8.04.

Since my current 8.04 has at most 6 months of life expectancy (no
security updates after may 2011), I won't bother debugging this
further, but just pressure myself to install its successor asap (not
yet decided among Ubuntu 10.04 and sidux).

Thanks everybody for your assistance!
Davide