Crazy AMD K7 wrote:
>Hi everybody!
>I am new here,
>since I haven't find anything more relating to my question than this
>forum, I decided to post here.
>Can anyone explain or give me a link where I can find an answer to the
>question how to make 2 monitors work in text mode?
>It is plenty links and documents about xinerama.
>In graphical mode it is not a problem to make a dualhead videoacard or
>a two separate videocards to work together.
>The question is - how to make them work together in text mode.
>Or to run one in text mode and other in graphics mode under X.
>More interesting to me situation with dualheaded cards like Radeon or
>Matrox. 1 card is refered as one device for example, PCI:1:5:0, and it
>unclear to me how to work with the second head of the same card.
>
>
>
If textmode is all you need, consider using some oldfashioned
text terminals connected to serial ports. You won't even need
ruby for that - linux support such terminals directly. You
can probably find used terminals much cheaper than ordinary
monitors. Run getty's on ttyS0, ttyS1, ... so you can log in on them.
Solutions with graphichs cards:
1 in text mode, 1 with X: Simple, when you boot up one of them
will get a text console. Use ruby and run X on the other screen using the
other keyboard. (i.e. use the "vt17" parameter to the X server running
on the
other screen.)
2 in text mode: use framebuffers and framebuffer consoles. Console
switching on the second console may or may not work, but *one* console
on the other screen should be fine. Set up your inittab to run a getty
on tty17 (and possibly tty18, tty19, tty20, . . . for console switching.)
2 text modes on a dualhead card: Use a framebuffer driver that make
two framebuffers, one for each head. Such drivers does *not* exist
for every dualhead card out there, but it works for some matrox cards.
At least it worked for my G550, (and earlier compatible cards.)
Configure so
you get both framebuffers, use framebuffer console and run getty on
tty17, tty18,...
You may run accelerated X (using mga driver) on the first head if you wish,
you can use unaccelerated X (driver fbdev) on the second head if need be.
For a matrox card you also need the matroxset utility so that you don't
get the
same framebuffer displayed on both heads. (Map it to a hotkey, because X
sometimes
screws this up.)
Helge Hafting
Helge Hafting
Helge Hafting
Helge Hafting
|
