Second XServer

[Manuel Carro]

>> Unfortunately the Red Hat search facility for the mailing lists is
>> currently unavailable. Sometimes ago there was a discussion how to start
>> a second XServer on the same machine using a different XF86config file
>> (usually I use a dual head configuration, but some progs are crashing
>> the system in dual head mode (e.g. Open Office) so I wish to set up a
>> second display using <Ctrl><F8> which uses a single display
>> configuration).
>> 
>> Does someone remember the details?

I run two XServers in different resolutions (I use the lower
resolution one to connect old external projectors which do not support
1400x1050).  What I do is to define two layouts in the same XF86Config
file (actually I have three, but I use only two) and I make gdm.conf
to start up two displays, each of them using a layout.

The relevant pieces of the files are:

XF86Config:
#---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier     "TFT"
	Screen      0  "Screen1400" 0 0
	InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
	InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
	InputDevice    "DevInputMice" "AlwaysCore"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier     "External1024"
	Screen      2  "Screen1024" 0 0
	InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
	InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
	InputDevice    "DevInputMice" "AlwaysCore"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier "Screen1400"
	Device     "Videocard0"
	Monitor    "Monitor0"
	DefaultDepth     24
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth     16
		Modes    "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth     24
		Modes    "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1280x960" "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier "Screen1024"
	Device     "Videocard0"
	Monitor    "Monitor0"
	DefaultDepth     24
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth     24
		Modes    "1024x768"
	EndSubSection
EndSection
#---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have a TP40, and I also set the BIOS so that the LCD has to be
copied to the external output.

gdm.conf (only changes at the end, in the servers section, comments
removed); the -layout option to the X server tells the server which
layout should be chosen from the XF86Config file.

#---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[servers]
0=External
1=Standard

# Definition of the standard X server.
[server-Standard]
name=Standard server
command=/usr/X11R6/bin/X -audit 0 -layout TFT
flexible=true

# Second server, lower resolution (1024 x 768 or 1280x1024).  Taken from 
# http://mailman.linux-thinkpad.org/pipermail/linux-thinkpad/2003-December/014345.html
[server-External]
name=Second server
command=/usr/X11R6/bin/X -layout External1024
flexible=true

#---------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- 
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Manuel Carro --- Facultad de Informática -- U. Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) |
|mcarro_at_fi_dot_upm_dot_es --- Ph: +34-91336-7455 --- FAX: +34-91336-7412 |
|http://lml.ls.fi.upm.es/~mcarro --- http://clip.dia.fi.upm.es/Software/Ciao|