Xrandr not working on Nvidia proprietary drivers

RandomAccessGuy · 8 February 2024 17:35

Hello Everyone,
First time here on the forum as i have a bit of a niche problem.

So, i finally made the switch from Windows to Zorin and i'm having a blast, but I'm also trying to port to Zorin one single feature that i used on Windows.
I own a Quest 2 and usually I use it with Immersed to work with multiple monitors, now, Immersed has an AppImage that works on Zorin and i have tested it (It works far better then on windows by the way). The only issue is that the multiscreen feature is missing.
I've found out that Immersed can only stream actual screens connected and i've found out that you can fool it in to thinking that there is multiple using xrandr to virtually split your screen.

The problem is that this solution dosn't work with the Nvidia proprietary drivers, looks like there is a bug in gnome that has been fixed only a couple of weeks ago.

Finally my question, does anyone know of an alternative way to xrandr that i might be missing?

This is the script i've tryed on X11

#!/bin/bash
if [ -z "$(xrandr --listactivemonitors | grep 'DP-4-1')" ]; then
    xrandr --output DP-4
    xrandr --setmonitor DP-4-1 1920/590x1080/330+0+0 DP-4
    xrandr --setmonitor DP-4-2 1920/590x1080/330+1920+0 none
    xrandr --fb 3840x1081
    xrandr --fb 3840x1080   # This should only need to be run once, since we're not changing fb size again

else
    xrandr --delmonitor DP-4-1
    xrandr --delmonitor DP-4-2
    xrandr --output DP-4

    xrandr --fb 3840x1081
    xrandr --fb 3840x1080
fi

For good measure i've also tryed this one on Wayland but if i'm not wrong Gnome does not implement wlroots, so it dosn't work too (this should be the previous one translated by chatGPT since it's my first time using wlr-randr so it may be wrong)

#!/bin/bash

output="DP-4"

if ! wlr-randr | grep "$output" > /dev/null; then
    wlr-randr --output "$output" --mode 1920x1080 --pos 0,0 --scale 1,1
    wlr-randr --output "$output" --mode 1920x1080 --pos 1920,0 --scale 1,1
else
    wlr-randr --output "$output" --off
fi

swarfendor437 · 8 February 2024 19:44

Hi RandomAccessGuy, and welcome to the forum! Please see if the solution posted in this LinuxMint forum thread helps:

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=212098

RandomAccessGuy · 8 February 2024 20:15

Hi, Thanks for the suggestion, I forgot to add it but i already tried to use the
--addmode and --output command to try to add more screens but when trying to use addmode with the line returned by cvt it was returning an error. I honestly didn't investigated it much because i didn't want to mess with the supported resolutions but if i'm not wrong it had something to do with the monitor configuration in the xorg.conf that i think was missing a flag or something

swarfendor437 · 8 February 2024 20:28

How about:

or here:

github.com/pavlobu/deskreen

Using xrandr to create a virtual display (Linux)

opened 01:55AM - 25 Jan 21 UTC

crisszkutnik

Creating a virtual display with xrandr that can be broadcasted as an extra monit…or is fairly easy on Linux. I think that this method should be implemented as a guide as it is a viable method for Linux users without the need of extra drivers or a dummy plug. To achieve this I did the following: First, run the following command: `xrandr` <details> <summary>Command output</summary> DisplayPort-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) DisplayPort-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) DisplayPort-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) HDMI-A-0 connected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 521mm x 293mm 1920x1080 60.00*+ 71.91 50.00 59.94 1680x1050 59.88 1600x900 60.00 1280x1024 60.02 1440x900 59.90 1280x800 59.91 1280x720 60.00 50.00 59.94 1024x768 70.07 60.00 800x600 72.19 60.32 56.25 720x576 50.00 720x480 60.00 59.94 640x480 72.81 66.67 60.00 59.94 720x400 70.08 DVI-D-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 1920x1080 60.00 DP-1-4 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) HDMI-1-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) DP-1-5 connected 1920x1080+1920+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 531mm x 299mm 1920x1080 60.00*+ 1680x1050 59.88 1280x1024 75.02 60.02 1440x900 74.98 59.90 1280x960 60.00 1280x800 59.91 1152x864 75.00 1024x768 75.03 70.07 60.00 832x624 74.55 800x600 72.19 75.00 60.32 56.25 640x480 75.00 72.81 66.67 59.94 720x400 70.08 DP-1-6 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) HDMI-1-3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 1920x1080 (0x5b) 148.500MHz +HSync +VSync h: width 1920 start 2008 end 2052 total 2200 skew 0 clock 67.50KHz v: height 1080 start 1084 end 1089 total 1125 clock 60.00Hz 1680x1050 (0x5f) 119.000MHz +HSync -VSync h: width 1680 start 1728 end 1760 total 1840 skew 0 clock 64.67KHz v: height 1050 start 1053 end 1059 total 1080 clock 59.88Hz 1280x1024 (0x61) 108.000MHz +HSync +VSync h: width 1280 start 1328 end 1440 total 1688 skew 0 clock 63.98KHz v: height 1024 start 1025 end 1028 total 1066 clock 60.02Hz 1440x900 (0x62) 88.750MHz +HSync -VSync h: width 1440 start 1488 end 1520 total 1600 skew 0 clock 55.47KHz v: height 900 start 903 end 909 total 926 clock 59.90Hz 1280x800 (0x63) 71.000MHz +HSync -VSync h: width 1280 start 1328 end 1360 total 1440 skew 0 clock 49.31KHz v: height 800 start 803 end 809 total 823 clock 59.91Hz 1024x768 (0x67) 75.000MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 1024 start 1048 end 1184 total 1328 skew 0 clock 56.48KHz v: height 768 start 771 end 777 total 806 clock 70.07Hz 1024x768 (0x68) 65.000MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 1024 start 1048 end 1184 total 1344 skew 0 clock 48.36KHz v: height 768 start 771 end 777 total 806 clock 60.00Hz 800x600 (0x69) 50.000MHz +HSync +VSync h: width 800 start 856 end 976 total 1040 skew 0 clock 48.08KHz v: height 600 start 637 end 643 total 666 clock 72.19Hz 800x600 (0x6a) 40.000MHz +HSync +VSync h: width 800 start 840 end 968 total 1056 skew 0 clock 37.88KHz v: height 600 start 601 end 605 total 628 clock 60.32Hz 800x600 (0x6b) 36.000MHz +HSync +VSync h: width 800 start 824 end 896 total 1024 skew 0 clock 35.16KHz v: height 600 start 601 end 603 total 625 clock 56.25Hz 640x480 (0x6f) 31.500MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 640 start 664 end 704 total 832 skew 0 clock 37.86KHz v: height 480 start 489 end 492 total 520 clock 72.81Hz 640x480 (0x70) 30.240MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 640 start 704 end 768 total 864 skew 0 clock 35.00KHz v: height 480 start 483 end 486 total 525 clock 66.67Hz 640x480 (0x72) 25.175MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 640 start 656 end 752 total 800 skew 0 clock 31.47KHz v: height 480 start 490 end 492 total 525 clock 59.94Hz 720x400 (0x73) 28.320MHz -HSync +VSync h: width 720 start 738 end 846 total 900 skew 0 clock 31.47KHz v: height 400 start 412 end 414 total 449 clock 70.08Hz </details> Here I selected one of the disconnected outputs. For this example I am going to use **DVI-D-0** If there is no output mode, one can be added with ```bash xrandr --addmode DVI-D-0 1920x1080 # you may use the output you selected and the resolution you want ``` Next step is to identify the display you are going to use to position your new display. For example, I want to place my virtual display to the left of my primary display, which is **HDMI-A-0**, so I run the following command: ```bash xrandr --output DVI-D-0 --mode 1920x1080 --left-of HDMI-A-0 # replace DVI-D-0 with the virtual output you selected # and 1920x1080 with the resolution you chose on the previous command # other options are --right-of, --above and --below ``` Finally, when running deskreen: ![deskreen_working](https://i.imgur.com/XFh7TNp.png) The virtual display is available (Screen 2). If you want to disconnect the display, just run: `xrandr --output DVI-D-0 --off` I am willing to do a complete guide and open a pull request if you think it is a good enough method.

RandomAccessGuy · 9 February 2024 10:48

Ok so, I had already tried the first one, while the second one looks a bit more promising but still fails with the proprietary drivers.

As cited in this comment, there should be a workaround to make it work on proprietary, but I'm unable to make it work.

As indicated in the solution, I should create a new configuration for the virtual monitors, but I'm having 2 problems:

the first one is that nvidia-settings is unable to create an xorg.conf file

Package xorg-server was not found in the pkg-config search path.
Perhaps you should add the directory containing `xorg-server.pc'
to the PKG_CONFIG_PATH environment variable
No package 'xorg-server' found
Error executing /usr/share/screen-resolution-extra/nvidia-polkit: Permission denied

ERROR: Unable to open X config file '/etc/X11/xorg.conf' for writing.

The second one is that if I create the file shown in the solution I lose access to Xorg, and I'm only able to log in from Wayland, deleting the file make Xorg available again.

swarfendor437 · 9 February 2024 12:42

Did you try the last post with 0 votes on that workaround thread?

RandomAccessGuy · 9 February 2024 13:09

Yes, but nvidia-xconfig throw out the same error I've attached in the previous post

swarfendor437 · 9 February 2024 14:21

This is old but wonder if xorg is corrupted when logging into Zorin on xorg:

http://www.ubuntugeek.com/ubuntu-tiphow-to-removeinstall-and-reconfigure-xorg-without-reinstalling-ubuntu.html

Also found another guide on the main issue:

RandomAccessGuy · 9 February 2024 15:27

Ok, reinstalling Xorg and running again nvidia-xconfig fixed the xorg.conf file.
Now, I'm a bit unsure about where to put the configurations of the work around.

/etc/X11/xorg.conf

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Unknown"
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

suggested file from the workaround /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/30-virtscreen.conf

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "nvidiagpu"
    Driver      "nvidia"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier  "nvidiascreen"
    Device      "nvidiagpu"
    Option      "ConnectedMonitor" "LVDS-0,DP-1"
EndSection

I was thinking about adding it directly to xorg.conf like this mixing the workaround and the last guide you linked:

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Unknown"
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
EndSection

Section "Device"
  Identifier "Device1"
  Driver "dummy"
  VideoRam 256000
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
  DefaultDepth 24
  Identifier "Screen1"
  Device "Device1"
  Monitor "Monitor0"
  SubSection "Display"
    Depth 24
    Modes "1920x1080_144.00"
  EndSubSection
EndSection

But I'm not sure if it could work or if it will break something.

Sorry if I'm keeping you busy with this use case

swarfendor437 · 9 February 2024 20:08

If I'm honest, my dalliance with xrandr just for normal usage when I couldn't get correct resolution it did not work. What I would advise is you use Rescuezilla to make an image of your drive or use Timeshift to take a snapshot of your system before playing any further with xrandr.

RandomAccessGuy · 9 February 2024 21:20

I understand, thanks anyway for the help. For now I've ordered some displayport dummies to buy time while waiting for the Gnome fix to arrive. If I manage to find a fix or workaround I will update this thread or create a new informative one if this one is closed.

system · 9 May 2024 21:21

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.