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Disclaimer: I'm a software developer, not a Linux expert. I use Ubuntu for development but I am bit rubbish when it comes to digging into the OS so please talk me to me like I'm a 5 years old :D

On a fresh Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa installation, I'm having problems setting up my external monitor. This is my hardware:

Monitor #1 is my laptop:

  • Dell Inspiron 7567 Gaming
  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti+Intel HD Graphics 630 (Optimus dual-GPU system)
  • resolution 3840x2160, scaling 200%, refresh rate 60 Hz

Monitor #2 is connected through HDMI:

  • Pixio PX7 Prime
  • resolution 2560x1440, scaling 100%, refresh rate 144 Hz (120 and 60 Hz available)

Primary display: Built-in display

Fractional scaling: Enabled

Driver: nvidia-driver-440 (proprietary, tested)

... and it works! I managed to extend my desktop except for one little problem: it's on the wrong side. Ubuntu puts my secondary monitor on the left hand side of my primary monitor, while it's the opposite on my desktop.

enter image description here

No problem in Screen Display, I drag the display #2 to the left hand side instead, except that doesn't work. When I do that, my external monitor (on the left hand side) is a black screen where I can only move my cursor around and blind click on things. Funny enough, screenshots work fine!

enter image description here

The picture above is a screenshot of my current situation and what I want to see! But in reality, I only see a black screen with my mouse cursor. This drives me insane, why would it work on one side and not the other?!

I tried changing the external monitor frequency down to 120 or 60 Hz didn't make a difference.

I tried switching to the xserver-xorg-video-nouveau driver but had problems when rebooting with the following message, mentioned in this post:

dev/sda1: clean, xxxxxx/xxxxxx files, xxxxxxx/xxxxxxx blocks

So I reverted it for now.

I would welcome any advice that would help me fix that issue :)

Alexandre Leprêtre
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  • This does seem odd. Have you tried things like trying both monitors at the same (lower) resolution and both without any scaling? Have you tried changing which monitor is set to be the primary display to see if that makes any difference? You could also edit your question with the results of the xrandr terminal command both when you have the screen on the left & right to see if there is any difference/clues there. – codlord Jun 21 '20 at 20:49
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    I'm not home and didnt take my external monitor. My bad. Anyway : Did you find anything in nvidia-settings ? (run in terminal, you can also find it in your menu) – B. du Garay Jun 21 '20 at 21:04
  • @codlord I tried mirroring the images but it wouldn't let me due to "hardware limitations". I only seemed to allow me to either extend the desktop or use a single display. Disabling fractional scaling didn't really help either.

    @B.duGaray Thanks for the nvidia-settings tip. I ran that command and played around. This is how I fixed it:

    1. Picked "X Server Display Configuration" in the menu
    2. Selected my external monitor
    3. Changed from No Reflection to Reflect along XY
    4. My ext. monitor is now showing an upside down picture
    5. Revert from Reflect along XY to No Reflection
     – Alexandre Leprêtre Jun 27 '20 at 17:38

0 Answers0