TOPIC: Dual-Head PowerBook Configuration

---

If you desire to mirror your internal PowerBook monitor to an external DVI monitor, there are a few things to consider:

• If you have an older pre-DVI, ADC PowerBook (Titanium), this has not yet been tested.
• If you have an NVidia card, as shipped with the 12" portables, this will not work.
• You need an ATI video card foundation, as shipped with the 15" and many 17" PowerBooks.
• Do NOT use the Display configuration panel provided from the System Tools menu.

Instead, do the following:

1. Download this xorg configuration file.
2. As root, move it to /etc/X11/
3. Edit the screen0 resolution to match that of your PowerBook and external display*:

   	Section "Screen"
   		Identifier "Screen0"
   		Device     "Videocard0"
   		Monitor    "Monitor0"
   		DefaultDepth     16
   		SubSection "Display"
   			Viewport   0 0
   			Depth     16
   			Modes    "1280x854" <-- modify this (built-in screen) ...
   		EndSubSection
   	EndSection
   
   	Section "Screen"
   		Identifier "Screen1"
   		Device     "Videocard0"
   		Monitor    "Monitor1"
   		DefaultDepth     16
   		SubSection "Display"
   			Viewport   0 0
   			Depth     16
   			Modes    "1920x1200" <-- ... and this (external display)
   		EndSubSection
   	EndSection
   	

4. Backup (copy) the current xorg.conf file:

   cp xorg.conf xorg.cong.bak [ENTER]

5. Sym-link the new xorg file to make it active:

   ln -s xorg.conf-dual xorg.conf [ENTER]

6. Attach your external DVI monitor, power it on, and make certain it is set to the DVI port.
7. Reboot your PowerBook.

* And it should just work. I have not had much luck with getting the screen1 settings to take effect. It just runs as it deems fit which is less than the resolution of my built-in 15" screen. However, as a means of connecting to LCD projectors (through the DVI to VGA converter), it has worked flawlessly, so I can't complain to any great degree.

This HOWTO was prepared by Kai Staats, Terra Soft Solutions