dualsreen

[dips6195]

how do i install a second monitor to have a dual screen. im a noob sorry

[DaddyX3]

Need a video card for one. What are your specs? post your specs and we should be able to tell if your ready.

[dips6195]

i have a geforce 7600 gs nvidia, and i have a dimension e521 with 2 gb of ram

[DaddyX3]

i have a geforce 7600 gs nvidia, and i have a dimension e521 with 2 gb of ram

Perfect! I'm very familiar with the nvidia cards First, did you install the nvidia drivers via envyng? If not, go to Applications>>System Tools>>Envyng. This will open up a window and then you will need to select Nvidia.

This will install the correct drivers for your setup. Once all this is done you will need to reboot.
Step one: Hit ALT+F2 and enter:

Code: Select all

gksudo nvidia-settings

This will allow you to save changes to the graphics driver setup via the nvida-settings manager.
Once it has opened up, you will go to the 'X server display Configuration' in the left hand pane.
You should see two boxes in the main window showing your 'connected monitors/ tv's/ or what ever the case may be. One of them will be grey'd out - but you should be able to click on it and then select the 'configure' option below it.

Now from here you have two choices - run a seperate X screen setup (which I do) that makes it look like two different desktops between your monitors or run Twinview which is where you actually drag'n'drop windows to and from the different screens to the other. Either way, its a simple selection in the 'configure' dialog box that pops up when you select your monitor and click on the 'configure' button in the nvidia settings manager.

Hope that helps and gets you all dialed in.