How to blank laptop screen when using external monitor/

Hi there
I need some help with figuring out how to configure my xorg.conf for my Arch Linux 64 bit installation on a HP Pavilion dv 5000 laptop so that I can automatically blank my laptop screen when using an external monitor. I have Arch Linux installed along with Ubuntu Feisty. In Ubuntu my external monitor (Viewsonic 1912WB) was not detected at the time of installation but with the native 1280X800 resolution that is good for the laptop takes effect for the external monitor automatically when the external monitor is plugged in. The laptop monitor goes blank when the external monitor is plugged in.
In my Arch Linux installation I have not been able to configure a dual head configuration using the ATI Radeon drivers (fglrx). I have the native 1280X800 resolution set up for the laptop monitor and this resolution takes effect for the external monitor also. However the laptop monitor also continues to function when the external monitor is plugged in. I would like to blank the laptop monitor when using the external monitor.
I am attaching my Arch Linux xorg.conf and the Ubuntu xorg.conf below. Thanks for anyone who can help, I am having a lot of difficulty in figuring out how to set up xorg.conf among all the things that I have had to learn so far in Linux and I am a relative newcomer to the whole thing. I have tried to compare the two xorg.conf files and edit my Arch xorg.conf in accordance with the Ubuntu one but it did not work and I keep getting errors!
I am using XFCE as my Desktop environment.
Arch Linux xorg.conf
# File generated by xorgconfig.
# Copyright 2004 The X.Org Foundation
# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
# The X.Org Foundation BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY,
# WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF
# OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
# SOFTWARE.
# Except as contained in this notice, the name of The X.Org Foundation shall
# not be used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale, use or other
# dealings in this Software without prior written authorization from
# The X.Org Foundation.
# Refer to the xorg.conf(5) man page for details about the format of
# this file.
# Module section -- this section is used to specify
# which dynamically loadable modules to load.
# Files section. This allows default font and rgb paths to be set
# Server flags section.
# Input devices
# Core keyboard's InputDevice section
# Core Pointer's InputDevice section
# Other input device sections
# this is optional and is required only if you
# are using extended input devices. This is for example only. Refer
# to the xorg.conf man page for a description of the options.
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "Mouse2"
# Driver "mouse"
# Option "Protocol" "MouseMan"
# Option "Device" "/dev/mouse2"
# EndSection
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "spaceball"
# Driver "magellan"
# Option "Device" "/dev/cua0"
# EndSection
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "spaceball2"
# Driver "spaceorb"
# Option "Device" "/dev/cua0"
# EndSection
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "touchscreen0"
# Driver "microtouch"
# Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
# Option "MinX" "1412"
# Option "MaxX" "15184"
# Option "MinY" "15372"
# Option "MaxY" "1230"
# Option "ScreenNumber" "0"
# Option "ReportingMode" "Scaled"
# Option "ButtonNumber" "1"
# Option "SendCoreEvents"
# EndSection
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "touchscreen1"
# Driver "elo2300"
# Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
# Option "MinX" "231"
# Option "MaxX" "3868"
# Option "MinY" "3858"
# Option "MaxY" "272"
# Option "ScreenNumber" "0"
# Option "ReportingMode" "Scaled"
# Option "ButtonThreshold" "17"
# Option "ButtonNumber" "1"
# Option "SendCoreEvents"
# EndSection
# Monitor section
# Any number of monitor sections may be present
# Graphics device section
# Any number of graphics device sections may be present
# Standard VGA Device:
# Device configured by xorgconfig:
# Screen sections
# Any number of screen sections may be present. Each describes
# the configuration of a single screen. A single specific screen section
# may be specified from the X server command line with the "-screen"
# option.
# ServerLayout sections.
# Any number of ServerLayout sections may be present. Each describes
# the way multiple screens are organised. A specific ServerLayout
# section may be specified from the X server command line with the
# "-layout" option. In the absence of this, the first section is used.
# When now ServerLayout section is present, the first Screen section
# is used alone.
# Section "DRI"
# Mode 0666
# EndSection
Section "ServerLayout"
# The Identifier line must be present
# Each Screen line specifies a Screen section name, and optionally
# the relative position of other screens. The four names after
# primary screen name are the screens to the top, bottom, left and right
# of the primary screen. In this example, screen 2 is located to the
# right of screen 1.
# Each InputDevice line specifies an InputDevice section name and
# optionally some options to specify the way the device is to be
# used. Those options include "CorePointer", "CoreKeyboard" and
# "SendCoreEvents".
Identifier "Simple Layout"
Screen 0 "aticonfig-Screen[0]" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection
Section "Files"
# The location of the RGB database. Note, this is the name of the
# file minus the extension (like ".txt" or ".db"). There is normally
# no need to change the default.
# RgbPath "/usr/share/X11/rgb"
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (which are concatenated together),
# as well as specifying multiple comma-separated entries in one FontPath
# command (or a combination of both methods)
# FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/TTF"
# FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/Type1"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/local/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/TrueType/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/freefont/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"
# The module search path. The default path is shown here.
# ModulePath "/usr/lib/modules"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/misc"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi:unscaled"
EndSection
Section "Module"
# This loads the DBE extension module.
# This loads the miscellaneous extensions module, and disables
# initialisation of the XFree86-DGA extension within that module.
# This loads the font modules
# Load "type1"
# This loads the GLX module
# Load "glx"
# This loads the DRI module
# Load "dri"
Load "dbe" # Double buffer extension
SubSection "extmod"
Option    "omit xfree86-dga" # don't initialise the DGA extension
EndSubSection
Load "freetype"
# Load "xtt"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
# For most OSs the protocol can be omitted (it defaults to "Standard").
# When using XQUEUE (only for SVR3 and SVR4, but not Solaris),
# uncomment the following line.
# Option "Protocol" "Xqueue"
# Option "Xleds" "1 2 3"
# Option "LeftAlt" "Meta"
# Option "RightAlt" "ModeShift"
# To customise the XKB settings to suit your keyboard, modify the
# lines below (which are the defaults). For example, for a non-U.S.
# keyboard, you will probably want to use:
# Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
# If you have a US Microsoft Natural keyboard, you can use:
# Option "XkbModel" "microsoft"
# Then to change the language, change the Layout setting.
# For example, a german layout can be obtained with:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# or:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# Option "XkbVariant" "nodeadkeys"
# If you'd like to switch the positions of your capslock and
# control keys, use:
# Option "XkbOptions" "ctrl:swapcaps"
# These are the default XKB settings for Xorg
# Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
# Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
# Option "XkbLayout" "us"
# Option "XkbVariant" ""
# Option "XkbOptions" ""
# Option "XkbDisable"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "kbd"
Option    "AutoRepeat" "500 30"
# Specify which keyboard LEDs can be user-controlled (eg, with xset(1))
Option    "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option    "XkbModel" "pc104"
Option    "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier and driver
# the following line.
# Option "Protocol" "Xqueue"
# Mouse-speed setting for PS/2 mouse.
# Option "Resolution" "256"
# Baudrate and SampleRate are only for some Logitech mice. In
# almost every case these lines should be omitted.
# Option "BaudRate" "9600"
# Option "SampleRate" "150"
# Mouse wheel mapping. Default is to map vertical wheel to buttons 4 & 5,
# horizontal wheel to buttons 6 & 7. Change if your mouse has more than
# 3 buttons and you need to map the wheel to different button ids to avoid
# conflicts.
# Emulate3Timeout is the timeout in milliseconds (default is 50ms)
# Option "Emulate3Buttons"
# Option "Emulate3Timeout" "50"
# ChordMiddle is an option for some 3-button Logitech mice
# Option "ChordMiddle"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option    "Protocol" "Auto" # Auto detect
Option    "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
# When using XQUEUE, comment out the above two lines, and uncomment
Option    "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
# Emulate3Buttons is an option for 2-button mice
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
# HorizSync is in kHz unless units are specified.
# HorizSync may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY. REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.
# HorizSync 30-64 # multisync
# HorizSync 31.5, 35.2 # multiple fixed sync frequencies
# HorizSync 15-25, 30-50 # multiple ranges of sync frequencies
# VertRefresh is in Hz unless units are specified.
# VertRefresh may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY. REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.
Identifier "My Monitor"
HorizSync 30.0 - 62.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 70.0
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "aticonfig-Monitor[0]"
Option    "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"
Option    "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"
Option    "DPMS" "true"
EndSection
Section "Device"
# The chipset line is optional in most cases. It can be used to override
# the driver's chipset detection, and should not normally be specified.
# Chipset "generic"
# The Driver line must be present. When using run-time loadable driver
# modules, this line instructs the server to load the specified driver
# module. Even when not using loadable driver modules, this line
# indicates which driver should interpret the information in this section.
# The BusID line is used to specify which of possibly multiple devices
# this section is intended for. When this line isn't present, a device
# section can only match up with the primary video device. For PCI
# devices a line like the following could be used. This line should not
# normally be included unless there is more than one video device
# intalled.
# BusID "PCI:0:10:0"
# VideoRam 256
# Clocks 25.2 28.3
Identifier "Standard VGA"
Driver "vga"
VendorName "Unknown"
BoardName "Unknown"
EndSection
Section "Device"
#VideoRam 131072
# Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
Identifier "* Generic VESA compatible"
Driver "vesa"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "aticonfig-Device[0]"
Driver "fglrx"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen 1"
Device "* Generic VESA compatible"
Monitor "My Monitor"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 8
Modes "1280x800" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 16
Modes "1280x800" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1280x800" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]"
Device "aticonfig-Device[0]"
Monitor "aticonfig-Monitor[0]"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
EndSubSection
EndSection
Ubuntu xorg.conf
# /etc/X11/xorg.conf (xorg X Window System server configuration file)
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf(5) manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
# sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg
Section "Files"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi"
# path to defoma fonts
FontPath "/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType"
EndSection
Section "Module"
Load "i2c"
Load "bitmap"
Load "ddc"
Load "dri"
Load "extmod"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx"
Load "int10"
Load "vbe"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
Driver "kbd"
Option "CoreKeyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Synaptics Touchpad"
Driver "synaptics"
Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
Option "HorizScrollDelta" "0"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "stylus"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "stylus"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "eraser"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "eraser"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "cursor"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "cursor"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "ATI Technologies Inc ATI Radeon XPRESS 200M 5955 (PCIE)"
Driver "ati"
BusID "PCI:1:5:0"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Generic Monitor"
Option "DPMS"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Device "ATI Technologies Inc ATI Radeon XPRESS 200M 5955 (PCIE)"
Monitor "Generic Monitor"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 1
Modes "1280x800"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 4
Modes "1280x800"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1280x800"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1280x800"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1280x800"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x800"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "Default Screen"
InputDevice "Generic Keyboard"
InputDevice "Configured Mouse"
InputDevice "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "cursor" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "Synaptics Touchpad"
EndSection
Section "DRI"
Mode 0666
EndSection

Xrandr 1.2 provides means for this. But today the only supported configuration is xorg-server-1.3 + xf86-video-intel-2.0. So for Radeon you'll have to wait for drivers that support Randr 1.2.
On my laptop (Thinkpad x60s) that would be:
xrandr --output VGA --auto
xrandr --output LVDS --off

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- Judy

Internet running very slowly when using external monitor.

I've used my HDTV as an external monitor for my various MacBooks for years with no problems. I bought a 17-inch MacBook Pro, and it worked perfectly doing the same thing for the first few months that I had it. Recently it has started to have very poor Internet speed, but only when I connect it to my TV. The Internet and my Airport Extreme are not the cause, as no one else in the house has this issue and my iPad loads sites as fast as it ever has. Plus, the MacBook Pro in question has an excellent connection once I disconnect it from the external monitor.
What could be the cause of this? I updated to 10.7.2 way back when it was released and only had problems very recently. Is there anything I can do without having to take it to the Apple Store?

Are you sure that the internet is running slowly? Or, because you're using an external monitor, you're using more memory than before and you're having some issues with memory access? You can open Activity Monitor and see how much free memory you have.
One other thing. Are you using discrete video when you're connected to a monitor? Or are you using the integrated Intel HD3000 video.

Noise when using external monitor

When I connect my MacBook Pro to an external LCD screen and also connect my soundoutput to an external amplifier I get noise in the speakers. What can I do to avoid this?
It gets even worse when using powercord on my MacBook.

this is caused by processor noise/power interference. one fix is to turn the volume all the way up on the macbook pro,and adjust volume on the amplifier.

Major Problem - LCD Screen Unreadable - Using External Monitor - First Aid

My LCD Screen is cracked, and only 5% of the screen is readable, and I dont have the resources to have it repaired, so have been using an external monitor to do my computing needs.
However, somehting happened to the OS X, and it MUST be repaired according to Disk First Aid. Putting the CD, and I want to force the output of the CD to be put on the external monitor, not the LCD since I can't read it. How can I make it show on the external monitor?

Hi Chef
Insert your System CD an select it as startup volume in "SystemPreferences"/"StartupDisk". Restart your book and close the lid right after the chime. Voilà, your external screen should be main screen now.
Regards P

Application windows off screen while using external monitor

Hi,
I am using my MacBook frequently with an external monitor attached (lid closed). It happens now, that some applications (e.g.Finder) open windows outside of the screen. What can I do?
This is especially annoying when I want to copy a file and Finder opens the 'Replace/Stop' window and I can't do anything because this windows is outside of the screen (I only see it when pressing F10).
Any ideas?
Gernot

I had this happen last night. I was moving a window and it dissappeared. It was off screen. I could see it wit F10 but that was all. What I did was close the window under file in toolbar. Then I opened a new window under the same command in the toolbar. This brought the new window up in the visible window. Hope this helps.
Mort

PB screen broken-using external monitor now-but can't see hardware test

Hi. I have a 15" PB (1.33GHz) that was recently dropped. The screen was decimated... unusable and can see maybe the far left 1" of the screen... the rest is 100% unusable. So currently I am using a 19" monitor. I was wondering a few things... Is it possible to somehow disable the screen in the computer? I removed it, but the PB nows thinks there are two VGA monitors hooked up (?)... so I put the screen back in and I just sleep it everytime I start up and wake it with an external mouse so I can set my resolution on my external 19" monitor. It's not a huge deal if there's no way to disable it so that I can just remove the thing and the powerbook can be my keyboard
Anyway, I also can not run the hardware test because the F7 key (to mirror) wont work with it. Anyone have an idea what I can do about this? Somehow force the G4 to recognize the external monitor in the hardware test mode?? I suspect some other problems with the G4... such as a bad ram slot (the lower one) - it doesn't recognize any ram sticks that I put in there. I've read that lots of others had this problem... and even though I have applecare, I suspect that Apple won't recognize this since it has been dropped.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks

I assume this is due to the fact that system detects your internal monitor as default one, and that is there where system sends main data. In order to force system send data to the external monitor, get a mouse and physical keyboard, close MB lid, and then press any key on the external keyboard.
when you get there, go to system preferences/display, and manually move the Apple upper bar to the external monitor, then choose mirror; ultimately, set optimal resolution.

HT2494 Reboot my Macbook Pro when using external monitor w Thunderbolt to VGA adapter

I have a Macbook Pro running 10.9.2 OS X (MacBookPro8,1). I never had any problem w that but yesterday i bought an external monitor (kind of old model from LG - L1900E). Well, i was trying to extend my Macbook Pro display through a Thunderbolt to VGA adapter. It worked at first but it started rebooting my Mac. I just disconnected that and the reboot stopped.
It sounds to me like a Software related BUG regarding connection or something strange.....
I would like to have some help on how to proceed w that ? Is there a specific SW i need to install to use that ?
I am kind of disapointed because i heard that one of the major items the new OS X was about external displays.....
Looking forward a help from an apple specialist, Tks !
Marcello H. Ishida.

Examine these instructions:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3131
Ciao.

How to blank laptop screen when using external monitor/

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