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My only issue that is stopping me from moving to Linux is the dual monitor support. If I use TwinView, maximizing an application causes it to take over both monitors, not maximize in the current monitor the way it works in Windows. If I use two separate X windows, certain programs default to a specific monitor with no way of moving it to the other desktop. Has anyone else had these issues? Are there any detailed dual monitor resources.for Linux/Ubuntu I can read?

I am specifically looking for answer that pertains to the Gnome Ubuntu release using the nvida drivers + twinview.

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umm... which version of Ubuntu, please? –  quack quixote May 6 '10 at 9:22
All. I have had this issue for the past 2 years, both LTS and interim releases. –  Juice May 6 '10 at 20:38
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4 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

I had this problem with version 173 of the drivers. Surprisingly, it was solved by updating to version 185.

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I have the same issue, but this is not helpful for me, since my card (FX 5500) is not supported by anything higher than version 173. Has anyone else solved this problem differently? –  user55325 May 2 '12 at 21:37
In case it helps anyone in the future, I got it working by setting up TwinView in xorg.conf instead of using the graphical utility. –  user55325 May 2 '12 at 23:00
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I run ubuntu 10.4 LTS, and dual monitor support works flawlessly with TwinView as soon as the nVidia driver is installed.

Applications are maximized only to the screen they are on, perhaps you last tried on a different version of twinview?

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"twinview" is nvidias version of xinerama, you can't have "twinview" without installed nvidia drivers. otherwise its just xinerama and that also leads to correct maximized windows if the wm is xinerama aware. –  akira May 7 '10 at 8:20
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use a window manager which DOES maximize windows on the monitor the window currently is, eg. 'fluxbox'. to maximize a window correctly is the job of a window manager, if the window manager is implemented correctly xinerama/twinview without any problem. (nevertheless it helps to read the mentioned howto for a deeper understanding)

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I need an answer that pertains to the vanilla Ubuntu distro, i.e. Gnome. –  Juice May 5 '10 at 20:58
the windowmanager is responsible for correct maximization. if you need to stick with vanilla gnome, then you need to ask the metacity folks (metacity is the wm-component of gnome). by looking at the code of metacity i see that they are aware of xinerama (which is the same as twinview from a wm point of view), so maybe you can find some settings regarding the wm behavior somewhere in the gnome-settings –  akira May 6 '10 at 7:20
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HowTo: Dual Monitors (Xinerama/TwinView/MergedFB) from Ubuntuforums.org.

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Does not answer my question. –  Juice May 5 '10 at 20:56
that thread was started in 2006 and the last post is from 2008. that means it may have good background info, but any configuration steps from that thread will need modification to work on Ubuntu 9.04 or later. –  quack quixote May 6 '10 at 9:26
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