Bernd Eggink wrote (on Feb 24, 2009):
> I just found out that using an external VGA monitor is easier than
> expected. Just plug the monitor in, then restart X (otherwise you won't
> see anything). No need to change the xorg.conf. The resolution on the
> monitor is automatically set to the highest one that fits into 1600x900.
> I tested it with an Asus VW 222U and got 1440x900. This means that 160
> pixel at the right are missing, but I can live with that.
>
> Don't change the resolution with xrandr; this causes the notebook LCD to
> go black, and stay black, until X is restarted.
For me, the following incantation works:
xrandr --output LVDS --auto --output VGA --same-as LVDS --auto
both with an external monitor and a projector. In the latter case,
where the projector's resolution is 1024x768, the note's screen is
shrunk to a 1024x768 rectangle, and the resulting margins are still
useful, even though they are not projected. Unplugging the projector,
the same command restores the screen to the original 1600x900. A funny
side effect: the gnome top panel comes out completely scrambled.
