Connecting laptop as external monitor (xrandr question)

hanari · 12 June 2022 04:10

hallo. this is my first post, apologies in advance for any errors made. i am not good with computer

i have an old laptop that i wish to use as an external monitor for my main laptop through a VGA connection. for this i have read that xrandr is an appropriate command

both my laptops are running manjaro i3 community edition

i have read the xrand man but i do not believe i’ve understood it correctly. from what i have read, this would be the appropriate command for my situation:

xrand --output LVDS-1 --auto --primary --output VGA-1

however no effect seems to take place. i have tried many different combinations with the same result(no apparent effect and no errors). i believe this to be a simple problem of me misinterpreting an argument, so i ask for help. thanks you

megavolt · 12 June 2022 04:37

Hello @hanari and welcome

The command is not xrand, but xrandr.
If it is no hybrid gpu with nvidia, then this command should work:

xrandr --output LVDS-1 --auto --primary --output VGA-1 --auto --right-of LVDS-1

However… it would be better if you could share some more information:

inxi -Fazy

hanari · 12 June 2022 07:10

thank you for the welcome @megavolt

woops! i made a mistake when typing the command in the post. apologies.
sadly the command you provided gave me the same result as before(no apparent effect nor error)

i realize also that i did not account for the third argument in my original command. silly me. nonetheless the problem persists

i can gladly provide the System information from both machines, but first i am worried. is there any precarious information in the output which i should censor before publishing to the internet? thanks

megavolt · 12 June 2022 07:22

No, serial numbers, mac adresses etc. will be filtered. inxi -Fazy is shortcut for:

inxi --full --admin --filter --width 80

or only gpu section: inxi -Gazy

linux-aarhus · 12 June 2022 09:14

I don’t think you can - VGA pots on a laptop is outgoing and what you are looking for is incoming.

There is another option though

[root tip] Serve your keyboard and mouse to your extra computer(s)

hanari · 12 June 2022 17:18

thanks for reassurance. i have pasted the -Fazy output for both machines below.

machine 1(one i want to use as master):

System:
  Kernel: 5.15.41-1-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.1.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.15-x86_64
    root=UUID=e6e414ee-c0f5-4391-adb4-cc3b21b7aee0 rw quiet apparmor=1
    security=apparmor udev.log_priority=3
  Desktop: i3 v: 4.20.1 info: i3bar vt: 7 dm: LightDM v: 1.30.0
    Distro: Manjaro Linux base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Hewlett-Packard product: HP Pavilion dv2600 v: F.2E
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Wistron model: 30CD v: 80.52 serial: <superuser required>
    BIOS: Phoenix v: F.2E date: 12/01/2008
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: N/A condition: N/A volts: N/A
    model: Hewlett-Packard Primary type: Li-ion serial: N/A status: N/A
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core2 Duo T5250 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Core2 Merom
    built: 2006-09 process: Intel 65nm family: 6 model-id: 0xF (15)
    stepping: 0xD (13) microcode: 0xA4
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 2 smt: <unsupported> cache: L1: 128 KiB
    desc: d-2x32 KiB; i-2x32 KiB L2: 2 MiB desc: 1x2 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 1026 high: 1053 min/max: 1000/1500 scaling:
    driver: acpi-cpufreq governor: schedutil cores: 1: 1053 2: 1000
    bogomips: 5986
  Flags: ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 ssse3
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX unsupported
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion
  Type: mds
    status: Vulnerable: Clear CPU buffers attempted, no microcode; SMT disabled
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: spec_store_bypass status: Vulnerable
  Type: spectre_v1
    mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Retpolines, STIBP: disabled, RSB filling
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics
    vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen4 process: Intel 65n
    built: 2006-07 ports: active: LVDS-1 off: VGA-1 empty: SVIDEO-1
    bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:2a02 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: Chicony VGA 30fps UVC Webcam type: USB driver: uvcvideo
    bus-ID: 2-5:2 chip-ID: 04f2:b016 class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.3 driver: X: loaded: modesetting
    alternate: fbdev,vesa gpu: i915 display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1280x800 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 338x211mm (13.31x8.31")
    s-diag: 398mm (15.69")
  Monitor-1: LVDS-1 pos: primary model: Seiko Epson 0x4642 built: 2006
    res: 1280x800 hz: 60 dpi: 107 gamma: 1.2 size: 303x190mm (11.93x7.48")
    diag: 358mm (14.1") ratio: 16:10 modes: 1280x800
  Monitor-2: VGA-1 note: disabled size-res: N/A modes: max: 1024x768
    min: 640x480
  Message: Unable to show GL data. Required tool glxinfo missing.
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 82801H HD Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:284b
    class-ID: 0403
  Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.15.41-1-MANJARO running: yes
  Sound Server-2: JACK v: 1.9.21 running: no
  Sound Server-3: PulseAudio v: 15.0 running: no
Network:
  Device-1: Marvell 88E8039 PCI-E Fast Ethernet vendor: Hewlett-Packard
    driver: sky2 v: 1.30 pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: 3000
    bus-ID: 05:00.0 chip-ID: 11ab:4353 class-ID: 0200
  IF: ens3 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Intel PRO/Wireless 4965 AG or AGN [Kedron] Network
    driver: iwl4965 v: in-tree:d pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1
    bus-ID: 07:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:4229 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wls5 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 240.39 GiB used: 9.41 GiB (3.9%)
  SMART Message: Required tool smartctl not installed. Check --recommends
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Western Digital
    model: WD2500BEVS-26VAT0 size: 232.89 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
    logical: 512 B speed: 1.5 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 5400 serial: <filter>
    rev: 1A11 scheme: MBR
  ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 type: USB vendor: Generic model: USB Flash
    size: 7.5 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: SSD
    serial: <filter> rev: 0.00 scheme: MBR
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 232.88 GiB size: 228.17 GiB (97.98%) used: 8.95 GiB (3.9%)
    fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
Swap:
  Alert: No swap data was found.
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 42.0 C mobo: 42.0 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Info:
  Processes: 148 Uptime: 1h 24m wakeups: 1 Memory: 2.9 GiB
  used: 587.9 MiB (19.8%) Init: systemd v: 250 default: graphical
  tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.1.0 clang: 13.0.1 Packages: pacman: 1071
  lib: 306 Shell: Bash v: 5.1.16 running-in: urxvtd inxi: 3.3.17

machine 2(one that i want to use as monitor):

System:
  Kernel: 5.15.41-1-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.1.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.15-x86_64
    root=UUID=e6e414ee-c0f5-4391-adb4-cc3b21b7aee0 rw quiet apparmor=1
    security=apparmor udev.log_priority=3
  Desktop: i3 v: 4.20.1 info: i3bar vt: 7 dm: LightDM v: 1.30.0
    Distro: Manjaro Linux base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Hewlett-Packard product: HP Pavilion dv2600 v: F.2E
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Wistron model: 30CD v: 80.52 serial: <superuser required>
    BIOS: Phoenix v: F.2E date: 12/01/2008
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: N/A condition: N/A volts: N/A
    model: Hewlett-Packard Primary type: Li-ion serial: N/A status: N/A
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core2 Duo T5250 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Core2 Merom
    built: 2006-09 process: Intel 65nm family: 6 model-id: 0xF (15)
    stepping: 0xD (13) microcode: 0xA4
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 2 smt: <unsupported> cache: L1: 128 KiB
    desc: d-2x32 KiB; i-2x32 KiB L2: 2 MiB desc: 1x2 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 1026 high: 1053 min/max: 1000/1500 scaling:
    driver: acpi-cpufreq governor: schedutil cores: 1: 1053 2: 1000
    bogomips: 5986
  Flags: ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 ssse3
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX unsupported
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion
  Type: mds
    status: Vulnerable: Clear CPU buffers attempted, no microcode; SMT disabled
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: spec_store_bypass status: Vulnerable
  Type: spectre_v1
    mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Retpolines, STIBP: disabled, RSB filling
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics
    vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen4 process: Intel 65n
    built: 2006-07 ports: active: LVDS-1 off: VGA-1 empty: SVIDEO-1
    bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:2a02 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: Chicony VGA 30fps UVC Webcam type: USB driver: uvcvideo
    bus-ID: 2-5:2 chip-ID: 04f2:b016 class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.3 driver: X: loaded: modesetting
    alternate: fbdev,vesa gpu: i915 display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1280x800 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 338x211mm (13.31x8.31")
    s-diag: 398mm (15.69")
  Monitor-1: LVDS-1 pos: primary model: Seiko Epson 0x4642 built: 2006
    res: 1280x800 hz: 60 dpi: 107 gamma: 1.2 size: 303x190mm (11.93x7.48")
    diag: 358mm (14.1") ratio: 16:10 modes: 1280x800
  Monitor-2: VGA-1 note: disabled size-res: N/A modes: max: 1024x768
    min: 640x480
  Message: Unable to show GL data. Required tool glxinfo missing.
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 82801H HD Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:284b
    class-ID: 0403
  Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.15.41-1-MANJARO running: yes
  Sound Server-2: JACK v: 1.9.21 running: no
  Sound Server-3: PulseAudio v: 15.0 running: no
Network:
  Device-1: Marvell 88E8039 PCI-E Fast Ethernet vendor: Hewlett-Packard
    driver: sky2 v: 1.30 pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: 3000
    bus-ID: 05:00.0 chip-ID: 11ab:4353 class-ID: 0200
  IF: ens3 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Intel PRO/Wireless 4965 AG or AGN [Kedron] Network
    driver: iwl4965 v: in-tree:d pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1
    bus-ID: 07:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:4229 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wls5 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 240.39 GiB used: 9.41 GiB (3.9%)
  SMART Message: Required tool smartctl not installed. Check --recommends
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Western Digital
    model: WD2500BEVS-26VAT0 size: 232.89 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
    logical: 512 B speed: 1.5 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 5400 serial: <filter>
    rev: 1A11 scheme: MBR
  ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 type: USB vendor: Generic model: USB Flash
    size: 7.5 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: SSD
    serial: <filter> rev: 0.00 scheme: MBR
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 232.88 GiB size: 228.17 GiB (97.98%) used: 8.95 GiB (3.9%)
    fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
Swap:
  Alert: No swap data was found.
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 42.0 C mobo: 42.0 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Info:
  Processes: 148 Uptime: 1h 24m wakeups: 1 Memory: 2.9 GiB
  used: 587.9 MiB (19.8%) Init: systemd v: 250 default: graphical
  tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.1.0 clang: 13.0.1 Packages: pacman: 1071
  lib: 306 Shell: Bash v: 5.1.16 running-in: urxvtd inxi: 3.3.17

hanari · 12 June 2022 17:35

is there a way for me to know if the vga is only outgoing? i have seen a lecturer using the projector feature on a windows 10 laptop to use it as a secondary screen before. though i did not pay attention if he had two separate vga ports in his machine

megavolt · 12 June 2022 18:27

But this not a VGA connection, but rather a Network Connection. At the end of the day, Windows uses here Miracast through Wifi-DIrect (P2P).

Sorry I misread your post. Of course it is NOT possible to connect 2 Laptops via VGA, because both are outgoing connections, always.

kainonergon · 12 June 2022 20:08

Hi. I also think that direct connection isn’t possible, but you can try to connect laptops by network. It is not an easy task, but you can read the link to Archwiki in this post:

hanari · 12 June 2022 20:36

oh, i did not think of looking up the word ‘display’ when i was looking for people with the same question as mine. sorry about the duplicate post.

i am currently learning computer networks at the moment so i think i’ll give it a go when i am more comfortable configuring servers in my machines. thanks for the potential solution!

linux-aarhus · 13 June 2022 04:49

Monitor signals originating from a computer is usually only outgoing - if you think of it - it makes sense - there is no devices which sends display into a laptop to project on the laptops internal display.

No matter how hard you try - it won’t work if there is no input port available.

Such function is outgoing - as the projector functions as the screen for the laptop usually mirrored so you can focus on the audience and your laptop before you - not the screen behind you.

Your only option is to use the network either controlling the laptop with your keyboard and mouse or by using the laptop’s xserver as client to your main computer.

system · 15 June 2022 18:50

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