If I disable 1 display, the other 2 will only overlap, X is broken if all 3 are enabled

Support Graphics & Display
1

If I have 3 monitors, Laptop LCD, 1 HDMI, and 1 VGA, and all 3 enabled, my mouse doesn’t move freely between displays. It’s as if all 3 are running on separate work-spaces. I can’t stretch across them, etc. If I disable the VGA monitor, the other 2 collapse on top of each other. I can try to separate them in xfce4-settings - Display, but as soon as I hit apply, they immediately collapse together again. If I unplug the VGA monitor, it works fine. I share that monitor between multiple computers. I typically just leave it enabled and don’t mouse all the way over there. But it’s nice to be able to just switch inputs on the monitor.

Details about when this started: I use my laptop either with just my laptop display or with the same 2 external displays. It’s an older laptop, so no USB-C docking station; I have to individually plug 1 monitor into VGA and the other to HDMI every time I put my laptop on my desk. All 3 are usually enabled, but sometimes I’m not using the VGA monitor for this laptop so, rather than stress connectors, i just disable it in xfce4 settings - Display, and the other 2 monitors keep working like normal. I’ve had this setup for at least 4 years now.

Today, however, I unplugged the HDMI monitor I typically use and plugged in a WACOM ONE tablet, separate HDMI and USB connectors. My laptop detected the new HDMI display, but it then disabled the VGA display and put the WACOM and my laptop displays on top of each other according to the display settings in XFCE. The checkbox for mirrored wasn’t checked. They were just set to the same x,y coordinates so it had the exact same effect. While annoying, I assumed that was some default profile thing and I wasn’t really planning to use the tablet, I was just seeing if it worked.

I unplugged the WACOM and plugged my normal HDMI display back in. It defaulted to all 3 monitors in order, 1 - 2 - 3. That’s annoying, but normally easy to rearrange them. However, now, when I move my mouse from one to the other, I have to move the cursor quickly. Otherwise it stops on the edge of the screen as if that’s the edge of the desktop. I can’t smoothly move around.

2

Please provide your system information as described (below) so that others can identify possible contibuting factors.

I’m sure someone will help when they are able.

Regards.

What follows is from a standard template.

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