Good morning Universe:
I have a trusty Toshiba Satellite A35-S159 (P4) which has ran different
Linux incarnations over the eons since LFS 5.1.
Mysterious issue #1 -> Booting/Shutting down the laptop:
I decided to reinstall some Linux for the Nth time and I noticed that the
laptop sometimes would boot, sometimes would not, and when it did, it would
not shutdown consistently.
In total frustration, I somehow accidentally stumbled upon this ODD
behavior:
As soon as Grub releases the system to the processor, or as soon as the
shutdown sequence initiates, I *HAVE* to tap a key (any key except
Shift/Alt/Ctrl/Caps/Num lock) or the sequence hangs.
You can see the different kernel messages sitting there on the screen, tap a
key, get another message, tap another key...
I had never seen such a thing...
Trying to isolate whether I had a hardware problem or a karma problem, I
began digging old LFS boot CDs until I found one old enough to consistently
boot and shutdown the laptop uneventfully.
Karma problem...
I don't have a definite cutoff number, but at some kernel in time, the
laptop began demanding me to type a key while booting/shutting down or it
would just blatantly refuse to behave.
I wrapped up the issue by booting Debian 5.0/lxde which was the only thing I
could find to boot/shutdown consistently.
As a byproduct, I have found that Debian has reached an usability that
borderline matches *Ubuntu, and even thought it is still geeky, it has
become a mom-and-pap Linux if that's what you want it to be.
Debian never ceases to amaze me... :)
And, then the question: What the Heck is going on here?
Now the purpose of this post:
Annoying issue #2 -> Using "native" screen and external monitor with
different resolutions.
This one has annoyed the bejesus out of me for years now.
Simple issue: the resolution of the laptop sucks. I want a second monitor
to expand it using the laptop screen AND an external monitor.
Impossible...
I believe I have tried every WEB page under the Sun to no avail.
I just CAN'T get the 2 *&%$ monitors to coexist at different resolutions...
:(
I pretty much gave this one up, but I am working off a little monitor
attached to the laptop now (and no options) and I get butterflies in my
stomach (and I hate Linux and the World for a second or 2) when I see the
cover down and I realize how wonderful life would be if I could pop the %&!#
thing open and USE IT!
To summarize the REAL question of this post:
How do I attach a second monitor to this laptop and have both screens
working at its own native resolution?
I gave it up... :(
ET
PS: lspci at
http://kitepilot.com/lspci.txt
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