Devuan dual monitor strange problem.

devuanuser · 2019-09-17 01:52:04

I have a strange problem.
I added a second monitor and configured it to have a second monitor that works as a separate desktop and not mirroring on latest Devuan.

I noticed the following curious behavior.
1) If I change desktop backgrounds and I move the config window from the one window to the other, then the available backgrounds completely changes to other options. Really weird.

2) Also, when I want to choose a background and browse the folders in /usr/share they are all blacked out and I dont have permission to access any directories from the second monitor, but if I move the selection windowit back top the first monitor then everything in /usr/share is visible and browsable.

Anyone know what this is about.

Really weird.

Last edited by devuanuser (2019-09-17 01:55:59)

ToxicExMachina · 2019-09-17 04:34:46

>I added a second monitor and configured it to have a second monitor that works as a separate desktop and not mirroring on latest Devuan.

1. Videocard?

2. Videodriver?

3. DE?

4. xrandr (arandr as GUI)?

bgstack15 · 2019-09-17 19:52:17

The default DE in Devuan is Xfce, so if you don't know which DE you're using, it's probably Xfce. That's the one with the cute mouse theme tastefully sprinkled throughout. The Xfce "Desktop" configurator (xfdesktop-settings) usually displays a warning, "Move this dialog to the display you want to edit the settings for." It reacts based on which monitor you're on, so it can handle displaying different images on the different monitors.

It is quite unusual that the /usr/share contents would not be world readable, and not readable by an application running when on a different monitor but same X server. Now, the silly xfdesktop-settings tool has some unusual directory-contents display behavior. Maybe you need to select a useful directory from the "Folder" dropdown towards the bottom left of the application, and find a directory where you expect images to be?

devuanuser · 2019-09-17 23:56:42

Lol of course I know what xfce is.....please dont do the sprinkly childish thing to me, I am trying to be nice, but that tests me.

Anyway, the strange thing is that /usr/share is readable if I am on the default monitor.
If I moved the config over to the second monitor, the backgrounds are not available anymore and /usr/share suddenly becomes protected.

I have never seen anything like this, and dont have a clue why there is separate permissions for separate monitors.

As to your recommendation, I cannot access any directories in /usr/share from second monitor.

It clearly looks to me like a new Xorg feature that went haywire.

Last edited by devuanuser (2019-09-18 00:01:16)

golinux · 2019-09-18 00:23:25

What release are you on - jessie, ascii or beowulf (which has not been officially released and still has bugs). Using backports? Mixing repos? There's a lot of important info missing in your description of the problem.

devuanuser · 2019-09-18 00:50:56

Nope, CLEAN install downloaded from Devuan

All I did extra after install is
apt update
apt upgrade

Thats all.

I am not at that terminal right now when I get there I will post all the details.
I will see if I can make a video, it is really curious to see ..

Last edited by devuanuser (2019-09-18 00:52:34)

ToxicExMachina · 2019-09-18 04:59:55

devuanuser wrote:

Nope, CLEAN install downloaded from Devuan
All I did extra after install is
apt update
apt upgrade
Thats all.
I am not at that terminal right now when I get there I will post all the details.
I will see if I can make a video, it is really curious to see ..

Did you try to check filesystem?

fsck /dev/your_partition

Did you try different DE or even WM?

devuanuser · 2019-09-24 07:45:02

Yes, fsck exits with no error.

Here are screenshots showing the absurd behavior.
As you can see out of the box, the directories used for backgrounds are different ... why on earth is it configured this way out of the box ???
Second of all, you cannot change directory to select another directory for change of backgrounds..permission denied.

e.g. I cannot select a background from the directory used in the first monitor permission denied all is grayed out.

To make this even weirder, If I move the config screen as
I posted for Screen1 over to screen 2 by dragging it with the mouse, then the backgrounds are immediately switched to a different directory as can be seen in the image labled monitor w. So the same config window changes from the first image to the second images dragging it to the second monitor.

Furthermore you cannot change directory to get both working from the same directory

This is *utterly* absurd.

Monitor1
https://i.imgur.com/RY6spOp.png
Monitor2
"https://i.imgur.com/6tN6DnV.png"

I am sure this is rather an XFCE question in hindsight and not really anything to do with Devuan, although someone here must have run into the same trouble.

Last edited by devuanuser (2019-09-27 03:21:16)

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#1 2019-09-17 01:52:04

Devuan dual monitor strange problem.

#2 2019-09-17 04:34:46

Re: Devuan dual monitor strange problem.

#3 2019-09-17 19:52:17

Re: Devuan dual monitor strange problem.

#4 2019-09-17 23:56:42

Re: Devuan dual monitor strange problem.

#5 2019-09-18 00:23:25

Re: Devuan dual monitor strange problem.

#6 2019-09-18 00:50:56

Re: Devuan dual monitor strange problem.

#7 2019-09-18 04:59:55

Re: Devuan dual monitor strange problem.

#8 2019-09-24 07:45:02

Re: Devuan dual monitor strange problem.

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