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OS almost freezes with attached second monitor

Asked by Hendrik

Hello everybody,

When I start my Elementary OS 0.3 distribution on my netbook, attached to a second monitor (1) , my OS becomes extremely slow. So slow that it becomes nearly impossible to use the OS. It allmost freezes. When I detach the second monitor the OS behaves normal again.

I have a similar problem when I launch my netbook with Lubuntu 14.04.1 or Linux Mint 17.1. All are, like Elementary OS, Ubuntu based distro's. I don't have this problem when I use Crunch Bang, a Debian based distribution.

Someone has an idea how to fix this problem? Thanx in advance.

Have a nice day,

Hendrik

(1) I'm using a HP Mini 110 Netbook attached to a Samsung 760BF 17" monitor
(2) All the distro's I use are updated to the latest version

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Alex Gleason (alexgleason) said : 		#1

Hi Hendrick,

I used to have an HP Mini 100 myself, which I ran Ubuntu on. I found that it was painfully slow in general. I ended up selling it.

HP Mini 100 specs:
Processor 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
Memory 1GB, 533MHz DDR2
Hard drive 160GB 5,400rpm
Chipset Mobile Intel 945GM Express
Graphics Intel GMA 950 (integrated)
Operating System Windows XP

Can anyone else reading chime in on whether this is enough for Pantheon to run on two screens?

It's hard to know whether this is caused by a true hardware compatibility issue, or whether the system requirements for Pantheon are just too high. Pantheon is light, but I know that Crunchbang is a lot lighter.

Alex

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Hendrik (hendrik-v) said : 		#2

Hi Alex,

Thanx for your feedback.

I just received the HP Mini 100 from a friend who bought herself a new Assus Transformer notebook. I'm running side by side a 8 years old Apple MacBook running OS X 10.6. 8. It has the same Intel GMA 950 as the HP Mini 100 and it runs a dual screen setup just fine. So the GMA 950 is definitely capable to run a second screen but off course needs the correct driver support.

The fact that 3 lightweight but Ubuntu based distributions have a problem to work with a second monitor when connected to the HP Mini 100 makes me think that the driver that Ubuntu and so also Elementary OS is using doesn't fully support a dual screen setup when a GMA 950 graphics chip is in place. The image onscreen is fine, I automatically get an expanded desktop which is fine too and the mouse travels at normal speed but every click takes minutes before there's any action. I don't have this problem when booting Debian based Crunch Bang Linux on the HP Mini 100 or OS X on my MacBook with identical graphic chip.

I installed the Intel Graphics Driver from http://www.x.org/wiki/IntelGraphicsDriver/ but with no positive result. And anyway it seems that Elementary OS already installs this driver by default from the Ubuntu depository. So it seems that I'm stuck with the Debian based Crunch Bang Linux I installed and I'll have to abandon Elementary OS on this particular machine. Or I have to forget about a second monitor. Because without a second screen Elementary OS works fine on the HP Mini 100. It boots in 39 seconds and the GUI reacts instantly. And the applications definitely launch slowly but only on first launch.

Maybe I should also post a message on the Ubuntu forum to see if someone there has a solution for a broader GMA 950 support.

Have a nice day!

Hendrik

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