Recent Full Screen Issue

[TheBuzzSaw]

I used to be able to play Starcraft in full screen mode without any problems. Recently, I enabled dual monitor mode using nvidia-settings. The game wouldn't run that way (some display error), so, I disabled the dual display. Now, whenever I launch Starcraft, it switches to full screen... sorta... The screen goes all black, the game starts, but it takes up only the upper left quarter of the screen (Starcraft's native resolution in a 1280x1024 display just as if I were running it in a virtual desktop on the GNOME desktop).

Any help fixing this problem?

I'm running Ubuntu 8.04 64-bit on a System76 Wild Dog.

EDIT - Diablo 2 now fails to launch entirely; it says "Failed to Create Game Client Window".

[cogadh]

It sounds like you don't have the correct resolution available in your xorg.conf any more. For example, let's say the game is trying to run in 640X480, but since that resolution isn't available in your xorg.conf, it instead runs in a 640X480 section of your existing desktop resolution. You should check the contents of your xorg.conf to confirm that.

BTW - Before you made the changes to your xorg.conf to enable dual monitors, did you make a backup of the original one? If so, you can probably just restore that one and everything will work right again.

[TheBuzzSaw]

Wow, you're ridiculously smart. Tweaking the xorg.conf fixed everything.

[cogadh]

Nah, not smart, just been there, done that.

[TheBuzzSaw]

While I'm on the topic, is it possible to get a game to run full screen in just one monitor? Right now, I have it set to where maximizing a window in one monitor makes it fill up just that monitor (not span across both monitors). Can I get WINE games to do that too? It makes me sad that I have to disable one monitor and update my xorg file in order to play full screen games.

[cogadh]

Post the contents of your xorg.conf, specifcally the Monitor, Device and Screen sections.

[TheBuzzSaw]

# nvidia-settings: X configuration file generated by nvidia-settings
# nvidia-settings:  version 1.0  (buildd@yellow)  Thu Jun  5 09:27:12 UTC 2008

# nvidia-xconfig: X configuration file generated by nvidia-xconfig
# nvidia-xconfig:  version 1.0  (buildmeister@builder26)  Thu Feb 14 18:13:41 PST 2008
# xorg.conf (X.Org X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
#   sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Default Layout"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
    InputDevice    "Generic Keyboard" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Configured Mouse"
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load           "glx"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
    Option         "Xinerama" "0"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier     "Generic Keyboard"
    Driver         "kbd"
    Option         "XkbRules" "xorg"
    Option         "XkbModel" "pc105"
    Option         "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier     "Configured Mouse"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Envision EN7750"
    HorizSync       30.0 - 83.0
    VertRefresh     55.0 - 75.0
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Configured Video Device"
    Driver         "nvidia"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Videocard0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce 8500 GT"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Default Screen"
    Device         "Configured Video Device"
    Monitor        "Configured Monitor"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "NoLogo" "True"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes      "nvidia-auto-select"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"

# Removed Option "TwinView" "1"
# Removed Option "metamodes" "CRT: 1280x1024 +1280+0, DFP: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
# Removed Option "TwinView" "0"
# Removed Option "metamodes" "DFP: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Videocard0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "TwinView" "1"
    Option         "TwinViewXineramaInfoOrder" "DFP-0"
    Option         "metamodes" "CRT: nvidia-auto-select +1280+0, DFP: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
EndSection

[cogadh]

Okay, re-enable the multimonitor stuff, but instead of the metmode lines you had before, use this:

Section "Screen"
    Option      "TwinView"
    Option      "MetaModes"  "1280X1024,1280X1024; 1280X1024,NULL;"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Videocard0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
EndSection

When you launch an app that requires that full screen resolution, it should run on one monitor while the second monitor goes into standby. You may need to make some adjustments to the actual content, I was assuming that both monitors run at the same resolution.