Dual Monitor Dual Desktops etc etc

[grimmysnr]

Hey gang i need some guidance. Heres what i want to do. I have 2 7900GT KOs in SLi config but what i want is say for low end graphic games such as UO or WoW i would like to have two monitors totally seperate from eachother. I have nview and have been able to setup some type of rig where i can send applications to one display or the other. I also have been able to "make" another desktop which really doesnt do a whole lot for this cause. So seing as i messed with nview until insanity ill explain what i want to do.

Both displays are virtually independant of eachother but run off the same computer. They have their own start/task bar and can open their own programs on those bars. No more of this mouse dragging or "sending to display x" crap. I want to simply switch between displays as if they were seperate computers on a KVM switch. I know that using dual displays that SLi is disengaged. So this setup will be used on games that i really dont need an SLi config on.

So thats the task at hand...can this be done? I have somewhat of a setup like this done already where i can just drag a game or application to display 2 then move my mouse to do whatever. But then i have maybe 4 or 5 different things open on my task bar.

 

[morino]

Grimmysnr,

I think what you are looking for something like this:

http://www.mediachance.com/free/multimon.htm

It's add a taskbar to each screen. I haven't used it myself, but I think the software is free to use.

I'm currently looking to setup a triple monitor setup myself. Currently looking for 3 reasonably priced screens in this thread here and looking for suggestions.

Let me know how it works out for you.

 

[Peter]

Windows is a single-session graphical user interface. Linux with X and e.g. KDE in turn can run individual sessions on separate screens - you can even configure each to use separate keyboards and mice, so that actually several people can work on the same machine at once.

 

[dderolph]

Take a look at UltraMon. It will let you set up a taskbar on each display.

 

[Ichigo]

None of the proposed solutions will help his problem. Or at least, won't help him run a "KVM" like setup.

 

[dderolph]

Originally posted by: grimmysnrBoth displays are virtually independant of eachother but run off the same computer. They have their own start/task bar and can open their own programs on those bars. No more of this mouse dragging or "sending to display x" crap.

What part of this does UltraMon not do?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: dderolph

Originally posted by: grimmysnrBoth displays are virtually independant of eachother but run off the same computer. They have their own start/task bar and can open their own programs on those bars. No more of this mouse dragging or "sending to display x" crap.

What part of this does UltraMon not do?

He said he wants to switch back and forth with a KVM (which I think most people reading this would take to mean that the keyboard input would go to one monitor or another when he switched inputs on a KVM switch). Basically, you can't do this in Windows -- only one application can have keyboard/mouse focus (and you can't take focus away from 'fullscreen' applications without having them minimize). If you attach two keyboards... they both act like the 'same' keyboard.

So thats the task at hand...can this be done? I have somewhat of a setup like this done already where i can just drag a game or application to display 2 then move my mouse to do whatever. But then i have maybe 4 or 5 different things open on my task bar.

Ultramon can give you a taskbar on each screen, so that you don't have buttons on the first monitor for things open on the second one. But I don't think it will let you do exactly what you want.

 

[dderolph]

TextHe said he wants to switch back and forth with a KVM (which I think most people reading this would take to mean that the keyboard input would go to one monitor or another when he switched inputs on a KVM switch).

Perhaps we need to define KVM switch. From http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/K/KVM_switch.html
What is KVM switch? - A Word Definition From the Webopedia Computer Dictionary: "... a hardware device that enables a single keyboard, video monitor and mouse to control more than one computer one at a time." He's not talking about controling multiple computers with one keyboard, monitor, and mouse.

... only one application can have keyboard/mouse focus (and you can't take focus away from 'fullscreen' applications without having them minimize.

Not true with multiple monitors, and he is talking about multiple monitors. If have one application open on monitor 1 and another on monitor 2, I don't need to minimize either application to which focus to the other. Just move the mouse to the application displayed on the other monitor. The focus changes, but the application on the first monitor does not have to be minimized.

I get the impression the OP does not have much experience working with dual monitors. He said,

Both displays are virtually independant of eachother but run off the same computer. They have their own start/task bar and can open their own programs on those bars. No more of this mouse dragging or "sending to display x" crap.

Even without a utility such as UltraMon, it's not necessary to always open all applications on the primary monitor and then drag or send the application to the other monitor. Most applications will remember which monitor they were last closed from and will open on that monitor the next time they are launched.

Seems like the issue hinges around the SLI point mentioned;

I know that using dual displays that SLi is disengaged. So this setup will be used on games that i really dont need an SLi config on.

I don't SLI so I"m not sure how it relates to the issue of having a separate taskbar on each monitor and using dual monitors when SLi is disengaged and then going back into SLI mode.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: dderolph

TextHe said he wants to switch back and forth with a KVM (which I think most people reading this would take to mean that the keyboard input would go to one monitor or another when he switched inputs on a KVM switch).

Perhaps we need to define KVM switch. From http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/K/KVM_switch.html
What is KVM switch? - A Word Definition From the Webopedia Computer Dictionary: "... a hardware device that enables a single keyboard, video monitor and mouse to control more than one computer one at a time." He's not talking about controling multiple computers with one keyboard, monitor, and mouse.

I read it as "he wants to control one computer with multiple keyboards, monitors, and mice", simulating multiple keyboards/mice with a KVM switch, which is not possible in a totally transparent way.

i.e., he wants it to *seem* like he has two computers, even though he only has one. So when the KVM is on input "A", you see and control one desktop, and when the KVM is on input "B", you see and control another desktop, with no interaction between the two. You can do this pretty well with Linux/UNIX, but not Windows.

... only one application can have keyboard/mouse focus (and you can't take focus away from 'fullscreen' applications without having them minimize.

Not true with multiple monitors, and he is talking about multiple monitors. If have one application open on monitor 1 and another on monitor 2, I don't need to minimize either application to which focus to the other. Just move the mouse to the application displayed on the other monitor. The focus changes, but the application on the first monitor does not have to be minimized.

Read what I said again:

you can't take focus away from 'fullscreen' applications without having them minimize.

'Fullscreen' is a technical term in Windows; I'm not just talking about a windowed application that is maximized. Windowed applications -- it works fine, although you have to manually switch focus. If you run a 'fullscreen' app like a video game that doesn't run in windowed mode, switching focus away will cause it to be minimized even if you have multiple monitors.