Dual Monitors eh?
...this is getting painfull...

Before you read any further, note that NONE of the tutorials I went through and linked here worked for me... had to install Ubuntu 6.06 LTS to get dual monitors working, only needed to tweak the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file a bit (alot of trouble shooting there)... I'll upload the xorg.conf file soon, can't really explain how to edit it, just trial and error, tried to copy from this site, http://ubuntufan.wordpress.com/2007/04/04/dual-display-on-dell-latitude-..., as close as possible without changing my own settings too much...
That is to say, I plugged in my monitor while installing ubuntu, so when I went to alter this file, both my laptop and external screens where in there, just not configured properly...

If I get some extra time, I may try this config file on Fiesty or Gutsy...SUCCESS!!! see http://www.scothiam.com/?q=Ubuntu_Dual_Monitors_Gutsy

With my trusty Dell Inspiron 600m with its 64mb Radeon Mobility 9000, Ubuntu 7.04 installed, I proceed... What follows is an exercise in futility...

To start, I followed all the directions here http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubuntu_Feisty_Installation_Guide#Additi... which left me with command line only (use the line "sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg" to get your desktop back, WRITE THIS DOWN BEFORE YOU BEGIN!!!)...

Now, at the bottom of the page is a link to the ati/amd site-faq, so I took a look...
On this page, http://ati.amd.com/products/catalyst/linux.html#2, it states anything better than an Radeon 8500 will do the trick, yet here, http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=301941, it says don't bother, the driver is not compatible with your card. This Ubuntu page also features similar if not the same instructions as the first tutorial/link...

Okay, upon further investigation, all though it would seem at first glance that the current driver supports my card the ati/amd site states here, http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers/linux/radeonprevious-linux.html, that this version 8.28.8 is the last version to support the following cards: Radeon® 8500/9000/9100/9200/9250, ATI Mobility Radeon™ 9000/9100/9200, and Radeon® IGP 9000/9100/9200.

Going to try again with the instructions from the ""Automatic Driver Installation Option" on this page https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206/0/www2.ati.com/drivers/linux/linux_...

All looked to be going well until I received this error:
"
-e ==================================================
-e ATI Technologies Linux Driver Installer/Packager
-e ==================================================
./ati-installer.sh: 165: Syntax error: Bad substitution
Removing temporary directory: fglrx-install

"

Okay, apparently the line "sh ./ati-driver-installer-8.28.8.run" causes trouble, switching to "bash ./ati-driver-installer-8.28.8.run" seems to work better, went through and looked to be no errors, however, still no control panel, or anything in the Restricted Drivers system menu...(http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=286769 and here http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-243342.html)

sudo mv /bin/sh /bin/SH
sudo ln -s /bin/bash /bin/sh
sh ./ati-driver-installer-8.28.8.run

This time finishes off with this
"
==================================================
ATI Technologies Linux Driver Installer/Packager
==================================================
Detected configuration:
Architecture: i686 (32-bit)
X Server: Xorg 7.2.0

Detected version of X does not have a matching 'x720' directory
You may override the detected version using the following syntax:
X_VERSION= ./ati-driver-installer--.run [--install]

The following values may be used for :
x430 XFree86 4.3.x
x430_64a XFree86 4.3.x 64-bit
x680 X.Org 6.8.x
x680_64a X.Org 6.8.x 64-bit
x690 X.Org 6.9.x
x690_64a X.Org 6.9.x 64-bit
x700 X.Org 7.0.x
x700_64a X.Org 7.0.x 64-bit
x710 Unknown X Window
x710_64a Unknown X Window
Removing temporary directory: fglrx-install
"

Okay, going back to the first tutorial, going to try to build the package...

cd ~/Desktop/
sudo bash ati-driver-installer-8.28.8.run --buildpkg Ubuntu/feisty

and receive this
"
==================================================
ATI Technologies Linux Driver Installer/Packager
==================================================
Generating package: Ubuntu/feisty
Requested package is not supported.
Removing temporary directory: fglrx-install
"

And sinking to all new lows, tried to use the xorg.conf info here, http://ubuntufan.wordpress.com/2007/04/04/dual-display-on-dell-latitude-..., edited to my 1024x786 res of my laptop, and upon restarting x found myself in command line with no prompt!!! A cold reboot later, and startup in safe/recovery mode and "sudo dpkg-reconfigure..." later and here I am, single headed...

What I've learned so far.
1) my card is too old to use the latest drivers
2) my Xorg is too new to use old drivers
3) I'm in way over my head :)

I'm starting to feel as though the very reason I've switched to Linux is just as good a reason to switch from Linux! Dual monitors is brainless in WinXP, rocket scientry in Ubuntu...

(the reason btw is this: I don't want to buy a new PC so I can run Vista, or buy a new PC and be stuck with Vista)

Well, before falling back to Ubuntu 6, I've upgraded to the still beta 7.10 "gutsy gibbon". And while text looks better, WINE has been all prettied up (the WINE gui is back...), still only single head.

Now, the marked improvement here is that the menu item in System>Administration "Screens and Graphics" goes a long way towards helping me out finding a suitable driver... This interface is separated into two tabs, you guessed it "Screens" and "Graphics Card".

Under the "Graphics Card" tab, my card is recognized as a "Graphics card (ATI Radeon(fglrx))" using the driver named "ati - ATI Mach8, Mach32, Mach64, and RageXL cards". This control panel lets you try to select a different driver, and even test it. I was only able to change this while logged in to recovery mode. Any attempt at using a(ny) "Radeon" driver either leaves my desktop at 800x600 (when logged into recovery mode), or (logged in as user) simply jumps back to the working driver.
Also of note, for each of the current four Radeon drivers, there is also the option for some of these between "open source" and "proprietary"...

The first tab, "Screens", shows both of my monitors, the first one being my laptop screen as a "Plug N play" with proper resolution, and my second monitor does show up, although, the only option I have is to set it to be the default monitor... again, I don't appear to be able to change anything accept as root...

You can also select your monitor/driver, though, my monitor doesn't appear to be able to work better than 800x600 (a driver does not seem to be available for this model, 19" LG Flatron, though many LG monitors are).
Interestingly, hitting the "CRT/LCD"(fn-f8) key on my laptop does now use my external monitor as the only display, only at 1024x786 (my laptops screen res, fyi). As soon as I go back to the laptops screen, the external drops back down to mirroring the main screen, but only as much as 800x600 will reveal...

So far 7.10 looks great, though, I'd like to be able to use a Radeon driver for my Radeon card...
or more importantly, get my second monitor to do something..

details to follow...