Ubuntu – Not updating display settings when disconnecting external monitor

13.04displaymultiple-monitorsnvidia

When I disconnect my monitor from my laptop, Ubuntu still seems to think that it is plugged in and does't update the display. This issue is Ubuntu specific (not occuring in windows) and my monitor worked fine with another laptop (Ubuntu 13.04, exact same drivers).

The quickfix:

  • open system settings
  • click Displays

Useful specs:

  • Graphics drivers: nvidia-313 (problem also occurs with the other propriatary drivers)
  • Graphics card: Nvidia Quadro K1000M
  • Monitor: Benq ET-0019-N
  • Cable: VGA D-sub DE15
  • OS: Ubuntu 13.04

I would like Ubuntu to update the display settings automagically whenever the monitor cable gets disconnected. How would I do that?

Best Answer

There is an old bug on Launchpad - bug #306735 - which was marked invalid, the explanation being that it is a known problem but fairly complex (more explanation here).

So, as far as I know, there is not an automatic method for what you asked in the true sense. But you can use autorandr (you have to install disper first - run sudo apt-get install disper from terminal), a script by Stefan Tomanek. Using this script (autorandr) you can add a keyboard shortcut for autorandr --change command and all you have to do when you connect or disconnect an external monitor is to press that keyboard shortcut. All of these are explained very nice in this answer (I just tested in Ubuntu 13.04 and everything goes well).

After you test the script in terminal, you must to see the following post if you want to add a custom keyboard shortcut for the script:

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