External Monitor

[osprey]

A few other people may have experience in this area

@osprey

Alas, I have no experience in this area of MS surface laptops but first one needs to determine whether the kernel sees the external monitor. If it doesn't, then it can't be used with that kernel. To check whether the kernel sees the monitor, one can open a terminal without the monitor plugged in. In the terminal run, as root:

dmesg -w

Then, whilst observing the output on the terminal, plug in the external monitor and see what the output says, if any. If there's no output, the kernel can't see the monitor. If there is output, see what it says. If it's unclear, then paste the output here or into a search engine to try and see what it means and if something can be done about it. To close the dmesg output on the terminal, press: ctrl+c.

Speaking to a colleague here who does know about MS, she mentioned that there can be numerous issues with MS surface laptops with linux in relation to drivers, batteries, wifi etc. There is however, a linux response which is to install a linux-surface kernel which is specially designed to meet the demands of the MS surface laptop. That specialised kernel is available here: https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface. There are instructions at that github site to install it. There's a bit to read. For the debian/ubuntu folk, which I guess includes the mint users, this text looks most relevant: https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface/wiki/Installation-and-Setup#Debian--Ubuntu.

Another aspect worth mentioning, to follow up on post #16 of @theLegionWithin , on that link in the post it mentions:

Not all USB-C ports support video output. Checking your laptop's documentation is crucial to confirm this capability.

so it may be worth following that advice and checking the documentation. Hopefully it covers this particular aspect.

 

[GatorsFan]

Microsoft says - "The ability to connect an external display to your Surface is determined by the model of your device and the cables or video adapters you are using" https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...-display-35c3aed4-f6c3-2767-d028-2c8ddbd2ee29
Surface 3,4 &5 use USB-C port Surface 2 uses Mini-Display port

This may help - https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface

 

[dos2unix]

As you can see, I use two monitors. This is the KDE screen manager, yours may look slightly different.

The problem isn't usually the video card. I do have some video cards that only support HDMI. Most of my newer cards support HDMI and DisplayPort. So the first problem is, what does your monitor support? HDMI? DisplayPort? Both? DVI? and (ugggh! VGA). It's best to go DisplayPort to DisplayPort or HDMI to HDMI.

If you can't, you need an adapter. Some adapters do support USB to DisplayPort/HDMI. Some do not. So the cable and adapter can be a problem. I have one monitor (not shown above) that only supports 4K/60Hz when using DisplayPort. If I want to use HDMI, the monitor drops down to 30Hz. The documentation confirms this is a limitation of that monitor's HDMI implementation — not the cable or video card.

And worse yet, even the cables themselves can be a problem. I've bought cheap HDMI cables that support 1080p or 2K, but don't support 4K. I used to think it was a marketing gimmick, but now I'm a believer.

Some video cards simply do not support multiple hi-res monitors. I have an old computer where I have to go down to 1024x768 and 800x600, because the video card won't support two monitors at higher resolutions. There is a formula that says VRAM = pixels × color depth, or something like that. You have to count the pixels on both monitors.

 

[MoMentum]

Sorry I have not responded sooner. I really appreciate everyone's suggestions and I have been trying all of them out. I think the conclusion is that the Surface kernel does knot recognize the external monitor. I tried to fix the kernel, but I am just not savvy enough in this area to be successful.

I am now looking toward a used Dell laptop and will try to finally abandon microslop for linux using this (new to me) laptop. I am looking at linux mint cinnamon or unbuntu cinnamon. I should be getting the new laptop this coming week.

Thanks again to all who tried to help.

 

[Condobloke]

Dell laptop

That is a good choice. Dell laptops give next to no trouble with installing.

 

[Rocketing-warp9]

Hey there! Welcome to the Forums ! I also run a surface (but mine’s the tablet line). With our devices, the hardware control modules are different than most other PCs as MS built it themselves. The community has come up with a special Kernel to use most hardware on our devices. Look into this project-

GitHub - linux-surface/linux-surface: Linux Kernel for Surface Devices

Linux Kernel for Surface Devices. Contribute to linux-surface/linux-surface development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

It should contain instructions towards the middle and bottom. It’s not complete.. but it will get you started.

Edit- this was already said…. Sorry about that! (Me and my coffee deprived mind at it again!)

 

[Rocketing-warp9]

Sadly as the Kernel project is still being worked on, for our surfaces of this era the drivers are still incomplete.(Ex-camera support's non existent on my 8). It seems that SAM on the book 2 still needs work on. Dells do tend to work well, especially with Ubuntu as they ship them like that from the Get-Go these days.

 

[pric]

Sorry. You are right. I didn't explain very well (or at all?!).
I get nothing when I connect the monitor. It does not recognize that a monitor has been connected. Going to System Controls, it shows the default laptop monitor, but does not show the external monitor. It's like nothing happens when I plug in the external monitor.

same problem

 

[Rocketing-warp9]

same problem

If I may ask what surface you Run?

 

[MoMentum]

It is a Surface Laptop 3.

 

[Rocketing-warp9]

It is a Surface Laptop 3.

That Probably explains your issues with the displays. For our devices, after the SP 6 era, MS Put a home-built Hardware module called a SAM. As MS keeps the code, it's hard for the community to come up with a way to make it work with Linux. I'll look into it more later to see if there are any workarounds.

 

[MoMentum]

Thanks. I hate to throw away good hardware, even one that displays the microsoft logo upon start up. Maybe it is sweet justice to get it running with linux, so I can laugh at gates during every boot up!

 

[Rocketing-warp9]

At present, there are 3 bases of distros the kernel can run . Deb, Fedora and Arch.
You might have better luck with fedora/arch based if you’re willing to try. `At present I don't know the difference in the Kernels on the two. this is off - hand, will research later on.

-Update, If you want, you can look into this-https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface/wiki/Surface-Laptop-3

 

[MoMentum]

Just a quick follow-up . . . I got hold of a Dell Latitude laptop and successfully loaded Ubuntu Cinnamon. I still want to get the Surface laptop fixed to support an external monitor, but will put it on the back shelf for a while as I get fully comfortable with Ubuntu on this Latitude. Thanks again for everyone's help.