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My laptop used to display on both. I re-installed, trying to get it to play sound through HDMI. During installation, it detected on both displays. And I had it "mirrored". Then the mirror stopped displaying on the laptop but only on the TV. Now, when I turn it on, there are a few lines on the TV down the sides, but once I log in, it says "no signal" on my TV and only displays on the laptop. I If I go into the "settings" it doesn't seem to detect the 2nd display.
Ubuntu 18.04.
Here's something else. I left it for most of the day and when I came back and logged in, it was working just they way I had wanted. . . namely, it is displaying on the TV. I don't know if there is something to learn from this but what I will try is if it is not working, I'll try to leave it for a while and see if that works.
Or is there something I can do proactively?

It booted up the same way today . . . not recognizing the TV. I tried the alt-F, r to restart the interface and it didn't work. I tried restarting it and that didn't work. Now, I'll just leave it on to shut down on its own to see if it will recognize the TV later.

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  • So, I did "edit" my original post as requested but no response. I just wonder why ubuntu is so unpredictable like this. . .when I installed it, I had both monitors, then the next day not until it timed out and I had to login later in the day, then I had both and now today, even when I have let it time out a number of times but it will not recognize both the builtin monitor and the HDMI TV.
    – P Simdars
    May 12, 2020 at 23:47
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    what does xrandr command show?
    – Ott Toomet
    May 13, 2020 at 2:57
  • I wonder what happened to the person who made the comment to ask me to edit my original post to give more information. Then I edited it and added the information and they apparently deleted their post.
    – P Simdars
    May 13, 2020 at 12:37
  • I think I may have solved it. I have a powered video splitter on the HDMI cable, so I can watch something on my big TV too. I turned BOTH the smaller TV I use for a monitor and the big TV and that seems to make it detect them.
    – P Simdars
    May 13, 2020 at 15:18
  • Well, I guess that wasn't it because I started it up today with both TVs on and at first Ubuntu came up on the TVs, but it was a little like double vision, kind of out of focus. So, I clicked on the configuration tool and before it came up, the TV screen went off and the built in monitor came up (nicely focused). I have tried turning it off and restarting it with various configurations, but the TVs will not come back on and don't show up in the devices/display section of the configuration tool. I just don't understand how Ubuntu seems to be so random in this area.
    – P Simdars
    May 14, 2020 at 12:24

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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Looks like the solution is to migrate to Ubuntu 20.04. It picks up all the monitors, the built in and also the HDMI.
I only wish they would have fixed the sound. On some earlier version, in the "setting" application, you could choose HDMI for you sound output, but in 16, 18 and now 20, there is no option for that.

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  • Great, I installed 20.04 and it worked fine. Turned it on this AM and it is not detecting my HDMI TV.. I just don't get it. I wonder if there is a different version of Linux I should be using, or is it just something with my laptop?
    – P Simdars
    May 20, 2020 at 15:07
  • Another day, another trial. This AM I left the TV off completely when I Started Ubuntu20.04. After I had logged in, I turned the HDMI monitor on and it came right up with the display settings I had set previously. Maybe that's the trick.
    – P Simdars
    May 21, 2020 at 16:44

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