I’ve connected a second monitor via USB-C, but I’m facing issues with its usage in Qubes OS. When I drag a document or application to the second monitor, I can’t interact with it. I can see the document or app on the second screen, but nothing works – no clicks, no keyboard input.
Here’s what happens: Normally, when you drag a window or document to the right, it moves into a “workspace” or virtual desktop, but now it behaves oddly. First, it goes to the right screen, then to the next virtual desktop, then back to the right screen, and so on. Essentially, it seems like the window is “bouncing” between screens and virtual desktops.
I still have four virtual desktops, but each one is now stretched across two monitors. On the main screen, everything works fine, but on the second monitor, it feels like the document or app is only being displayed, not really active. It’s as if the document remains on the primary screen, and the second monitor just shows the static image without interaction.
Has anyone experienced this issue? Is there a way to fix it so I can properly use both monitors, including interaction on the second one? I’d really appreciate any advice or solutions from people who might have encountered something similar.
I’ve had similar problems with HDMI output. For me the solution was to try different resolutions and frame rates on the problematic monitor - some of them resulted in this “display only” behavior while others worked fine.
I didn’t experience the exact same issues when connecting my QubesOS laptop to whiteboards or projectors for presentations via HDMI. But the symptoms ranged from flickering to some screen configurations suddenly becoming unavailable (e.g., duplication or extension mode). It was all quite erratic. What I found: the default for video memory assumes a 1920x1080 resolution with 8-bit RGBA per channel. Increasing the video RAM solved all my problems. It’s an easy fix with an easy revert:
Both of my monitors are working fine in general, but I can’t interact with anything on the second monitor. When I click on a document or an application on the second screen, nothing happens. It only displays the image, but I’m unable to click or interact with it.
iirc this is because the monitor fails soon after showing the initial image, and you end up with a monitor that shows your cursor movement but fails at everything else. Increasing memory or reducing resolution might fix it.