Linux Distro for VM That Supports Multiple Monitors?

CascadeHush on 20/03/2024 - 11:59
Last edited 20/03/2024 - 15:14

I'm looking for a Linux distro to run in VMWare Player that will support multiple monitors. Does anybody have a setup like this that works?

I've tried both Ubuntu and Kubuntu and neither will work with anything but a single monitor. Setting up the VM with multiple monitors does nothing, the VMWare monitor configuration switcher does nothing. Yes, the extensions were installed and the proprietary graphics drivers and everything else worked as expected.

I suspect this is a problem with Gnome and KDE and any distro based on that probably won't work either.

I do remember once getting an older version of Ubuntu to work on 2 screens but it was unreliable and fiddly to set up (it would require me to go into screen settings multiple times and would sometimes refuse to see a separate screen or the 2nd screen would randomly disconnect). That was probably with with VirtualBox not VMWare but I really don't want to run VirtualBox.

I'm currently downloading Linux Mint which uses Cinnamon as a window manager, so I'll see…

Edit: Host system is Windows 10 running with 3 monitors

Edit: Turns out there is a long standing bug in VMWare player and if you change the applications preferences colour theme from 'system' to 'light', suddenly the multi-monitor function of VMWare starts working. So nothing to do with the guest OS, as far as I can tell. Except when I run Kubuntu in full screen the mouse cursor is in the wrong spot. So now I have to see if I can fix that.

Computing Linux Operating System

Comments

  • ste616 on 20/03/2024 - 12:17
    +2

    I presume you're running this on Windows 10 or 11. I used to run Linux in a VM (VirtualBox myself) but never tried it with multiple monitors, but I have since switched to using Windows subsystem for Linux (WSL) and running Ubuntu that way. It works wonderfully and since all the Linux windows just become normal Windows windows, they can be moved on to any old monitor without issue. If there's no special reason why you have to run in a VM, I'd highly recommend trying WSL.

    • CascadeHush on 20/03/2024 - 12:48

      I never understood WSL and I recently just made sure it was disabled. I had no idea you could run an entire distro on it, I thought it was just for command line stuff. Chalk one up to Microsoft having terrible marketing.

      Yeah, I want a VM for privacy reasons. I want a completely separate environment that can be encrypted with it's own password and the option to move it to a different machine if necessary.

      But I was wanting to run Lynx so maybe I should give WSL a go for that.

  • o53djz7qTPY4der on 20/03/2024 - 13:11
    +1

    I would be inclined to go at this in reverse.

    Use Linux as your base and Windows as your VM.

    Linux Mint is absolutely Mint, pun intended. I use it as my daily driver for work and it is rock-solid.

    • CascadeHush on 20/03/2024 - 13:28

      I can't change the screen resolution because the dialog box doesn't fit on the default screen resolution and there is no way for me to access the accept button. So that's a pretty big fail so far.

      It also seems to only see 1 monitor, that much I can tell.

      Thanks, but no, I'm looking for a free OS for a VM. I'm not changing my base install.

  • ESEMCE on 20/03/2024 - 13:38
    +2

    Linux supports multiple Monitors perfectly fine, I'm guessing it's a problem with the capabilities/settings of the VM, not the Linux Install itself.

    As a hacky workaround, can you not just run the VM window across 2 monitors and use tiling to snap windows to each monitor?

    • CascadeHush on 20/03/2024 - 15:12

      I was just trying CentOS and I did in fact try this, but the VMWare player snaps the window back to 1 screen. No idea why it would do this. A window is a window and if I want to stretch it I should be able to do it. In fact an application should not have control over this kind of thing IMNSO.

      • lunchbox99 on 20/03/2024 - 15:32
        +2

        Did you follow the VMware instructions?
        https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workstation-Player-for-Win…

        • CascadeHush on 20/03/2024 - 18:40

          It's a bug in VM player that's been around for awhile. As it is if you follow those instructions nothing will happen. You have to change the VMWare's preferences to change the colour theme from 'system' to 'light'. If you don't do that, the toolbar button to change the monitor configuration simply fails to do anything.

          I managed to get Kubuntu working with 2 monitors. If I set it to use 3 the mouse doesn't work properly, but I'll make do with 2 monitors for the VM.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 20/03/2024 - 18:30
    +2

    VirtualBox does this perfectly. I know you said you'd prefer not to, but it is a great option.

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