Ubuntu: External monitor not detected with Nvidia Graphics Card

Date: 2020-11-22 | ubuntu | nvidia | graphics |

Overview

I just dual booted Ubuntu on my Lenovo ThinkStation p720 running on an Nvidia GTX 4000 graphics card. The problem is that only one of my monitors is being detected. What's going on and how can I fix this?

Solution

The way I fixed this was to update my Nvidia drivers. You can read about how to do this in Ubuntu: Update Nvidia drivers

I would recommend updating them in this order:

  • Manual Nvidia driver updates
  • GUI Nvidia driver updates

The manual version updates the drivers very simply. The GUI does some other black magic in the background so I think it's best to start simple before relying on the GUI.

After updating your drivers, your external monitor should work if this is indeed a driver problem. If it didn't work then I'd suggest rechecking all your connections and trying them with other machines to help narrow down the source.

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