Making Dual Monitors Work Like Two Entirely Different Computers

[tritesh 1]

Multiport Server may be the solution but still we are in the condition that how we attach more peripherals to our native or host system. We have limited number of ports to connect different hardwares, so it is quite difficult to do such type of task to get a one system operated by two different persons until unless not get upgraded system hardware configuration

[manuleka 0]

I think Windows Multi-point Server requires a multi-monitor video card... so it all depends on hardware available, Ahsaniqbal111 haven't stated his Hardware spec

[Ahsaniqbalkmc 0]

There is no special hardware involved. There is a laptop (with multicore processor, 4 gigs of Ram and 500 gigs of hard drive) and then there is an external monitor. There are also a pair of keyboards and mouses (mice, i don't know). The goal is to create a system where one keyboard and one mouse works only on the extrenal monitor so as to give the impression of a different computer.

[manuleka 0]

aah sounds like a fun challenge to tackle... i'm interested in the outcome of you're approach, let us know

[Ahsaniqbalkmc 0]

would this be possible? on a standard PC? sounds like a pretty big job to have two users with separate input/output channels running on one PC!!even if possible with correct softwares, i think the PC would be quite slow... unless both running terminal/text mode

It is possible on pc. I have done some research on it and found that microsoft has designed an OS specifically for this purpose. The OS is a modification of the windows server 2008 and is known as Microsoft windows multipoint server. According to the reviews I watched, It is specifically designed for student teacher scenario where each classroom can have only one CPU (powerful enough) and multiple monitors and peripherals. The OS enables the monitors and peripherals work in such a way that each monitor appear to work as a different computer. As the resources of One single CPU are limited, only basic tasks are recommended for this scenario but this is what I am asking. I just want to make sure that two users can do text editing and browsing separately. I am not talking about heavy software or games etc.
I haven't tried this solution from microsoft yet because I haven't been able to find a trial yet, but most importantly, I do not want to change my OS. I want to achieve the same of windows 7. I was able to mimic a part of it with virtual OS but that was not as functional as I would have wanted. The main problem was that the windows containing the virtual OS didn't fit properly on the second monitor.

That's why I would rather suggest that the second guy should be on a separate PC, remotely connected to the first one through vnc or Terminal Server.

I think I have explained the problem in the very first post, when I opened the topic. The problem is that the second person's CPU is not functional. It is broke and he cannot buy a new one yet. So I have to make arrangement for him to use my computer but simultaneously with me.

I think Windows Multi-point Server requires a multi-monitor video card... so it all depends on hardware available, Ahsaniqbal111 haven't stated his Hardware spec

I think I should have explained my hardware stuff earlier. I am on a laptop, and it does have HDMI and VGA ports so it can support multiple monitors. The ram of the machine is 4gigs and the hard disk is 500gigs. The processer is AMD triple core phenom ii N830 clocked at 2.2ghz. My personal opinion is that this laptop should be able to handle multiple instances of browsers and text editors. It shouldn't be a problem. But this is my opinion.

[manuleka 0]

theoretically it should manage to run multiple instances of you're applications.... judging from the spec of you're hardware it should be able to handle it fine, if it's just surfing and text editoring and other simple tasks... the question would be if the OS will handle these instances and operations smoothly

[Ahsaniqbalkmc 0]

theoretically it should manage to run multiple instances of you're applications.... judging from the spec of you're hardware it should be able to handle it fine, if it's just surfing and text editoring and other simple tasks... the question would be if the OS will handle these instances and operations smoothly

So do you suggest that I should change my OS to one which can handle this situation. I know there are some operating systems out there that are specifically made for this purpose but my primary goal would be to not change my OS. I would really like the windows 7 to be configured to make this setting happen and work. But still if it is not possible on windows 7, I can do with virtual OS. For instance I can install a virtual OS on my laptop and present the secondary monitor with that virtual OS. I have tried to play a little bit with this type of arrangement and I think I was a bit successful as well but there were issues that I couldn't resolve. For instance, I was able to make the external USB-attached mouse work only on the virtual OS and not on the main OS, and I hope I can also make the external USB-attached keyboard work the same way. I was also able to get the nework going by making the host OS share the network with the guest OS. On the other side, the major flaw that I got was that the virtual OS would never fit to the secondary screen in fullscreen mode. I didn't have the resolution that matched the second monitor and so working on it was pretty much trouble.
I tried to play with this environment a few weeks ago and now I don't remember exactly what more problems I faced but one thing I know for sure is that I was not satisfied with it. One further thing I want to mention here is that I tried the evaluation version of the windows multipoint server on a virtual environment. But I failed to get it to work. From what I read everywhere online, I know for sure that this thing does work and is specifically made for this purpose, but I am not sure whether it would work in virtual environment. From my personal experience, I think it doesn't work in virtual environment.

[yordan 10]

First of all do not change your current OS toward a new one you don't master yet. You should first try on another machine which could be sacrificed, in order to test the new OS and see if it meets your purposes.

[manuleka 0]

First of all do not change your current OS toward a new one you don't master yet. You should first try on another machine which could be sacrificed, in order to test the new OS and see if it meets your purposes.

dual-booting would be another option, but just make sure you do some backing-ups first

[Ahsaniqbalkmc 0]

First of all do not change your current OS toward a new one you don't master yet. You should first try on another machine which could be sacrificed, in order to test the new OS and see if it meets your purposes.

What do you think about virtual environments. I have vmware and a virtual ubuntu installed on it. And I must say that I am really impressed with its performance. The real question would be: Is there any difference in behaviour of OS when it is installed virtually and when it is installed on an actual machine. From my little experience, I can say yes there is a difference. For instance, I was unable to get root access for my linux user (the one used during installation of the OS) and I have to use terminal every single time I need to make changes to the root. This might be because of something else but I think it is because of virtual environment.

So should I test these Operating systems in virtual environment, as this would be much easier and practical.

dual-booting would be another option, but just make sure you do some backing-ups first

I don't think I have the option to dualboot. I have a 500 GB hard drive in my laptop and I have made three partitions on it. At present state, I have only 20GB space free. To backup this much data, I will need to invest in an external hard drive. But the problem is that here the price of a 500 gigs external hard drive is more than a respectable Pentium D CPU. A good 500 gigs external hard drive would cost me about 7000 PKR. On the other hand a Pentium D- CPU with specs like 3.0ghz processor, 1 gig ram, 80 gigs hard drive, would cost me about 6000 PKR (without monitor and other peripherals). So if I have to test different operating systems, and I need to make an investment, why won't I buy an second computer instead of just an external hard drive.
However, virtual machines are much more practical for me, so please comment on this.

[yordan 10]

For instance, I was unable to get root access for my linux user (the one used during installation of the OS) and I have to use terminal every single time I need to make changes to the root. This might be because of something else but I think it is because of virtual environment.

This is not due to the virtual environment. You will have exactly the same problem with a standalone physical system.This is a very common decision in the current way of installing machines, some people think that you should never be able to directly log in as root. So some Linux system installs prevent you from directly logging as root.
-----------------------------------------EDIT------
concerning the root login, follow the following tutorial : http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/
It will show you how to grant connect in graphic mode to the admin user root.
This tutorial was mentioned here : http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

I did not try it yet, but it should work. Also have a look here : http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/
and, of course, before doing this, backup your vmware machine, just in case. If you are successful, drop the backup in order to save disk space.

[Ahsaniqbalkmc 0]

I tried the tutorial on the liberiangeek.net. It was very easy to follow and simple to implement and above all, it worked for me. I now have the root access for the GUI but a strange thing has happened. The username displayed in the top bar is shown as "Guest". I think there is some kind of bug but as far as it doens't have any implications, I don't think I would have any problem with it. After solving this problem, I am now even more impressed by the linux OS. It is very powerful as I have witnessed some of terminal's features but I know for sure that there is much more to follow and much more to learn before I make ubuntu my primary OS.This also goes well with our previous discussion. Instead of buying a new computer or simply making a dual boot environment, I can test many Operating systems at the same time while using my primary OS with which I am well aquainted. So if I am stuck somewhere in the new OS, I can definitely go to my main OS through which I know the way around.There is another thing that I noticed while following the tutorial. It was something related to UNIX. I thought that Unix is a different OS than Linux as is Windows or Mac. But now I think that Linux is based on Unix. What do you have to say about this?

[yordan 10]

Unix is the today's standard. It has different implementations, depending from the hardware on which it is.It's named AIX on PowerPC, Power6 or Power7 processors.It's named Sun-OS on Sun systemsIt's name HP-UX on HP systems.And it's named Linux mainly on X86 or compatible systems.The main Unix divisions are ATT-based Unix systems and Berkel-based Unix systems.Linux is a "almost" pure Unix, with rather few deviances from the standards.Unfortunately some very important commands, like "shutdown" are different in Linux, which makes me very angry when I powerdown a system instead of rebooting it.

[Ahsaniqbalkmc 0]

So linux is nothing but a form of unix....I think it is quite an addition to my knowledge.

[yordan 10]

The Guy who made this particular form of Unix had Linus as first name, that's why Linus's Unix is name Linux.