Second monitor not showing up

Terry H

5/29/24, 11:46 PM

I installed Ubuntu on my new mini computer. It is a Geekom MiniAir 11. It came with Windows 11 and while it was installed the Win 11 recognized both monitors through my j5Create (model no. JCA374) docking station. I also used this docking station/usb3 hub with a Dell laptop running win 10 and both monitors showed up there as well. So, I know the cables and monitors are both working.

But when I replaced Windows 11 with Ubuntu it will only recognize one monitor if I plug it in to the HDMI port in the mini. If I Start the computer with both monitors plugged in through the usb3 docking station the computer does not display anything on either monitor. I have to plug a monitor directly in to the HDMI port of the mini computer. Even then it does not recognize the second monitor at all. I right click on the desktop and select "display" to look at monitors and all it sees is the one plugged into the port.

I am very knew to Ubuntu and have not used Linux for a long time. I am looking for a low barrier to entry distro for Linux to reintroduce myself. Is that Ubuntu, or is there another one a bit more mature I can use?

0 + 5

display

usb

multiple-monitors

hdmi

Sadaharu Wakisaka

5/30/24, 12:51 AM

Welcome to AskUbuntu. The Geekom site says the MiniAir 11 has the USB-C port for data only. I suggest you can use one HDMI for the first monitor and another miniDP port for the second monitor.

Terry H

5/30/24, 11:13 PM

Thank you for your quick reply. While I have no doubt that, as you say, it says this on their web site, it is not true that their USB3 port does not support HDMI. Like I say, when I first booted up the machine it had win11 on it and THAT OS detected both monitors. It was not until I installed Ubuntu that I could no longer use the monitors through the usb3 hub/docking station.

Sadaharu Wakisaka

5/31/24, 12:32 AM

There are already so many reports of this question. [Here](https://askubuntu.com/questions/1402503/hdmi-to-usb-c-adaptor-does-not-works-on-ubuntu) is the general one. You can ask j5Create why.

Terry H

5/31/24, 1:24 AM

I bring up the j5Create because that is the model of usb hub, or docking station, that I am using. I have read several explanations on these forums but all that I have seen are dealing with a laptop of some sort, not a mini computer. The link you reference is new to me, but similar to others I have seen. They all seem to be blaming a hardware issue and not the OS. But that cannot be the issue in my case. Like I said before. I had the two monitors working correctly, through the USB-3 hub, when I was running win11. It did not have a problem until I changed to Ubuntu

Sadaharu Wakisaka

6/1/24, 12:11 AM

Windows is a commercial product and j5Create is a commercial company. They ought to work. Ubuntu is a non-commercial product, I am a volunteer here. You have several choices, 1) You become an expert and find what is going on, 2) Ask j5Create to fix the thing, 3) Tell Ubuntu developer to change the program to work. (This means get the peripheral information over USB-C connection.)

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