[mdlug-newbie] dual monitor configuration has snow for particular app

[Dr. Robert Meier]

[The following is a relay to this list.
  The original questioner had difficulty posting,
    but should now be able to read and reply to this list.]

Xperts,

 > ..., I have a dual-monitor video card
 > (specifically one VGA and one DVI output).
 > The brand is ATI (which is now AMD, model 9600 Pro
 > using the RV350 chip/chipset), ...
 > [the] behaviour is pretty much as expected.
 > But if I plug in the second monitor,
 > the other monitor lights up and
 > the screen on BOTH monitors results in white snow
 > - no actual discernible image.
 > If I disconnect it fairly soon afterward,
 > the remaining screen returns to the 'normal' state.
 > If I don't disconnect it soon,
 > the machine (actually the video) is hosed,
 > and I must use the 1/0 button to get back to an active screen

I've never seen or heard of 'white snow'
  (?random intensity distribution?)
  resulting from digital misconfiguration.

Is it possible that you suffer a ground loop[1]
  (common hardware problem)?
Are both monitors' shields (i.e. nominally screws
  on the video connector) screwed in? [yes]
Are your wall power sockets grounded? [yes]
Are you using a polarized outlet adapter[2]? [no]

Please post your X configuration.
Depending on your X implementation (Xorg, XFree86, ???)
   the config file(s) might be one or more of
     /etc/Xorg.conf
     /etc/xorg.conf
     /etc/X11/xorg.conf
     /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/*
     /etc/XFree86Config
     /etc/X86Config
     ...
If you don't know your X implementation,
   please post the output of
     ps -ef | grep X
which should include your X implementation
   and is likely to name your X configuration file(s).

 > Secondly, as for the screen saver:
 > If I do NOT have an application open and the screen saver kicks in,
 > the active screen can be recovered (as you would expect).
 > But if I DO have an application open and the screen saver kicks in,
 > I must use the 1/0 button to return to using the computer.

Please post the identity of at least TWO applications
  that exhibit this behavior.
Do you have another laptop, cellphone, or computer? [yes]
Can you use ssh to remotely log into the problem computer computer
  from the second computer?
Using the remote login twice to run
     ps -ef
  can you post the results with an application open
   before the screen saver kicks in
   AND after the screen saver kicks in

 > From my perspective,
 > the first problem appears to be a VERY poorly written video driver
 > or interface with the OS.
 > The hardware is old enough to have decent drivers available,
 > but not so old as to not have any reasonable drivers available
 > ANY MORE.
 > The second problem appears to be
 > some sort of instability within the OS itself:
 > (Why would an open app make any difference for the screen saver ?)
 > It's all very frustrating for me
 > because I expected more stability and predictability from Linux,
 > whatever the specific flavor
 > (e.g. Red Hat/Centos, Ubuntu, Debian/Mint, etc).

Relaying,
--
Bob

[1] See https://en.wikipedia.org/
       wiki/Ground_loop_%28electricity%29
     section Ground loops in digital and RF systems
       for an explanation and
[2] Polarized outlet adapter
     http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp
       ?productId=1285936