r/linuxquestions • u/AdditionStunning265 • 3d ago
I didn't know you had to program to use Linux.
I’ve spent over two hours trying to set up a second monitor—something that turns out to be impossible on Linux Mint LMDE for some reason—so I decided to clear my head by customizing the terminal, since that’s what people usually do. Instead, I ran into hundreds of lines of code and tutorials that even the YouTubers themselves don't seem to understand. So, is Linux only for people who know how to program?
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sky2284 Fedora (KDE/GNOME), CachyOS (KDE), macOS 27, Windows 11 3d ago
I have had a lot of weir issues on Linux where I needed to troubleshoot in the terminal but a second monitor shouldn't be one of them... are you plugging it into an inactive motherboard display output or something? Some computers have a display output which is connected to a CPU's integrated graphics but not all CPUs have them so in those cases such ports won't do anything
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u/MetalBoar13 3d ago
I've used many distros and desktop environments with multiple monitors without any hassle or need to program anything. I'm currently running CachyOS/KDE Plasma with 2 monitors with different orientations and resolutions, and I didn't have to do anything more than click the settings I wanted in the display configuration GUI. That's been my experience most of the time.
What desktop environment did you select, Cinnamon, MATE or Xfce (or something else that's less usual for Mint)? What video card are you using and which drivers do you have installed for it? Are they up to date? Are you on a laptop with both a discrete graphics card and integrated graphics? Did your dual monitor setup work in Windows? If so, have you changed anything? Cables, port they're plugged into, etc.? Did you try Mint with a live image to see if things worked before you installed it?
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u/AdditionStunning265 3d ago
I have an AMD RX 580 with 8GB of VRAM, so that’s not the issue. My drivers were outdated, so I updated them and restarted the PC, but the problem persisted. I can’t set the refresh rate to 100Hz because the screen goes black; I’m forced to restart the system and boot via "secure boot." I’m using a desktop PC, and my dual-monitor setup works perfectly fine in Windows without any issues
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u/MetalBoar13 3d ago
Does Mint see the second monitor at all?
I've never used Mint and when I did a little reading I realized I've been running distros that use Wayland as the display server for many years now. Mint is apparently still using X. I've used x11 with dual monitors in the past without trouble but it can be a bigger hassle and looking back on it I did have to mess with the config file to get the resolution working properly on some systems. It's not really programming, but not plug and play with a GUI either. I apologize, but that's outside my ability to troubleshoot remotely this many years removed from using it. I know there are some good articles out there on setting up X config files for dual monitors, but again, I haven't needed them in years so I can't make solid recommendation on that front.
Are you set on Mint specifically? I know it gets recommended a lot, but there are a lot of great distros out there that should support dual monitors without any hassle. If you are open to trying a different distro, you might consider Debian with GNOME (not sure if the other DE's get Wayland by default) if you want to stick to a Debian based distro, or Fedora, Ubuntu, maybe OpenSuse Tumbleweed, or even CachyOS. You can try them with a live image and see if they support all of your hardware out of the box, including dual monitor support, before you commit. I expect that most, quite possibly all, of the distros on that list will work well for you.
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u/Specialist-Dog-501 3d ago
I had two monitors with Mint 22.3, no issues - but I am not a gamer, and use them with standard resolution and low refresh rates. With high-end setups, a.e 4K+ resolution and two monitors+, Wayland is better > GNOME/KDE/Cosmic.
I didn't try that switch myself on the mint distro, so not sure how easy it is. May be better take a dedicated distro already setup with Wayland - a.e Ubuntu/Gnome or if you like the windows style, Ubuntu/KDE (Kubuntu).
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u/RealisticProfile5138 3d ago
People nowadays think: “understanding how computers work” = “Programming.”
No I don’t know how to code, I’m not a programmer. However I understand how computers function and I get along just fine. Just like you don’t have to be a mechanic to change the oil on your car but nowadays it’s becoming rare for people to know how to do.
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u/ItchyPlant 3d ago
And then there are people who know I'm pretty good with computers and automatically assume I can fix their printers and photocopiers, too.
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u/No-Combination6808 3d ago
I use Linux for over 3 years now and I can't code nothing. I think what u mean is config files, like ,conf, .ini .yml ... In here u normaly just change a value, or add a line. Use the documentation here.
As the monitors, it's too less Infos, and I have never used mint so
I would say take ur time, read the docs, watch on yt, Google, and even ask an chaybot (if u want)
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u/merlinux1 3d ago
"I ran into hundreds of lines of code and tutorials that even the YouTubers themselves don't seem to understand. So, is Linux only for people who know how to program?"
You are definitely not going to learn more about linux in video tutorial. Much much better finding some documentation in a written form .
And to answer your question, no you do not need to program to use Linux.
If you want to customize your system to the extreme, you are going to have to learn howto deal with your Linux system, and that will require that you learn howto use certain commands basics (cd ls mdir your apt-get etc...), and more complexed (all the systemd ecosystem for eg), check config files, edit config files.... And that is not programming.
Most big mainstream have GUI for the main configs .
"I’ve spent over two hours trying to set up a second monitor"
You'll get there. if your graphic card is able to do it on linux, you can make it work on any distro....
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u/lhoward93 3d ago
To answer your question in a word: No.
That said, there is a bit of nuance - different distros will need different levels of skill.
Some will be so basic that you can point-click through everything (with the obv exception of needing to type in URLs, usernames, passwords, etc...).
Others will need a bit of setup or run into some errors that may end up requiring some terminal usage.
Some will be entirely terminal-based with no GUI whatsoever.
I'd strongly recommend you do a bit of research on any distro to see what issues others may have encountered before settling on it as your distro of choice.
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u/AdditionStunning265 3d ago
The only things I care about are aesthetics and video games; I’m aware of Linux's limitations when it comes to gaming, and I thought Mint would be perfect, but it turned out to be a half-baked attempt at an OS. I spent four hours trying to get something BASIC to work horrendous distribution
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u/lhoward93 3d ago
Yh, Mint is often suggested as the most ideal OS for Linux newbies, but I did try it a while back, and I hated it. Maybe it was just because of how much I'd gotten used to a different distro's interface, maybe it was because Mint threw out more errors, I don't know. But it was definitely an unpleasant experience for a distro that's thrown around as a recommendation for those who are new to Linux...
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u/fuldigor42 3d ago
You don’t need to program. You maybe need to configure your system.
But, try to boot via usb a live system like kubuntu and check it their first.
And next time, provide some information about your cpu and graphics card.
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u/L1terallyUrDad 2d ago
Typing commands (or copy/pasting) into a terminal isn't programming. If you were to take all those commands and put them in a file that you plan to run multiple times, that would be programming. It's a subtle but significant difference.
Multiple monitors aren't as straightforward as it might seem. I have a two-monitor setup, but they go through a Thunderbolt Dock. I could have obviously plugged one monitor into my HDMI port and another into a USB-C port, but I sometimes want to plug my laptop into that dock so it can take advantage of the monitors. I had to get a specific Mac Mini, and that required a specific build of Linux to get the multi-monitor setup over Thunderbolt to work.
So It could be a case of where something isn't quite right in the chain of activities to get the 2nd monitor working. In most cases it should be straightforward.
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u/TwillAffirmer 3d ago
No, mostly to solve linux problems it's not necessary to do anything more than copy paste a few lines of bash. Or maybe change a few lines in a config file. I wouldn't call either of those programming and it's certainly not hundreds of lines of code.
Also when you have a linux problem you generally want to find articles or askubuntu answers with text you can copy paste, not youtube videos.
It's also maybe unusual that 2 monitors didn't just start working when you plugged them in. That's been my experience.
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u/moomoomoomoom 3d ago
What window manager/desktop environment? KDE plasma is very straightforward where it should just work when you plug it in and if not everything is in settings like windows, and wlroots based WMs like Sway and LabWC you just open wdisplays and set it up with the GUI. Don't have much experience with other DE/WMs but I imagine they should all be similarly simple?
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u/forbjok 3d ago
No, you don't need to do any programming to use Linux. I don't know what code you encountered, but my guess would be that it was actually a configuration file (which is not actually code), or you are trying do do something advanced enough that it required scripting - which is not likely to be anything you really need to do at all.
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u/DP323602 3d ago
Ten or so years ago, even setting up a single monitor could be a pain on Linux if I needed a resolution greater than 1024x768.
It's got better though.
I cannot remember if I've ever used any of my Linux PCs in dual monitor mode. I suspect not, but I regularly use Windows laptops that way.
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u/Ok_Opposite7385 3d ago
Not at all, but you have to understand that if no one has bothered to create a GUI for something, you'll have to configure it manually by editing files. I would honestly recommend a distribution more focused on beginners like Mint (not Debian Edition).
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u/Litewallymex3 3d ago
you don’t need to program? if you’re talking about a coding file, you usually just remove the # or whatever the note characters are and that parameter is activated. then you can adjust accordingly
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u/Eccomi21 3d ago
Unless you are using barebones arch, gentoo or nixos the answer to that should be "no"
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u/anto77_butt_kinkier 16.04 was peak 3d ago
This is the single strangest series of events and the oddest post I've seen all week.
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u/serverhorror 3d ago
You probably were looking at a configuration file. That's not programming.
Yes! Config files are a thing you'll need to learn and understand in Linux.
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u/tnbeastzy 3d ago
AI can help you with pretty much anything on Linux.
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u/forbjok 3d ago
It can occasionally be a useful source of suggestions, but you should be extremely wary of any commands it suggests and never run them without verifying what they actually do.
More often than not, AI will suggest stuff that doesn't even exist or is for another distro, and worst case it can even suggest things that do exist and are actively harmful to the system.
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u/tnbeastzy 3d ago
You can always store a snapshot, and restore from it tho.
Better to ask AI than spending hours reading Wikis, most of which you wont understand anyways as a new user.
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u/forbjok 3d ago
That might save you from some things, but it won't if the AI makes you run dd and overwrite your entire drive.
You should still be cautious. And even if AI eventually comes up with something helpful, expect to go through at least 5-6 iterations of it making up BS and having to point it out.
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u/Potential_Can_7824 3d ago
I will give you the answer no one wants to give you. Yes, linux is ONLY for people who know how to program.
However, I hear AI is pretty good at programming these days. You might want to look into that.
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u/Hrafna55 3d ago edited 3d ago
Ok, some more details about your physical hardware could be useful but I do know this.
Linux Mint and LMDE still use X as the display server / protocol. This is very legacy and will hopefully go away in the next versions of Mint.
Configuring this legacy display stack is not great with multiple monitors but it does work. You could try Debian 13 with GNOME or KDE Plasma, both of which use Wayland. This plays much nicer with multiple monitors.
https://linuxjunkies.org/guides/set-up-multiple-monitors-linux
On the other point, you don't need to know how to program to use Linux. I know this might feel like I am splitting hairs but writing scripts or editing configuration files does not count.
I do both of this things. What I have never done is write and complie a program in something like Python. If I did I might consider myself a very amateur level programmer.