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TL;DR: xrandr fails randomly on my system with the error message xrandr: Configure crtc X failed on my setup with two monitors, that are connected to a dockingstation. After I turn on and off single monitors multiple times, I most of the times get it working.

I have a setup with a Lenovo Thinkpad on a dockingstation. To that dockingstation two monitors are connected by display port. Here's the output of xrandr:

razr@notebook [~]
-> % xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 7680 x 1440, maximum 32767 x 32767
eDP1 connected 2560x1440+5120+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 340mm x 190mm
 2880x1620 59.96 + 50.00
 2560x1600 59.97
 2560x1440 59.95*
 2048x1536 60.00
 1920x1440 60.00
 1856x1392 60.01
 1792x1344 60.01
 2048x1152 60.00 59.90 59.91
 1920x1200 59.88 59.95
 1920x1080 59.96 60.00 59.93
 1600x1200 60.00
 1680x1050 59.95 59.88
 1400x1050 59.98
 1600x900 60.00 59.95 59.82
 1280x1024 60.02
 1400x900 59.96 59.88
 1280x960 60.00
 1440x810 60.00
 1368x768 60.00 59.88 59.85
 1280x800 59.81 59.91
 1280x720 59.86 60.00 59.74
 1024x768 60.00
 1024x576 60.00 59.90 59.82
 960x540 60.00 59.63 59.82
 800x600 60.32 56.25
 864x486 60.00 59.92 59.57
 640x480 59.94
 720x405 59.51 60.00 58.99
 640x360 59.84 59.32 60.00
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP2-1 connected 2560x1440+2560+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 610mm x 350mm
 3840x2160 60.00 + 30.00 29.97
 2560x1440 59.95*
 1920x1080 60.00 59.94
 1680x1050 59.95
 1600x900 60.00
 1280x1024 75.02 60.02
 1440x900 59.89
 1280x800 59.81
 1152x864 75.00
 1280x720 60.00 59.94
 1024x768 75.03 70.07 60.00
 832x624 74.55
 800x600 72.19 75.00 60.32 56.25
 640x480 75.00 72.81 66.67 60.00 59.94
 720x400 70.08
DP2-2 connected primary 2560x1440+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 610mm x 350mm
 3840x2160 60.00 + 30.00 29.97
 2560x1440 59.95*
 1920x1080 60.00 59.94
 1680x1050 59.95
 1600x900 60.00
 1280x1024 75.02 60.02
 1440x900 59.89
 1280x800 59.81
 1152x864 75.00
 1280x720 60.00 59.94
 1024x768 75.03 70.07 60.00
 832x624 74.55
 800x600 72.19 75.00 60.32 56.25
 640x480 75.00 72.81 66.67 60.00 59.94
 720x400 70.08
DP2-3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
razr@notebook [~]
-> %

I have no xorg.conf on my system. I have a shell script that is called by lightdm on startup, that checks if those monitors are connected (hence the notebook is on the dockingstation) and if that is the case, executes the following command:

xrandr --output eDP1 --mode "1920x1080" --output DP2-1 --mode auto --left-of eDP1 --output DP2-2 --mode auto --primary --left-of DP2-1

Otherwise it just sets the mode of the notebook display to "1920x1080".

But this does not work at all. I always get an error message like xrandr: Configure crtc 1 failed. I think the number changes from time to time.

I already have some experience with a similar issue at work (seen end of my question) and so I know, that I can, most of the time, fix this by deactivating and reactivating the monitors again and again. I installed arandr for that, because it's made it a little easier to do this over and over again. With only one monitor and the notebook display activated it works all the time. It doesn't matter which monitor is active. Only the two monitors (without the notebook display) does not work.

For my (new) setup at home I cannot get this working. I kind-of to get it working, but only with mode "2560x1440" on both monitors. And this also does not work all the time. Sometimes I have to, again, open arandr and de-/reactivate the monitors randomly to get to a state where it works. I couldn't figure out any pattern there until now. Sometimes I just give up, restart my machine and hope that it works afterwards.

As already stated, I have a pretty similar setup at work, where I do basically the same. At work this works at least when I start my machine on the dockingstation. If I start the machine, then connect it to the dockingstation and run the command above, I get the same error. Here the randomly de-/reactivate the monitors works as well, most of the times.

Has anyone any idea why this happens and how I can fix this?

Try to split your xrandr command into multiple commands like this:

xrandr --output eDP1 --mode "1920x1080" 
xrandr --output DP2-1 --mode auto --left-of eDP1 
xrandr --output DP2-2 --mode auto --primary --left-of DP2-1

It's a work-around.