Ubuntu 8.04 Nvidia Driver Setting for Dual Screens

As I updated my Ubuntu 8.04 kernel to 2.6.24-23, my dual-screen setting got mess up. This seems to be a common problem but the exact solution is not clear at this point. I here provide the procedure that worked on my system. I have tried several procedures found on the webs but none of them worked out. The direction, through, was to install the drivers manually. I was able to do that but I kept encountering an error message when I run nvidia-settings:

You do not appear to be using the NVIDIA X driver. Please edit your X configuration file (just run `nvidia-xconfig` as root), and restart the X server.

I thought the problem has something to do with the xorg.conf. Luckily, I was able to find the very one version before I ran kernel update. It was renamed as xorg.conf.1. I replaced my xorg.conf with this version and started the following steps. I think this was the key for success.

p.s., My system is a 32-bit LTS version and my graphic card is Nvidia GeForce 6600.

1. Download the latest version from Nvidia web. What I got was version (180.22):

• NVIDIA-Linux-x86-180.22.pkg1.run

2. Remove previous nvidia driers

• sudo apt-get --purge remove nvidia-*

3. Shut the graphic interface off

• sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop
• Press Ctrl-F1 to use the terminal shell in text mode

4. Install the driver by typing the following line in a terminal shell

• cd to the directory where I save the Nvidia driver
  
• sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-180.22.pkg1.run
• Answer No when asked to download the precompiled kernel interface from nvidia ftp site. (I chose yes and it said no interface was available for my kernel, which is 2.6.24-23 anyway)
• Answer Yes or Ok to compile
  
• Answer Yes to run nvidia-xconfig utility

4. Turn on the graphic interface

• sudo /etc/init.d/gdm start

5. Saw the logo and got my dual screen back!

A few notes or questions:

• Since I use the old xorg.conf to start with, I did not install nvidia-settings, nvidia-glx, nvidia-glx-new, linux-restricted-modules-2.6.24-23-generic using Synaptic. Not sure if this is the best way. Wondering if I'll lose integrity in Synaptic.
• Do I need to install nvidia-settings and other stuff if I don't dare to change any setting?
• To start a new xorg.conf: sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg
• To turn on/off the graphic interface: sudo /etc/init.d/gdm start (or stop)
• To uninstall previous nvidia drivers:sudo apt-get --purge remove nvidia-*

Useful references from the web:

• Ubuntu 8.04 Dual Monitor Setup by Stephen O'Sullivan. This is one of the main site where I referred.
  
• 教你安裝Nvidia官方新版驅動程式與半自動安裝腳本 -- 這也是我另一個主要的步驟來源
• 安裝NVIDIA官方驅動方法全紀錄
• Ubuntu 8.04中安装nVidia新版显卡驱动 -- 有提供一些修改xorg.conf的語法等，幫助了解xorg.conf的內容
  
• Ubuntu 8.04+Nvidia 5200的解析度異常解決法 --也是有提供一些修改xorg.conf的語法等