Adding a second monitor

[Kevin O'Gorman]

I've got used to using 2 monitors from using my laptop and large
screen to support my lectures.  It's gotten so that I like it so much
that I use a regular monitor with it at home, and prefer working on it
over using my (much more capable) desktop.

This is silly.  I've retired, and don't really need a laptop any more.
 I should just add one or two extra monitors to my desktop, but I
tried and it failed miserably.
1) the existing board had several connectors, so I tried using two of
them.  No joy, only one would be recognized.
2) I tried a card that had been donated to a charity I work for (with
permission from the manager).  When I tried just putting it in without
an attached monitor, X would not even start.  I was in a rush, and did
not try it with a monitor.  It's quite possible the card is broken
anyway.
3) I realized I'm in slightly over my head.

So, given that I have a large PCI-E slot and a regular PCI-X slot
empty, I'm wondering...
1) Should I expect X to manage 2 cards, and if so what should I do
besides just plugging them in?
2) Could the problem have been missing drivers for the added card, and
if so how should I go about finding them?

I tried this on 11.04, but plan to go to 12.04 soon.

-- 
Kevin O'Gorman, PhD