> I don't use Debian, so apologies for not knowing this:  does 
> Etch have X.org now?  If so, you could try renaming xorg.conf 
> to xorg.conf.backup (essentially, you're removing xorg.conf). 
>  Without an xorg.conf file, X.org will attempt to 
> autoconfigure itself.  It'll choose non-nVidia drivers when 
> it does this, but it might get you further along.
> 

This didn't work, but it got me on the right path. I eventually got the
external projector (and external monitors in general) working by doing the
following...

apt-get install nvidia-glx nvidia-xconfig
nvidia-xconfig
Ctrl-Alt-Backspace (to restart X)

voila! External displays are now working. Only one monitor works at a time,
but its better than nothing. I'm just happy it works! Now I can work on
TwinView to get both the laptop LCD and the projector displaying at the same
time.

I did notice that the new xorg.conf now lists the driver as "nvidia" instead
of "nv". The sync and refresh rates look the same as I had before.

Thanks for your pointer.

Regards,
Andrew