Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 22:45:39 -0700 From: Matt Navarre <mnavarre@cox.net> To: Lloyd Hayes <wyoming_antelope@yahoo.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Still no graphic desktop Message-ID: <200406162245.39710.mnavarre@cox.net> In-Reply-To: <40D11A8E.20604@yahoo.com> References: <40D07AFB.9050804@yahoo.com> <40D10CC5.8070301@cox.net> <40D11A8E.20604@yahoo.com>
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On Wednesday 16 June 2004 09:14, Lloyd Hayes wrote: > >How are you trying to start X Windows? If you're just expecting it to > > start, you're going to end up disappointed. > > Oops... > I was expecting the graphical desktop to start automatically. However I > also tried startx, and I played with xdm. Whatever I was doing kept > coming up with errors about no screen. Aha! a clue! You are missing at least the Screen section of your XFree config file. The Screen section tells the X server what combination of monitor, video card, resolution and color depth to use. I'm guessing that your XF86Config file isn't configured right(or at all). Try the xf86config command I mentioned earlier, I've had better luck with that in general than the XFree86 -configure route in the past. Don't feel bad, configuring X is one of the most common stumbling blocks for new FreeBSD users, especially people coming from a Mac or Windows background. Most Linux distros configure X automagically at install time, FreeBSD doesn't for a couple of reasons: A) X isn't part of the base system, it's an add-on like any other port. B) There's a stronger "learn how to do it" meme 'round these parts than, say, the Linux or Windows camps. Linux (at least the "main" distros) has much more a "Mom should be able to use it" mentallity. C) It's usually not a stumbling block for long, and you end up learning a bit about the system in the process. Think of it as a learning experience :) Or just keep repeating "That which does not kill me can only make me stronger". > > Lloyd Hayes > -- "We all enter this world in the same way: naked, screaming, and soaked in blood. But if you live your life right, that kind of thing doesn't have to stop there." -- Dana Gould
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