Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 20:35:59 +1000 From: "Michael A. Thissell" <w75xw@vzpacifica.net> To: Joaquin Menchaca <linuxuser@finnovative.net> Cc: freebsd-newbies@freebsd.org Subject: Re: HELP: Not sure where to go after installation Message-ID: <1105526158.618.53.camel@emma.vzpacifica.net> In-Reply-To: <41E4CE04.3060804@finnovative.net> References: <41E4CE04.3060804@finnovative.net>
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On Wed, 2005-01-12 at 17:13, Joaquin Menchaca wrote: > Hi, > > I just went to through the installation of FreeBSD 5.3 (i386) on my VIA > PD10000 system. After going through the installation, applications > selections and extra packages, and configuration, I am brought back to > the initial installation screen. > > What do I do at this point? Do I just reboot. This seems awkward. > > Also, is X-Windows working. I went through a mouse configuration part, > but never went into any type of X-Windows configuration part. Do I have > X-Windows? > > I know that this is pretty basic, but being new and all, it's all a > little bit awkward and I am not sure exactly what to do... > > -- joaquin Yes, it is a little confusing. Basically, reboot and log onto the system. Please type "xorgconfig" and answer the questions. This is the script that sets up the X windows hardware. There are other configuration files to help set up your hardware, but I have found this one to be the most direct and reasonable. Your milage may vary. You should know a little bit of information about your hardware before running xorgconfig. But hey, it it don't work the first time... you can always run the file again. The final question will ask if it okay to write xorg.conf file to /etc/X11 .... please say "yes" to this question. BTW, this is a good thing to remember: the xorg.conf file is in /etc/X11 in case you want to edit it for some reason. Hint... hint. Please type "startx" at the command prompt. You'll most likely dumped into a very basic desktop with three open windows and a small clock in the upper right hand corner. What this means is... your xorg.conf file is working just fine. It also means you've launched a desktop that would be difficult to use. Type CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE to dump away from the basic screen and back to the command line. Your mission has been accomplished and your hardware is now configured for the X Windows environment. ------------ If you chose Gnome or KDE or any of the other desktop environments at the beginning, you can invoke those startup files now. Let's say you liked Gnome and installed all of the Gnome Lite files during the initial installation. The command "startx" needs a target so to speak. At the moment, its target is a very basic (crappy) desktop. You want Gnome! So, here's a way to tell "startx" to use Gnome. echo "/usr/X11R6/bin/gnome-session" > ~/.xinitrc Now... every time you type "startx" the Gnome desktop should appear. ------------ FIRST THING TO DO: Read the FreeBSD Handbook - Chapter 5, X-Window System. The two authors have described in much more detail the process of getting a desktop working. Look at page 149 in the Handbook; both Gnome and KDE are discussed on this single page. Also, you might want to take a look at Chaper 16 - Multimedia. Specifically, Section 16.2 - Setting Up A Sound Card. It is a bit cryptic, but it ain't rocket science. I was lucky cause I had a SoundBlaster Live card and that was the exact example the authors used. If I'd had an unusual sound card, that might have been more difficult to figure out the correct driver. I trust this helps and apologize for getting long-winded.
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