Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Sun, 4 Feb 2024 12:10:43 +1100
From:      Greg 'groggy' Lehey <grog@freebsd.org>
To:        Paul M Foster <paulf@quillandmouse.com>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Installing/running X11
Message-ID:  <Zb7kE4DXVSCGjbTn@hydra.lemis.com>
In-Reply-To: <20240203144851.d47zguvjtisjdsz4@yosemite.mars.lan>
References:  <20240203144851.d47zguvjtisjdsz4@yosemite.mars.lan>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help

--hi1lhbPtuqpqGGrz
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Disposition: inline

On Saturday,  3 February 2024 at  9:48:51 -0500, Paul M Foster wrote:
> Folks:
>
> For context, I have a fresh install of version 14. I've made myself part of
> the wheel and video groups. I've installed drm-kmod, xdm, xf86-video-intel,
> xfce, xorg and xterm. I've added hald_enable="YES", dbus_enable="YES" and
> kld_list="i915kms" to /etc/rc.conf.
>
> At this point, advice diverges significantly. Some sites say I should be
> able to just run startx and all will be fine. Some want you to run xorg
> -configure. Some want you to hack X11 config files.

X has been around for a long time, and installation has changed.  In
the latest versions, all those steps *should* be unnecessary.  I've
forgotten the details, but IIRC it's a good idea to install dbus for
some clients, including web browsers, but it shouldn't be necessary
for starting X.  My newly installed system doesn't have hald, and Xorg
-configure (not xorg, which doesn't exist) hasn't worked properly for
years.  Hacking config files has also changed dramatically over the
years, and I'm not sure that all drivers respect the semantics.

I don't know what i915kms is, though it suggests it has something to
do with the Intel 915 chipsets.  But looking through my system, it
seems to have gone out with FreeBSD re1ease 12.  Where did you get
this information from?  If it's in the official FreeBSD documentation,
we need to fix it.  Also, does kldstat show anything with a similar
name?  This is probably not the cause of your problem, though.

> What I can tell you is that X won't start with startx. For one thing, it
> outputs these errors:
>
> (EE)
> Fatal server error:
> (EE) no screens found(EE)
> (EE)

It outputs more than that, including a reference to the log file that
contains the real reason for not starting. in this case almost
certainly /var/log/Xorg.0.log.  Look in particular for references to
config files (there shouldn't be one in the situation you describe)
and any lines starting with (WW) (warning) or (EE) (error).  If that
doesn't help you identify the problem, report what you find.

> Also, for what it's worth, service dbus start works. But service hald start
> doesn't. The error is:
>
> hald does not exist in /etc/rc.d or the local startup directories
> (/usr/local/etc/rc.d), or is not executable.
>
> I have no idea how to proceed.

If you want to install hald (and can find a reason to do so), you will
have to install the package.  But this isn't relevant to your real
problem.

Greg
--
When replying to this message, please copy the original recipients.
If you don't, I may ignore the reply or reply to the original recipients.
For more information, see http://www.lemis.com/questions.html
Sent from my desktop computer.
See complete headers for address and phone numbers.
This message is digitally signed.  If your Microsoft mail program
reports problems, please read http://lemis.com/broken-MUA.php

--hi1lhbPtuqpqGGrz
Content-Type: application/pgp-signature; name="signature.asc"

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----

iF0EARECAB0WIQSaG4ICvM64RvkvCawi5vKQUHpCIwUCZb7kDgAKCRAi5vKQUHpC
I7wwAKCHpLideriJO5g0sP7sExH/8QVdDQCcD12vaDY6o79SNwzrKlzvgKYPkas=
=fCEk
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

--hi1lhbPtuqpqGGrz--



Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?Zb7kE4DXVSCGjbTn>